Worst Case Scenario by Helen FitzGerald

Worst Case Scenario
By Helen FitzGerald
Published by Orenda Books (E-book: out now; Paperback: 17 May 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation offer, dealing with some of Glasgow’s worst cases, and her job is on the line. Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he’s published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero – and a poster boy for Men’s Rights activists. Liam is released on licence into Mary’s care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam’s daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice … with devastating consequences. 

My verdict

For the last 19 years, I've edited a newsletter about the menopause as part of my day job as a health journalist/editor. So I was delighted to read Worst Case Scenario, as it's not often that I find a menopausal protagonist in a crime novel. I don't just mean a woman 'of a certain age'. I mean one with actual menopausal symptoms - the ones you may know about and the ones you may prefer not to know about!

Mary Shields is a foul-mouthed probational officer with clients who have committed some abominable crimes. She wants to help her clients (although some don't want the help she's offering), but struggles with the paperwork and bureaucracy of her job and has finally had enough. She just needs to get through a few more weeks. 

Worst Case Scenario is dark, insane, shocking and highly entertaining - menopausal AND criminal madness. Lots of laugh-out-loud moments, cringeworthy ones and sad ones too, as protagonist Mary Shields' life falls apart at the seams. She's struggling to juggle her work, family, friendships and drinking habits, as well as cope with her troublesome menopausal symptoms - hot flushes, mood swings, those 'oops' Tena moments (seen the adverts?) and more. She may not come across as a caring individual, but has a strong sense of justice and would do anything for her family. Sadly, she makes terrible decisions and gets herself - and her family - into all sorts of trouble!

This is a short book but is hard-hitting and punchy - making up for its size with its highly memorable characters and gritty writing. You'll need a slightly warped sense of humour (lots of slapstick scenarios) and shouldn't take anything TOO seriously. It's pure escapism and lots of fun from beginning to end - and I really did find myself panicking at Mary's 'worst case scenario'! 

Plus Helen FitzGerald's first and the last lines are brilliant! 

You won't forget this book in a hurry - if at all!

Good Samaritans by Will Carver

Good Samaritans
By Will Carver
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - 15 September 2018; Paperback - 15 November 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

One crossed wire, three dead bodies and six bottles of bleach

Seth Beauman can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.
But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker, when Seth brings Hadley home…
And someone is watching…

My verdict
On the day Good Samaritans arrived in the post, I thought I'd just 'check it out'.

So I read the first page...

        Then I read the first chapter...

                 Then I read the whole book...

                            And then, that evening, I tweeted this:

I loved Michael Grothaus' Epiphany Jones, also published by Orenda Books. On the surface (or if you read the blurb), Good Samaritans is nothing like it - the stories are very different, the subject matter too. But inside, I found the same quirkiness, darkness and humour, again packaged neatly in a brilliantly written, additive read.

Short chapters switch seamlessly between the lead characters, which prompted me to read 'just one more'. I should have hated so many characters but I loved them all instead. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things behind closed doors. Good Samaritans? Definitely... but only on their own terms. Who knew insomnia could be so dangerous?

Good Samaritans is sexy, dark, explicit and graphic in places, so certainly not for the fainthearted. It's twisty and twisted too. Is this love story? Oh yes, but not necessarily in the way you think. It's certainly a tale of lust, obsession, control and desperation.

The book kept me guessing and certainly kept me engrossed, with many 'laugh out loud' moments and pages read with a gasp. It's an incredibly hard book to review without giving anything away - and I really do hope that other reviewers are equally as careful. This is a book that needs to be read 'blind', just using the blurb on the jacket as your guide.

To sum it up - I loved this book and will happily shout about it from the rooftops! In fact, I'm sure I will over the coming months (and beyond). And I'll never look at bottles of bleach in quite the same way again.