Tag: Book review

Come And Find Me by Sarah Hilary

There are very few certainties in life, but one, for me, is opening a new Marnie Rome novel by Sarah Hilary and knowing that I am in for a literary treat.

Come And Find Me begins with a brutal prison riot in which a prisoner escapes and others lie injured in hospital, two in the mortuary. The thoughts of one of these, written in the first person, are interspersed throughout the investigation in which DI Marnie Rome and DS Noah Jake are trying to find Michael Vokey, the dangerous and manipulative escaped prisoner who may try and contact the two women who have been writing to him in prison… Or the young single mother who survived his last attack.

The investigation is complicated by the fact that Marnie’s adopted brother who had murdered her parents is one of the injured in hospital and Noah’s parents are not talking to him as their younger Sol is on remand. Noah had arrested and charged him for importing class C drugs. But prison was the last place he needed to be. The back stories of Marnie and Noah are expertly interwoven into the narrative which is fast paced with many heart-in-mouth moments.

As usual Sarah Hilary writes with precision and emotional intelligence. No word is superfluous. The characterisation and plotting are faultless. The narrative totally compelling.

Come And Find Me is the fifth in Sarah Hilary’s police procedurals set in London. Although it can be read as a stand-alone, I’d recommend starting with the first book, Someone Else’s Skin and progress through this fascinating and absorbing series.

I received an advance reading copy from the publisher.

Published by Headline, the hardback and Kindle editions are released on 22 March, paperback 4 October, 2018.

Quieter Than Killing by Sarah Hilary

I have been a fan of Sarah Hilary’s Marnie Rose crime series since the DI’s first outing in Someone Else’s Skin which won the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year 2015. With each new book Ms Hilary’s writing has become more confident and assured. Quieter Than Killing continues this impressive trend.

This is police procedural crime writing at its best with great, credible characters portrayed in a sensitive and intelligent manner. The private lives of Marnie and her sidekick the wonderful Noah are drip-fed into the narrative keeping readers on their toes as they progress through the series.

A continuing thread throughout all the novels is the brutal murder of Rose’s parents by Stephen, the then fourteen-year-old boy they had been fostering for several years. The teenager is now a young man who has been moved to an adult prison. He is a tangle of thorns in her flesh which she must unravel.

During her current investigation into a series of vicious assaults thought to be carried out by vigilantes, Marnie is drawn into another enquiry when the tenants of the house she inherited from her parents and now lets out, become victims of what seems a random and senseless attack. Except there is nothing random about it at all and Marnie is convinced Stephen is the key which links back to her own investigation.

Quieter than Killing reads well as a standalone novel but why would you deny yourself the pleasure of reading the first three books in the series?

Someone Else’s Skin, No Other Darkness and Tastes Like Fear  are all published by Headline and are available from Amazon.

I received a review copy of this book.

You can pre-order the hardback or kindle version of Quieter Than Killing which will be published on 9 March, 2017.

 

An Honest Man by Simon Michael

Being published by Urbane Publications has introduced me to many new authors. One such is Simon Michael, a former barrister, who uses his past experiences to bring a unique legal perspective to his crime thriller series set in London during the 60s which began with The Brief.

As much as I enjoyed the first in the Charles Holborne series, the second book, An Honest Man really hit all the high spots for me.

Following his escape from the hangman’s noose in The Brief – proving that hewas framed and did not murder his wife  – the criminal barrister is very much down on his luck. Bankruptcy threatens then an unexpected brief lands on his desk – the answer to all his prayers. Or is it?

As a Jewish man from the East End, Holborne has never really fitted in. He is an outsider whom very few in the legal profession trust. But can he have any confidence in the people around him especially when some of them have connections with the notorious Kray brothers?

This is a great legal thriller with lots of twists and turns that keep you guessing right up to the dramatic end but what makes it outstanding is its authenticity and excellent writing.

Follow Simon Michael on Twitter @SimonMichaelUK and check out his website.