Deep Dark Night by Steph Broadribb

Deep Dark Night 
By Steph Broadribb
Published by Orenda Books (5 March 2020)
I received an advance reader copy from the publisher 

Publisher's description

A city in darkness. A building in lockdown. A score that can only be settled in blood…

Working off the books for FBI Special Agent Alex Monroe, Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson and her partner, JT, head to Chicago. Their mission: to entrap the head of the Cabressa crime family. The bait: a priceless chess set that Cabressa is determined to add to his collection.

An exclusive high-stakes poker game is arranged in the penthouse suite of one of the city’s tallest buildings, with Lori holding the cards in an agreed arrangement to hand over the pieces, one by one. But, as night falls and the game plays out, stakes rise and tempers flare.

When a power failure plunges the city into darkness, the building goes into lockdown. But this isn’t an ordinary blackout, and the men around the poker table aren’t all who they say they are. Hostages are taken, old scores resurface and the players start to die.

And that’s just the beginning…

My verdict
It feels very apt to publish this book review on Off-the-Shelf Books on Mother's Day in the UK, because Lori Anderson, the protagonist of Deep Dark Night, is very much a devoted mother. She also happens to be a kickass bounty hunter who get herself into various precarious scenarios. And the scenario in Deep Dark Night certainly seems to be her most dangerous one yet.

Lori and her partner JT have taken on a high-stakes case that involves not just gambling for money but gambling for their lives. And while everything falls apart around her, all Lori can really think about is getting back safely to her daughter.

Deep Dark Night is 'Die Hard on speed', with constant action through skyscraper blackouts, riots in the city and a locked-room mystery. The book sizzles with electricity, taking the reader on a rollercoaster of emotions, yet also has an intense claustrophobic feel to it. It's a brilliant fun one-sitting read that will push your adrenaline levels sky high.

Another reason I love this book is that due to its structure JT finally has 'a voice' as we follow his endeavours to keep himself safe, after he and Lori are forced to go their separate ways. Thanks to plenty of cliffhangers followed by a switch in viewpoint, this book constantly left me feeling on edge.

This series keeps on getting better and better, with Steph Broadribb expertly creating three-dimensional characters and plots that continue to shock, thrill and entertain. Looking forward to the next one.


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Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver - resharing my review

Today I'm resharing my review of Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver. The book is being published in paperback by Orenda Books on Thursday 14th November - it's original, twisted, clever and shocking. And here’s my full review, in case you missed it the first time.

Nothing Important Happened Today
By Will Carver
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - 14 September 2019; Paperback - 14 November 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Nine suicides

One Cult

No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of The People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe: a decapitation in Germany, a public shooting at a university in Bordeaux; in Illinois, a sports team stands around the centre circle of the football pitch and pulls the trigger of the gun pressed to the temple of the person on their right. It becomes a movement.

My verdict
Nothing Important Happened Today... So hard to describe this book and discuss it with someone who hasn't read it, other than to say it's brilliant (apologies as I'm going to use this word a few times in this review).

It's beautifully written. The writing is staccato - quick, fast-paced and compelling - drawing the reader in. As a few things slotted into place, I realised that the book was so clever too - like nothing I've ever read before. The underlying premise is unique and ... yep ... brilliant.

The book is so well plotted, bringing everything together, weaving in historical references to cults and serial killers with the events in the present day. It provides a melancholy monologue on modern living, social media culture and the pace of society. The book focuses on a highly emotional topic, yet doesn't read that way - I can't give anything away, so it's really hard to explain! The descriptions are shocking and graphic in places and maybe slightly disturbing.

Nothing Important Happened Today will intrigue you from the start and after a while you won't want to put it down. The ending is so good and so right and ... so brilliant. You won't forget this book after you've read it! And you'll just have to read it to find out why!

OK. I think I've waffled on enough now. Just buy the book!

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Violet by SJI Holliday - resharing my review!

I loved Violet by SJI Holliday so much that I'm sharing my review again today. If you visit SJI Holliday's website blog here, you can see photos from 'Violet's journey'. The book is set on the Trans-Siberian Express. SJI Holliday took this journey herself in 2006 and, for 30 days in September to October this year, shared photos of locations that feature in her book.

