The Last by Hanna Jameson

The Last
by Hanna Jameson
Published by Penguin Viking (31 January 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

BREAKING: Nuclear weapon detonates over Washington
BREAKING: London hit, thousands feared dead
BREAKING: Munich and Scotland hit. World leaders call for calm

Historian Jon Keller is on a trip to Switzerland when the world ends. As the lights go out on civilisation, he wishes he had a way of knowing whether his wife, Nadia, and their two daughters are still alive. More than anything, Jon wishes he hadn't ignored Nadia's last message. 

Twenty people remain in Jon's hotel. Far from the nearest city and walled in by towering trees, they wait, they survive.

Then one day, the body of a young girl is found. It's clear she has been murdered. Which means that someone in the hotel is a killer.

As paranoia descends, Jon decides to investigate. But how far is he willing to go in pursuit of justice? And what kind of justice can he hope for, when society as he knows it no longer exists?

My verdict
The Last is post-apocalyptic fiction, yet it's really a novel of the modern age - dystopian fiction that no longer seems so unbelievable.

Twenty people appear to be the last survivors of a global nuclear attack, holed up in a remote Swiss hotel after a work conference with no way of communicating with the outside world. Historian Jon is determined to log their last days and weeks, hoping that one day someone will find his notebooks. When he finds the body of a young girl, he suspects murder. But who is killer?

The Last is a dark, disturbing and thought-provoking read. Think The Walking Dead without zombies, with characters having to work together (or not!) to survive and unsure what lies outside their newly created comfort zone. The plot is fast-paced and tense, with a perfect mixture of action, mystery, survival and sense of bewilderment and paranoia, all in a claustrophobic setting.

The book is beautifully written, highly graphic and would translate well to the big (or little) screen. It prompted so many questions of 'what if?' and 'what would I do?' as I read, and the ending was chilling.  Highly recommended!

Red Snow by Will Dean

Red Snow
By Will Dean
Published by Point Blank (10 January 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.

Publisher's description

TWO BODIES

One suicide. One cold-blooded murder. Are they connected? And who’s really pulling the strings in the small Swedish town of Gavrik?

TWO COINS

Black Grimberg liquorice coins cover the murdered man's eyes. The hashtag #Ferryman starts to trend as local people stock up on ammunition.

TWO WEEKS

Tuva Moodyson, deaf reporter at the local paper, has a fortnight to investigate the deaths before she starts her new job in the south. A blizzard moves in. Residents, already terrified, feel increasingly cut-off. Tuva must go deep inside the Grimberg factory to stop the killer before she leaves town for good. But who’s to say the Ferryman will let her go?

My verdict
Dark Pines was one of my favourite books of 2018. And yet again, Will Dean has written a compelling and more-than-slightly-bizarre character-led crime novel featuring deaf reporter Tuva Moodyson. Red Snow follows on from Dark Pines, but could probably be read as a standalone.

Tuva is investigating an apparent suicide and murder at the local liquorice factory. The clock is ticking, as she leaves the small Swedish town of Gavrik to start a new job in the larger town of Malmo in just two weeks. The liquorice factory is very much the centre of the local community, as it's one of the main employers, and is also very much the centre of the book. The local ghostwriter is writing about the history of the factory and asks Tuva to help him research the Grimberg family who own it. Tuva sees this as the perfect opportunity to get to know the usually private family better, hoping this will help her to investigate the recent deaths.

Red Snow is written at a slower pace than the previous book but with the same beautiful descriptive writing and array of quirky characters. It's highly atmospheric, highlighting the remoteness and claustrophobic feel of Gavrik during the winter months with a blizzard moving in. I loved reading about how people living there cope with the bitter temperatures and the lack of daylight - the use of UV lamps to cope with seasonal affective disorder, for example. Tuva's deafness doesn't usually affect her daily life, but it can become more of a challenge when she removes her hearing aids to protect them from the damp, icy or snowy weather when she's outdoors.

The book manages to entertain as well as chill. Will Dean's characters remind me of Willy Wonka and some of the other members of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory cast, especially the Grimberg family who are not only eccentric but also slightly menacing at times. The dialogue is spot on, with dark humour and quick witty retorts, providing great character dynamics. Some of the characters were present in Dark Pines, but there are also some new ones, including a police officer to provide Tuva with a love interest.

I look forward to see what's next as Tuva heads to pastures new.

Will Dean is one of the First Monday Crime's February panel members (on 4th February 2019 at City University, London). The other panel members are Christopher Fowler, Gytha Lodge and Lucy Foley, moderated by Barry Foresaw  For more details and to reserve your seat, click here.

And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott

And So It Begins
By Rachel Abbott
Published by Wildfire Books (15 November 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Cleo knows she should be happy for her brother Mark. He's managed to find someone new after the sudden death of his first wife - but something about Evie just doesn't feel right...

When Evie starts having accidents at home, her friends grow concerned. Could Mark be causing her injuries? Called out to their cliff-top house one night, Sergeant Stephanie King finds two bodies entangled on blood-drenched sheets.

