Natalie Marlow Interview - Needless Alley

Natalie Marlow's debut novel NEEDLESS ALLEY is one of the first whetting of one's appetite of 2023, a fresh voice from a bygone age as her story set around a private detective in Birmingham during the 1930s is a engaging and enjoyable historical fiction novel. It is both tantalising to see where the series will go and how her lead character William Garrett will develop over the forthcoming years in partnership with Baskerville Press

Read my review of Needless Alley here, and below is an exclusive interview with the author ahead of the novel's publication on Thursday 19th January 

Interview with Natalie Marlow

 

·        What was the genesis of William Garrett?

This is such a good question. I wrote Needless Alley following Raymond Chandler’s rules in The Simple Art of Murder. For Chandler, the detective must be a ‘complete man and a common man and yet an unusual man. He must me, to use a weathered phrase, a man of honor – by instinct, by inevitability, without thought of it, and certainly without saying it.’ This was my starting point. However, William was the culmination of a lifetime of reading classic crime fiction.

 

·        Where do you live? Has this impacted your writing?

I live in the Midlands, near Coventry. I’ve lived here all my life, apart from my time at university. And, yes, the landscape, history and people of the Midlands has impacted my writing to an extent I doubt I could write about anywhere else.

 

·        Where did the idea to incorporate this Peaky Blinders world with a detective come from?

The whole Peaky Blinders thing was just an accident! I’ve only watched the first series, and I decided not to watch any more as I didn’t want it to influence my writing. Queenie, who is the most ‘Peaky’ of all the characters, is very loosely based on a relative. My great grandma was a canal boatwoman and ran the illegal bookmaking in her area of Coventry in the 1920s and 1930s.

 

·       What are your influences upon this book?

My main influences are the books and films of the 1930s and 1940s. I’ve read a lot of Graham Greene. He called his thrillers his ‘entertainments’ and both Brighton Rock and A Gun for Sale are important influences on Needless Alley. I’ve also read a lot of Hammett, Cain, and the female noir writers, particularly Vera Caspary and Dorothy B Hughes. However, my biggest influence is Raymond Chandler. I adore Chandler.

 

·        We started corresponding due to a love of film and pre-WW2 Hollywood stars – what are your favourites?

This is such a tough question, Jamie! I’ll stick with pre 1939 films just to thin the herd. I love The Thin Man series; It Happened One Night; Top Hat and The Gay Divorcee; The Old Dark House; The Lady Vanishes; The Maltese Falcon; Mr Smith Goes to Washington; Bringing up Baby; The 39 Steps; Dames; Gold Diggers of 1933; The Women; Scarface…I could go on!

Favourite pre war film stars? I adore Myrna Loy, Jean Arthur, Barbara Stanwyck, Joan Blondell, William Powell, Dick Powell, Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart and, of course, James Stewart.

 

·        What are you currently reading?

I’m writing right now, so I find it difficult to read. However, I’m listening to a lot of Golden Age detective fiction on Audible. I like the British Library Crime Classics.

 

·        What are you currently bingeing on TV?

I’ve just finished watching Slow Horses on Apple and loved it. Have you seen The English on BBC IPlayer? I love big sweeping narratives and this one was a doozy. Highly recommended.

 

·        What advice would you have for would be authors who think it is too late to write?

I honestly thing maturity is an advantage. I don’t think I would’ve had the patience, or time, in my twenties to write Needless Alley. My advice to any writer is to sit down and write a few hundred words a day. Don’t get het up about other people’s word counts or processes. Write your way but just write.

 

·        How good is your relationship with Baskerville?

Baskerville have been wonderful. They’ve really guided me through the process of being a debut and have been very supportive of my writing. I’ve been overwhelmed by their support.

 

·        What are your hopes for Needless Alley?

Honestly, I’d love for someone to read Needless Alley and love it the way I love my favourite books. We’ll see!

Needless Alley is out on 19th January from Baskerville (Hachette) in all formats

You can follow Natalie on Twitter @NatalieMarlow2

Blood Ties - Brian McGilloway

 

New book in Ben Devlin series by Brian McGilloway

Brian McGilloway won huge acclaim last year with the brilliant novel THE LAST CROSSING, before that he wrote a series of books featuring Ben Devlin a maverick of sorts in the police force near the borderlands of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland with all the political ramifications that go with the character's proximity.

The Last Crossing was a standalone novel and a mediation on the coping of grief when one event can haunt you but also set you on a path in your life with no looking back.

On more familiar ground with a returning lead protagonist, Devlin is investigating a case that also looks back at the past and how it can have such a grip on people. 

'How can a dead woman avenge herself on her killer twenty years after her murder?'