And here's my review:

Violet 
By SJI Holliday
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - 14 September 2019; Paperback - 14 November 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

When two strangers end up sharing a cabin on the Trans-Siberian Express, an intense friendship develops, one that can only have one ending … a nerve-shattering psychological thriller from bestselling author SJI Holliday

Carrie's best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they'd planned together, so Carrie decides to go it alone. 

Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is also desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available.

When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend's place.

Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond. But as the journey continues, through Mongolia and into Russia, things start to unravel – because one of these women is not who she claims to be…

My verdict
If you follow my reviews, you'll know that I love SJI Holliday's books. Violet is set to be one of my favourite reads of this year.

Violet was great fun to read - there's mystery, humour and intrigue on every page. The writing is beautiful and compelling. The plot is creepy, chilling and clever - and very dark and very twisted.
It's what I often call a 'car crash book'. When you know something bad is going to happen but you have no idea what, and there's obviously nothing you can do to stop it. And then, BAM, it all hits you.

I could tell that the author has first-hand experience of the Trans-Siberian Express journey, from all of the tiny descriptive details, and I suspect that the book was a highly personal one to write. Maybe not the best book to read when your 18-year-old son is interrailing around Europe, but fortunately my son came back safely in one piece - unlike some of the characters in this book!

SJI Holliday has written two believable and deeply flawed unreliable narrators. I had no idea which one was to be trusted, if either of them. I read the book with bated breath - and wanted to applaud the author's brilliance at the end.

I don't often 'compare' books as it's not something I'm very good at, and reading is such a subjective experience anyway. But immediately I thought of Liz Nugent's Skin Deep - both books featuring an in-depth analysis of a female psychopath.

SJI Holliday is proving to be a master of psychological thrillers, with expert plotting and fabulous characterisation. Brilliant stuff! 

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Little Siberia by Antti Tuomainen

Little Siberia
By Antti Tuomainen
Published by Orenda Books (17 October 2019)
I received an advance reader copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

A man with dark thoughts on his mind is racing along the remote snowy roads of Hurmevaara in Finland, when there is flash in the sky and something crashes into the car. That something turns about to be a highly valuable meteorite. With euro signs lighting up the eyes of the locals, the unexpected treasure is temporarily placed in a neighbourhood museum, under the watchful eye of a priest named Joel.

But Joel has a lot more on his mind than simply protecting the riches that have apparently rained down from heaven. His wife has just revealed that she is pregnant. Unfortunately Joel has strong reason to think the baby isn’t his. As Joel tries to fend off repeated and bungled attempts to steal the meteorite, he must also come to terms with his own situation, and discover who the father of the baby really is.

My verdict

Little Siberia is great fun to read – and now my favourite Antti Tuomainen book. 

Who knew that a piece of rock could cause so much trouble? A valuable meteorite crashing through the roof of a car driven by a drunken driver. Dodgy Russian gangsters and other dubious characters trying to steal it. Chase scenes through snowdrifts and deserted museums, along frozen lakes and rocky terrain. The setting is as chilling as the plot, with its icy landscape and close-knit claustrophobic community.

All of this has been packaged into a quirky crime novel. Yet this is far more than just your ‘ordinary’ museum heist, as all manner of local secrets drift out into the open during the book's rollercoaster journey. While crime is at the heart of Little Siberia, this is also very much a book about people and humanity with its scenes of contemplation, questioning faith and belief, right versus wrong and the meaning of life. There’s a veteran-turned-priest deep in a personal crisis, with a 'miraculous' pregnancy surrounded by the mystery of fatherhood.

The book has been translated well by David Hackston, retaining the author's dark Finnish humour, cheeky charm and sharp dialogue and narrative.

With Antti Tuomainen, you never know what’s coming next. And I can’t wait to see what that will be!

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Extra special bumper cover reveal(!!) with Steph Broadribb & Orenda Books

Today, I'm so excited to be hosting an extra special cover reveal for Orenda Books. Why is it extra special? Because this isn't just a cover reveal - it's a reveal of a brand new look for the Lori Andersen series by Steph Broadribb AND details of her next book! Deep Dark Night is being published by Orenda Books as an ebook in January 2020 and as a paperback in March 2020. 

