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!

After She's Gone by Camilla Grebe

After She's Gone
By Camilla Grebe
Published by Zaffre (March 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

A case as cold as the season. A profiler who can't remember. A killer ready to strike again.

Psychological profiler Hanne Lagerlind-Schön and her partner, investigator Peter Lindgren are invited to the small, sleepy industrial town of Ormberg to investigate a cold case: ten years earlier a five-year-old girl's remains were found in a cairn near the town.

But when a recurring memory problem resurfaces, Hanne struggles to keep track of the case. She begins keeping a diary, noting down everything she is likely to forget to keep up appearances so she doesn't lose her job. 

When the body of a woman is found at the cairn and one of Hanne's shoes is found nearby covered in the victim's blood, can Hanne's diary hold the key to what happened? How does this new murder connect to their old one? 

How can you put together what happened when the pieces keep fading away?

My verdict
I really enjoy Nordic Noir and always welcome the opportunity to find a new author to add to my list.

After She's Gone is highly chilling, not just in plot but also in setting. Set in a small Swedish town and depopulated highly forested area, the story focuses on a cold case, in which a young girl's remains were found but never identified. This discovery in the past is soon linked to crimes in the present.

The plot is complex, though certainly not too complex to follow, and focuses on various contemporary issues (which I can't reveal as I don't want to give away any spoilers). As with all good Nordic Noir, the atmospheric setting and inclement weather are as essential to the plot as the characters themselves. I tried to read between the lines and solve the case myself.

After She's Gone offers everything I look for in good crime fiction - an intelligent multi-layered plot, intriguing mystery, well-developed characters, realistic dialogue and good writing. I haven't read the first book in the series and, while I did have a few questions about the main character, this can easily be read as a standalone.

The Secretary by Renée Knight

The Secretary 
By Renée Knight
Published by Doubleday (February 2019)

Publisher's description

Look around you. Who holds the most power in the room? Is it the one who speaks loudest, who looks the part, who has the most money, who commands the most respect?

Or perhaps it’s someone like Christine Butcher: a meek, overlooked figure, who silently bears witness as information is shared and secrets are whispered. Someone who quietly, perhaps even unwittingly, gathers together knowledge of the people she’s there to serve – the ones who don’t notice her, the ones who consider themselves to be important.

There’s a fine line between loyalty and obsession. And when someone like Christine Butcher is pushed to her limit, she might just become the most dangerous person in the room...

My verdict
The Secretary is chilling and twisty. One of those psychological thrillers that really gets right under your skin.

This is a story of the revenge, power and betrayal - and that it's often the quiet ones you have to watch. Christine, a seemingly mild-mannered secretary, is the 'star of the show' - she knows everything there is to know about her employer, including secrets that have been brushed under the carpet, and would do anything to protect the family name.

The plot is realistic, in an everyday setting that mirrors current world affairs, with the destruction of essential documents in high-profile court cases. The drama escalates slowly, creeping up on the reader, and is clever, dark and compelling, with believable and often hateful characters.

I struggle with a lot of psychological thrillers at the moment, but The Secretary had me hooked all the way through.

Ruin Beach by Kate Rhodes

Ruin Beach
By Kate Rhodes
Published by Simon & Schuster (February 2019)

Publisher's description

THE ISLAND OF TRESCO HOLDS A DARK SECRET SOMEONE WILL KILL TO PROTECT.

Ben Kitto is the Scilly Isles' Deputy Chief of Police, but as the island's lazy summer takes hold, he finds himself missing the excitement of the murder squad in London - until the body of a diver is discovered, anchored to the rocks of a nearby cave.

At first it appears that the young woman's death was a tragic accident, but when evidence is found that suggests otherwise, the islanders close ranks. With even those closest to the victim refusing to talk, Ben questions whether more than one resident might have had reason to harm her . . .

Everyone is a suspect. No one is safe.

My verdict
Ruin Beach is yet another suspense-filled crime novel from Kate Rhodes, with a fabulous sense of place.

I loved the first book in the series - Hell Bay - and couldn't wait to 'meet' Ben Kitto again. This is the perfect blend of mystery, history and thriller, set in a small isolated community. I loved all of the little  details - from the dangers of the diving, the wonders of shipwrecks and the beauty of the islands - providing the perfect background to murder.

Every time I read a Kate Rhodes book, I have the same thought and go through the same reading experience. The author has poetic writing that's begging to be read out loud (I urge you to try it). Her descriptions of the Scilly Isles - landscape, fauna and flora - paint pictures in the mind.

I highly recommend this series - and the author's other series too.

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! 

Breaking Dad by James Lubbock

Breaking Dad
By James Lubbock
Published by Mirror Books (April 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher

Publisher's description

Think you've got a dysfunctional family?

Meet mine.

For 18 years, my family lived a normal life in a respectable suburb…

Until one day, my dad gave up his successful career, and unexpectedly became Britain's most wanted crystal meth dealer.