That is the question posed to Devlin as he investigates a murdered body in a bedsit, a chill washes over him when the identity of the victim is Brooklyn Harris. Devlin knew of the case when Harris was convicted of murdering one Hannah Row on a night out which included sexual assault of the young victim on that occasion. As a minor, Harris was granted a new name when released from prison and yet his passing throws light on the question of how to grief for any victim, irrespective of the nefarious nature of the person involved.

As Devlin attempts to investigate he finds obstacles by people and colleagues who feel that particular victim - Harris - should be buried as quickly as possible in essence good riddance to bad criminals. 

McGilloway crafts a novel full of intrigue and compulsion, touching on religion, the pressure on the youth from peers, vigilant justice against sexual assaulters in the social media age and Devlin having to cope with the impending Covid-19 pandemic upon his loved ones especially his ailing father who he removes from a care home and takes in to be near him.

The swiftness with which McGilloway can go from one narrative thread to another so neatly and succinctly is a skill that familiar readers will be aware of but new readers will greatly appreciate.

A writer of real intelligence has again created a work of fiction that is both real and emotive basing it within a very familiar world as the fear of a pandemic takes over, but a gripping and entertaining crime read of real nous and skill

Blood Ties is available now on all formats.

My thanks to DHH Literary Agency for the review opportunity.

Condemned - RC Bridgestock

 

New book in the DI Charley Mann series by respected Yorkshire based duo Bob and Carol Bridgestock

RC Bridgestock is the pseudonym or pen name for the combination of married couple Robert and Carol Bridgestock who together have nearly 50 years of experience working in the West Yorkshire Police service.

They first made their name as consultants on the popular television series Happy Valley which was broadcast on the BBC and starred Sarah Lancashire. From there they have written several standalone books such as the thrilling Reprobates and yet in 2020 they gained creditable traction with the publication of Payback, the first to feature feisty female DI Charley Mann - a woman whose ferocious appetitie for justice is a match for any person in the police force.

Payback was a thrilling read which featured Mann returning to her home near Huddersfield, this reverse fish out of water narrative with Charley returning home after a long stint in the Metropolitan force was both refreshing and gripped the ready from the first page.

In Condemned we find Charley again having to cope with a very cold case as it is January and a body has been found on a building site set for demolition. The forensics find two bodies, apart from each other one fresher than the other but the case throws in questions of legacy and land ownership in these still remote parts of our green and pleasant land.

Charley must contend against many hard-nosed egotistical males from the land developer where the bodies are found, to a young police officer who has a gambling problem affecting his work. These are expected in the still male dominated industry, yet it is the relationship with an elderly women that holds the key to the proceedings of the case and the spectre of ancestral family trees.

The air of suffocating oppression in the Yorkshire dales along with the incoming threat of Covid-19 that underlies the narrative is well done by the writing partnership. Personally though it does not reach the heights of the first novel - a common problem in new series as contemporaries Marion Todd and MJ Lee can attest to - yet those writers grew with each book in the series.

The wealth of experience at the disposal of Bridgestock is unparalleled yet in this instance the narrative did not hold the attention of this writer, yet it remains a solid piece of work in the crime genre. This reader looks forward to the next in the series.

CONDEMNED is out now from Canelo Press 

What They Knew - Marion Todd

 

Fourth instalment of DI Clare Mackay series from Scottish based novelist Marion Todd via Canelo Crime.

Over the last two years of reviewing I have been fortunate to fall into via the NetGalley website the opportunity to review crime thrillers, one of my favourite genres. When liking publishers, you get familiar with a publishers writers and genres in terms of conventions and trends. This reader particularly likes MJ Lee and his Manchester noir novels, while also falling for the work of Marion Todd and her DI Clare Mackay series. It is the fourth book of the series, but Todd is not slowing down.

It is Hogmanay, Clare Mackay is set to return to work at her St. Andrews constabulary following the Christmas festivities, yet her return to work normality is ruptured by the death of a woman at her home alone with no signs of breaking in, instead she has been strangled and left for dead in her bathtub.

After initial enquiries, investigations lead to the discovery of another body in the Kinness Burn, this linkage of water in the killings leads Mackay and her partner Chris (engaged to Sara) to believe a serial killer is on the loose in the fair city.

What this reader likes in particular about Todd's writing is that the author clearly loves her main character, some writers can get a bit resentful of a famous character, yet Todd loves to spend time with her protagonist and her friends. The banter or dialogue between Clare and Chris is so winning, the slight joshing of Chris' new teeth whitening experience and the camaraderie in her workforce springs off the page. We are so familiar of television depictions of maverick cops and rogue policemen, it is always refreshing to see a positive workplace environment, a trait she shares with MJ Lee.

  

The plotting within this novel is sprightly, light and clever in its deliberate pacing - she allows Mackay moments of levity and time to herself in the pursuit of love and even the opportunity of a haircut, time to herself despite working fourteen straight days in pursuit of the killer.