Where does murder begin? When the knife is raised to strike, or before, at the first thought of violence? As the accused stands trial, the jury is forced to consider - is there ever a proper defence for murder?

My verdict
And So It Begins is yet another highly unpredictable psychological thriller from Rachel Abbott.

I raced through this, all the way to the shocker of an ending, my head swirling from all of the twists and turns. The chapters are fairly short, which encouraged me to keep reading into the early hours.

The plot focuses on a murder at the home of photographer Marcus North, the events leading up to that time and the investigation afterwards. Rachel Abbott consistently creates evocative settings and believable, multi-layered plots. She also manages to get right inside her characters' minds. I had no idea which characters were telling the truth and who could be trusted - a lesson in 'don't believe everything you're told'.

Each Rachel Abbott book is very different (in this one, the theme is revenge, but also sibling relationships), yet all are of the same high quality. I love her Tom Douglas series, but believe this may be her best yet and I'm hoping this may be the start of a new series featuring Sergeant Stephanie King and DCI Gus Brodie.

New horizons with a new work website

At the end of 2018, I decided 2019 will become my year of positivity and change.

I've been a freelance journalist and editor for over 25 years, specialising in consumer health, working for magazines, websites and publishers.

My first step has been to create a website to showcase my editorial experience - https://vgoldmanbooks.wordpress.com. My website went live today! You can find more about my professional expertise on there - writing, editing, proofreading and, of course, book reviewing.

This year, I am looking to expand my client base. If you're a publisher or author looking for a proofreader, please do get in touch. With my specialist health and science background (BSc in Biomedical Science and MSc in Science Communication), I am ideally placed to copy-edit and proofread consumer health and popular science books. But I also have experience in proofreading other non-fiction topics, and also fiction.

Off-the-Shelf Books will continue as normal for my book reviews and features. I'm not going anywhere!

I'm also still working on my novel, making good progress with the editing.

Let's hope this year is a happy, healthy, productive and successful one for all of us!

Thanks for reading!

Vicki

The Courier by Kjell Ola Dahl

The Courier
By Kjell Ola Dahl
Published by Orenda Books (Ebook - out now; Paperback - 21 March 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

In 1942, Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In a great haste, she escapes to Sweden, saving herself. Her family in Oslo, however, is deported to Auschwitz. In Stockholm, Ester meets the resistance hero, Gerhard Falkum, who has left his little daughter and fled both the Germans and allegations that he murdered his wife, Åse, who helped Ester get to Sweden. Their burgeoning relationship ends abruptly when Falkum dies in a fire.And yet, twenty-five years later, Falkum shows up in Oslo. He wants to reconnect with his daughter. But where has he been, and what is the real reason for his return? Ester stumbles across information that forces her to look closely at her past, and to revisit her war-time training to stay alive…

My verdict
The Courier is a literary spy thriller, perfect for John Le Carré fans, and a very welcome addition to the Nordic Noir genre.

The book is steeped in history - Norway in World War 2 and the plight of its Jewish people during the Holocaust - with roots in espionage and wartime resistance. Its female protagonist, Ester, is strong and courageous, highlighting the importance of women during the war and how they risked their lives. I was fascinated by the social and political background, knowing very little about the Nazi invasion of Norway during World War 2. I found myself Googling snippets of information as I read the book - and now I've finished I want to know more!

The book features a tightly threaded plot and convincing characterisation, so it didn't take long to worm its way under my skin. I was soon caught up in the lives of Ester, Gerhard, Sverre, Åsa and Turid. There's a sense of unease throughout the book, as Ester seeks answers to how her friend Åsa died. I was holding my breath in several gripping moments as she, Sverre and Gerhard played their cat-and-mouse games. I had no idea who to trust and who to believe, right until the final scenes.

The narrative switches seamlessly between Oslo and Stockholm in 1942 and Oslo in 1967 and 2015. Each chapter is clearly marked with the year and location so the multiple timelines were very easy to follow.  The writing is excellent (translated by Don Bartlett) - sparse where it needs to be, to move the story along at a fast pace, but highly descriptive elsewhere, with acute observations that paint a vivid picture of people and places.

So much tension bubbles away under the surface. But this is far more than just a thriller and a murder mystery. It's also a heartbreaking read, as Ester learns more about what happened to her family and her childhood friend. The ending brought tears to my eyes but also a strong sense of resolution.

Highly recommended!

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

Blood & Sugar
By Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Published by Mantle (24 January 2019)

Publisher's description

June, 1781. An unidentified body hangs upon a hook at Deptford Dock – horribly tortured and branded with a slaver’s mark. 

Some days later, Captain Harry Corsham – a war hero embarking upon a promising parliamentary career – is visited by the sister of an old friend. Her brother, passionate abolitionist Tad Archer, had been about to expose a secret that he believed could cause irreparable damage to the British slaving industry. He’d said people were trying to kill him, and now he is missing . . .