When preparing this post, I had a 'huge' dilemma. How do I reveal not just one cover, but FOUR covers while also telling you about the books? Well I've decided to show you the new cover first, but do scroll down to see ALL of the covers as they're fabulous.

Before I show you the cover of Deep Dark Night though, you must read the blurb. 

*drum roll*

Deep Dark Night: Read the blurb

Fearless Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson travels to Chicago to trap the head of a notorious crime family, in a high-stakes, nail-biting mission that sees her trapped in one of the city’s tallest buildings during a blackout…

A city in darkness. A building in lockdown. A score that can only be settled in blood…

Working off the books for FBI Special Agent Alex Monroe, Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson and her partner, JT, head to Chicago. Their mission: to entrap the head of the Cabressa crime family. The bait: a priceless chess set that Cabressa is determined to add to his collection.

An exclusive high-stakes poker game is arranged in the penthouse suite of one of the city’s tallest buildings, with Lori holding the cards in an agreed arrangement to hand over the pieces, one by one. But, as night falls and the game plays out, stakes rise and tempers flare.

When a power failure plunges the city into darkness, the building goes into lockdown. But this isn’t an ordinary blackout, and the men around the poker table aren’t all who they say they are. Hostages are taken, old scores resurface and the players start to die.

And that’s just the beginning…

Sounds brilliant, doesn't it?! 
I can't wait to read it - I LOVE this series!   

AND NOW ... *drum roll*

Are you ready????

Deep Dark Night : View the cover

Isn't this amazing? There are more amazing reveals to come ... Keeping scrolling down to see all of the other fantastic books in the series with their NEW covers!

Deep Down Dead

Shortlisted for:

**The Kathy Reichs Award for Fearless Female Character**

**The Cat Amongst the Pigeons Award for Most Exceptional Debut**

**FINALIST IN THE INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARDS FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL**

Part-time Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson isn’t a superhero … she’s a single mum with a lot on her plate. But when her family is threatened, she’ll stop at nothing to seek justice, and keep them safe…

Six states. Three days. One chance to save her child…

Lori Anderson is as tough as they come, managing to keep her career as a fearless Florida bounty hunter separate from her role as single mother to nine-year-old Dakota, who suffers from leukaemia. But when the hospital bills start to rack up, she has no choice but to take her daughter along on a job that will make her a fast buck. And that’s when things start to go wrong.

The fugitive she’s assigned to haul back to court is none other than JT, Lori’s former mentor – the man who taught her everything she knows … the man who also knows the secrets of her murky past. Not only is JT fighting a child exploitation racket operating out of one of Florida’s biggest amusement parks, Winter Wonderland, a place where ‘bad things never happen’, but he’s also mixed up with the powerful Miami Mob. With two fearsome foes on their tails, just three days to get JT back to Florida, and her daughter to protect, Lori has her work cut out for her. When they’re ambushed at a gas station, the stakes go from high to stratospheric, and things become personal.

Breathtakingly fast-paced, both hard-boiled and heart-breaking, Deep Down Dead is a simply stunning debut from one of the most exciting new voices in crime fiction.

Deep Blue Trouble

With her lover, JT, behind bars and heading for death row, single-mother Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson takes on an off-the-books job that could threaten everything…

A web of lies. A killer on the run. An impossible choice…

Single-mother Florida bounty hunter Lori Anderson’s got an ocean of trouble on her hands. Her daughter Dakota is safe, but the little girl’s cancer is threatening a comeback, and Lori needs JT – Dakota’s daddy and the man who taught Lori everything – alive and kicking. Problem is, he’s behind bars, and heading for death row.

Desperate to save him, Lori does a deal, taking on off-the-books job from shady FBI agent Alex Monroe. Bring back on-the-run felon, Gibson ‘The Fish’ Fletcher, and JT walks free.This is one job she’s got to get right, or she’ll lose everything…

Breathlessly paced, and bursting with high-voltage action and edge-of-your-seat jeopardy, Deep Blue Trouble is the unmissable next instalment of the Lori Anderson series, featuring one of the most memorable and fearless female characters in crime fiction.