Personally, I feared that Todd may have run out of steam and this book took a while to get going but once the second body is found in the burn, this novel took off and as per her first three novels it was devoured in three sittings over my own Hogmanay celebrations.

What They Knew is published from Canelo on 11th February 2021 on all formats 

Paper Soldiers

The streets of Greater Manchester are awash with drugs and weapons, and the gangs that control this multi-million pound business will stop at nothing to protect and grow their business. The Dolsen family are one such gang.

When the head of a rival Yardie gang is found brutally murdered, revenge attacks were always likely to follow, and gang members were unlikely to be the only ones hurt.

DCI Priest teams up with the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA); but they soon admit to conflicting objectives which may unravel their alliance, and prove to it be more of a hindrance than a help.

Was DCI Priest was about to undertake his most challenging investigation to date?

Pettinger has written a fast paced thriller which takes care to show the inner workings of a gang in the Greater Manchester area. 

Showing both sides of the story from both DCI Priest and the gang via an undercover agent.

The book was packed with action and there was plenty of content, and the book features one of the most gruesome death scenes committed to literature, there was a moment when you think they will escape the claws of their captors but when that moment hits it is like a 10 ton lorry hitting you at once.

A good sign of any crime series is that the main character does not have to carry the narrative fully, he can sometimes regress to the background and let someone else to the fore as happens here.

While I have not read any of the previous Priest novels, the requirement of previous knowledge was not necessary to enjoy this work.

PAPER SOLDIERS is out now in all formats.

My thanks to damppebbles blog tour for the opportunity

Perdition's Child - Anne Coates

Fourth book in Hannah Weybridge series by Anne Coates from Urbane Publications

Since I started writing book review blogs a few years ago, I happened upon a writer called David Barker who wrote a sterling action thriller Blue Gold about the threat of water having wars fought over it.

Barker has since written three books featuring his protagonist, Sim Atkins, but the book read with such a zip full of vigour, great set pieces, easy to follow narratives and page turning pleasure.

Published by Urbane Publications, a small independent publisher that brings diverse voices to an eager audience. That word eager is key to their Twitter bio, a word that breeds enthusiasm and joy in writing and that is systemic in the work of Barker.

This reviewer is pleased to report that the book reviewing today, Perdition's Child by Anne Coates, repeats much of the same Urbane DNA - a different sort of book, a pacy thriller that was gorged in one day of reading over a long Bank Holiday weekend.

Anne Coates - Author of Hannah Weybridge series

Hannah Weybridge, is a freelance journalist, who seeks for the truth. This is the fourth book in the series, previously Hannah has combated crime against sex workers while trying to raise a young child without a father figure.

We find her on holiday with a new beau, the abrupt parting at the airport leads to her returning to work and walking into a string of strange murders connected by the link that they are all Australian citizens, back in the UK looking for the truth of their heritage and lineage.

Weybridge finds herself embroiled in the mystery of odd deaths, a bag lady taking over her deceased brother's residence thanks to the help of a lofty QC acquaintance, a gentleman who appears at inopportune times and the relationship between orphanages and religious bodies.

Coates writes with a whip-crack narrative, dialogue flies off the page providing characterisation, exposition and structure in multitude that is both pleasing and effective.  This effortless style of plotting and character helped this reader entering a four-book strong universe which is always the key to a good writer of crime fiction - being able to create a universe where someone can enter without feeling like a stranger.

The placing of the narrative in 1994 before the advent of global media taking ahold of all people helps - a world where people would be somewhere when they said, papers were trusted before becoming gossip-mongers - giving an unlikely nostalgic spin on matters.

If you like this work, go seek out the David Barker books and also Simon Michael's Charles Holborn series about a barrister in the 1960s in the shadow of the Kray twins hold over London.

Perdition's Child is out now from Urbane Publications.
My thanks to them for the review opportunity

The Last Crossing - Brian McGilloway

The new novel by New York Times Bestselling author, Brian McGilloway, THE LAST CROSSING is out in April 2020 from Dome Press.

It is always fascinating how writers totally miss your radar, perhaps it is the region you live in, maybe you only like crime and legal thrillers so if someone likes only Jojo Moyes or Mike Gayle they may never have picked up a John Grisham or Lee Child.

Being a book blog reviewer and living part-time on book-Twitter (does Twitter have a PO Box for my postage), you see threads and trends quicker than you would if you relied upon magazines or book clubs as you may have done 20 years previously.  The growth of book reading has increased by the advent of kindles and other reading devices being available. As a reader, I give myself a challenge of percentage now, minimum 10% a sitting, a winning book is one that makes me forget about those short-term goals and next thing you know a quarter of the book has been consumed.

