2 BY HENRY SUTTON

Henry Sutton is an another UK author who has only recently appeared on my radar. He's the author of about 8 novels in total including Thong Nation, Flying, Kid's Stuff and Gorleston.


He has also contributed to the DS Jack Frost series of books (R.D. Wingfield) under the pseudonym of  James Henry.

His website is over here. I don't think many of his titles could be classed or categorised as crime fiction, but a good book's a good book, regardless.




Get Me Out of Here

Set in London in autumn 2008, Matt Freeman is tired of the hollow corporate life and empty consumerism around him and desperately searches for a means of escape. Get Me Out of Here is a novel of comic anger, success and failure - and, fundamentally, belief - in a wornout city.

"Sutton's acute rendering of a bloated city in financial and moral freefall, and the ease with which the hatred and violence can overrun its streets, make this a very modern and thoroughly haunting piece of work." (Sunday Telegraph)

"A very funny book for seriously unfunny times, this is the first credit crunch novel, a tale where the laughs are black, bitter, and laced with blind panic." (Tony Parsons)

"Henry Sutton is developing into a high-grade exponent of urban paranoia. A virtuoso portrait of a ground-down metropolitan mind at the end of its tether." (DJ Taylor)

"Henry Sutton - who writes like a dream - has pulled off what Tom Wolfe did for the greed-is-good 80s in Bonfire of the Vanities. He has written - with black, comic brilliance - about out times" (Tony Parsons Daily Mirror, Book of the Week)

"Totally brilliant and I haven't ever read anything quite like it" (Sun)

My Criminal World

A clever, witty crime novel in the vein of Kate Atkinson's celebrated Jackson Brodie series. In awe of his wife, hounded by his agent and ignored by his editor, mild mannered crime novelist David Slavitt finds his life is spiralling out of control. He needs to do something -- but just how far is he prepared to go?

In awe of his wife, hounded by his agent and ignored by his editor, mild mannered crime novelist David Slavitt finds his life is spiralling out of control. He needs to do something -- but just how far is he prepared to go?

My Criminal World introduces us to struggling crime writer, David Slavitt. Living in constant fear that his editor might drop him in favour of the next new talent, David juggles house work and child care alongside plot twists and character development.

But as his wife grows increasingly distant and his agent insists that his new book needs more violence -- a lot more violence -- David is getting worried. He needs to do something if he is to save his career, and his marriage. But just how far is this most mild mannered of crime writers prepared to go? And who is the person really pulling the strings in this story? Interspersed with David's story are extracts from the crime story he is currently writing, which grow increasingly darker as they progress. Does this change in tone reflect the demands of David's agent or is there something more sinister at work? In this clever literary crime novel, there is more than one mystery to be solved.

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One for the ladies, by popular request!

"Dirty, scathing and hilarious" - Geoff Dyer

‘Wilfully pulpy, porny and junky’ -- Kirkus Reviews

Zara wants to do it in the Med, Alicia wants a Brazilian to please Mikey, Sally prefers the garden hose to Brian, and Catherine can only find satisfaction on the tennis court. Charlie and Dorothy?s four over-sexed, grown-up daughters struggle to find fulfilment in Blair?s skimpy Britain, as materialism is turned on its head and less becomes more. 

Deeply satirical, Thong Nation follows one extended family?s fortunes and misfortunes over the course of a long hot summer. Zara is a fledgling rep for failing holiday company Majorcan Dreams. Alicia is a teacher at a grossly under-funded inner-city primary school, and hooked up with seedy boyfriend Mikey. Sally has just been made redundant from her high paying IT job, and wishes hubby Brian was ten times more exciting. And Catherine is a very cross single mum. 

Thong Nation?s climax comes at golf-mad Charlie?s not-so-surprise 70th birthday party when all the family, and a few uninvited guests, have gathered in a supposedly luxury seaside villa.

Apologies for the loss of definition, but I have enlarged the photo to provide more impact!

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH R.C. O'LEARY

One of last month’s top reads was R.C. O’Leary’s self-published debut Hallways in the Night, which I reviewed here. Robert was kind enough to humour when when I asked him if he would be willing to answer a few questions about his reading and writing.

As someone who reads only, I’m always interested in how writers approach the somewhat daunting process of constructing a compelling piece of work that when does well, provides me and others with an escape from the day to day mundacity of everyday life. Don’t get me wrong, I love my life; I love my family; I don’t dislike my job; but I do enjoy being taken to other places to observe and understand other people’s trials and tribulations. I think all readers are voyeurs at heart and I’m no different.

I’m also a bit nosey and so I always want to know what everyone else had read and recommends. If you're reading on the bus or train, I'll be the guy peering over your shoulder, concerned with what you're immersed in.

Our Q + A session is below……

Is the writing a full-time or a sideline-passion-hobby? What’s the day job?

I’m a part-time writer who tries to fit in writing time between my job in hotel real estate and family responsibilities.

I stared writing in 2008 when the financial bubble burst and I realized that my job in real estate was going to be severely impacted. As the market crashed and work slowed down, I decided to write a book that I had been thinking about since the late 1990s. My goal was to turn the negative period of recession into something positive.

I was in my late 30s and had never written a book (or even taken a creative writing class), but I had what I thought was a good idea for a story and was optimistic enough to think I could finish it within four or five months.

I had once read that John Grisham writes a book within a three or four month period, so I figured I would follow his template. LOL at me. Suffice it to say, when the book was finally ready for print in December 2013, I was a lot less naive about the process than when I started.

What’s on the horizon book-wise or writing-wise currently?

My next project is the sequel to Hallways in the Night 

While HITN is primarily a legal thriller, the sequel will be more of a political thriller as it will involve a Presidential election and have multiple scenes that take place in and around the White House.

The beginning of the sequel—a small town cop finds the body of a dead widow who looks to have been murdered by someone tied closely to a Presidential campaign—was the story I originally started to write.

What’s been the most satisfying moment of your writing career so far?

This has been the toughest question to answer because there have been some big moments for me: Reading some of the book to my father as he entered hospice, completing the book and seeing it available for sale, and the chance to interact with readers and reviewers who have read the book. More great experiences than I would have ever expected.

From start to finish how long did Hallways in the Night take from conception to completion?

I had the original idea for what will be the sequel back in 1999. It took me ten years to get serious about writing the book. When I did, it took another 5 years to complete the book while writing on nights and weekends.

What’s your typical writing schedule?

90% of my writing takes place after my wife and kids are in bed. I usually write from ten to midnight, as well as some weekend days. Ironically, I had plenty of time to write during college and graduate school but never took advantage of it. Instead, I waited until I was married with three active kids. And yes, as a matter of fact, that is just as dumb as it sounds. LOL.

Do you insert family, friends and colleagues into your characters? