Things Can Only Get Better - David M. Barnett

Following on from his best seller CALLING MAJOR TOM, David M. Barnett is back with a new novel set in the mid 1990s.

Our lead protagonist is Arthur Calderbank, an elderly widow who is not living in a chapel that overlooks the cemetery where his deceased wife, Mollie lays now.

Arthur is the custodian of the cemetery, keeping gravestones clean and making sure the proper respect is paid by those who visit and those merely passing through. In his elderly years, life has one more surprise for Arthur. It is Christmas time and his wife's birthday is December 23rd, every night of her birthday an unknown person leaves moonflowers on her gravestone.  Arthur is perplexed as he has no idea who it could be as they had no children and no living family members.

Meanwhile, Arthur encounters four teenagers - Kelly, Gemma, Nicola and Timmy - who through will and determination believe they can be a rock and roll band reminiscent of Oasis and other Britpop bands of that esteemed era of popular music.

Tension ensues as the days wind down to the night flower mystery, the children have their own bad luck to contend with as bullies from all sides make themselves known.  All the children have dreams but living in a former mining town, their parents are out of work and looking to blame someone for it; they feel they have to dream to be able to leave the town, Kelly visits along with her mother to her factory job and has this vision of being the unlikely sprocket, the cog that is not wanted but can still get out of the system.

Barnett writes wittingly and lovingly, he is assured in writing genuine dialogue for both teenagers and the elderly getting the write back and forth between all generations spot on, which is difficult in these times nevermind trying to time capsule how people actually did speak, one teenage girl constantly says, 'He is well fit' which memory serves as a correct term of endearment over twenty years ago.

The author is a self-confessed cinema geek and his filmic references are great to spot throughout the novel from the little nod to a pharmacist recalling Its A Wonderful Life to the British cinema mining town Brassed Off to the youngsters wanting to make something of themselves a la Sing Street.

He also does a clever trick of talking about today by looking into recent history - the ground swell of opinion on immigration, entitlement of youth - and the past being lost to newer generations. Barnett makes a comment that we should all remain strong as a community of support and respect.

Barnett writes so well that this reader devoured the book in merely a couple of days, his recall and use of historical events help set in stone an entertaining piece of work that will be enjoyed with relish by many a new reader.

Things Can Only Get Better is published by Orion Books on November 14th.

My thanks to them for the review opportunity

Endgame by Daniel Cole

The third Ragdoll book, Endgame, by Daniel Cole is published on Thursday 5th September

William 'Wolf' Fawkes returns following a brief absence from the majority of Hangman; to be the main driving force of the narrative.  Fawkes returns following the suicide of former colleague, Finlay Shaw; something does not add up though for Wolf who believes there is more than meets the eye in regards to the suspected suicide.

With his former partner, Emily Baxter and private detective Edmunds; Wolf attempts to solve the case in a race against time as he puts his career on the line while not everyone in the Met wants him back to begin with.

Cole does a clever narrative trick of showing the investigation into the suicide along with a flashback narrative of Finlay along with his then partner Christian in the late 1970s, when they made a name for themselves in drug busts and yet became the target of gangs who seeked retribution.

Once the narrative gets going in the 70s narrative in terms of Finlay and Christian dicing with death and establishing the relationships Finlay's suicide leaves in limbo, then the present day narrative takes off especially when Wolf and Baxter must address his leaving the end of Book 1, Ragdoll.

Daniel Cole, author of Endgame.

Cole has created in Baxter a unique female protagonist - fierce yet vulnerable, stubborn but knee-jerk - and the chemistry with Wolf who is a cantankerous soul brings the emotions to the fore for all.  In this novel, Wolf is merely a tool for psychological insight into the waste he left behind, his reappearance granting people a chance to vent and rage against his cynicism and selfishness.

What sets this book apart from the other novels of the trilogy - whereas the opener was a true original concept and plot; the sequel was an action packed female fronted thriller; Endgame is a book less about the end result but how you get there, a tale about camaraderie and fraternity within the police force - the bond forged between the boys (and girls) in blue and the ties that bind them to each other.

While the title may have a sense of finality to it all, hopefully that is not the case and the characters such as Wolf and Baxter can continue to work together and we be able to join them on the ride.

Endgame is out from Orion Books on 5th September.
I am appearing on the Compulsive Readers Blog Tour on 6th September

My thanks to Tracy Fenton for the opportunity to review.

Ben Kane 'Clash of Empires'

This is the first book in a new series by historical fiction author Ben Kane.

The historical details, which you can find at the end of the book in the Author's Note, concerning this wonderful story are very well researched and documented, and these details are superbly implemented within this great historical tale.

At the beginning of the book you'll notice two well-drawn maps of the Kingdom of Macedon and of Asia Minor and the Propontis, both in 202 BC, and besides that there's a short note from the author himself about the two maps at the end papers of the book, front Latin and back Greek.

The book starts with a very interesting prologue situated in the year 215 BC, before the book, which is divided into 4 parts, begins to flourish into a magnificent story that starts in the year 202 BC and will end in the year 198 BC.

Parts 1 and 2 are divided into 4 main streams; the first one being King Philip V of Macedon, who's trying to emulate his forebears King Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, by recapturing all of Greece and beyond; the second being Demetrios, after having been a rower in the army of King Philip is now due to a lucky encounter with Simonides a phalangist in that same Macedonian army; the third being Senator Flamininus, who's doing all he can to become Consul and win glory for himself by defeating Philip and the Macedonians; and finally fourth the brothers Felix and Antonius, who after having defeated the Carthaginians at Zama are dishonourably discharged after falling asleep on sentry duty, and now they've enlisted themselves with the Legions who will invade Greece and will be fighting the Macedonians.

In parts 3 and 4 we find King Philip V of Macedon and his Macedonians, with Demetrios in their midst, in war in Greece against the Roman legions, lead by Consul Flamininus, and with Felix and Antonius in their midst, where battles will be fought to the death, causing lots of casualties.

Kane, much like his peers Simon Scarrow and Bernard Cornwell, is able to structure a well told tale with characters you can sympathise for with dialogue that rips along as well as painting a great picture of a changing world.

Clash of Empires is out in paperback from Orion Books.

My thanks to Compulsive Readers book blog for the review copy.

For The Missing - Lina Bengtsdotter

It seems that Nordic noir is not going away, from the high point times of the The Girl trilogy by Steig Larsson to the Wallander novels; noir from Scandinavia is in vogue and not retreating to the shadows.

The debut novel by Bengtsdotter, is one of those novels that takes a while to get its claws into you, and once it does, it refuses to let go.

Nordic noir follows a template of a structure familiar to crime readers old and new; a young detective fighting her own demons must go back to her hometown following a long absence as a new case opens up old wounds for not just our protagonist but the family and friends she left behind for the bright lights of a big city.

This familiar tale of redemption to overcome a failing is well handled. DI Charlie Lager, is a detective with an affliction for alcohol, but the type of drinking where she drinks to an oblivion yet she wakes up for work with no problem; her peers know of her vices and dance around the issue as she is good at her job.

A missing child in her hometown leads Charlie to head north away from Stockholm, at odds with her partner and at odds with the town she returns to; nevertheless Charlie must find the missing Annabelle before it is too late.

And yet it is not Annabelle she is really looking for, Charlie is really looking for herself and this journey home helps her. Good writing is not just by the numbers of thriller and crime tropes, Bengtsdotter navigates a gripping tale of kidnapping, infidelity and violence against women with assuredness.

For The Missing is out now from Orion Publishing on all formats.