This is our story. At times shocking, often unbelievable, and all 100% true.

My verdict
Breaking Dad is about a very unconventional - and dysfunctional - family. It reads like a work of fiction - but the story is true.

James Lubbock's father switched from being a quiet and successful businessman to being a crystal meth dealer, addicted to drugs and leading a bohemian lifestyle. So James had to become the 'sensible' one, trying to keep his dad's behaviour in check.

I first heard about the book in the Jewish Chronicle newspaper and was intrigued to learn more, especially as the family originally lived close to where I grew up, not far from where I live now. Most of the book is set elsewhere, but I still had a strong sense of understanding the family background - especially the Jewish references - and why the events would have been so out of character.

Breaking Dad is filled with humour and honesty. It's fun to follow, yet there's also a sense of sadness when you read between the lines. It made me laugh, cry and somewhere in-between. James Lubbock isn't afraid to share his feelings about events of the past. The book is written as if he's chatting to a friend in a pub - no holds barred.

I wished there had been longer to 'chat' as I would have loved a few more details in some places. But obviously there's a limit to what you can fit in a book. So obviously I did the next best thing, which involved Googling more... And that's always a sign that a book has been a fascinating read.

BEST OF CRIME with Lin Anderson

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 

LIN ANDERSON

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS

William McIllvanney. Willie began Tartan Noir with his Laidlaw Trilogy. Suddenly here were our voices, our locations, our thoughts about the social fabric of Scotland in the voices of the people who walked the streets of Glasgow. The greats who followed, like Ian Rankin and Val McDermid pay tribute to the man who began it all. Willie’s trilogy is to my mind, and many others, one of the finest things in modern (crime) fiction, and definitely in the Chandler and Simenon class.

... FILMS/MOVIES

It has to be To Kill a Mockingbird. A coming of age story, a mystery, a crime, a trial, a social commentary. It has everything and all told through the innocent eyes of a child. And even better, that child is a girl.

... TV DRAMAS

Sons of Anarchy… Hamlet on a Harley Davidson. Can watch this multiple times. In fact it so influenced me, I wrote Sins of the Dead starring HD female riders and also bought a Harley. I also loved Line of Duty. As a writer of forensic novels, it’s so easy to spot the glaring errors, but the characters were fabulous.

... FICTIONAL KILLERS

At the moment it’s definitely Villanelle, played by Jodie Comer in Killing Eve. She kills with abandon and yet, you like her! And you don’t want her caught. An obvious psychopath with no empathy, yet she catches us out all the time, when she pretends to have some. (Like in the latest season when she befriends a young badly burned boy in hospital…I won’t mention how that ends.)

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 

I was a big reader of P.D. James as a teenager and a definite fan of Adam Dalgliesh. On screen I loved Cagney and Lacey. It was way ahead of it time, and in my opinion still to be beaten. A wonderful example of how the chemistry of female duos work, which inspired the relationship between Rhona and Chrissy in the Rhona MacLeod novels. After that it has to be Jack Laidlaw, philosopher and detective.

... MURDER WEAPONS

I liked arsenic in an alcopop bottle, so I featured it in Blood Red Roses where I killed the bride-to-be on her hen night.

    

... DEATH SCENES

The small push at the top of the Edinburgh Crags when a husband murdered his wife after looking round to check no one was about. However four folk looking through Camera Obscura on the Royal Mile saw it happen!

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES

Depends on the book. As my protagonist moves round Scotland, I like to research the area thoroughly on line plus spend time there. The current book is set on the Isle of Skye, so everything I needed to know about Skye, using the Mountain Rescue Team, Climbing and walking sites, the Skye and Lochaber Police Twitter Feed! 

... WRITING TIPS

Keep the secret as long as possible, regardless of its size. That’s what keeps people turning the pages. And remember, it’s all about character. Readers stay with a series because they want to be with the characters.

About LIN ANDERSON

Lin Anderson is a Scottish novelist and screenwriter best known for her bestselling series featuring forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod of which there are currently fourteen novels, four of which have been long listed for the Scottish Crime Book of the Year, with Follow the Dead being a 2018 finalist. 

Lin is co-founder of the international crime writing festival Bloody Scotland which takes place annually in Stirling, Scotland, mid September. 

Find Lin Anderson on her website and on Twitter - @Lin_Anderson

About TIME FOR THE DEAD

Publisher's description

When forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod returns to her roots on Scotland’s Isle of Skye, a chance encounter in the woods behind a nearby activities centre leads her to what seems to be a crime scene, but without a victim. Could this be linked to a group of army medics, who visited the centre while on leave from Afghanistan and can no longer be located on the island?

Enlisting the help of local tracker dog Blaze, Rhona starts searching for a connection.

As the island’s unforgiving conditions close in, Rhona must find out what really happened to the group in Afghanistan, as the consequences may be being played out in brutal killings on Skye . . .

Time for the Dead was published by Macmillan on 8 August 2019

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

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