By making contacts on book twitter you get links and emails a plenty, one such piece of luck was this title THE LAST CROSSING being extended to me by Dome Press. As a well read person, I have never heard of McGilloway and upon research the reason is that he is from Ireland. A fine country with a distinctive history of crime and thriller writing, but his name is not one familiar to English writers, despite him being the author of ten novels to date, this is his first standalone novel following the DS Lucy Black thrillers and Inspector Devlin mysteries.

Brian McGilloway - Author of The Last Crossing

Personally, though this is a great book. This reader consumed this book in approximately three sittings, the writer creating a simple story with the now familiar two parallel storylines taking place thirty years apart featuring the same set of characters as a big decision.

Set in Northern Ireland, but with the majority of action being focused to a forest in remote Scotland, McGilloway takes the story of four individuals drawn together by the troubles in Derry and how they can be resolved. Sometimes the truth cannot be buried for long; and it stays with you as McGilloway attests to in this episode of The Essay on BBC Radio 3.

Tony, Hugh and Karen thought they had seen the last of each other thirty years previously, yet the past comes back to haunt them again. So on another journey together to lay ghosts to rest, the three come to terms with their actions from before and learn a bit more about themselves and each other.

The internal journey Tony must travel is a well told one, yet McGilloway has crafted a tale built around the central theme of cliché - ghosts from the past, regret of actions, loss and the impact of memory - yet a tale that is unlike anything digested before.

The Last Crossing is quite simply a brilliant piece of fiction, which is both gripping and riveting in equal measure.  The story is so economical you forget how much detail he weaves into each page making the narrative zip along at a pace that is at times breakneck and necessary.

Cannot recommend this novel highly enough.

The Last Crossing is out from Dome Press on April 2nd 2020.

My thanks to Dome Press for the review opportunity.

Where The Dead Fall

MJ Lee's second DI Ridpath novel WHERE THE DEAD FALL is out from Canelo in April 2019

This exciting new novel is in keeping with a renaissance of British crime writing which had laid dormant following the unprecedented success of Inspector Rebus. Whereas, those memorable series of books by Ian Rankin where driven by the lead character at the helm; the resurgence spearheaded by A.A. Dhand and Joseph Knox has seen characters from different backgrounds come front and centre yet these men have been grafted from the landscape they reside in.

Away from the metropolitan mess of London; these novels are showing us a sign of Britain in dire straits - in Leeds and Manchester, crime is just as rampant and they need policemen to be the law.  The men though have their own demons to combat; whilst Rebus saw solace at the bottom of the bottle, Harry Virdek in Leeds most combat racial prejudice and Aidan Watts (Knox) in Manchester must overcome his drug affliction.

DI Ridpath in Manchester is no different, a long serving detective who has to overcome personal struggle and the pull of wanting to see his growing daughter more which is putting a strain on his married life.  Ridpath must overcome the cancer scare he suffered in the first novel, and we see him returning home.

At the start of Where The Dead Fall, we encounter Ridpath travelling back to Manchester from a rehab centre looking forward to seeing his family; travelling on the rush hour roads on the same night as a Manchester United match and stuck in traffic, he sees a near-naked man running across the carriageway running away from something. Ridpath sees a shooter tailing the man, or did he, and in an instant a life is crushed and Ridpath is slap bang in the middle of it all, when he just wants a quiet road back to balance.

Lee has woven a gripping rip-roaring novel that was devoured by this reader in four large chunks - characters are rendered efficiently and the everyman Ridpath is a sympathetic character to get behind.  Featuring a unique forensic pathologist who is a growing child in adult form; gang warfare and daily traffic gridlock this is a tale of our time - frustration for many with paperwork being tied up and the grind of office politics.

Lee crafts a picture of Manchester much like Lowry one of dourness, rain, darkness and yet one full of life and character with football very much (sometimes) the centre of the universe.  This may only be the second of the series but I cannot wait to read more of him in the future.

Grab this book for your holiday read or just a page turner to get away from the April showers.

Where The Dead Fall is out now from Canelo.

MJ Lee can be followed on Twitter @WriterMJLee

My thanks to Tracy Fenton for the review copy and opportunity to be on the Blog Tour

Tainted Love by TS Hunter

Tainted Love by T.S. Hunter is out now from Red Dog Press and is a new addition from an up and coming independent publisher.

Set in the mid-1980s, it follows the tale of young Joe; a young homosexual who has come to the big city to meet his friend Chris who has offered him a job and a pathway to come out to the world in these difficult socio-cultural times when homosexuality is still frowned upon.

We meet Joe at a gay club, dancing and having fun. Chris is with him and whilst going to the bathroom, he sees Chris in an altercation. Joe shies away, even when Chris tells him he has to leave. Very later that night/early morning, Joe returns to Chris' flat where he is staying over and finds Chris' body in the hallway beaten and bloodied, dead at the scene.

Joe connects with Chris' room-mate, Russell an ex-police officer - unceremoniously removed from the force after a bust exposed his own homosexuality - and they decide to solve the case of Chris' killer by doing the leg work around Soho themselves; as the prejudiced police see Chris' murder as another rent boy murder gone wrong.