To discover what happened to Tad, Harry is forced to pick up the threads of his friend’s investigation, delving into the heart of the conspiracy Tad had unearthed. His investigation will threaten his political prospects, his family’s happiness, and force a reckoning with his past, risking the revelation of secrets that have the power to destroy him.

And that is only if he can survive the mortal dangers awaiting him in Deptford . . .

My verdict
Blood & Sugar is a compelling historical crime thriller, delving into the darkness and horrors of the slave trade and the rise of the abolitionist movement in the late 18th century.

The book is well researched and feels authentic, bringing to life an array of strong characters and the colours, sights and sounds of the Deptford setting. I savoured all of the tiny details - from the opulence of the wealthy to the grime of the dockside slums. Author Laura Shepherd-Robinson gets right into the hearts of her characters, as well as their heads. Protagonist Harry Corsham is easy to like, with his strong sense of duty and determination, not afraid to dive into danger in search of the truth.

The complex plot is unpredictable, dark and twisty, filled with murders and abuse, secrets and lies, conspiracies and corruption. It's brutal and gruesome, yet also handled with sensitivity. There's a underlying sadness, as the slave trade casts its shadow on to so many people's lives.

Blood & Sugar is an impressive page-turning debut - a beautifully written, honest look at the social and political unrest of this period in history. I can easily see this book transferring to the screen - big or small. I also enjoyed reading the historical note at the end of the book, providing some of the factual background that influenced the plot.

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

The Stranger Diaries
By Elly Griffiths
Published by Quercus (1 November 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

A dark story has been brought to terrifying life. Can the ending be rewritten in time?

Clare Cassidy is no stranger to tales of murder. As a literature teacher specialising in the Gothic writer R.M. Holland, she teaches a short course on them every year. Then Clare's life and work collide tragically when one of her colleagues is found dead, a line from an R.M. Holland story by her body. The investigating police detective is convinced the writer's works somehow hold the key to the case.

Not knowing who to trust, and afraid that the killer is someone she knows, Clare confides her darkest suspicions and fears about the case to her journal. Then one day she notices some other writing in the diary. Writing that isn't hers...

My verdict
Elly Griffiths has written a compelling and entertaining modern-day gothic mystery.

The Stranger Diaries is a spooky mix of police procedural and psychological thriller, linking murders in a secondary school to a creepy Victorian story (which is revealed in snippets throughout the book and then in full at the end). The plot moves at a fast pace, building up the suspense, with cliffhangers at the end of each chapter leading to 'just one more'. The author's lyrical writing flows beautifully, with plenty of rhythm within her prose, leading me to read much of the book out loud.

All three narrators - teacher Clare Cassidy, her teenage daughter Georgie and police officer DS Harbinger Kaur - seemed authentic and believable. I particularly loved DS Kaur, with her wit, bluntness and warmth, and hope she will appear in another Elly Griffiths book in the future. Using different narrators means that although we get inside their heads, we also see each character from someone else's point of view (often in a different light so maybe trust them a little bit less). We also experience events and conversations from multiple sides, which can be unnerving and slightly disorientating, adding to the supernatural feel of the book.

The Stranger Diaries is cleverly plotted, mixing past and present and dropping in red herrings and false leads, playing games with the reader's mind. It certainly kept me on my toes. I tried very hard to guess the whodunnit but failed!

My Jewish-themed Reads Part 1 - #JBW2019

This year, I'm an official book blog partner of Jewish Book Week in London (2 to 10 March 2019), so I've made it my mission to read more Jewish-themed books throughout 2019.

Booking for the 85+ events during Jewish Book Week opened on Wednesday 9th January. Visit the website - http://jewishbookweek.com - for more details. I'll be coming along to three events taking place on Saturday 9th and Sunday 10th March. Hopefully I'll do some live tweeting while I'm there and also write a summary post on Off-the-Shelf Books afterwards.

So which Jewish-themed books have I read so far?

Bitter by Francesca Jakobi
Published by W&N in October 2018

Bitter by Francesca Jakobi was the first Jewish-themed book I read with Jewish Book Week in mind. At 12 pm on Sunday 3rd March 2019, at Kings Place, London, Francesca will be talking about the perils and pitfalls of fictionalising a family story. Bitter was inspired by her grandmother, who was sued for divorce in the 1940s.

Publisher's description

It's 1969, and while the summer of love lingers in London, Gilda is consumed by the mistakes of her past. She walked out on her beloved son Reuben when he was just a boy and fears he will never forgive her. When Reuben marries Alice, he seems transformed by love - a love Gilda has craved his entire adult life. What does his new wife have that she doesn't? And how far will she go to find out? It's an obsession that will bring shocking truths about the past to light . . .

My verdict

This is a bittersweet character-led tale of a mother's obsessive love for her son and her resulting jealousy for her new daughter-in-law. It's beautifully written and emotionally tense, with poignant insights into Jewish family life and the period between the Second World War and the late 1960s. Filled with secrets from the past, the story manages to be both sinister and moving at the same time. Gilda's acerbic voice got right under my skin, eventually worming its way into my heart, as understanding her past helped me to understand her present. The book chilled me, gripped me and entertained me - an unforgettable character and story.

