Tag Archives: Crime

Games People Play by Owen Mullen – Review

4 Replies

Title – Games People Play (Charlie Cameron #1)
Author – Owen Mullen
Genre –  Crime Fiction/Mystery
Length –    405 Pages
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis

On a warm summer’s evening thirteen month old Lily Hamilton is abducted from Ayr beach in Scotland, taken while her parents are yards away. Three days later, the distraught father turns up at Glasgow PI Charlie Cameron’s office and begs him to help. Mark Hamilton believes he knows who has stolen his daughter. And why.
Against his better judgement Charlie gets involved in a case he would be better off without. But when a child’s body is discovered on Fenwick Moor, then another in St Andrews, the awful truth dawns: there is a serial killer out there whose work has gone undetected for decades. Baby Lily may be the latest victim of a madman.
For Charlie it’s too late, he can’t let go. His demons won’t let him.

The stunning first novel featuring Glasgow PI Charlie Cameron. Games People Play will have the reader guessing to the very last page.

Review

This book starts with a bang.. I literally felt compelled to keep reading just so I could find out the truth about what happened.

Charlie is a PI who’s tasked to find a missing person, he knows he should take this case since it’s too close to an ongoing police investigation but he just can’t help himself.

Along the way we find out more about the PI’s own past and his motivations which gave him some depth and made him likable, he’s flawed but you want things to go his way.

The book has two stories playing side by side, one being the investigation and the other Charlies own complicated life. This brought a freshness to the story.. with each turn of the page the story would shift focus seamlessly kept me engaged and interested in what was happening

The story was well written and planed out. I must admit I did not see the ending coming until the author put all the pieces together.. it really had a wow finish for me..the hand over mouth moment when you finally see what Charlie has figured out.

Suspense is the word that best describes this book.. it’s all about the build-up and Owen Mullen did this really well. Some books just make the suspense plane boring but not this book!

The characters were great and I really loved the development throughout of the main character Charlie as you slowly learn more about him

For me this definitely is one of the best Crime Fiction novels I’ve read, not only does it have the investigation side you’d expect but with the underlying story behind Charlie I couldn’t help but be hooked in.

I can’t wait to read the next book in the series

My thanks go to the author for the opportunity to read/review their work

To find out more head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Blog Tour – Soho Honey by A.W Rock – Review

3 Replies

Title – Soho Honey
Author – A.W Rock
Genre –  Crime
Length –    356 Pages
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

3

Synopsis

This contemporary crime story takes place over three weeks in November and unfolds against the multi-cultural backdrop of Soho, London. Branen had to leave the UK six years before to escape his complex clandestine history and the consequences of a crime that achieved worldwide notoriety. When his daughter is brutally murdered in Soho he believes that he could be the reason. He returns to his old hunting grounds to find the killer. His search brings him into conflict with the British Secret Service and Soho’s underworld. He is forced to flee Soho again after a tragic meeting with his ex-wife. His past has caught up with him and the hunter becomes the hunted. Now forty years old Branen wants to stop running and to remove forever the continuing threat to his life. In an effort to get rid of his pursuers he is faced with the prospect that his only chance of survival could lead to his death.

‘I have now read the novel myself and I think it’s very good… I will not be the only publisher who finds it first rate.’ Christopher MacLehose, Publisher of ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’ – part of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy.

Review

This book surprised me. The synopsis was interesting but I was hooked into the story quicker than I imagined I would be..the book just got better and better as it went on.

The very first part of the book is a bit of background on Branen.. all very interesting but I was waiting to get to the good stuff…and the author didn’t keep me waiting long.

As soon as Branen’s daughter is involved the fast pace of the story turns to suspense and a brilliant story builds up leading on from her murder.

For me two characters stood out, Snowman and Harry.. these guys play pivotal parts in the book and I just loved any scene with them in.

One of the best things about this book is how the author has decided to write it. Each part of the story is broke down into manageable chunks clearly stating who is involved. This style of writing made it very easy for me to read and helped reinforce the character info you’ve learnt as you can clearly see their progression. There is also a section at the beginning of the book which details each character.. I must admit I skipped this and don’t think it did me any harm.. the author explained each characters and their motivations well enough during the story

The plot line has twists and turns and was exciting to read.. with each page turn i was left wondering what else could possibly happen! I won’t lie there is a lot going on within the plot but for me it all worked. It’s a gritty crime drama full of suspense.. for me it was like James Bond.. but with a lot of drugs involved set in the seedy underworld of Soho.

I’d definitely like to see where the author goes next. If you enjoy crime gritty/dirty/dark crime books this book will work for you.

Thank you to Kate Appleton @ Authoright and Clink Street Publishing for this review copy.

