Dark Waters by Mary-Jane Riley

Dark Water
By Mary-Jane Riley
Published by Killer Reads (16 March 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Secrets lie beneath the surface…

Two men, seemingly unconnected, are discovered dead in a holiday boat on the Norfolk Broads, having apparently committed suicide together.

Local journalist Alex Devlin, planning an article on the dangers of internet suicide forums, starts digging into their backgrounds.

But Alex’s investigation soon leads her to a much darker mystery – one that will hit closer to home than she could possibly have imagined, and place the lives of those she loves in terrible danger.

My verdict

I really enjoy Mary-Jane Riley's writing. All three of her Alex Devlin books have been very easy to read, with plenty of description to paint a vivid picture in my head of characters and places without taking anything away from the pace of the plot.

Alex Devlin is a fantastic character - a feisty journalist with a nose for mystery who throws herself into her job 100% but still manages to maintain a strong sense of family. There are some larger-than-life flamboyant characters in Dark Waters too, providing some light-hearted humorous moments. There's one particular character I would have loved to see more of (since he features more heavily in the previous books) but he's still there in the background.

I highly recommend Dark Waters. I found myself racing through the pages and had to remind myself to breathe! A couple of twists and turns made me sit upright as I really didn't see those coming. This series is getting better and better, and the main characters are definitely growing with each book. As with the previous books, Dark Waters left me wanting more (in a good way).

Can this be read as a standalone? Yes, it probably can. But I would suggest you buy (and read) all three books in this series so far anyway!

Mary-Jane Riley's Writing Toolkit

WRITING TOOLKIT gives you an idea of an author's writing process through the tools they use. The tools can be anything (real or virtual) that they think is essential for their writing - serious, fun or even a fetish (that they're willing to own up to)! 

I am delighted to welcome 

MARY-JANE RILEY

AUTHOR OF DARK WATERS

TO SHARE HER WRITING TOOLKIT

FOR HER BLOG TOUR

Dark Waters was published by Killer Reads on 16 March 2018. 

A room of one's own

It’s not necessary to have a whole room to write in - indeed it can even become a bit of a millstone (husband says ‘you can have the whole day to write in your room’ I freeze and generally find I can’t do much at all) - and I like to be able to write in all sorts of places - the dining room table, the train, an aeroplane, a balcony in Greece overlooking the ocean... but I do love my room and I probably write my best stuff there. I have a lovely view over the Common and see sparrow hawks, kestrels, rabbits, dog walkers and even deer. I keep my handbags in my room, and I often have company in the form of one of my dogs, Reggie, who likes to sleep on the futon (I know, I know, who on earth buys something as uncomfortable as a futon?). Sometimes *whispers* I curl up with him. 

Walking

And talking of Reggie, walking him and Bella is a wonderful way to clear my head, untangle plot messes, think about characters and feel that maybe what I’m writing isn’t one hundred percent c***p. I often go up the road to a wonderful area where the dogs run free to sniff and smell and play. The East Anglian sky is wide and beautiful and the sense of space is amazing. The dogs are also very good sounding boards as they always seem pleased to hear about my plots, characters, and so on. They never get bored! Marvellous! 

Radio

I have to have silence while I work, but when I want to switch off I love listening to the radio, usually plays I have downloaded from the BBC - Radio Four or Radio Four Extra. I have heard some great stuff over the years, and I particularly like plays that use the medium of radio to its fullest - a recent Jonathan Myerson play was a brilliant example of this. If I can’t sleep at night I listen to Radio Five Live Up All Night, which is full of interesting and informative items, so not great for getting me off to sleep. I am also an out and proud fan of The Archers.... 

Notebooks

Notebooks, notebooks and more notebooks! Of all shapes and sizes! But mostly I like to write in big ones, at least A4 size.... I make notes, write character outlines, doodle, and often write down what has happened so far in the latest book I’m writing - I find if I do that a couple of times it can unlock the next bit... 

Husband

Couldn’t do any of this without him. Simple. He is encouraging, he doesn’t yawn when I bore on. And on. And on. He listens and makes great suggestions, tells me I’m great (even though I’m not), whistles when I’m shouting about things not working - computer, ideas, that sort of thing (actually the whistling can be quite annoying). Suggest ways to make my writing tighter. AND HE DOES THE IRONING. ALL OF IT.

The delete button

To take out those clumsy sentences, those rubbish paragraphs, that purple prose, those over-the-top descriptions, those sentences that seem so fine but are far to ‘writerly’, and all those damn ellipses and exclamation marks! 

THANKS FOR TAKING PART, MARY-JANE!

