BEST OF CRIME with Bevan Frank

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 

BEVAN FRANK

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

There are several authors competing for my top spot but I would say it has to go to Dan Brown, who was catapulted to fame with The Da Vinci Code. All of his books are gripping and draw the reader inward. Brown’s ability to create suspense and cleverly merge the boundaries between fiction and reality is inspirational. 

... FILMS/MOVIES

Martin Scorsese’s The Departed – I am drawn to it and find myself watching it again and again. It has an excellent script and a great cast. 

... TV DRAMAS

If I look back on my early (earlier) years, Magnum P.I. with Tom Selleck was brilliant. Even today I still enjoy watching episodes again of Magnum and his friends solving crimes, so much so that I’ve always wanted to name my house ‘Robin’s Nest’ after the Hawaiian estate where Magnum lived, but my wife won’t hear of it. (As she constantly points out, my name is not Robin!)

If I am to consider ‘modern times’, then the best crime drama is a tie between The Sopranos and Money Heist (narrowly edging out Better Call Saul). They are all nothing short of brilliant, with characters and plots that linger long after I’ve switched off the remote control. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

Keyser Söze from Christopher McQuarrie’s The Usual Suspects. It’s a well-crafted story and I love the fact that the killer could be just another regular guy in the room with us. Someone you least suspect but someone who is calling the shots, someone with a brilliant mind able to hide himself from scrutiny while terrorising all who cross his path. Keyser Sözeis the perfect villain.

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

While not a formal detective, Robert Langdon from Dan Brown’s books is a super-sleuth of note, trying to make sense of whatever is thrown his way as he gets to the bottom of deciphering clues, solving problems and saving the day.

... MURDER WEAPONS

What still stands out for me is Michael Crichton’s Prey, where the villain creates nanobots (made of nanoparticles) which evolve into clouds of autonomous intelligent swarms and become a lethal killing machine.

... DEATH SCENES

Without wanting to give anything away, a major death scene in Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo springs to mind. Here the person is fleeing in a car and crashes into a fuel tanker. After being stuck underneath it, the tanker then explodes. It took me by surprise!

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

I don’t have a specific website for writing or research. I do, however, recommend the book Immediate Fiction by Jerry Cleaver. It gives great tips on setting scenes, creating memorable characters and writing books generally. It also gives ways to overcome writer’s block (or ‘writer’s stuckness’ as I was once told to rather call it!) The book was an invaluable resource which helped me get to the finish line when writing my thriller.

... WRITING TIPS

Write for 10 minutes every day, even if you’re just writing rubbish! The premise is that this eventually becomes an ingrained habit. Everyone has 10 minutes in their day to follow their dreams. I used the ‘10 minutes a day’ concept to write The Mind of God. Some days if I was in the flow the 10 minutes became 20 minutes or 30 minutes etc. After one year I had a substantial nucleus on which to build. You’ll be surprised at how much you can do in these little gaps. 

... WRITING SNACKS

Before my stroke, tea. Since my stroke, coffee. And always salted caramel ice-cream and lots of chocolate. And a bottle of whiskey on stand-by!

About BEVAN FRANK

Bevan Frank has a BA degree in English and Political Studies as well as a postgraduate LLB law degree, both from the University of Cape Town. 

After qualifying as an attorney Bevan decided to follow his passion and opted down the path of writing and editing. He has worked as a business magazine editor, journalist, writer, plain language practitioner and communications consultant. His articles have been published in numerous publications locally and globally. 

Bevan lives in Hertfordshire with his wife and children. The Mind of God is his award-winning debut novel. He is currently recovering from a stroke and hopes to get going with his second thriller once he emerges from the haze. 

Find Bevan Frank on his website and on Twitter - @justcallmebevan

About THE MIND OF GOD

Publisher's description

A black box. A race against time. No turning back. When Liz Greene discovers that her father is missing, she is unwittingly drawn into a plot that could change the world forever. Before he went missing, Professor Harry Greene had been working on the black box global consciousness project. Now, Liz needs to find both her father, and his groundbreaking research before it's too late. On the same day, President of the United States Daniel Rafferty is in Cape Town to give an address at the Convention Centre. Is it a coincidence that the black box was stolen while Rafferty is in the same city, or is there an even more sinister terrorist plot at play? Follow Liz, as she and her friend, Tim Fletcher, decode one clue after another in a deadly hunt around Cape Town, all the while being pursued by an assassin and a CIA agent.

The Mind of God is available to buy from Amazon here.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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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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Aftershock by Adam Hamdy

Aftershock
By Adam Hamdy
Published by Headline (E-book & Hardback - out now; Paperback - 21 March 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

THEY BELIEVED IT WAS OVER

Having survived the lethal Pendulum conspiracy, photographer John Wallace atones for his past mistakes.