The book is only 125 pages long, but it is written in a real whirling wind of detail and breeziness by Hunter. This promises to be a serious of Soho Noir as he has christened it; perhaps Russell and Joe will be the 'Cagney and Lacey' of the coming years in publication circles.  However, there is a lot to be said for this type of novel - short, sharp, easy to follow with convincing characters in a nostalgic age which is easy to place in a time and place as the AIDS epidemic starts to take hold.

Hunter has expertly crafted a group of characters you would like to return to again and again. The fact that it involves gay characters is neither here nor there, this is a story well told and gratefully received.

Tainted Love is out from Red Dog Press on April 18th, I shall be appearing in the book blog tour on April 15th.

An Unwanted Guest

Shari Lapena returns with her third novel, An Unwanted Guest, following the unprecedented success of The Couple Next Door and A Stranger in the House.

Lapena has taken an Agatha Christie template and weaved a fast paced thriller that this reader read in less than two days when on holiday.

On a cold wintry weekend in upstate New York, strangers from varying backgrounds all descend upon the Mitchell's Inn - a remote lodge where there is not great phone signal nor wi-fi.  The blizzard like conditions have led to an understaffed hotel being manned by the father and son team of James and Bradley.

From the get go, it seems a lot of people are keeping cards very close to their chest; the Christie like method of taking six to ten strangers put them in an uncomfortable situation and then let murder commence leads to the thriller taking shape before our eyes as one body appears after another in the polite atmosphere.

Lapena has crafted a winning formula perfect for these times; a thriller centred upon a mad cap 48 hours in the wilderness with the harsh reality of nature having a debilitating effect on proceedings leaving people reliant upon their wits and survival streak.  Characters are dependent upon being able to connect with the outside world, yet they have tried to escape the rat race for various reasons.

These same characters are knee-jerk in their reactions and behaviour, jumping to conclusions from the defence attorney David who was arrested for murdering his wife to Candice who may or may not be writing a real fiction novel on crime.

Lapena writes with such relish the scenes of people talking in confined spaces that once the body counts starts to add up, other writers may have got lost amongst her character's own hysteria, yet Lapena never deviates from the narrative rounding things of with a denouement that is both satisfying and startling.

Some critics may suggest that the ending comes too soon, yet in these hysterical times of constant moral panics; Lapena has been deliberate in treating the characters with respect instead of mere cadavers.

An Unwanted Guest is out in Hardback from 26th July from Bantam Press.

My thanks to Transworld Publishers for the review copy.

Eyes Turned Skywards

New novel by Ken Lussey, focuses on rumours surrounding a number of real-life events including the death of the Duke of Kent in the summer of 1942 during the Second World War.

Wing Commander Robert (Bob) Sutherland used to be a detective before the War began, he thought those days were behind him, he was wrong.

On 25th August 1942, the Duke of Kent, brother to King George VI is killed in Northern Scotland in an unexplained air crash. A second crash soon after suggests sinister details may be afoot. Sutherland is tasked with visiting the base in Oban and the first crash site in Caithness to gather clues and rule out the threat of sabotage.

Reflecting on a country that is not as united as Winston Churchill nor history would have us believe, and with the kingdom recovering from the bombardment of the blitz, we follow Bob as he unravels lies and deceit from corners of the nation he did not expect.

There is a lovely economy to the writing of Lussey in the growth of Sutherland as a character and how the narrative progresses as he attempts to uncover the truth of the Duke's crash.  Lussey weaves a winning formula of transplanting a detective storyline into the wartime narrative, Sutherland is smart enough to be one step ahead of people and yet stay cool under pressure of which there is many.

Lussey writes with a real efficiency and the dialogue is indicative of putting fictional stories into a historical narrative; a lot of dialogue is exposition so we learn about various medals awarded to Sutherland and the different type of aircraft but it serves as important in the grander scheme of things.

Sutherland has an everyman quality that resonates throughout the book and makes you want to know what is going to happen to him during the remainder of the war time years as well as beyond once he returns to Edinburgh - the possibility of stories from Sutherland's pre-war days in the police force is both enticing.

As an introduction to a new charming character, Eyes Turned Skywards is enlightening and full of enterprise both gripping in its thriller form and wartime context.

Eyes Turned Skywards is released from Fledgling Press on Thursday 28th June

Corrupted by Simon Michael

Published by Urbane Publications on Paperback on 21st June, Corrupted is the fourth book in the Charles Holborne series

Having never known of the Charles Holborne series you fear that you may be late to the party, much like the swinging dance parties and afternoon teas that take place at the Ritz in 1964, the year in which the latest Simon Michael novel is set.