To book a ticket for Francesca's Jewish Book Week event, click here.

The Emperor of Shoes by Spencer Wise 
Published in hardback by No Exit Press in July 2018 - paperback being published in April 2019

Publisher's description

Alex Cohen, a twenty-six-year-old Jewish Bostonian, is living in southern China, where his father runs their family-owned shoe factory. Alex reluctantly assumes the helm of the company, but as he explores the plant's vast floors and assembly lines, he comes to a grim realisation: employees are exploited, regulatory systems are corrupt and Alex's own father is engaging in bribes to protect the bottom line. When Alex meets a seamstress named Ivy, his sympathies begin to shift. She is an embedded organiser of a pro-democratic Chinese party, secretly sowing dissonance among her fellow labourers. Will Alex remain loyal to his father and his heritage? Or will the sparks of revolution ignite?

My verdict
The Emperor of Shoes is a fascinating blend of Jewish and Chinese cultures, with a focus on contemporary social and political themes at a time of vast change and revolution. It's also a love story and an exploration of difficult father-son relationships, portrayed through emotional scenes and Yiddish humour. Vivid descriptions transported me to contemporary Southern China. I felt as though I was there alongside the characters, seeing, hearing, smelling and feeling the contrast between the hustle and bustle of city life and the tranquility of the rural areas. This book is a thought-provoking exploration of the working conditions in Chinese factories, communism versus capitalism and Jewish identity.


Invisible City & Run You Down by Julia Dahl
Invisible City was published by Faber on 31 July 2018.
Run You Down was published by Faber on 1 January 2019.

Publisher's description: Invisible City

Fresh out of journalism school, Rebekah Roberts is working for the New York Tribune, trying to make a name for herself. Assigned a story about the murder of a woman in Brooklyn, Rebekah finds a case from inside a closed, secretive Hasidic Jewish community - the same Brooklyn neighbourhood her estranged mother was brought up in.

Shocked to discover that the victim is set to be buried without an autopsy, Rebekah knows there is a story to uncover, but getting to the truth won't be easy - in the cloistered world her mother rebelled against, it's clear she's not welcome, and everyone she meets has a secret to keep, most of all from an outsider.

Publisher's description: Run You Down

Aviva Kagan was just a teenager when she left her Hasidic Jewish life in Brooklyn for a fling with a smiling college boy from Florida. A few months later she was pregnant, engaged to be married and trapped in a life she never imagined. So, shortly after the birth of her daughter she disappeared.

Twenty-three years later, the child she walked away from, NYC tabloid reporter Rebekah Roberts, wants nothing to do with her. But when a man from the ultra-Orthodox enclave of Roseville, NY contacts Rebekah about his young wife's mysterious death, she is drawn into Aviva's old world, and a hidden culture full of dangerous secrets and frustrations.

My verdict
Invisible City and Run You Down are the first two books in a crime fiction series featuring reporter Rebekah Roberts. I read Invisible City in the summer and Run You Down in the last few weeks. Both books are set within the Ultra-Orthodox Hassidic Jewish communities in Brooklyn, where Rebekah freelances for the local tabloid newspaper. Rebekah's mother Aviva was brought up within this community, rebelled, became pregnant and then returned to them (leaving Rebekah with her father). This helps to introduce religious Jewish culture, as Rebekah learns more about the traditions and her own heritage during her investigations. Both books are thought provoking, covering social issues and contemporary themes, including diversity, race and religion, gun control, white supremacy, acceptance, racism and anti-semitism. They are also bittersweet stories of family relationships and self-discovery. 

So that's it for now! But I have many more Jewish-themed books on my list and will reading (and reviewing) them over the coming year. So do pop back to Off-the-Shelf Books for more updates!

Deep Dirty Truth by Steph Broadribb

I am delighted to be today's stop on the Blog Tour for Deep Dirty Truth by Steph Broadribb. Deep Dirty Truth is published in paperback by Orenda Books on 24th January 2019. It's the third book in the Lori Anderson action thriller series.

Deep Dirty Truth
By Steph Broadribb
Published by Orenda Books (ebook - out now; paperback - 24 January 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description
A price on her head. A secret worth dying for. Just 48 hours to expose the truth…

Single-mother bounty hunter Lori Anderson has finally got her family back together, but her new-found happiness is shattered when she’s snatched by the Miami Mob – and they want her dead. Rather than a bullet, they offer her a job: find the Mob’s ‘numbers man’ – Carlton North – who’s in protective custody after being forced to turn federal witness against them. If Lori succeeds, they’ll wipe the slate clean and the price on her head – and those of her family – will be removed. If she fails, they die.

My verdict
I'm more than a little in love with Deep Dirty Truth. In fact, I raced through the first two books in this series - Deep Down Dead and Deep Blue Trouble - but THIS book has now stolen my heart even more than they did.