Deep Dirty Truth

Single-mother Florida bounty-hunter Lori Anderson returns in another nail-biting, high-voltage read. When Lori is kidnapped, and her family threatened, she has 48 hours to save them … or lose everything…

A price on her head. A secret worth dying for. 48 hours to expose the truth…

Single-mother bounty-hunter Lori Anderson finally has 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’ 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.

With North due in court in 48 hours, Lori sets off across Florida, racing against the clock to find him and save her family. Only in this race the prize is more deadly – and the secret she shares with JT more dangerous – than she ever could have imagined.

In this race only the winner gets out alive…

The Lori Anderson series: Read about author Steph Broadribb

Steph Broadribb was born in Birmingham and grew up in Buckinghamshire. Most of her working life has been spent between the UK and USA. As her alter ego – Crime Thriller Girl – she indulges her love of all things crime fiction by blogging at crimethrillergirl.com, where she interviews authors and reviews the latest releases. She is also a member of the crime-themed girl band The Splice Girls. Steph is an alumni of the MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) at City University London, and she trained as a bounty hunter in California, which inspired her Lori Anderson thrillers. She lives in Buckinghamshire surrounded by horses, cows and chickens. Her debut thriller, Deep Down Dead, was shortlisted for the Dead Good Reader Awards in two categories, was a finalist in the ITW Awards, and hit number one on the UK and AU kindle charts. The sequels, Deep Blue Trouble and Deep Dirty Truth soon followed suit. My Little Eye, her first novel under her pseudonym Stephanie Marland, was published by Trapeze Books in April 2018.

Find Steph Broadribb via her website, through her Facebook page and on Twitter - @crimethrillgirl

For ALL of your Orenda news, visit the Orenda website and follow @OrendaBooks on Twitter.

Cage by Lilja Sigurdardottir

Cage

By Lilja Sigurdardottir

Published by Orenda Books (E-book - 17 August 2019); Paperback - 17 October 2019)

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Drugs, smuggling, big money and political intrigue in Iceland rally with love, passion, murder and betrayal until the winner takes all … in the masterful, explosive conclusion to the award-winning Reykjavík Noir trilogy…

The prison doors slam shut behind Agla, when her sentence ends, but her lover Sonja is not there to meet her.

As a group of foreign businessmen tries to draw Agla into an ingenious fraud that stretches from Iceland around the world, Agla and her former nemesis, María find the stakes being raised at a terrifying speed.

Ruthless drug baron Ingimar will stop at nothing to protect his empire, but he has no idea about the powder keg he is sitting on in his own home.

At the same time, a deadly threat to Sonya and her family brings her from London back to Iceland, where she needs to settle scores with longstanding adversaries if she wants to stay alive.

With a shocking crescendo, the lives of these characters collide, as drugs, smuggling, big money and political intrigue rally with love, passion, murder and betrayal until the winner takes all … in the masterful, explosive conclusion to the award-winning Reykjavík Noir trilogy.

My verdict

I've been following this Reykjavik Noir trilogy - Snare, then Trap and now Cage. And each time, the book has offered a slightly different 'reading experience' focusing on the background of the characters' lives.

Cage is a fairly short book, but there's so much packed within its pages: a journalist's search for the truth, political conspiracies, a teenage boy with an axe to grind, Agla's adjustment to life outside prison and Sonja's natural instinct to protect her son. All of these threads weave together to create a multilayered plot that culminates in a dramatic ending.

This book provides a real game changer, focusing more on Agla than Sonja. It does what few books manage to do successfully - evolving a character so much that the reader's view of them changes drastically. The author also manages successfully to create a sense of fear, with rising tension and violence. The Icelandic has been well translated into English and provides a sharp sense of place. 

I would advise reading all three books in order to allow the characters to grow - and to grow on you.

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Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver

Nothing Important Happened Today
By Will Carver
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - 14 September 2019; Paperback - 14 November 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Nine suicides

One Cult

No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of The People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe: a decapitation in Germany, a public shooting at a university in Bordeaux; in Illinois, a sports team stands around the centre circle of the football pitch and pulls the trigger of the gun pressed to the temple of the person on their right. It becomes a movement.