There is no fear of that though, Michael has been lucky enough to create a central protagonist in the same vein as Jack Reacher; a likeable everyman who is one step ahead of most people, but one who is not afraid to throw punches (literally) nor get his hands dirty in the eternal pursuit of justice and truth.

Charles Holborne (or Horowitz - to show his birth name, and the still relevant anti-Semitism taking place in London), is 39 a Barrister working in Chambers at the Temple and the Old Bailey, he presides over a variety of cases - yet he himself has a criminal past which will not let go of him. He is well liked by his peers, colleagues and his unwillingness to fall in line with the old boy network does ruffle feathers, he nevertheless gets results.

The book is set in a hot summer of 1964, a year where the Beatles are returning home from conquering America, Sonny Liston just lost to Cassius Clay and the beginnings of the sexual revolution are slowly fermenting around the swinging London scene.  We first encounter Charles at home with his partner Sally, having recently moved in to a new house in North London; even Charles moans about the commute to work.

Upon his desk though comes a case involving his old nemesis, the Krays twins; the legendary Ronnie and Reggie whose criminal underworld dealings were known and held a vice like grip over London's night life.  The Krays are at war with the Mafiosa, and this leads to a footsoldier Mo Drake being murdered at his home supposedly by the Italians in revenge; yet there is more to the case than meets the eye.

It had long been rumoured for some time that Reggie Kray was homosexual and he was played as such by Tom Hardy in Legend as such; and yet the narrative revolves around a scandalous sex party that takes place at one of Reggie's residencies in Walthamstow, where all manner of high profile dignatries and cabinet members including Lord Robert Boothby attended indulging in fornication and sexual conquests.  In the narrative, a runaway boy Teddy is taken in by Mo and attends the party leading to Mo's death later that same night.

Charles takes on the case to clear the boy whom has been arrested for Mo's murder; yet Charles also has problems at home with Sally (who sadly vacates the scene somewhat abruptly) as Charles will not relent on his dream of fighting in the boxing ring one last time before his fortieth birthday, following a successful amateur career.   Charles goes for long runs on Saturday mornings and sometime evenings, which allows the author to write fondly of London before overpopulation took hold.

Even the premise of placing historical figures such as the Kray twins and all the mythos and legend they carry with them does not restrict nor overawe the character development of Charles Holborne, our protagonist remains front and center and the heart and soul of the book; you never feel your allegiance being swayed by the celebrity gangsters who themselves are written with great clarity and care by Michael, not becoming these overbearing larger than life figures, merely important people doing their job like anyone else.

Author Simon Michael

That is the beauty of this book, for all the gripping thriller elements and the page-turning quality of the narrative that rips along as quickly as that of Child or Grisham; Michael has gone to great lengths to paint a vivid picture of London at that time, as if it was the centre of the world - the glamour of the Ritz, to the stuffy tradition of the Old Bailey.

There is a vibrancy in the writing from the back and forth dialogue from each colourful character Charles meets to the vigour of the scene-setting of nightclubs and bagel shops, you feel a part of the story - something that this reader has not felt for quite sometime.

And with the protagonist Charles, Michael has created an anti-hero who is very much of his time - a chameleon like individual who is changing with the times much like his own city and world is in flux itself in terms of the rise of sexual freedom, feminism with Charles embodying the new breed of outsider and non-public schoolboy combating prejudices daily in his professional career; something the author had to confront during his career as a barrister.

As mentioned, the books 420 pages rips along at quite a clip that you will would be wanting more and with there still six years left in the 1960s for Charles to indulge in, it promises for more yarns for Michael to tell.  This reader for one will be looking back at the three previous installments of the series and looks forward with relish to the rest.

Corrupted by Simon Michael is released by Urbane Publications on 21st June.

In The Wake - Helen Treverrow

Helen Treverrow's debut novel is released from Urbane Publications on 28th June

When a body is found floating in London's Royal Albert Dock, public relations expert Kay Christie is sent to quiet the media, but things become complicated when it emerges she knows the victim.

Centered around the Excel center in London, a major exhibition is overshadowed by this body being found.  A convoluted narrative structure involving Kay's father who works at the exhibition hall, and the tightly knit support network around her starts to unravel as secrets much like the body rise to the surface.

Opening with the disappearance of a French nurse from her London hospital around Christmas time - the imagery Trevorrow evokes the harshness and cold of the London winter is depicted succinctly, showing the combination of how lonely the big city can be when you are questioning your own decisions in life.

Kay is in her 40s, gay and partnered with Julia, a woman who is enjoying an Indian summer with high-profile media commitments; and yet Kay is not happy. Kay drinks regularly, she is in love with her job but not in love with her routine. The introduction of a female police officer, Polly - younger and vital stirs some lustful yearnings within her which has been absent for sometime.