There's not really much more for me to say, other than READ IT or, rather, READ THEM ALL! But I do usually write slightly longer reviews. So what can I say about this book, other than 'it is brilliant'?

Deep Dirty Truth is an action-packed, adrenaline-pumping rollercoaster read - a race against the clock. It's so fast-paced that I barely drew a breath and didn't have time to make notes, which isn't ideal when you need to write a review (and why I may be waffling here - sorry, as it's not something I usually do).

The Lori Anderson series reminds me a lot of the Stephanie Plum series (by Janet Evanovich), which I used to read voraciously but haven't read for years. But, to me, the Lori Anderson series is even better - it's full of emotion and the writing is fantastic. Lori is more than just a bounty hunter - she puts her role as a mother first, every time. Everything she does is for the sake of her young daughter, Dakota, even if it means putting her own life in danger to keep Dakota safe.

Deep Dirty Truth and the previous two books feel very real, which isn't surprising as the author has spent a lot of time in the USA and even trained as a bounty hunter herself. Steph Broadribb writes vivid descriptions of characters, action and setting - I felt like I was there too. She's created a great family dynamic between Lori and JT and Dakota, and I even love some of the more-minor characters I'm not supposed to even like.

Everything in the book is tied up neatly by the end (well, almost everything - at least, everything that needs to be - you'll just have to read it to find out more). The scene is now set perfectly for the next instalment and I can't wait to see both Lori and JT in action.

Bring it on!!! Go #TeamLori

Follow the Blog Tour

BEST OF CRIME with Julia Dahl

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

JULIA DAHL

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

It feels impossible to pick a favorite among so many, but I suppose if I had to take the books of just one crime author to a deserted island it would probably be Patricia Highsmith. She is an absolute master of menace. The sun is shining in paradise, everyone dresses for dinner, but the ugliness beneath the surface casts a pall over everything.

... FILMS/MOVIES

My lifelong love affair with the Coen Brothers began in 1996 with Fargo. It’s a wickedly funny, twisted drama about a kidnapping gone wrong in the frozen tundra of America’s upper Midwest. Joel and Ethan Coen have an uncanny ability to inhabit and illuminate subcultures that has you rooting for everyone, even the most depraved career criminal.

... TV DRAMAS

Soon after I moved to New York the HBO series Six Feet Under premiered. It’s the story of a family in Los Angeles that runs a funeral home and at the beginning of each episode, we watch someone (whom the family will later bury) die. It wasn’t a crime show, per se, but death was an integral part of the fabric of the character’s lives. That darkness permeated their psyches and affected them in endlessly fascinating ways.

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES

Jessica Fletcher of Murder, She Wrote. I started watching this television show as a pre-teen and decided my life goal was to be Jessica: a crime novelist/amateur sleuth. I haven’t solved any murders yet, but maybe it’s just a matter of time. Jessica (otherwise known by her nom de plume, J.B. Fletcher) was a feminist hero. She was a widow with a booming career (an apartment in Manhattan and a house in Maine? Unheard of!), a generous heart, and a spot-on bullshit detector. The first gift my husband gave me when we started dating was a book in the Murder, She Wrote series – I knew I’d found “the one.”

... DEATH SCENE 

I have to go back to Fargo for this, too. At the end of the film, the character played by Steve Buscemi meets his end…inside a wood chipper.

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

Local newspapers are where I go to learn about contemporary crime. These days, there are around 17,000 homicides in the U.S. each year, and much as I love the New York Times, the paper of record doesn’t cover more than a handful. If you want to know who is killing who and how justice is – or isn’t – meted out, you need to read the Fresno Bee, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Arizona Sun. 

... WRITING TIPS

I’ve read that there are two kinds of writers: those who plan, and those who run to the end. I am the latter. I want to get the skeleton of the book as fast as I can so that I have a solid structure to work with. If I’m writing a scene that I know needs details I don’t have at the moment, I use the journalistic notation “TK” (meaning, to come) and skip ahead. Getting caught up on small things can slow your progress.

About JULIA DAHL

Julia Dahl is the author of three novels about a New York City crime reporter: INVISIBLE CITY, RUN YOU DOWN, and CONVICTION. After 20 years as a reporter and editor, she now teaches journalism at NYU.

Find Julia Dahl on Twitter - @juliadahl

About RUN YOU DOWN

Publisher's description

Aviva Kagan was just a teenager when she left her Hasidic Jewish life in Brooklyn for a fling with a smiling college boy from Florida. A few months later she was pregnant, engaged to be married and trapped in a life she never imagined. So, shortly after the birth of her daughter she disappeared.

Twenty-three years later, the child she walked away from, NYC tabloid reporter Rebekah Roberts, wants nothing to do with her. But when a man from the ultra-Orthodox enclave of Roseville, NY contacts Rebekah about his young wife’s mysterious death, she is drawn into Aviva’s old world, and a hidden culture full of dangerous secrets and frustrations.

Run You Down was published in paperback by Faber & Faber on 1 January 2019

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

Did you follow the Blog Tour?

