Don’t trust ANYONE…
When a young woman makes a distressing middle-of-the-night call to 911, apparently running for her life in a quiet, exclusive beachside neighbourhood, miles from her home, everything suggests a domestic incident.
Except no one has seen her since, and something doesn’t sit right with the officers at Hampstead County PD. With multiple suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies, and interference from the top threatening the integrity of the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an increasingly puzzling case that looks like it’s going to have only one ending…
And then the first body appears…
Black Reed Bay by Rod Reynolds was published in paperback by Orenda Books on 02 September 2021. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review as part of this Blog Tour
Rod Reynolds is the author of five novels, including the Charlie Yates series, the standalone Blood
Red City and Black Reed Bay.
His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian have called the books 'Pitch-perfect American noir.' A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books published his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City, which was a Summer 2020 pick in the FT. In 2021, he again turns to the US, this time to present-day Long Island, with Black Reed Bay.
I am so very very excited about this book, especially as it the first in a new series from an incredible talent. Here we have a truly American Noir story told by a guy from London with an amazing female lead character who every single reader will fall in love with and back to the hilt. It's frenzied in pace, it's complex, its atmospheric and it is utterly gripping.
Detective Casey Wray is something of an enigma. It's clear that her rise to Detective level has not been simple, but she has a great mentor and loyal and steady partner to work alongside. Every now and again, she has her doubts about herself. Casey does a lot of inward thinking, she has no choice as she's alone in the world apart from her work colleagues. No romantic relationship and no family, just Casey, and the job.
A frantic call is received via 911 and this sparks the case that is central to the plot. A young woman, identified as Tina Grace shouts into the phone that 'he is going to kill me', and then the call ends. That's all Casey and partner Cullen have to go on.
What could have been a fairly simple case of a missing woman soon turns into a case that has multiple strands, and involves the richest community in the Long Island town of Rockport. As is usually the case, money and stature leads to long silences, it's not only the known criminals that are feared in this town, it's the people with the cash and the power that really rule the show.
There's some pretty explosive action throughout this one, there are some heart breaking scenes too and there's a whole lot of damn fine writing. Reynolds propels the reader into the heart of this town and the surrounding areas, it feels so real, so American, just so like everything you've ever seen of US based cop dramas.
I was glued to it and I want more, and soon please. I want to know more about Casey, I want more about her background. I want to see how she progresses in the force after the devastation that this case has brought for her department. I just want more.
Highly recommended by me. I loved every single page.
Highly recommended by me. I loved every single page.
Red City and Black Reed Bay.
His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian have called the books 'Pitch-perfect American noir.' A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books published his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City, which was a Summer 2020 pick in the FT. In 2021, he again turns to the US, this time to present-day Long Island, with Black Reed Bay.
Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in Novel Writing from City University London. Rod lives with his wife and children and spends most of his time trying to keep up with them.
Contact him:
twitter: @Rod_WR
facebook: @RodReynoldsBooks
No comments:
Post a Comment