About Mary-Jane Riley

Mary-Jane wrote her first story on her newly acquired blue Petite typewriter. She was eight. It was about a gang of children who had adventures on mysterious islands, but she soon realised Enid Blyton had cornered that particular market. So she wrote about the Wild West instead. When she grew up she had to earn a living, and became a BBC radio talk show presenter and journalist. She has covered many life-affirming stories, but also some of the darkest events of the past two decades. Mary-Jane has three grown-up children and lives in Suffolk with her husband and two golden retrievers.

DARK WATERS is her third crime thriller featuring investigative journalist, Alex Devlin.

Find Mary-Jane Riley on her Facebook page and on Twitter - @mrsmjriley

About DARK WATERS

Published by Killer Reads (16 March 2018)

Publisher's description

DARK WATERS is the third crime thriller in the series featuring journalist Alex Devlin. It begins with a macabre discovery on board a pleasure cruiser on the beautiful Norfolk Broads – the decomposing bodies of two elderly men. It appears the dead men did not know each other and police suspect an internet suicide pact.

Alex’s search for the truth reveals a darker story. She finds a connection between the two men and possible links to other unexplained deaths.

As she investigates further, the stakes rise and her own family becomes embroiled in the mystery. Her inquiries lead her to the University of Cambridge. Could the roots of the puzzle lie there with a tragedy that unfolded amongst a group of carefree students many years before?

Long-buried secrets come to the surface and Alex’s life and the lives of her family are on the line. As the past and the present collide, Alex questions everything she thinks she knows about those she loves.

Follow the Blog Tour

Author catch up - Mary-Jane Riley

I've had Mary-Jane Riley's two books - The Bad Things and After She Fell - on my Kindle for a very long time (an embarrassingly long time). But I finally managed to read them a few months ago. And I'm so glad I did.

Both books feature journalist Alex Devlin, who is investigating crimes and cases that are personal to her. As a journalist, I do have a soft spot for crime fiction featuring journalists although only when they're portrayed realistically, as Mary-Jane Riley has done here.

In The Bad Things, Alex is looking into the abduction and murder (15 years earlier) of her sister Sasha's two small children - Harry's body was discovered soon afterwards, but Millie's remains have never been found. When the woman who was jailed as an accessory to murder is released, Alex is determined to discover what really happened all those years ago. She wants her troubled sister to find closure as Sasha still struggles to cope with the aftermath of the past.

In After She Fell, Alex is investigating the death of the teenage daughter of an old friend. Seventeen-year-old Elena was found at the bottom of the cliff near her boarding school. In this book, we hear Elena's voice in the form of her diaries, providing a snapshot of her life - the teenager is portrayed realistically.

I loved both of these books. Alex is a very believable character. She's warm and sensitive when she needs to be, but also determined and not one to take no for an answer. These books are as much about the characters as the investigations.

Both books are filled with family dynamics, secrets and lies. They are well plotted and gripping, with enough tension and pace to keep me intrigued all the way through. Mary-Jane Riley certainly kept me on my toes, with her twists, turns and red herrings. The endings were unexpected, but also neat, leaving no loose threads.

You could read After She Fell as a standalone, but it does reveal information about The Bad Things, which could act as a spoiler. It's probably best to read this books in the right order.

I look forward to seeing what's next from Mary-Jane Riley.

About the books

The Bad Things
Published by Killer Reads (August 2015)

Publisher's description

Alex Devlin’s life changed forever fifteen years ago when her sister Sasha's two small children were snatched in broad daylight. Little Harry’s body was found a few days later, but Millie’s remains were never discovered.

Now Jackie Wood, jailed as an accessory to the twins’ murder, has been released, her conviction quashed by the Appeal Court. Convinced Jackie can reveal where Millie is buried, Alex goes to meet her.

But the unexpected information Wood reveals shocks Alex to the core and threatens to uncover the dark secret she has managed to keep under wraps for the past fifteen years. Because in the end, can we ever really know what is in the hearts of those closest to us?

After She Fell
Published by Killer Reads (April 2016)

Publisher's description

There are so many ways to fall…

Catriona needs help. Her seventeen-year-old daughter Elena was found dead at the bottom of a cliff near her boarding school. The death has been ruled a suicide, but Catriona isn’t convinced.

When her old friend, journalist Alex Devlin, arrives in Hallow’s Edge to investigate, she quickly finds that life at private boarding school The Drift isn’t as idyllic as the bucolic setting might suggest.

Amidst a culture of drug-taking, bullying and tension between school and village, no one is quite who they seem to be, and there are several people who might have wanted Elena to fall…

Terrible Twos - an author guest post by Mary-Jane Riley

I'm delighted to welcome Mary-Jane Riley to my blog today, to talk about Terrible Twos - that dreaded second book syndrome. Mary-Jane's latest book After She Fell was published by Killer Reads on 26 April 2016.

