Tag Archives: damp pebbles blog tour

Retriever of Souls by Lorraine Mace

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4 Stars from me

The first in the DI Sterling series, Retriever of Souls is a dark and depraved tale that is not for the feint of heart. From its opening chapters the scene is set and you have to have a stomach for the grim and gruesome to enjoy the book.

Lorraine Mace spares no blushes within these pages and there were a few scenes that I found heavy going – but that all adds to the darkness and the bleak sense of corruption, debauchery and immorality that exists in the mind of the killer.

Lots of interest, intrigue and red herrings made this a fast paced and engrossing read. DI Paolo Sterling is an interesting new character and I will certainly be looking out for book 2.

My thanks to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours for letting me take part.

Synopsis: The first title in a dark and gritty crime series. Brought up believing that sex is the devil’s work, a killer only finds release once he has saved his victim’s souls. Abiding by his vision, he marks them as his. A gift to guide his chosen ones on the rightful path to redemption.

Detective Inspector Paolo Sterling is out to stop him, but Paolo has problems of his own. Hunting down the killer as the death toll rises, the lines soon blur between Paolo’s personal and professional lives.

The Bowery Slugger by Leopold Borstinski

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4 Stars from me

My first introduction to the writing of Leopold Borstinski and the character Alex Cohen has been a fascinating glimpse into a world ruled by mobsters in New York.

I loved the internal conflict within Alex himself of the good gentle boy who gave up a delicious pastry for the girl the next door vs the conscious-less thug who can stab someone without a second thought.

The mob lifestyle and the violence are intoxicating as we follow Alex down an inevitably dangerous path – he seems instinctively drawn to danger, with money as his guiding force.

The imagery and descriptions of the streets, clubs, shops and the hustle and bustle of 1919 New York is just wonderful. I felt transported back in time and could almost smell the dust and the grime on the streets and the stale booze and perfume in the club. The skill in making this come alive is subtle yet effective.

Great, immersive dive into the New York mob scene.

My thanks to Damp Pebbles blog tours and Leopold Borstinski for letting me be a part of this blog tour.

 

Synopsis: A turn-of-the-century Jewish boy punches his way into the gangs of New York.

When Alex Cohen arrives in 1915 America, he seizes the land of opportunity with both hands and grabs it by the throat. But success breeds distrust and Alex must choose between controlling his gang and keeping his friend alive. What would you do if the person you trusted most is setting you up to die at your enemies’ hands?

The first book in the Alex Cohen series is a violent historical novel, which rips through the early years of the Jewish New York mob. Leopold Borstinski’s gripping crime noir beats at the chest of every reader with a bloody fist.

Deadly Silence by OMJ Ryan

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4 Stars from me

I loved this debut for Detective Jane Phillips and quickly felt invested in the story and the characters. So much so that I found myself hankering after reading the backstory for Jane!

There is a certain brutality about the murders yet there are definite glimpses of a murderer with a softer side – someone who is ‘just getting the job done/righting a wrong’ which made them all the more compelling in my view. Is it wrong to admit I liked their distinctive style?

DI Jane Phillips has a brilliant team and, despite her recent demotion, they very much have her back and this is what allows the case to actually be solved. The strength of trust and respect within her team is a beautiful touch. Her new ‘boss’ Brown, an old adversary and sufferer of small man syndrome, does everything in his power to set her up and attempt to solve the case by fair means or foul. He is deliciously dislikable and plans the perfect counter to Phillips as the team strive to solve the case before more murders are committed.

Deadly Silence has an original storyline on a contemporary theme, it contains and nice balance of peril and detective work, the scene setting and character creation are all brilliantly crafted and I really look forward to reading the next book in the series.

My thanks to @OMJRyan and #InkubatorBooks for letting me take part in this @DamppebblesBTs blog tour.

Deadly Silence (Detective Jane Phillips #1) by OMJ Ryan

#DeadlySilence #InkubatorBooks @OMJRYAN1 @damppebbles @DamppebblesBTs #damppebblesblogtours

www.inkubatorbooks.com/omj-ryan-author-page

Synopsis: Some sins can never be forgiven. DI Jane Phillips was a star detective driven by a relentless quest for justice. But then she stepped outside the law. Now, demoted and suffering with PTSD, she finds herself facing the deadliest threat of her career – a serial killer who is preying on vulnerable women, murdering them in a shocking and bizarre ritual. A master of deception, he selects his victims at random. Or so it seems. But as Phillips investigates, she begins to see a method in the killer’s madness. Perhaps these victims aren’t random at all…  As the pressure mounts, can Phillips find the link between these ritual murders before the killer strikes again — or will her dogged determination to solve the case bring his deadly silence to her door?