To find out more head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

 

The Theseus Paradox by David Videcette – Review

4 Replies

Title –  The Theseus Paradox
Author – David Videcette
Genre –  Crime, Thriller.
Length –  438 Pages
Publication – Nov 2015
My Rating – 5/5 Stars

Synopsis

“I can’t tell you the truth, but I can tell you a story…”
How much is fact and how much is fiction, only YOU can decide…

‘A chillingly credible tale based on real circumstances.’
‘A five-star, explosive finale.’
‘Leaves the reader hungry to research this version of events!’
‘A believable conspiracy theory with an incredible ring of truth.’
‘This fictional thriller holds a lot of water. Do not miss!’
‘A powerhouse of a fact-fiction mash-up.’
‘A stunning ‘big reveal’ at the end.’
‘Brilliant stuff that smacks you in the face!’

July 2005: in the midst of Operation Theseus, the largest police investigation that the UK has ever known, Detective Inspector Jake Flannagan begins to ask difficult questions that lead to the mysterious disappearance of his girlfriend and his sudden suspension from the Metropolitan Police.

Who masterminded London’s summer of terror?
Why can’t Flannagan make headway in the sprawling investigation?
Is Jake’s absent girlfriend really who she claims to be?

While hunting for the answers to the most complex case in British history, one man will uncover the greatest criminal deception of our time.

Terror, extremism and fear of the unknown,
Sometimes the answer is much closer to home.

The author: David Videcette is a former Scotland Yard investigator who has worked on a wealth of infamous cases, including the 7 July 2005 London bombings. He has twenty years of police and investigative experience as a British detective, specialising in counter-terrorist operations and organised crime. He currently consults on security operations for high-net-worth individuals and is an expert media commentator on crime, terrorism, extremism and the London 7/7 and 21/7 attacks.

David says, ‘I can’t tell you the truth, but I can tell you a story..’

Review

Ok so this was a really interesting one for me, based around the 7/7 bombings it gives you a very plausible, fast paced tale.

Jake the lead character is great, he relies on his gut instincts.. he’s a pain when it comes to his bosses and police procedure but he gets results… the line is blurred a but when it comes to Jake but this gives him great depth and makes him believable. He’s flawed and it makes you like him.. I hope there’s more to come as I’d love to see his character develop further

One thing I really enjoyed was that this book shows you there are lots of things going on behind the scenes that we never know about. There’s must have been so much evidence to collect that it did become more of a hindrance than helping with the investigation. This book gives a well rounded view of an investigation not just a clear cut line that some novels do

The fact the author is former Police works well for him, the book flowed so well. Credit to the author his knowledge made this such a good tale you could believe this is actually what did happen.. Everything is spot on.. everything is explained perfectly.

Another great feature in the book is the super short chapters, packed full of info that build in intensity as the book progresses. You could argue that some chapters didn’t really need to be split up but it made the story such a fast flowing ride that you barely notice you’ve been reading for an hour

In the end the plot, although about a sensitive subject worked well and I didn’t see the twists coming that the author through in. David clearly had put a lot of time into this tale and it pays off big style

If you’re a fan of the genre you’ll love this and for anyone who has never ready a crime book before this would be the prefect intro.

My thanks go to the author for the chance to review the book. In complete honesty I will be adding David to my “authors to watch list” so I don’t miss when he releases a new book

To find out more head to Goodreads, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Blue Wicked by Alan Jones – Review

5 Replies

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Title – Blue Wicked
Author – Alan Jones
Genre – Crime Fiction
Length – 283 Pages
Publication – Oct 2014
My Rating – 4/5 Stars

Synopsis

The tortured corpses of young alcoholics and drug addicts are turning up in Glasgow and only Eddie Henderson seems to know why. When he tries to tell the police, his information is ridiculed and he’s told to stop wasting their time.

One officer, junior detective Catherine Douglas, believes him, and together they set out to discover why the dregs of Glasgow’s underbelly are being found, dead and mutilated.

Review

This tale is dark; the crimes committed are designed to inflict as much pain for as long as possible. The person behind these crimes wants their victims to know they are dying and no matter what nothing can save them.

Initially when Eddie contacts the police no one takes him too seriously but things soon change and Eddie is brought in to help on the case.

There is a great build up throughout the book, each crime leaving you thinking what could possibly happen next.

Catherine Douglas has faith in Eddie and you can see from the start something is likely to happen between them. I wasn’t a fan of this I must admit but the way the author used this relationship throughout the book worked and led to some great reading towards the end of the book. I guess with the dark tone of the book I wasn’t prepared for a bit of love to be thrown in there. Nevertheless it made for a very good, fast paced read

I mainly read historical, syfy or fantasy works but I’m starting to find out there are some very good crime fiction books out there.. I’ve just never known.. and I’d definitely say this is one of the good ones.

My one other word of caution is that some of the slang used can be a little hard to understand. The author does provide a glossary at the end of the book but is does interrupt the flow of the story if you don’t understand what a word means and have to look it up.

The aspect of the book changes throughout, which gives you great insight to the person committing the crimes. Put this together with one hell of an ending and you’ve got a great story in my book

To sum up, Blue Wicked has a lot to offer. The darkness of the murders & the anger brought on by the police who won’t listen made this a book that’s hard to put down.

I see the author has a previous book out so I’ll be adding this to my TBR pile

To find out more head to Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com or Goodreads.