Terrible Twos

By Mary-Jane Riley

It’s true what they say – writing a book is like having a baby. There you are, writing it over several months, nourishing it, worrying about it, then pushing it out into the world, fearful things will go horribly wrong. So it was with my first book, The Bad Things. When it appeared on my kindle last August on publication day I expected to feel euphoric. I’d done it! But the overwhelming emotion was worry. Would people like it? After all, that was the main reason for this whole rocky journey (not to be too X Factor about it) – to have people enjoy reading the book. My best friend rang me in the evening. I burst into tears. Overwhelmed. Then I drank champagne (my agent told me to celebrate every stage with champagne. I took her at her word. Still do). As the days and weeks went on, people did read it and enjoyed it. Friends and colleagues were so proud of me and for me – they knew I had wanted this for some time. The reviews were great. I was determined not to obsess about the slightest critical word in a review (there is one reviewer who is a swear word in our house). It did really well in various the kindle charts in the UK and the US. I was a proper author. Then I held the paperback in my hand. Photographed it a lot. Tweeted and Face-booked until my head was spinning.

And I wasn’t going to have second book dread. Absolutely not. No way. What do you take me for? Worry about doing it all over again? Come on! Okay, so I’d had months, years of preparing for my first book. I could sit and dream and think about accepting awards, of being on panels of being able to do what I had always wanted to do. Now I could begin to think about the next one –

‘You are writing the second one?’ (My agent.)

‘Er…yes.’ (Me, looking at the doodles in my notebook.)

‘Because you can’t hang around, you know. This is what you do.’   (My agent – not known as The Fearsome One for nothing)

So I tried not to hang around. I chatted to the dog (she always listens, though occasionally appears bored). I sat my bottom in front of my computer (only way and if you’re not careful it can get quite large) and began to shape the doodles into words. Sentences. Paragraphs. Chapters. A book. After She Fell. The main character the same as in The Bad Things as I felt there was more of her story to tell – though I did move her out of her home town of Sole Bay to avoid it becoming like Midsomer with bodies everywhere.

But.

Are the characters just standing around drinking coffee?

Do they spend most of their time in the pub?

Does anything actually happen?

What if I’ve lost the ability to write?

What if nobody likes it?

What if it doesn’t sell as well?

Is it as good as The Bad Things?

Do I have enough gin in the house?

My agent loved it. My editor wanted it. After some more shaping and honing and polishing, it was pushed out into the world too.

I had a fabulous publication day. Went out to lunch with my husband. Drank champagne in the evening. Didn’t cry this time, I knew what to expect. And yet. And yet.

It was like having a second baby. First baby gets showered with teddy bears and rattles and cute clothes. Second baby gets a pair of bootees. Knitted by a maiden aunt. Friends and colleagues made appreciative noises and have, I hope, bought it. My family are still extremely proud of me though I do accept it’s not as exciting for them this time round. The good reviews are beginning to appear, though I have weaned myself off refreshing the Amazon/Kobo/iBooks/Goodreads page every few minutes (it’s a wonder I write anything). But still the doubts, the worry. See? Like having babies. But that’s life. And I am privileged to be able to do this, so damn lucky to have the opportunity a great many people dream of.

The phone rings. It’s my friend – the one who I cried down the phone to last August.

‘Well done,’ she says. ‘I’m so proud of you.’

‘But I don’t know whether it’s going to be as good… do as well…’

‘I am very proud of you,’ she says firmly. ‘You have written and published two books. Two. Books.’

She’s right (she always is).

Now for Book Three.

About Mary-Jane Riley

Mary-Jane Riley is an ex BBC journey and crime writer.  Mary-Jane loves wine. And dogs.

Readers can find out more about Mary-Jane Riley on her Facebook page. Follow Mary-Jane Riley on Twitter - @mrsmjriley 

After She Fell
By Mary-Jane Riley
Published by Killer Reads (26 April 2016)

Publisher's description

There are so many ways to fall…

Catriona needs help. Her seventeen-year-old daughter Elena was found dead at the bottom of a cliff near her boarding school. The death has been ruled a suicide, but Catriona isn’t convinced.

When her old friend, journalist Alex Devlin, arrives in Hallow’s Edge to investigate, she quickly finds that life at private boarding school The Drift isn’t as idyllic as the bucolic setting might suggest.

Amidst a culture of drug-taking, bullying and tension between school and village, no one is quite who they seem to be, and there are several people who might have wanted Elena to fall…