Ghost and Ragman Roll by Pete Adams

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4 Stars from me

I’ve committed the worst of crimes and read this book without having read books 1-3 of the Kind Hearts and Martinets series, however I am relieved to say that it works really well on it’s own.

Being new to the series, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect and was therefore surprised by the level of humour within the book as we follow main character DCI Jack Austin being virtually Clouseau-esque during his Paris escapades while he is meant to be off duty on his honeymoon.

This unusual take on a crime thriller with entertainment throughout from DCI Jack (Jane) Austin made for a dollop of light relief in my usual dank murder-filled to be read pile!

My thanks to Damp Pebbles blog tours for letting me take part.

#GhostandRagmanRoll #KindHeartsandMartinets @Peteadams8 @nextchapterpb @damppebbles @DamppebblesBTs #damppebblesblogtours

Synopsis: Ghost and Ragman Roll is Book 4 in the bestselling Kind Hearts and Martinets crime series, featuring the eponymous Portsmouth detective DCI Jack (Jane) Austin. DCI Jack Austin is trying to enjoy his honeymoon with Detective Superintendent Amanda Bruce. But it soon becomes a busman’s holiday (or the crime busting equivalent) with news of a turf war in Portsmouth, a missing obese gangster who turns up skinny, and the seemingly unconnected murder of a banker in Paris. When an ambitious new detective arrives on Jack’s patch and starts making waves, he knows the time has come to get back to Southsea and protect not just his rather tarnished reputation, but those who truly matter to him. Ghost and Ragman Roll is another criminally funny romp with the world’s greatest – or is that worst? – police detective, DI Jack (Jane) Austin.

 

The Good Neighbor by Cathryn Grant

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4 Stars from me

Wow! To say this book ‘packs a punch’ is such an understatement – it more ‘smacks you around the head with a 9 iron!’

The Good Neighbor starts off softly, albeit with a traumatic and shocking event – 14 year old Brittany has disappeared during the night, seemingly snatched from her bed. I have to confess I was lulled into thinking it would jog along nicely so boy was I taken by surprise!

The pace accelerates and accelerates before plunging you into free fall as more and more of the story is revealed. There were twists and turns around every corner all neatly packaged within this highly readable tale.

Be warned though, there are several moral questions hidden within these pages… Would you? Could you? How far would you go if you were in Taylor’s shoes, Moira’s shoes, Crystal’s shoes, Brittany’s shoes?

I haven’t read anything by Cathryn Grant before but she is certainly an author I will look out for now!

My thanks to @CathrynGrant and @damppebbles for letting me be a part of #damppebblesblogtours

Synopsis: Sometimes the past just won’t stay buried.

When 14 year old Brittany Cushing disappears one night, her parents are devastated, certain she has been taken.

They can’t bear to think about who has done this and why, about what might be happening to their precious daughter.

Their neighbor, Taylor, is a rock, doing everything she can to help – organizing search parties, setting up a Facebook page, …

As this affluent California community becomes focused on the hunt for the missing girl, it slowly becomes clear that her disappearance is linked to terrible secrets from the past.

Secrets that must be kept hidden at all costs….

The Good Neighbor is a gripping psychological thriller that twists and turns as it races towards its nerve-shredding climax. Perfect for fans of K. L. Slater, Teresa Driscoll and Mark Edwards.

About Cathryn Grant:

Cathryn’s fiction has appeared in Alfred Hitchcock and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazines, The Shroud Quarterly Journal, and The Best of Every Day Fiction. Her story “I Was Young Once” received an honorable mention in the 2007 Zoetrope Fiction contest.

She’s the author of the Alexandra Mallory Psychological Suspense series, Psychological Thrillers, Suburban Noir novels, The Haunted Ship Trilogy, and the Madison Keith Ghost Story series.

When she’s not writing, Cathryn reads fiction, eavesdrops, and tries to play golf without hitting her ball into the sand or the water. She lives on the Central California coast with her husband and two cats.

Social Media:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/CathrynGrant

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CathrynGrant.Writer/

Website: https://www.cathryngrant.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cathryngrant_fiction/

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cathryn-Grant/e/B004G1I484?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1566901527&sr=8-3

Base Cowboys by Mark Farrer

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4 Stars from me

Base Cowboys by Mark Farrer is an unusual comedy – not for feint-hearted or easy to offend! I’m going to focus this review on the first of the three novellas contained within the book.