Author catch up: Julia Dahl

I was excited and intrigued when I first discovered the existence of Julia Dahl's US-based Jewish-themed crime fiction (particularly as my own Work In Progress (WIP) is UK-based Jewish-themed crime fiction). I bought and read Invisible City in the summer and was then delighted to receive Run You Down from Faber. Here's my Author Catch up with a double review, for the Run You Down Blog Tour.

Invisible City and Run You Down are the first two books in a crime fiction series featuring reporter Rebekah Roberts. Both books are set within the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities in Brooklyn, where Rebekah freelances for the local tabloid newspaper. The third book, which I haven't yet read, is called Conviction.

Invisible City: Publisher's description

Fresh out of journalism school, Rebekah Roberts is working for the New York Tribune, trying to make a name for herself. Assigned a story about the murder of a woman in Brooklyn, Rebekah finds a case from inside a closed, secretive Hasidic Jewish community - the same Brooklyn neighbourhood her estranged mother was brought up in.

Shocked to discover that the victim is set to be buried without an autopsy, Rebekah knows there is a story to uncover, but getting to the truth won't be easy - in the cloistered world her mother rebelled against, it's clear she's not welcome, and everyone she meets has a secret to keep, most of all from an outsider.

Run You Down: Publisher's description

Aviva Kagan was just a teenager when she left her Hasidic Jewish life in Brooklyn for a fling with a smiling college boy from Florida. A few months later she was pregnant, engaged to be married and trapped in a life she never imagined. So, shortly after the birth of her daughter she disappeared.

Twenty-three years later, the child she walked away from, NYC tabloid reporter Rebekah Roberts, wants nothing to do with her. But when a man from the ultra-Orthodox enclave of Roseville, NY contacts Rebekah about his young wife's mysterious death, she is drawn into Aviva's old world, and a hidden culture full of dangerous secrets and frustrations.

My verdict of both books
Both books provide a fascinating insight into the Ultra-Orthodox Hassidic (Chasidic - if you are in the UK) Jewish communities, which often remain an enigma to outsiders. Julia Dahl gets right into the heart of the problems that Jewish families (and individuals) face from within their own community as well as the outside world. In particular, she focuses on the darker side - what happens when some people choose to escape what they feel is a restrictive religious lifestyle and how the community closes ranks when necessary (for example, in cases of murder or abuse). Her books prove that there is just as much diversity within these communities as there is within the rest of the world (Jewish or otherwise) - helping to break down religious stereotyping.

In Invisible City, Rebekah Roberts is dragged into an investigation within the local Hassidic community when a young mother is murdered. At the same time, she's wondering what happened to her own mother Aviva, who was brought up within this community, rebelled, became pregnant and then returned to them (leaving Rebekah with her father). The book is an interesting whodunnit, with a twisty, multi-layered plot. It provides an introduction to the secret world of the Hassidic community, as Rebekah learns more about Jewish traditions and her own heritage during her investigations.

Run You Down follows almost straight on from Invisible City. Rebekah is investigating the supposed suicide of a young woman. The husband believes instead that it was murder. But due to the Jewish tradition of burying bodies within 24 hours of a death and the Hassidic community not wanting to seek attention, the family refuses an autopsy and investigation. The narrative switches between Rebekah and Aviva, providing an insight into why Rebekah's mother left the religious community - and then returned to it. At first, Aviva's story of the past seems to break up Rebekah's investigation in the present, but it gradually becomes clear that there is a link between the two. The pace ramps up in the second half in particular, culminating in a dramatic conclusion.

Invisible City and Run You Down are both thought-provoking crime novels that cover social issues and contemporary themes, including diversity, race and religion, gun control, white supremacy, acceptance, racism and anti-semitism. They are also bittersweet stories of family relationships and self-discovery. Protagonist Rebekah is a well-rounded, likeable character. As a journalist, she's determined to find a publishable story, whatever it takes. But with personal connections to the Jewish community, she also has to maintain empathy and sensitivity towards the people she's investigating - just as Julia Dahl has done in writing these multi-layered books. The stories feel believable and very real, emotional and poignant as well as gripping and compelling.

I look forward to reading Conviction to see how the series moves forward, develops and grows along with its main characters.

Invisible City was published by Faber on 31 July 2018.
Run You Down was published by Faber on 1 January 2019.

Changeling by Matt Wesolowski - Six Stories Series Spotlight

I am delighted to be today's slot on the Blog Tour for Changeling by Matt Wesolowski. I've read all three books in his Six Stories series so far (published by Orenda Books) and urge you to read them if you haven't already done so. 

Here's a brief recap to help you catch up.