My verdict
Nothing Important Happened Today... So hard to describe this book and discuss it with someone who hasn't read it, other than to say it's brilliant (apologies as I'm going to use this word a few times in this review).

It's beautifully written. The writing is staccato - quick, fast-paced and compelling - drawing the reader in. As a few things slotted into place, I realised that the book was so clever too - like nothing I've ever read before. The underlying premise is unique and ... yep ... brilliant.

The book is so well plotted, bringing everything together, weaving in historical references to cults and serial killers with the events in the present day. It provides a melancholy monologue on modern living, social media culture and the pace of society. The book focuses on a highly emotional topic, yet doesn't read that way - I can't give anything away, so it's really hard to explain! The descriptions are shocking and graphic in places and maybe slightly disturbing.

Nothing Important Happened Today will intrigue you from the start and after a while you won't want to put it down. The ending is so good and so right and ... so brilliant. You won't forget this book after you've read it! And you'll just have to read it to find out why!

OK. I think I've waffled on enough now. Just buy the book!

Blood Song by Johana Gustawsson

Blood Song
By Johana Gustawsson 
Translated by David Warriner
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - out now; Paperback - 19 September 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Spain, 1938: The country is wracked by civil war, and as Valencia falls to Franco’s brutal dictatorship, Republican Therese witnesses the murders of her family. Captured and sent to the notorious Las Ventas women’s prison, Therese gives birth to a daughter who is forcibly taken from her.

Falkenberg, Sweden, 2016: A wealthy family is found savagely murdered in their luxurious home. Discovering that her parents have been slaughtered, Aliénor Lindbergh, a new recruit to the UK’s Scotland Yard, rushes back to Sweden and finds her hometown rocked by the massacre.

Profiler Emily Roy joins forces with Aliénor and soon finds herself on the trail of a monstrous and prolific killer. Little does she realise that this killer is about to change the life of her colleague, true-crime writer Alexis Castells. Joining forces once again, Roy and Castells’ investigation takes them from the Swedish fertility clinics of the present day back to the terror of Franco’s rule, and the horrifying events that took place in Spanish orphanages under its rule.

My verdict
Yet again, Johana Gustawsson has astounded me with her fabulous ability to intertwine crimes of the past with crimes of the present, seamlessly weaving multiple threads together to create a well-plotted, intelligent thriller.

Blood Song has been translated from French to English extremely well by David Warriner, not just showcasing the author's vivid prose but also her visceral writing. It focuses on a period of history I know little about - Franco's brutal dictatorship - and led me to Google to learn more. I love the use of multiple locations - London, Sweden and Spain - to enrich the story with culture and history.

Johana Gustawson's books are more than just crime thrillers. Each one has been written from the heart. Blood Song, in particular, is filled with emotion - from the brutality of Franco's dictatorship and shocking conditions in 1930s Spanish prisons & orphanages to the heartache of families attending modern-day fertility clinics, alongside the savage murder of a wealthy family in Sweden. It's based on the author's own experiences and her family history, and this shines through in her writing - it's personal and raw.

Blood Song is tragic and heartbreaking - a book of love, loss and hope and a book to make you cry and make you think. Yes, the crimes are dark, but the author manages to cover them with sensitivity and delve deeper into the 'why?' as well as the 'what?', 'how?' and 'who?'. Plus the crime element is fascinating and intriguing, right up to the big reveal - how are all of the threads linked together and why is it such a personal one for the team of investigators?

Bring on the next Roy & Castells book!

Violet by SJI Holliday

Violet 
By SJI Holliday
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - 14 September 2019; Paperback - 14 November 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

When two strangers end up sharing a cabin on the Trans-Siberian Express, an intense friendship develops, one that can only have one ending … a nerve-shattering psychological thriller from bestselling author SJI Holliday

Carrie's best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they'd planned together, so Carrie decides to go it alone. 

Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is also desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available.

When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend's place.

Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond. But as the journey continues, through Mongolia and into Russia, things start to unravel – because one of these women is not who she claims to be…

My verdict
If you follow my reviews, you'll know that I love SJI Holliday's books. Violet is set to be one of my favourite reads of this year.