DI Patrick Bailey clings to the hope that he can, at last, return to a normal life in London. 

BUT IT'S ONLY JUST BEGINNING

FBI investigator Christine Ash - alone and paranoid - hunts down the remaining members of the ruthless Foundation organisation.

DARK FORCES ARE RISING AGAIN

But when masked assassins strike at the heart of the UK government, a shocking new threat emerges that forces all three to reunite.

DEADLIER THAN EVER BEFORE

With time running out, they must defeat a lethal new adversary: a manipulative mastermind with sinister powers unlike anything they've seen before. 

My verdict
Wow, what a rollercoaster ride that was. I don't think the action stopped from beginning to end!

Aftershock is the third in a series. My advice is to read it after you've read the other two (Pendulum and Freefall). You really do need to understand the back story to get the most out of it.

Now about the book itself ...

As I've written above, the action doesn't stop and I felt quite exhausted by the end (in a good way)! Yet despite being an action-packed thriller, Aftershock is also a character-led story. Poor Ash, Wallace and Bailey - constantly in the firing line as the Foundation organisation attempts to hunt them down, and also battling with their inner demons, as the cat-and-mouse chase becomes increasingly personal.

The Pendulum series is well written and intelligently and cleverly plotted. It's entertaining (maybe far-fetched in places) but also a thought-provoking look at society, technology, government and the law.

I'm interested to see what's next for Adam Hamdy.

BEST OF CRIME with Andrew Reid

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 

ANDREW REID

to share his BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

Christopher Brookmyre. His 1999 novel One Fine Day in the Middle of the Night is of particular note as it is custom-written to appeal to a film-obsessed nerd who grew up in the West of Scotland.

... FILMS/MOVIES

Miller’s Crossing. It’s a hypnotically dense film that rewards repeat viewing. Its sole lack is that the cast is overwhelmingly male, but Marcia Gay Harden dominates the screen every time she appears.

... TV DRAMAS

Person of Interest. What starts off as a compelling, if slightly silly, crime-of-the-week detective series spirals off into an amazing piece of speculative fiction about surveillance and Artificial Intelligence.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

The Jackal, from The Day of the Jackal. His presence as an apparently untouchable avatar of death creates a thrilling tension even though the end of the story – that de Gaulle will survive – is already known. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

Gregoire de Fronsac, in Brotherhood of the Wolf. For roughly ninety percent of the film, he methodically gathers evidence, smoulders, and carefully negotiates the power plays between 18th Century French nobles. In the denouement, however, he unveils the conspiracy at the heart of the tale by donning war paint and punching every single person involved. It’s unbelievably entertaining.

... MURDER WEAPONS

A can of expanding foam filler. When I was a teenager, the Head of English summoned me to explain myself after I wrote a short story (based on a scene from Stephen King’s The Dark Half) where a home invasion ended with someone asphyxiating on a throat full of foam insulation. It was an awkward conversation.

    

... DEATH SCENES

Maximillian the robot killing Durant in The Black Hole (1979) by driving a whirling blade into his chest. My parents saw it was a Disney film, let me watch it way too early. I had nightmares about that for years.

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/- a great source for ideas and fact checking when you are reading up on medicines and health.

... WRITING TIPS

Don’t be afraid to put a great idea on the page because you’re “saving” it for later. Books need more than one great idea, and once it’s down then even more interesting stuff will spiral out of it. Trust me.

... WRITING SNACKS

I hit the Pringles pretty hard. They don’t sell salt and vinegar ones here in Stockholm, so it’s Texas BBQ all the way. I had to take up running, I ate so many. 

About ANDREW REID

Born in Scotland, Andrew Reid worked as a research scientist for almost a decade, on projects including DNA synthesis, forensics, and drug development. His short fiction has featured in several anthologies published by fox spirit books and his fantasy novel serial on Wattpad amassed nearly 175,000 reads. The Hunter is his debut novel. 

Find Andrew Reid on his website and on Twitter - @mygoditsraining

About THE HUNTER

Publisher's description

ATTACK IS THE ONLY DEFENCE. 

A troubled genius who vanishes in a mysterious car crash. 

A disillusioned cop sensing conspiracy in the corridors of power. 

A ruthless team of mercenaries operating in the shadows. 

A billion-dollar business that wants the world in its grip. 

One link connects them all. 

A champion fighter. Betrayed and searching for the truth. 

Cameron King is The Hunter. 

The Hunter is published by Headline in paperback on 7 February 2019.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

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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

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Storm Rising by Sara Driscoll

Storm Rising
by Sara Driscoll
Published by Kensington Books (27 November 2018)

Publisher's description

In the wake of a devastating hurricane, Special Agent Meg Jennings and her Labrador, Hawk—invaluable members of the FBI’s Human Scent Evidence Team—have been deployed to Virginia Beach. They have their work cut out for them. Amid graveyards of debris, and the buried cries for help, the search and rescue operation begins. The most alarming discovery is yet to come—a teenage girl hiding in the Great Dismal Swamp. Shaken by the storm, she has reason to be scared. But this young survivor is terrified of so much more.