Aptly named, Dirty Barry, is a despicable dentist (now in my book they are all despicable anyway but that’s another story…). He believes himself to be irresistible to women and has a variety of ways of ascertaining which of his female clients will succumb to his dubious charms. By all accounts of a fair few of them do and become members of the 5 o’clock appointment club where he seduces them and then films them in the act.

Well, he does until he encounters our unexpected hero in the shape of a cowboy named Cullen who seems set on his path of righting wrongs as he walks along the moral high road.

I won’t spoil the story for you but suffice it to say the dentist gets his comeuppance and there are plenty of laughs and much cheese along the way!

I read this as part of the http://www.damppebbles.com #basecowboys blog tour – my thanks to Emma for the opportunity.

Synopsis:

BASE COWBOYS is a comic crime trilogy set in the Scottish Borders. It is the sixth laugh-out-loud book in the CULLEN series written by Borders author Mark Farrer and will appeal to readers of Christopher Brookmyre, Carl Hiaasen, Nick Spalding or Tom Sharpe. The book tells the stories of three amoral ne’er-do-wells, their unfortunate and accidental intrusion into Cullen’s life, and the imaginative ways he finds of ensuring (his) justice is done:

Dirty Barry

The first casualty of adultery is… the tooth!

Barry Sullivan is a sordid dentist who resorts to blackmail to keep his string of married women in line. But now Cullen has toothache – and a very different interpretation of the dental code of practice.

Bronchial Billy

Meet Billy – the fastest gun in a vest.

Billy is a geriatric slum landlord desperate to win first prize in a Country & Western gunfight competition. But his trigger-happy birthday celebrations provoke Cullen, and now Billy must pay. Will he meet his High Noon at the Grand Ole Opry or will he go out with a bang? Whatever happens, there’s sure to be fireworks.

Pale Ale Rider

There’s trouble brewing…

Tyler is a teenage tearaway with the eyes of a serial killer. But when he decides to rob Big Paul’s local pub, he gets more than he bargained for. Will Tyler lose his bottle, or just get smashed? Cullen thinks he’s seen dead eyes like those before, and now he has a plan: he’s not bitter, he’s just a little twisted.

The Perfect Betrayal by Lauren North

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5 Stars from me!

Poor Tess, the grief just oozes from these pages as she struggles even to exist following the aftermath of the plane crash which kills her husband. Day to day tasks seem impossible and Tess soon recognises that she isn’t being a good enough mum to their son, Jamie, who seems to mirror her feelings and emotions as he struggles to process his own.

Fortunately for Tess salvation arrives in the shape of grief counsellor Shelley who fast becomes her number one confidante and best friend as well as someone who steps in to help with Jamie – playing his favourite playstation games, cooking with him and generally being a stand-in mum while Tess flounders. But is she too good to be true?

As if the poor woman hasn’t been through enough, her brother-in-law starts demanding money – saying he’d lent it to her husband – someone is following her, someone is making menacing calls and before long she has no idea who she can trust.

I have to confess, I got to about 89% before I sussed what was going on… well I say I sussed it, I’m pretty sure it was spelt out! Such clever and well engineered plotting from Lauren North.

I also, having lived in Colchester for over 10 years, completely loved the locations noted!

Avoid any reviews containing spoilers and enjoy this book – it’s a fast paced read that will keep you guessing and defy you to work out who she can trust.

Huge thanks to Emma from Damp Pebbles Blog Tours for allowing me to take part.

Synopsis: After the sudden death of her husband, Tess is drowning in grief. All she has left is her son, Jamie, and she’ll do anything to protect him – but she’s struggling to cope.
When grief counsellor Shelley knocks on their door, everything changes. Shelley is understanding and kind, and promises she can help Tess through the hardest time of her life.

But when a string of unsettling events happens and questions arise over her husband’s death, Tess starts to suspect that Shelley may have an ulterior motive. Tess knows she must do everything she can to keep Jamie safe – but she’s at her most vulnerable, and that’s a dangerous place to be.

About Lauren North:
Lauren North writes psychological suspense novels that delve into the darker side of relationships and families. She has a lifelong passion for writing, reading, and all things books. Lauren’s love of psychological suspense has grown since childhood and her dark imagination of always wondering what’s the worst thing that could happen in every situation.

Lauren studied psychology before moving to London where she lived and worked for many years. She now lives with her family in the Suffolk countryside.

Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Lauren_C_North
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurenNorthAuthor/