Trespasser by Paul Doiron

Trespasser by Paul Doiron is the second of his series featuring Game Warden Mike Bowditch, set in rural Maine.  Trespasser was published by Constable & Robinson's C&R Crime in May 2013.  The first in the series; The Poachers's Son was released in January.  You can read my review of it here.

"While on patrol on foggy March evening, Mike Bowditch receives a call for help. A woman has reportedly struck a deer on a lonely coast road. When the game warden arrives on the scene, he finds blood in the road - but both the driver and deer have vanished. The details of the disappearance seem eerily familiar. Seven years earlier, a jury convicted Erland Jefferts of the rape and murder of a college student and sentenced him to a life in prison. But when the missing woman is found brutalized in a manner that suggests Jefferts may have been framed, Bowditch receives a warning from state prosecutors to stop asking questions.

For Bowditch, doing nothing is not an option. And as he closes in on his quarry, he suddenly discovers how dangerous his opponents are, and how far they will go to prevent him from bringing a killer to justice."

Just like The Poacher's Son, this next instalment is a gripping well thought out and expertly paced thriller story.  Our hero, Mike Bowditch is a little older and a tiny bit wiser - having learnt a great deal in the first story about his father and their relationship.  However, Bowditch is still young and at times he is still hot-headed, often acting on his instincts, rather than with common sense.   These traits make Bowditch a realistic and likeable character, someone who is passionate about his work and has a strong sense of justice.

The plot line is cleverly put together, at times complicated, but with each strand of the story meshing together to create an exciting thriller with plenty of twists and turns along the way.

Paul Doiron

As the mystery unfolds, so does the character of Bowditch along with his partner Sarah and his Warden colleagues.  Again, Doiron has brought to life the wonderful Maine countryside, with it's beauty and wildlife and it's bleakness and share of criminals.

I enjoyed every minute of this story and look forward very much to reading the next in the series.

As always, my thanks go to the Constable & Robinson C&R Crime team for providing my copy for review.

More information about Paul Doiron and his books can be found at this website here, on Facebook here and on Twitter here

Chilled To The Bone by Quentin Bates

I've been so looking forward to catching up with Officer Gunnhildur.  Chilled To The Bone by Quentin Bates is number three in  the series of Icelandic murder mystery stories that feature Gunna as the lead character.    Frozen Out (2011) and Cold Comfort (2012) are the first two books, you can read my thoughts about those here.

Chilled To The Bone was published by Constable & Robinson's crime imprint C&R Crime on 18 April 2013.   Although this is number three in the series, it could be read as a stand alone, but personally I would advise anyone to start with the first novel.

Sergeant Gunnhildur Gisladottir finds herself heading up what starts as a fairly straightforward investigation.  A local businessman is found dead in a hotel bedroom, there is no evidence that this was a murder but as Gunna makes more enquiries, she finds herself slap-bang in the middle of something that is beginning to get dangerous.  It appears that there is a bondage ring operating in the city.  It seems that this is not the first time a wealthy businessman has been found in an incriminating position in an upmarket hotel yet people are loathe to speak out - they seem very scared.   At the same time, local Government officers are making a fuss about a mislaid laptop, putting pressure on Gunna and her department to pull out all the stops to find it.
Quentin Bates has produced an intricate, finely plotted detective story which has some really menacing undertones.  Gunna is an amazing lead character; realistic and bold, with secrets of her own that yet again Bates has refused to fully disclose.  There is something compelling about this character, she has a history that is very slowly being revealed throughout the series in snippets and leaves the reader wanting to know what? why? how?

As in both of the previous novels, I do sometimes become a little muddled by the long, and quite strange looking Icelandic names of the character - but of course, for realism, they have to be included, and as the story progresses the reader does get to know the lead players very well.

A fast-paced crime novel, with great characters, a clever plot and a smattering of humour.  Bring on the next instalment!

I was lucky enough to meet author Quentin Bates at the launch party for C&R Crime a couple of months ago, it was great to chat to him about Gunna and her exploits, although he wasn't giving anything away about her secrets.

Although born in the UK in 1962, through a series of coincidences Quentin Bates found himself working in Iceland in his gap year. The gap year then became 10 years, during which time he managed to get himself married, produce a family, and generally go native in Iceland. The family then moved back to the UK in 1990 where Quentin became a full-time journalist on a commercial fishing magazine. Frozen Assets was born through the author's own inside knowledge of Iceland and its society, along with exploring the world of crime. He and his (Icelandic) wife frequently return to Iceland, where they have manyfriends, including several in the Reykjavik police.

Check out Quentin Bates' website at http://graskeggur.com/  You can follow him on Facebook here , and his Twitter account is here

My thanks to Quentin Bates for sending me a signed copy of the novel.

C&R Crime Launch Party & Giveaway of The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron

Publisher Constable and Robinson recently consolidated it's crime fiction into a single imprint; C&R Crime - with a new logo and it's own website at www.crcrime.co.uk

C&R Crime launch included  the publication of The Circus, James Craig's fourth novel in the Inspector Carlyle series and The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron.

I was delighted to be invited to the C&R Crime launch party which was held on 28 February 2012 at The Gallery at the Crypt, St Martin in the Fields, Trafalgar Square.

I travelled down to London by train early that evening and found my way to The Crypt which was a fantastic location for a Crime Party - wonderfully atmospheric, with dark nooks and crannies everywhere.

I really enjoyed the party and met up with some other book bloggers and publishers.  There were so many authors there, it was really lovely to hear MC Beaton give a speech - she's just about to publish her 106th novel - what an amazing lady.   I spotted Cath Staincliffe across the room, but was never able to actually get through the crush to say hello.  I did meet Quentin Bates - I'm a huge fan of his novels and it was great to meet him at last, after being Facebook friends for ages.  Poor man, I grilled him about the next book in his series.


I really enjoyed the evening and was delighted to come away with a lovely goodie bag full of exciting new releases from C&R Crime.

GIVEAWAY TIME!!

I'm really delighted to be able to offer a hard back copy of The Poacher's Son by Paul Doiron - I reviewed it a while ago, and you can read my thoughts here.

It's really a fabulous read and I'm already looking forward to the next book in the series.   To be in with a chance of winning a copy of The Poacher's Son, please fill in the form below, the giveaway will be open for seven days.    

GOOD LUCK!!!!!

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