Her name is Emma—a disheveled runaway lost to the sordid underbelly of a Virginia sex-trafficking ring. Its leader has disappeared in the chaos—along with other victims. With so much evidence, and so many witnesses, seemingly washed away, Meg joins forces with Special Agent Walter Van Cleave to ensure no further harm comes to their vulnerable charge. They soon discover that this is no small-time localized syndicate. Its branches are rooted in some of the most influential powers in Virginia. Now as Meg’s investigation digs deeper, she’s making some very dangerous enemies. And one by one, they’re coming out of the storm to stop her.

My verdict
I loved this book! Those four words sum up my entire review - so I don't really need to write anything else! But I will.

Storm Rising focuses on the devastating impact of floods following a hurricane and the discovery of a sex-trafficking ring involving young teenage girls. It's well researched (as always), with plenty of background into the K-9 search-and-rescue team and also disaster management and crime investigations. The book includes some interesting facts at the start of each chapter. This is great for me, as I love to learn something new when I read.

Storm Rising is well written and well plotted - I whizzed through it fairly quickly - with an amazing sense of place, thanks to the vivid descriptions of the floods. It kept me interested and entertained all the way through. The topic is very timely, with US floods (and also fires) in the media spotlight. The book highlights the impact of natural disasters on everyone involved, from those who lose their homes to those responding in an emergency.

Meg is a brilliant main character - although I think Hawk the dog is really the one in the limelight in this series. You could easily read this book as a standalone, but I would suggest you read the previous two books as well, to build up the characters and the dynamics between them.

The Anomaly by Michael Rutger

The Anomaly
By Michael Rutger
Published by Bonnier Zaffre (12 July 2018)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description
THEY SOUGHT THE TRUTH. THEY FOUND A NIGHTMARE
A team of explorers seek ancient treasures, hidden in a secret cave.
At first it seems they will return empty handed. Then their luck turns.
But the team's elation is short-lived as they become trapped there in the dark, with little possibility of escape.
Then events take an even more terrifying turn.
For not all secrets are meant to be found . . .

My verdict
The Anomaly is a modern day Indiana Jones with its nail-biting rollercoaster storyline and action scenes that gave me palpitations.

This archaeological thriller contains a combination of science, history, mythology and religion. It provides a mix of horror, action, sci fi and the bizarre, reminding me of the Fortean Times, Fringe and The X-Files, with their stories of the unexplained. The plot didn't feel particularly credible but it certainly felt very real, with its atmospheric, creepy and claustrophobic setting and a host of believable characters. The cavern was so well described (using all five senses) that I could picture it in my head while I was reading and felt as if I was there too.

The horror in The Anomaly builds up gradually after a slightly slow start. Looking back, I realise this added to the tension and suspense - I knew disaster was going to strike (it always does in these books), but I had no idea when. And when it did, it hit hard, like reading the script of an action movie with an explosive climax. Eventually, the writing became so fast paced and energetic that I found myself having to slow down my reading pace, ignoring that my inner self was desperate to know what was going to happen next.

The Anomaly is a high-octane journey into the unknown. It's a great action thriller and provided me with perfect escapism for a few hours. But maybe don't read it if you're afraid of the dark or enclosed spaces!

What makes the best crime fiction? by Paul E. Hardisty

I am delighted to be today's stop on the blog tour for Absolution by Paul E. Hardisty. Absolution is the fourth book in the Claymore Straker series, which is published by Orenda Books, and will be published in paperback on 30 May 2018.

What makes the best crime fiction? 

By Paul E. Hardisty

Realism, to me, makes the best crime fiction. When I read thrillers and crime stories (or any other literature for that matter), I don’t want to suspend my disbelief, I want to shudder with the realisation of what is possible, and what people are capable of, good and bad. A great example is the novel-within-a-novel HHhH by Laurent Binet. It is the story of the assassination in 1942 of Nazi SS Obergruppenfuhrer Reinhard Heidrich by a team of Czech soldiers who parachuted into Prague specifically for the mission. It is a novel, but the chilling reality of the tale adds a poignancy and punch that a purely invented story simply cannot.

So when I write, I go to real events for inspiration. 

In my first novel, The Abrupt Physics of Dying, I used personal experience of working as a young engineer in the wilds of Yemen as civil war erupted around me, corruption ran unchecked, and powerful men scrambled to control the country’s developing oil resources, to build the story.  Fictionalising people and events around that reality, paradoxically, allowed me to tell the truth about what was happening then in a way my official scientific reports never could. 