About the series
The three books in the series so far are Six Stories, Hydra and Changeling. These classic murder mysteries are given a modern twist with their hint of horror and supernatural. Each book is skilfully executed through a series of six podcasts. They all feature the reclusive journalist Scott King, who is investigating cold cases by interviewing leading witnesses to see if they reveal further snippets of information.
The books feel so real that part of me is convinced that these are genuine cases and genuine podcasts and that Matt Wesolowski has a secret life as a crime podcaster. This would mean he IS his character, but he hasn't revealed that yet! 😜😂😱

Six Stories (published in paperback on 15 March 2017)

1997. Scarclaw Fell. The body of teenager Tom Jeffries is found at an outward bound centre. Verdict? Misadventure. But not everyone is convinced. And the truth of what happened in the beautiful but eerie fell is locked in the memories of the tight-knit group of friends who took that fateful trip, and the flimsy testimony of those living nearby. 2017. Enter elusive investigative journalist Scott King, whose podcast examinations of complicated cases have rivalled the success of Serial, with his concealed identity making him a cult internet figure.

My verdict
Six Stories is an eerie spine-tingling read. It's unpredictable and chilling and kept me guessing all the way through. I don't scare easily, but certainly found this book unsettling. Matt Wesolowski has built up a dark, atmospheric setting with his vivid descriptive prose. The voices were so distinctive that I felt like I was listening to a podcast rather than simply reading the transcript. I built up a picture of the people, relationships between characters and an amazing sense of place. It felt more like fact than fiction - and I had to keep reminding myself that Scarclaw Fell isn't real!

To read my full review, click here.

Hydra (published in paperback on 15 January 2018)

Before Scarfell Claw, there was Hydra… One cold November night in 2014, in a small town in the north west of England, 26-year-old Arla Macleod bludgeoned her mother, father and younger sister to death with a hammer, in an unprovoked attack known as the 'Macleod Massacre'. Now incarcerated at a medium-security mental-health institution, Arla will speak to no one but Scott King, an investigative journalist, whose ‘Six Stories’ podcasts have become an internet sensation. King finds himself immersed in an increasingly complex case, interviewing five witnesses and Arla herself, as he questions whether Arla’s responsibility for the massacre was a diminished as her legal team made out. As he unpicks the stories, he finds himself thrust into a world of deadly forbidden ‘games’, online trolls, and the mysterious Black-eyed Children, whose presence extends far beyond the delusions of a murderess…  

My verdict

Hydra is just as creepy and chilling - a perfect mix of crime, horror and supernatural - and just as unsettling. It follows the same brilliant format as Six Stories - six linked podcasts investigating a cold case (the Macleod Massacre). Investigative journalist Scott King interviews six different witnesses, including Arla Macleod herself - now held in a medium-security mental health institution. This book reveals the dark side of teenage obsessive behaviour - do you really know what your teenagers are up to behind their locked doors?

To read my full review, click here.

Changeling (published in paperback on 24 January 2019)

On Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished in the Wentshire Forest Pass, when a burst tyre forced his father, Sorrel, to stop the car. Leaving the car to summon the emergency services, Sorrel returned to find his son gone. No trace of the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden was declared officially dead in 1995.

Elusive online journalist, Scott King, whose ‘Six Stories’ podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the disappearance, interviewing six witnesses, including Sorrel, his son and his ex-partner, to try to find out what really happened that fateful night. He takes a journey through the trees of the Wentshire Forest – a place synonymous with strange sightings, and tales of hidden folk who dwell there. He talks to a company that tried and failed to build a development in the forest, and a psychic who claims to know where Alfie is…

My verdict
A missing child, a grieving father, a neglectful alcoholic mother, things that go tap tap tap in the night, local folklore, creepy forests... Plus gripping writing, authentic dialogue, heart-pounding tension and a final twist that I seriously didn’t see coming! Yes, as you may have guessed, I loved Changeling.

To read my full review, click here.

Message to Matt Wesolowski and Karen Sullivan (Orenda Books): Bring on the next one! I'm assuming that there is a next one ... and hoping that we don't have to wait TOO long! No pressure. None at all. ⏳😂

Follow the Blog Tour

BEST OF CRIME with Alex Reeve

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

ALEX REEVE

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

Gosh, it’s so hard to pick just one! If you asked me tomorrow, I might have a different answer, but today I’ll say Sarah Waters for Fingersmith. She writes with huge compassion and authenticity, and was an inspiration for The House on Half Moon Street. She also shows why crime writers shouldn’t set out to write formulaic crime novels; we should create engaging characters, settings and plots that happen to involve a crime.

... FILMS/MOVIES

Fargo, directed by the Coen brothers, is a movie I can watch again and again. Marge Gunderson (Francis McDormand) is a heavily pregnant police officer in frozen Minnesota investigating a bungled homicide. The story works like clockwork and everything that happens, however awful and horrifying, is driven by the fears, desires and flaws of the characters.

... TV DRAMAS

I’m a massive fan of police procedurals, but I’m still going to pick Breaking Bad. I love the relentless descent of Walter White (Bryan Cranston) from mild and desperate to utterly ruthless. I believe that a propensity for violence was always within him, but it needed the right trigger, making him a great example of why ‘because he’s evil’ never works as character motivation. We all have the capability to do good and bad things. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Steerpike from Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast trilogy is charming, manipulative and callous. The world in which he lives is rigidly hierarchical, and no-one understands its intricacies better than Steerpike.  He is its natural product, and so feels entirely organic within the fantastical setting. He shows how crime stories can stretch into any genre or style.

