Wednesday, 31 March 2021
Your Turn To Suffer by Tim Waggoner
Tuesday, 30 March 2021
The April Dead by Alan Parks
NO ONE WILL FORGET . . .
In a grimy flat in Glasgow, a homemade bomb explodes, leaving few remains
to identify its maker.
Detective Harry McCoy knows in his gut that there’ll be more to follow. The
hunt for a missing sailor from the local US naval base leads him to the
secretive group behind the bomb, and their disturbing, dominating leader.
On top of that, McCoy thinks he’s doing an old friend a favour when he
passes on a warning, but instead he’s pulled into a vicious gang feud. And in
the meantime, there’s word another bigger explosion is coming Glasgow’s
way – so if the city is to survive, it’ll take everything McCoy’s got . . .
It's Glasgow, 1974 and there are bombs going off in the city - it doesn't seem high profile enough to be the IRA so who is responsible? Added to this mayhem Harry McCoy is approached by an American to find his son who has gone AWOL from the local naval base. Could the two cases be connected?
If you've read the rest of this series (and if not I suggest you do) you'll know that Harry is not the 'cleanest' of coppers due to his friendship with local crime boss Stevie Cooper but he's more of a shady copper than a corrupt one - and there seems to be plenty of those on the Glasgow force.
McCoy and Cooper's friendship goes back to their youth when they were brought up (dragged up?) together through the care system and the bond they share is a strong one that often leaves McCoy with some tough choices to make and this is, for me, one of the things that make this series stand out. McCoy isn't a 'bent copper' just one that does what he needs to to get the job done. The 70's were a different time and Parks does a grand job of giving the reader a believable vision of the Glasgow of that time.
This is an exemplary series and The April Dead was worth the wait (as soon as I'd finished the previous novel, Bobby March Will Live Forever, I was eager to get back into Parks'/McCoy's world)
So far in the series we've had;
Bloody January
February's Son
Bobby March Will Live Forever
and now
The April Dead
Can't wait to see what Alan Parks has lined up for May
If you like your Noir tartan and gritty you really can't go wrong here
4.7/5*
Thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto this tour and to Blackthorn Books for providing the review copy. Please have a look at the posts by the other reviewers on this Blogtour - we all really appreciate it 😉
Monday, 29 March 2021
Nighthawking by Russ,Thomas
Saturday, 20 March 2021
The Embalmer by Alison Belsham
Well, this was a dark read (which is good as I like my thrillers on the dark side)
It starts with a freshly mummified body found at the Booth Natural History Museum in Brighton along with canopic jars that hold the removed organs - the murderer follows the ancient Egyptian embalming rituals to the letter. Francis Sullivan is soon on the case and more canopic jars turn up.
As a second string story Sullivan's friend, the tattooist Marni Mullins arrives home to find her husband fighting with his brother. The husband is killed and Marni soon ends up in jail accused of his murder. Sullivan has a busy, busy time ahead . . .
As I said this is a dark thriller but also a gripping read. There's the usual office politics with the police and a storyline there that seems to be coming to a close and that's where the only downside I felt with reading this book (and this one is on me alone, no fault of the author). You see, The Embalmer is the third in a series and it would really benefit from being read that way. There was a lot here that related back to the earlier books and some parts that treat the reader as though they had read them. I fully intended to read all three but time was against me (although with the way I tore through The Embalmer I could have probably managed all three in a week) I will be going back to them eventually.
So, a cracking thriller, highly recommended but I advise reading in order (The Tattoo Thief, Her Last Breath, The Embalmer)
4.5/5*
Friday, 12 March 2021
The Takers and Keepers by Ivan Pope