Violet was great fun to read - there's mystery, humour and intrigue on every page. The writing is beautiful and compelling. The plot is creepy, chilling and clever - and very dark and very twisted.
It's what I often call a 'car crash book'. When you know something bad is going to happen but you have no idea what, and there's obviously nothing you can do to stop it. And then, BAM, it all hits you.

I could tell that the author has first-hand experience of the Trans-Siberian Express journey, from all of the tiny descriptive details, and I suspect that the book was a highly personal one to write. Maybe not the best book to read when your 18-year-old son is interrailing around Europe, but fortunately my son came back safely in one piece - unlike some of the characters in this book!

SJI Holliday has written two believable and deeply flawed unreliable narrators. I had no idea which one was to be trusted, if either of them. I read the book with bated breath - and wanted to applaud the author's brilliance at the end.

I don't often 'compare' books as it's not something I'm very good at, and reading is such a subjective experience anyway. But immediately I thought of Liz Nugent's Skin Deep - both books featuring an in-depth analysis of a female psychopath.

SJI Holliday is proving to be a master of psychological thrillers, with expert plotting and fabulous characterisation. Brilliant stuff! 

Working in the Music Business - a guest post by Louise Voss

Today, I am delighted to welcome Louise Voss to Off-the-Shelf Books to talk about how working in the music business has influenced her novels. The Last Stage was published by Orenda Books on 11 July 2019.

Working in the Music Business
(and how it influenced my novels)
By Louise Voss

I worked in the music business in the 90s, and it was such a profound experience that it has since featured in both my first and last novels.  The main characters in both To Be Someone and The Last Stage, Helena and Meredith respectively, were female popstars from successful 80s bands who subsequently had to come to terms with some of the less pleasant aspects of fame. 

I was originally planning to make the latter a sort of sequel to the former, a sort of ‘twenty years later’ story, since that’s almost the amount of time between publication dates, but as The Last Stage evolved, it became clear to me that the two women were very different, in both personality and appearance as well as their respective music tastes, so I made Meredith into a brand-new character instead. But the band threads remain in both novels, albeit very differing stories – The Last Stage is a crime novel, whereas To Be Someone was contemporary fiction. Unlike both Helena and Meredith, however, I was never a performer – perish the thought – but working with bands both big and small for years gave me a real insight into the joys and pitfalls of success, and how an act can go from being a bunch of kids messing around with guitars to selling out Wembley Stadium.

It was 1992, I was in my early 20s and a music nut, going to as many gigs as I could while working in a London school of architecture as an administrator during the day.  It had literally never occurred to me that I could make a career doing what I loved; not until someone told me about an employment agency specialising in jobs in music, so - in those pre-internet days - I rang them up. They told me to write in. The only problem was, the agency was (and still is) called Handle Recruitment, and I addressed my letter to Handel, after the composer. Talk about overthinking! 

Fortunately they didn’t write me off as illiterate. I got my first industry job, PA to the International MD of Virgin Records, joining right after Richard Branson sold out to EMI for a billion dollars. Whilst I was disappointed that I’d missed out on his legendary parties, I was also relieved to escape the potential fate of many female employees: being lifted up round the waist by him and chucked into a nearby swimming pool…

There were many other parties though, and the job immediately lived up to expectation. Record launches, leaving dos, album playbacks, aftershow bashes, awards ceremonies… The record business in the 90s was in my memory a strange mix of big business and quirky debauchery. Hospitality budgets were eye-wateringly huge. I remember the Christmas presents bought for some of the bigger artists – thousand-pound silk dressing-gowns from Harrods, expensive sound systems. Like they needed them! I used to think. 

People were mostly lovely, although with a few notable egos. One female exec had risen up through the ranks (helped in no small part by marrying her boss). Part of my job was organising the annual conference abroad for international executives, and once I dared query something she’d suggested. She shouted at me: ‘How DARE you question me! I’ve been running this company for twenty years!’ Not only did she not run the company, but she was 34 at the time…. 

A different boss I had at another record company famously got banned from British Airways for saying something so offensive to a stewardess that I still can’t repeat it without blushing. This was the company where the in-house drug dealer did regular Friday afternoon rounds of the office…so I won’t name that one! 