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Easy Rawlins from Walter Mosley’s novels is one of the all-time greats. He shares features of other hard-boiled detectives such as Philp Marlowe and Sam Spade, but his combination of weary humour and duty to his neighbours is unique. The Los Angeles setting, social complexity and sense of time passing make the characters feel like real people. And, of course, Easy has one of literature’s most appealing (and terrifying) sidekicks in Mouse, who can insert random violence into any situation.

... MURDER WEAPONS

Spoiler alert! In Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose, the murder weapon is the ink in a book of Aristotle’s Poetics. Victims are killed when they lick their fingers to turn the pages – punished for their philosophical curiosity. It provides the perfect example of a weapon connecting both to the motivation of the murderer and a key theme of the novel. 

    

... DEATH SCENES

The movie Reservoir Dogs directed by Quentin Tarantino contains a killing shocking for its contrariness. In a famous scene, a police officer is tortured and doused with petrol, but at the last second, his tormentor is shot. The audience, having rooted for the police officer, is relieved and expects him to be freed, but moments later he is dismissively murdered by another character. The scene disrupts the comfort of narrative flow. It tells the audience that anything can happen.

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

My absolute favourite is www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk, which contains thousands of archived newspapers. It’s the best place to get contemporaneous accounts of Victorian history, and also get a feel for the phrasing and intonations of that time. Many are brilliantly written, putting much of today’s journalism to shame, and some are hilarious. It’s a wonderfully human connection, I think, to laugh out loud while reading an article written in 1880.

... WRITING TIPS

Write, write and then write some more. Write headlong and free, with no brake or throttle. And then edit brutally with your reader in mind. 

... WRITING SNACKS

A strong cup of Yorkshire Gold tea with milk – absolutely not the awful ‘Biscuit Brew’ flavour, which is a crime greater than anything I could think up.

About ALEX REEVE

Alex Reeve lives in Buckinghamshire and is a university lecturer, working on a PhD. The House on Half Moon Street is his debut, and the first in a series of books featuring Leo Stanhope.

Find Alex Reeve on Twitter - @storyjoy

About THE HOUSE ON HALF MOON STREET

Publisher's description

Everyone has a secret... Only some lead to murder. Introducing Leo Stanhope: a Victorian transgender coroner's assistant who must uncover a killer without risking his own future

When the body of a young woman is wheeled into the hospital where Leo Stanhope works, his life is thrown into chaos. Maria, the woman he loves, has been murdered and it is not long before the finger of suspicion is turned on him, threatening to expose his lifelong secret.

For Leo Stanhope was born Charlotte, the daughter of a respectable reverend. Knowing he was meant to be a man - despite the evidence of his body - and unable to cope with living a lie any longer, he fled his family home at just fifteen and has been living as Leo ever since: his secret known to only a few trusted people. 

Desperate to find Maria's killer and thrown into gaol, he stands to lose not just his freedom, but ultimately his life.

The House on Half Moon Street was published in paperback by Raven Books on 27 December 2018.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

The Secrets You Hide by Kate Helm

The Secrets You Hide
By Kate Helm
Published by Zaffre (Ebook - out now; Paperback  - 7 February 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Georgia Sage has a gift: she can see evil in people. As a courtroom artist she uses her skills to help condemn those who commit terrible crimes. After all, her own brutal past means she knows innocence is even rarer than justice. 

But when she is drawn back into the trial that defined her career, a case of twisted family betrayal, she realises her own reckless pursuit of justice may have helped the guilty go free.

As Georgia gets closer to the truth behind the Slater family, something happens that threatens not only her career - but even her own sanity. At first, she fears her guilt around the events of her terrible childhood is finally coming back to haunt her. 

My verdict
The Secrets You Hide is a twisty psychological thriller filled with emotion and intrigue.

This was (yet again) one of those books that I couldn't stop reading but really wanted to slow down to savour the writing. And it hooked me right from the very first page. The writing is compelling and easy to read, brilliantly bringing the characters and setting to life.

The Secrets You Hide is an original and gripping addition to the psychological thriller genre. I've struggled with this genre recently, finding that so many books 'seem the same'. So I loved the unusual premise of using a courtroom artist as the protagonist.

The book provided a fascinating insight into Georgia Sage's work and revealed how one person's 'first impressions' can influence the thoughts, actions and emotions of other people through a few simple brush strokes - and how they don't always get this right. Georgia has her own traumatic past to deal with - which has a strong influence on her work and also her relationships with the people around her. I found myself totally invested in her life, as she explored her past, fought her inner demons and thought about her future.

I often spot twists and turns, but this book certainly managed to throw me off track in a couple of places, especially at the end. As everything clicked into place, I kicked myself (not literally, of course) for not connecting the dots sooner.

A fantastic novel. Pre-order it!