Reeling from the attempts on his life and that of his family, Police Inspector Robert Finlay returns to work to discover that any hope of a peaceful existence has been dashed.
Assigned to investigate the Eastern European sex-slave industry just as a key witness is murdered. Finlay, along with his new partner Nina Brasov, finds himself facing a ruthless criminal gang, determined to keep control of the traffic of people into the UK. On the home front, Finlay’s efforts to protect his wife and child may have been in vain, as an MI5 protection officer uncovers a covert secret service operation that threatens them all…
Picking up where the bestselling Wicked Game left off, Deadly Game sees Matt Johnson’s damaged hero fighting on two fronts. Aided by new allies, he must not only protect his family but save a colleague from an unseen enemy … and a shocking fate.
Deadly Game by Matt Johnson was published in paperback by Orenda Books on 15 March 2017 and is the second in the Robert Finlay series. I read and reviewed the first, Wicked Game here on Random Things in March last year.
I'm delighted to welcome the author, Matt Johnson, here to Random Things today as part of the Blog Tour for Deadly Game. Matt is sharing with us the books that have inspired him and left a lasting impression on his life, This is his My Life In Books.
My Life In Books ~ Matt Johnson
When asked to look back at a life reading, it’s surprisingly
hard to remember the names of authors and the titles of work that you’ve
enjoyed. I read, not simply for pleasure, but to learn, and as I’m now
approaching my sixth decade on this earth, I’ve worked my way through quite a
few books.
So, I’ve decided to concentrate on those that I really remember,
as this must be because they had a sufficiently marked effect to have burned
their content into my conscious memory. I have quite eclectic taste, as you
will see.
I start with a book I
read during my early teens. It’s Mike at Wrykin by the well-known author
P.G.Wodehouse.
As a lad, I was very keen at sport and was house-captain for
both rugby and cricket. So, a tale set in a school about a boy of my age
excelling at sport – and all told with the author’s brilliant wit – was bound
to appeal.
It did. And it’s a story I remember with fondness.
As a teenager, I was fascinated by science. Man had just
landed on the moon – no, I don’t subscribe to the conspiracy theories – and the
idea of space travel and life on other worlds sparked the imagination of many a
writer.
One of the very best
exponents of this genre was Frank Herbert.
Dune is one of the most famous science fiction novels ever
written and needs little by way of introduction. It was described as one of the
landmarks of modern science fiction.
Fans of ‘Game of Thrones’ and similar incredible worlds
could do well to read this and learn where these ideas first started.
Although not a fan of graphic horror films, I do admit a
weakness for an imaginative book that can leave the gore to your imagination.
Chiller-fiction, I believe it is called, and James Herbert
was the UK’s best exponent, to my view. The Fog was the first of his books to
grab my attention but I soon went on the read others such as The Rats and
Survivor.
Herbert’s writing has been a huge influence on my own. His
twenty-three novels sold more than 54 millions copies worldwide and in many
translations. I’m sad that, as he died in 2013, I will never get to meet him to
thank him.
One of the masters of
the genre I have entered with Wicked Game and Deadly Game has to be Lee Child.
Killing Floor introduced the world to Jack Reacher, a
character who has become even better known than his creator.
Reacher has such universal appeal, to readers of all ages,
male and female, that he has set the bar, the target to which all other authors
in this genre must aspire.
I haven’t read the most recent Reacher books, but the early
ones never failed to grip me. Killing Floor, given that was the first time I
met the 6’7” military cop, is to my mind the best.
In more recent years, I have tried to broaden my horizons,
to read outside my favoured genres and look at the work of fine authors. It was
with this in mind that I started Birdsong.
This is one of the very first books that, when I finished
the final page I put it to one side and just sat there, stunned. I really
enjoyed Birdsong that much.
When my partner first handed me a copy of Pillars of the Earth, I felt quite daunted by its length. I’m glad I persisted.
This incredible novel kept me occupied for weeks. I found
the story drew me in and I really needed to follow as the stories of the
characters unfolded.
If you haven’t read it, try it. After all, Ken comes from
Wales, which speaks volumes in itself!
Matt Johnson ~ March 2017
Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer for 25 years. Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing in 1992, and one of the first police officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent's Park bombing, Matt was also at the Libyan People's Bureau shooting in 1984 where he escorted his mortally wounded friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher, to hospital.Hidden wounds took their toll. In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism. One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on his own condition.
His bestselling thriller, Wicked Game, which was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Dagger, was the result. Deadly Game once again draws on Matt's experiences and drips with the same raw authenticity of its predecessor.
Find out more about Matt Johnson at www.mattjohnsonauthor.com
Follow him on Twitter @Matt_Johnson_UK
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