I loved working at Virgin. Not only did I make lots of friends I’m still in touch with, but I met my first husband there. Later in the 90s we relocated to New York to work for a Virgin subsidiary called Caroline Records. It was so interesting, going from working with huge bands at the top of their game, to brand-new starry-eyed acts whose first albums had just been signed. We promoted Ben Folds Five and the Chemical Brothers at the start of their careers, I also marketed Frank Sinatra’s grand-daughter’s band, and an act called The Del-Rubio Triplets, identical octogenarians in short skirts and cowboy hats…never a dull moment.  

I took it all for granted, the business flights and freebies, seeing bands every night, the backstage passes for all the Virgin and EMI acts who came to town. I went to Bowie’s 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Gardens, Peter Gabriel’s flat in New York, had my photo taken with Blur, dinner with the Smashing Pumpkins and a hug from Lenny Kravitz. 

After we moved back to the UK, I became a director of Sandie Shaw’s company, which was another brilliant job – Sandie was great fun to work with. 

It’s only really now I look back that I think how extraordinary it all was, what an amazing experience to have. I’m not surprised it’s cropped up more than once in my books, and more than likely will again in some guise or another.

            

About Louise Voss

Over her eighteen-year writing career, Louise Voss has had eleven novels published – five solo and six co-written with Mark Edwards: a combination of psychological thrillers, police procedurals and contemporary fiction – and sold over 350,000 books. Her most recent book, The Old You, was a number one bestseller in eBook. Louise has an MA (Dist) in Creative Writing and also works as a literary consultant and mentor for writers at www.thewritingcoach.co.uk. She lives in South-West London and is a proud member of two female crime-writing collectives, The Slice Girls and Killer Women.

Find Louise Voss on her website and on Twitter - @LouiseVoss1

About The LAST STAGE

The Last Stage

By Louise Voss

Published by Orenda Books (11 July 2019)

Publisher's description

A violent and horrific incident forces a young woman to go into hiding, at the peak of her career as lead singer of an indie pop band. Years later, strange things start to happen and it becomes clear that some know who she is…

At the peak of her career as lead singer of a legendary 1980s indie band, Meredith Vincent was driven off the international stage by a horrific incident. Now living a quiet existence in a cottage on the grounds of an old stately home, she has put her past behind her and come to terms with her new life.

When a body is found in the manicured gardens of her home, and a series of inexplicable and unsettling events begins to occur, it becomes clear that someone is watching, someone who knows who she is … Someone who wants vengeance.

And this is only the beginning…

Read a snippet of my review: 'The Last Stage contains a murder mystery to solve and secrets to reveal. There's even some history in there too. It's funny, smart and highly entertaining!'

Read my full review here.

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The Last Stage by Louise Voss

The Last Stage
By Louise Voss
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - 24 May 20189; Paperback - 11 July 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

A violent and horrific incident forces a young woman to go into hiding, at the peak of her career as lead singer of an indie pop band. Years later, strange things start to happen and it becomes clear that some know who she is…

At the peak of her career as lead singer of a legendary 1980s indie band, Meredith Vincent was driven off the international stage by a horrific incident. Now living a quiet existence in a cottage on the grounds of an old stately home, she has put her past behind her and come to terms with her new life.

When a body is found in the manicured gardens of her home, and a series of inexplicable and unsettling events begins to occur, it becomes clear that someone is watching, someone who knows who she is … Someone who wants vengeance.

And this is only the beginning…

My verdict
The Last Stage is a twisty psychological thriller - a tale of revenge, identity and disturbing pasts.

Ex-singer Meredith Vincent has a 'past' she's been trying to hide, something that she's kept to herself for years while living a quiet life away from the crowds. But now her past is beginning to catch up with her - or rather, someone is trying to catch up with her and they're not looking for a sentimental reunion.

The psychological thriller market is saturated, so it's always a bonus to find a book that offers more than the rest of the crowd. I raced through this one, with its cosy crime feel, twisty thriller plot and quaint British setting.

The book is filled with an abundance of vibrant, memorable, larger-than-life characters, in the past and present, and I loved the descriptions of the old stately home, cottage garden and canal boats. I can imagine author Louise Voss having as much fun writing this book as I had reading it (despite the darkness behind it).

The Last Stage contains a murder mystery to solve and secrets to reveal. There's even some history in there too. It's funny, smart and highly entertaining!

