Day: June 5, 2022

#BookReview Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis

Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis

Summary:

Summer, 1942.
The Second World War rages on but Britain now faces the Nazi threat with America at its side.

In a bombed-out London swarming with gangsters and spies, DCI Frank Merlin continues his battle against rampant wartime crime. A mangled body is found in the Thames just as some items of priceless art go mysteriously missing. What sinister connection links the two?

Merlin and his team follow a twisting trail of secrets and lies as they investigate a baffling and deadly puzzle.

My Review:

There is something about a thriller set in World War II. The setting for Dead in the Water (Headline Accent) by Mark Ellis is bombed out London. Despite the war, crime still goes on and there is a murderer on the loose. But what has this got to do with the fact that some priceless art pieces suddenly go missing. This is a terrifically enjoyable historical thriller.

The story begins with a prologue set in Vienna in November 1938 and the Katz family. This sets the tone for what is really to follow.

For some the backdrop of war is the perfect time to commit crime and Britain has been facing the Nazi menace on her own but now America has entered the war and American soldiers and airman are arriving in the UK. London is scarred by the blitz but for DCI Merlin he has his hands full in solving a murder of a Russian spy. A black US serviceman has already been arrested and tried by the US military and now faces the death penalty, but the man pleads he is innocent of the crime, and he is believed by DCI Merlin, and so the race is on to find the killer before he is hanged. The clock is ticking. Time is running out.

Inside the Capital there are also Nazi spies operating, could there somehow be a link between the death of the Russian spy and the Nazi operatives in London. Some are operating as double agents, and this is a confusing picture for the police. But at the same time there are several priceless art pieces that are going missing. Who is the mysterious buyer in Portugal? The plot moves across parts of Europe, so the action is not centred purely in London.

The murders continue and for DCI Merlin and his team the sense that the killer might just be in plain sight might not be as simple as it seems. The plot thickens and the team must use all their ingenuity to put all the evidence together to find who really is behind the crimes.

What I really enjoyed was how Mark Ellis has weaved together a compelling historical thriller with the setting that is well described. Characters are so important in novels and Ellis has these drawn so brilliantly and this must go for how the plots keep you guessing all the way through to the end. Dead in the Water is an enjoyable and satisfying read.

384 Pages.

My thanks to Amber Choudhary (Midas PR) for the review Copy of Dead in the Water by Mark Ellis Published by Headline Accent on 19 May 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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#BookReview The Companion by Lesley Thomson

The Companion by Lesley Thomson

Summary:
In a grand old mansion in the middle of the Sussex countryside, seven people have seen more than they should… The new chilling thriller from Lesley Thomson.
James Ritchie was looking forward to a boys’ day out with his son, Wilbur – even if he was a little late picking him up from the home of his ex-wife, Anna. Annoyed by his late arrival, and competing for their son’s attention, Anna leaves the two of them to their day with the promise of a roast dinner when Wilbur returns.
But Anna will never see her family again. That afternoon, James and Wilbur are found dead, the victims of a double stabbing on the beach.
DI Toni Kemp, of Sussex police, must unravel a case which has shocked the county to its core. What she discovers will lead her to Blacklock House, a grand country mansion, long ago converted into flats. Here in the middle of nowhere, where a peacock struts the lawn, and a fountain plays intermittently, seven long-term residents have seen more than they should.
But this is a community who are good at keeping secrets…


My Review:

Set in leafy Sussex, there stands an old country mansion that has been turned into flats for elderly people. There a Peacock can be found wandering the grounds. You can never mistake the loud call of a Peacock at Blacklock House are secrets among the residents. The Companion (Head of Zeus) is released tomorrow 9th June and it is a wonderfully sinister murder mystery by Lesley Thomson.  

Here at Blacklock House there are younger people who are matched up with the residents via an organisation and they live in the house and here they can be a companion to one of the residents. Timothy Mew (25) is an ideal match for Rex (70) who is a retired lawyer, it is late summer and soon there are a spate of murders in the vicinity of the old house. A father and son who are out enjoying some time together flying their kite are killed and then an entire family are killed on Dedmans Heath. But who is behind the spate of killings in this normally peaceful location? DI Toni Kemp from Sussex police has been appointed at the lead officer who will try and track down the killer before they strike again and reassure the residents.

But attention soon shifts to Blacklock House where we are introduced to some of the rather interesting and intriguing residents who live here, and here lies secrets and whispers. Rex is now mistrusting his companion Timothy as since he arrived the murders have occurred or is this just pure coincidence after all there is no smoke without fire? Some of these characters could have come out of an Agatha Christie novel. Timothy really is enjoying his new life at Blacklock House, it does seem to match his life but what is his real motive for being here? Pretty soon he is disliked by several of the residents. But is he the killer?

This is a real gem of a read; I just enjoyed the hidden stories behind the characters it really made the novel come alive for me and Lesley’s writing made the novel compelling. At times it is dark but there is humour here to be found and an interesting murder mystery. I also enjoyed how the mystery ended. No spoilers from me here.

400 Pages.

My thanks to Sophie Ransom (Ransom PR) for the review Copy of The Companion by Lesley Thomson Published by Head of Zeus on 9th June 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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#BookReview Survive to Fight by Billy Billingham

Survive to Fight by Billy Billingham

Summary:

Matt Mason is attempting to put the army behind him, building a life for himself training anti-poaching forces on a game reserve.

He’s looking forward to meeting up with his eldest child, Jo, who has graduated naval college and taken a summer job working on a billionaire’s yacht in the Red Sea. But then he receives a call informing him that Jo’s boat is missing, likely abducted by Somali pirates.

Mason must call in favours from old contacts as he follows Jo’s trail. She isn’t the abduction target, she won’t be worth the pirates keeping for long. But she is still Matt Mason’s daughter, and she knows she needs to survive to fight.

My Review:

This is the second in the Matt Mason series following on from Call to Kill. Survive to Fight (Hodder & Stoughton) by Billy Billingham is released tomorrow 9th June. You might be thinking that this is an all-action thriller, but there is much more to this new thriller. There is a real storyline here and I found this to be extremely well thought out plot and there are a several of back stories.

Matt Mason has taken on the role on a game reserve training staff on anti-poaching as poachers are really targeting Elephants for their ivory and the trade is big, so Matt has his hands full. Some of what Matt must witness is horrific and, in this day, and age it is hard to believe it is still happening. You can imagine the reserve covers a wide area and trying to keep one step ahead of the poachers is a full-on task. But the poachers are armed and extremely dangerous and so the teams must be prepared for every eventuality and that includes threat to life. Matt Mason has the experience and a cool head, and this is what makes him popular and likable. Dealing with ivory poachers is one thing but who really is behind these gangs of armed and dangerous poachers?

Matt has his hands full working on the reserve, but the ivory is being shipped by criminals, but there is something about to happen that will hit Matt hard and very close to home. When a member of his own family is in real danger. Now things are about to get a lot more serious, and the tension is ratchet up high. The world of people trafficking is shocking but when it hit one of your own you will do whatever it takes to save them and smash those behind kidnapping and people smuggling. Some of the evillest people in the world and you want Matt to succeed in bringing those down and bringing those to justice.

Billy Billingham has written a powerful thriller that hits home on several themes. It is well thought out and extremely well written. There is plenty of action but there are some really compelling storylines here.

384 Pages.

My thanks to Sophie Ransom (Ransom PR) for the review copy of Survive to Fight by Billy Billingham Published by Hodder & Stoughton on 9th June 2022 and is now available through Waterstones, Amazon and through your local independent bookshop or through Bookshop.org that supports your local independent bookshop. UK Bookshop.org

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