The Last by Hanna Jameson

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

Publisher's description

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Red Snow by Will Dean

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

Publisher's description

TWO BODIES

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

TWO COINS

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

TWO WEEKS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And So It Begins by Rachel Abbott

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

Publisher's description

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

New horizons with a new work website

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thanks for reading!

Vicki

The Courier by Kjell Ola Dahl

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

Publisher's description

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

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

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

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

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

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

Highly recommended!

Blood & Sugar by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

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

Publisher's description

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths

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

Publisher's description

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

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

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

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

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

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

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