What happens when a private investigator ends up being the one uncovered?
Having lost everything after a failed marriage, Beverley Saunders now lodges in the basement flat of a house owned by her best friend Sophie and her husband, Tim. With Bev's former glittering marketing career in the gutter, she begins to do investigative work for other wronged women, gathering dirt on philanderers, bosses and exes.But when Beverley takes on the case of Sophie's friend Angela, who is seeking to uncover grounds for divorce from her controlling husband, Jerry, the shadow Science Minister, she soon discovers that she isn't the only one doing the investigating...Beverley has a secret history she doesn't want coming out - but will she manage to stay hidden long enough to give Angela the freedom she deserves?Marnie Riches is back in this darkly comic thriller, perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Kimberley Chambers.
Tightrope by Marnie Riches is published today; 11 July 2019 by Trapeze. My thanks to the publisher who sent my copy for review, and who invited me to take part on this Blog Tour
Forgive me Marnie, for I have sinned. I haven't read one of your books before Tightrope. I have no idea how that happened!
I've been around the crime fiction scene for a long time now, and have met Marnie Riches many times, yet her books have passed me by.
All rectified now! I totally devoured Tightrope; from the toe-curling, vicious and gasp making prologue, right through every single twist and turn until the end ... which knocked me for six.
The author introduces a new female Private Investigator; Beverley Saunders. Beverley is very new to the game; in fact she's veering towards desperation as her previous life as a successful marketing manager, and wife, has disappeared. She's now living in a dank, damp basement flat, courtesy of a mate and her husband; driving a clapped out old banger and creating a mountain of unpaid bills.
What an absolute cracker of a character she is though. Through this clever author's skilful creation, the reader soon comes to love Beverley; there's a whole lot to love; she has many issues; some of them are a little bit funny, some of them are downright dirty, and dangerous, and some are sad and quite heart-wrenching.
Beverley's first case is to assist Angela; abused, beaten, anorexic wife of the Shadow Minister for Science, Jerry Fitzwilliam ; and what a vile and totally objectionable character he is! Whilst the case may seem pretty cut and dried, it's not long before Beverley finds herself totally immersed in a dangerous world, with secrets a plenty and folk who will do anything to prevent those secrets from being exposed.
There's some excellent characterisation in this book; but don't expect to like many of them. With the exception of Beverley herself and her sidekick Doc, there are not many lovable rogues in here! However, this just adds to the compelling and intense story that is both witty and frightening in equal measures.
Marnie Riches writes meticulously and unflinchingly; my jaw dropped, my eyes popped and the tension gave me a headache! It's brutal and dark, but brilliant. I loved it and would highly recommend.
Marnie Riches grew up on a rough estate in north Manchester. Exchanging the spires of nearby Strangeways prison for those of Cambridge University, she gained a Masters in German & Dutch. She has been a punk, a trainee rock star, a pretend artist and professional fundraiser. Her best-selling, award-winning George McKenzie crime thrillers, tackling the subject of trans-national trafficking, were inspired by her own time spent in The Netherlands. Dubbed the Martina Cole of the North, she is also the author of Born Bad and The Cover-Up - the critically acclaimed hit series about Manchester's notorious gangland.
Tightrope is the start of a brand new series, set mainly in the famous footballer-belt of Hale, Cheshire, and introducing flawed but fearless northern PI, Bev Saunders who risks everything to fight the corner of her vulnerable client. A second Bev Saunders novel will follow in early 2020. So far, Marnie has sold an impressive 250,000 books and counting...
When she isn't writing gritty, twisty crime-thrillers, Marnie also regularly appears on BBC Radio Manchester, commenting about social media trends and discussing the world of crime-fiction.
Website : www.marnieriches.com
Twitter : @Marnie_Riches
Author Page on Facebook
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