This melodramatic shift to a women's narrative in unison with the crime story is a risky venture, and on occasion the crime story struggles to be heard beside the Sapphic storyline; at times this reader felt that the love scenes were overpowering the actual crime story narrative and the interest in the case being solved.  Kay is an intelligent, successful woman and yet her life is full of quandry with Treverrow delicately explaining her psyche following a sexual assault from years past; which is told to us in flashback.

Rose Gold Interview with David Barker

David Barker returns with the sequel to his hit novel, Blue Gold, featuring the returning characters of Sim Atkins. This is Rose Gold, I had the pleasure of being to ask Mr. Barker some questions for the #blogtour of Rose Gold.

You have come to writing later in your life, how did this come about?

I’ve always enjoyed writing, even while I was working as an economist. It’s a challenge to convey complex information in a fashion that is succinct, easy to understand and interesting. I had thought about a change in career towards financial journalism but more recently decided that I wanted to stretch myself and try my hand at creative writing.

What was the gestation of Blue Gold and Sim Atkins?

In my previous role I did a lot of research into commodity markets, and one recurring theme was the notion that fresh water would become a precious resource over the next 20 years. I realised that a world war for water would be a great setting for a novel and suddenly I knew what the opening and closing scenes would be for a story.

How long did the first book take to complete, how many drafts?

From that very first idea to the published book hitting shelves, it was about seven years. Talking to other authors I have come to realise this is not uncommon for first novels, especially because most of us write our debuts while working full time. And I think it was the ninth draft that went to print. The biggest changes happened between drafts one and two, which occurred after I had attended the Faber Academy novel-writing course.

What is your normal working day like, do you have a daily word target?

There are certain times of the year when I am just trying to think of new ideas for sticking points in the current project or for completely new future projects. At other times, I am focusing on the promotional side of things. But when I am in first-draft mode, then yes, I try to aim for 2000 words a day. I often get that done by lunchtime (I’m an early riser), so will tend to spend the afternoon reading novels. As Stephen King says, an author should split their time evenly between reading and writing.

What did you like to read growing up, there is a lot of Fleming in your work?

Funnily enough, I did not read a lot of his novels. I loved Douglas Adams, both his Hitch Hiker books and the Dirk Gently series. I read quite a bit of fantasy: Stephen Donaldson and, of course, Tolkien. And I enjoyed Frederick Forsyth’s global thrillers.

What do you read now?

An eclectic mix. I appear on a monthly Radio Berkshire show called Radio Reads, and we review a new book that can be chosen from any genre. I attend a local book club that focuses on Sci-Fi and Fantasy, so that’s my second book of the month. I normally find time for a third book each month, and that varies a lot. I get invited to quite a few book launches so often pick-up the latest best-seller then, or I’ll try to read something from one of my fellow Urbane authors.

Can you talk about the relationship with Urbane Publications?

They are a fantastic independent publisher with big ambitions. They are very supportive, without being proscriptive about what or how you should tackle your latest project. And one thing that really helps their books stand out is the beautiful design detail (in the physical book). For example, in my latest book Rose Gold, there is a double-page spread at the start of each of the three parts, showing a black background and a moon at a different stage of its cycle. In my first novel, Blue Gold, there were faint water droplets in the background of every page.

You have one more book in the trilogy to write, can you give anything away?

It’s called White Gold, and it should be out in May 2019. Something happens to Sim in Rose Gold that becomes the main driving force of his story arc in the final book (no spoiler alerts). But I also wanted to give more time and space to his old partner, Freda Brightwell, who was a big hit with female readers from book one, so you’ll see a lot more of her. And of course, the baddies are bigger and badder than ever!

What will you write after the trilogy is complete?

I’m not entirely sure yet. I have a couple of ideas that are rattling around inside my brain, but both are completely different to the Gaia trilogy.

Any advice for would be scribes?

Keep going – it’s a long slog to complete a novel, and even once it’s finished it’s a tough road to publication. Don’t be put off by the knock-backs or stumbling points. And don’t forget to write with passion – if you try merely to emulate some book trend that’s currently successful, chances are your own voice will disappear along with the fire inside your belly.

Rose Gold is out from Urbane Publications now on all formats

Hangman

The highly anticipated sequel to Ragdoll by Daniel Cole, has a lot to live up to.  When we finished Ragdoll, the hero Wolf had fled the scene following his colleague Baxter's decision to let him leave the crime scene.  Wolf has gone underground and no-one has seen him, we find Baxter now two years after the end of the Ragdoll murders and the numerous copy cats.  Now there is a new mass murderer who is taking bodies and having them hang from great heights with the word 'BAIT' scored into the torso of the mainly male bodies.

Baxter and her team, including the returning Edmunds have to work with new friends including the ex-pat Rouche, a man born in England but working for the CIA in America who is as disruptive as Wolf was but just as conflicted.