BEST OF CRIME with Paul Burston

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 

PAUL BURSTON

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

Alex Marwood. The Wicked Girls was an astonishing debut, and she continues to go from strength to strength. I’ve read an advance copy of her new novel The Poison Garden and I honestly think it’s her best yet. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

The Talented Mr Ripley. Casting wholesome as apple pie Matt Damon as Highsmith’s sexually ambiguous, morally bankrupt antihero was a stroke of genius. It’s a beautiful film and Damon succeeds in making us root for Ripley even when he’s at his most diabolical. 

... TV DRAMAS

Happy Valley. Everything about it is perfect - the writing, the direction, the performances. Sarah Lancashire can do no wrong in my book. And Sally Lindsay is superb. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Dexter Morgan. I love the Dexter novels and TV series. He’s such a morally complex character - a serial killer who derives sadistic pleasure from what he does but who also works as a crime scene investigator and only targets other killers. The relationship between Dexter and his detective sister Deb invites us to see another side to him - the little boy lost who grew up to be a cold, calculating killer.

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Marnie Rome, heroine of Sarah Hilary’s brilliant series. Another deeply complex character with a compelling back story. And I love the interplay between Marnie and her gay, black sidekick Noah Jakes. They’re a great pairing - both outsiders with emotional baggage, both trying to make the world a better place.

... MURDER WEAPONS

I think there’s more horror in the  mundane - a blow to the head with a golf club or a tin of beans, an electric appliance tossed into the bathtub. There’s an episode of Columbo where a murder is committed with an electric food mixer. 

... DEATH SCENE

The scene in Brian De Palma’s Carrie where Piper Laurie is killed with a variety of knives and a potato peeler and the gift of telekinesis. This scene doesn’t appear in Stephen King’s book. There Carrie kills her mother by making her heart stop. The film version is more spectacular and hugely satisfying. 

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

I spend a lot of time on social media. Facebook for more civilised discussions and Twitter for observing people at their worst. Some of the spats I witness on Twitter make me despair. And some inspire me to write! 

... WRITING TIPS

When you’re going through writing hell, keep going. It’s much easier to fix pages of bad writing than it is to turn a blank screen into perfect prose. Get the words down first. Fix them later. 

... WRITING SNACKS

I try to avoid snacks but I have been known to inhale family-size bags of dry roasted peanuts. 

About PAUL BURSTON

Paul Burston is the author of five novels and the editor of two short story collections. His most recent novel, The Black Path, was a WHSmith bestseller. His first novel, Shameless, was shortlisted for the State of Britain Award. His third novel, Lovers & Losers was shortlisted for a Stonewall Award. His fourth, The Gay Divorcee, was optioned for television. He was a founding editor of Attitudemagazine and has written for many publications including Guardian, Independent, Time Out, The Times and Sunday Times. In March 2016, he was featured in the British Council’s #FiveFilms4Freedom Global List 2016, celebrating “33 visionary people who are promoting freedom, equality and LGBT rights around the world”.He is the founder and host of London’s award-winning LGBT+ literary salon Polari and founder and chair of The Polari First Book Prize for new writing and the newly announced Polari Prize.

Find Paul Burston on his website and on Twitter - @PaulBurston

About THE CLOSER I GET

Publisher's description

Tom is a successful author, but he’s struggling to finish his novel. His main distraction is an online admirer, Evie, who simply won’t leave him alone.

Evie is smart, well read and unstable; she lives with her father and her social-media friendships are not only her escape, but everything she has.

When she’s hit with a restraining order, her world is turned upside down, and Tom is free to live his life again, to concentrate on writing.

But things aren’t really adding up. For Tom is distracted but also addicted to his online relationships, and when they take a darker, more menacing turn, he feels powerless to change things. Because maybe he needs Evie more than he’s letting on.

Read a snippet from my review:

"The Closer I Get by Paul Burston is a dark tale of obsession and a chilling reminder that while social media can be a brilliant and beneficial forum, it can also be highly dangerous ... This book is thought-provoking and frighteningly plausible."

Read my full review here.

The Closer I Get was published by Orenda Books on 11 July 2019.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

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