In the third instalment of the Claymore Straker series, Reconciliation for the Dead, I take the reader back to 1980, onto the front line of a little-known war in Angola, when apartheid South Africa was fighting against the communists. One of the central plot elements of the book revolves around an obscure but bone-chilling secret program run by the South African government of the time, designed to keep the black populace in check. I had heard anecdotally of the existence of such a program many years before, when as a boy, I heard my father speaking with white South Africans who had fled the violence. Later, I heard similar stories from a hardened South African army veteran I met working in the oilfields of the Ukraine. So when it came time to write of Clay Straker’s harrowing past growing up as a child of apartheid, and found reference to these same events in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission transcripts, I knew it had to come into the story. 

The fourth Straker novel, Absolution, out now, is set in Egypt and East Africa, places I have worked in over many years and know well. Again, the key plot elements are built around true events and issues, one of which I experienced first-hand, quite intimately, and the other which (thank God) I only heard about in the news at the time (1997).  

Either way – personal experience or research – these true-life settings allow the rest of the fiction to be anchored in something which is even more thrilling, even more chilling, because it is absolutely real.  That, to me, is the best of crime fiction.

About Absolution

Absolution

By Paul Hardisty

Published by Orenda Books (E-book- available now; Paperback - 30 May 2018)

Publisher's description

It is 1997, eight months since vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker fled South Africa after his explosive testimony to Desmond Tutu’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In Paris, Rania LaTour, journalist, comes home to find that her son and her husband, a celebrated human rights lawyer, have disappeared. On an isolated island off the coast of East Africa, the family that Clay has befriended is murdered as he watches. 

So begins the fourth instalment in the Claymore Straker series, a breakneck journey through the darkest reaches of the human soul, as Clay and Rania fight to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances and murders, and find those responsible. Events lead them both inexorably to Egypt, where an act of the most shocking terrorist brutality will reveal not only why those they loved were sacrificed, but how they were both, indirectly, responsible. 

Here's a snippet of my review: 'The Claymore Straker series is impactful and thought-provoking, highlighting the damage humans can do, not only to each other but also to the planet. I always feel that I have learnt something by the end of each one - and look at the world through slightly different eyes.'

Click here to read the whole review.

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Absolution by Paul E. Hardisty

Absolution

By Paul E. Hardisty

Published by Orenda Books (E-book - out now; Paperback - 30 May 2018)

Publisher's description

It is 1997, eight months since vigilante justice-seeker Claymore Straker fled South Africa after his explosive testimony to Desmond Tutu’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. In Paris, Rania LaTour, journalist, comes home to find that her son and her husband, a celebrated human rights lawyer, have disappeared. On an isolated island off the coast of East Africa, the family that Clay has befriended is murdered as he watches. 

So begins the fourth instalment in the Claymore Straker series, a breakneck journey through the darkest reaches of the human soul, as Clay and Rania fight to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances and murders, and find those responsible. Events lead them both inexorably to Egypt, where an act of the most shocking terrorist brutality will reveal not only why those they loved were sacrificed, but how they were both, indirectly, responsible. 

My verdict

Absolution is an ecothriller set against a backdrop of social and political upheaval. It's passionate, powerful and fiery - with author Paul E. Hardisty's own passions shining through the pages, in his vivid descriptions, taut writing and complex plot. 

This book took me on an emotional journey, with heartbreak from the start. Claymore Straker in East Africa witnesses the murder of a family close to him, while in Paris his former lover, journalist Rania LaTour, discovers her husband and young son have gone missing. Both Clay and Rania search for the truth, with their paths eventually converging in Cairo, Egypt, leading them to uncover a terrifying act of terrorism in a race against the clock.

Every book in the Clay Straker series provides a different reading experience (this book is the fourth one) - with each book being just as satisfying and beautifully written as the previous one. Certainly, for me, this is the most emotionally charged book in the series so far. I do think that you need to read all of the books in order (and I would recommend you do so anyway, as they're all fantastic) to get to know the main characters and understand their personal stories - together, as well as when they're apart. 

Most chapters focus on Clay's search for the murderers, but there are some particularly emotional chapters from Rania, in the form of letters written to Clay. She knows he's very unlikely to ever read these letters, but he's the only person in her head as her world is falling apart, and she pours her heart and soul into every word.

Paul E. Hardisty's action thrillers are very real and authentic. They are fast paced and gripping, filled not only with action scenes but also some reflective moments. They are graphic in places, violent too - but nothing that isn't essential for the plot. This book literally took my breath away. I read it in two intense sittings, glued to the pages - nervous about what lay ahead for Clay and Rania, but also unable to tear myself away. 

The Claymore Straker series is impactful and thought-provoking, highlighting the damage humans can do, not only to each other but also to the planet. I always feel that I have learnt something by the end of each one - and look at the world through slightly different eyes. 

Pop back tomorrow for my day on the Blog Tour