The book has the feel of the writer spreading his wings, but whereas the first book had the social context of fear and panic of unknown attackers on the streets of London, with the media spinning people into a frenzy for their health and safety; this novel though has the feel of being a lost love child of Dan Brown.  Extensive plotting with twists aplenty, by the book characters with little in the way of emotional connection and elaborate set-pieces of action and gore being given precedence over telegraphed dialogue.

This reader feels that following the high-octane, gasping intensity of Ragdoll this is a step backwards although the (very) late introduction of someone means that another book is in the offing and this return to the mean may hopefully incite a return to form.

Cole is a writer who clearly likes to take risks with his writing, compounded intentions and expectations of his readership but for this reader it seems to have come up short to the level of what Ragdoll was, my hope is that the expected third book is a return to that thrilling form.

Hangman is released by Trapeze Books on 22nd March

Last Stop Tokyo - Book review

The debut novel by James Buckler, published by Doubleday Press, follows in the footsteps of other debut novels by bright new voices of British crime fiction, Joseph Knox and Daniel Cole; where you have an unlikeable protagonist who does not fit the mould of crime novels, they are on the peripheries with a dark history looking for a change and seemingly unfamiliar with an ever-changing world they find themselves struggling in.

Buckler's lead is Alex Malloy, an English language teacher in Tokyo, who is running away from a tragic accident in London. From the outset, much is made of Alex's otherness in the Oriental jungle of Japan's capital city, his white skin, fair hair and Peter O'Toole blue eyes set him out from the crowd. However, as much as he tries to avoid trouble, trouble keeps finding Alex from drunken late nights with his friend Hiro, to the illicit relationship with Hiro's sister, Naoko; an affair that could prove deadly.

Buckler paints Tokyo as a city of vice and sin for foreigners, part-time citizens in a twenty four cityscape where they can get away with murder if they so wish.  From geisha girls who are treated like prostitutes, to unseemly businessmen who treat women as objects of lust to drug lords and vengeful work colleagues.

The trouble for Alex leads him to jail where he encounters Jun who cuts him a deal to get out of the predicament but this has a trickle effect on all of his relationships and those people's lives.

Alex is no saint and Buckler paints him as such, the moral fibre of British people has been called into question in novels recently especially the aforementioned Knox's Sirens where the toeing of the line between right and wrong is complexly handled in a nourish fashion involving double crosses, femme fatales and dark urban settings.

If you are seeking one of those fish-out-of-water novels where an Englishman is lost abroad this is not for you, what you have here is an Englishman experiencing the effect of a gradual resentment of the English values from overseas territories, people do not like English but Alex still finds his saviour in an understanding detective Saito who wants to bring down a yakuza king pin and sees Alex as integral to the investigation.

Buckler writes with a real zip and thrust to the proceedings which is useful where the book comes in at under 280 pages, however, there is a real surprise in the ending which turns the point of view of the book to Naoko ending from a surviving female perspective, which is fitting as Naoko, a female character written by a man who is not merely an object of desire but a fully rounded character.

The ending will pack a punch and is quite a brave step for the modern day novel, Buckler has written a standalone novel that is both enticing and yet downbeat which is not surprising given the current uncertain political climate we find as a people find ourselves.

Last Stop Tokyo is released from Doubleday Books on 28th August in Hardback and all e-book formats.

Sirens

Debut novels are all the rage in this the early part of 2017, new crime voices are making big strides and in recent months I have reviewed thrilling bows from A. A. Dhand with Streets of Darkness and the impending arrival of Daniel Cole's Ragdoll.

Whilst Ragdoll is that mixture of genuine thriller writing, good plotting and the page turning abandon you find in Lee Child or Dan Brown novels; there is another new voice on the block. Joseph Knox is here to make himself heard and Lee Child himself, has been most praiseworthy of this debut novel.

Sirens tells the story about DI Aidan Watts, a disgraced policeman in the Manchester Police Force, who whilst on suspension is asked for a special undercover role in finding a politican's daughter's whereabouts; but when Watts gets further into the loyalties of a crime lord he the past becomes murkier and the present day darker.

Knox in an interview with Radio 5 Live's Phil Williams last week said it took him the best part of seven years to finish the novel which prompted a bidding war between 10 publishers, with Doubleday/Transworld Publishers coming out on top.

Knox writes with a real verve and creates a foreboding atmosphere of a darker side of Manchester, much like Dhand did with Leeds and Bradford in his work.  The author has a keen eye on little details which he shares with Watts from the politician not wearing his wedding ring when away from his wife to the way people share looks and talk too loudly at house parties.

In the radio interview, Knox promised another novel starring Watts is in the works.  Whilst the line between good and evil is tread with fear by our protagonists, Knox is not afraid to take you to these places and his admiration for Manchester is clear to see. Should he continue to write with this flair and character, it will not be the last we hear of him.

Sirens is out from on Thursday 12th January from Doubleday Press/Transworld Publishers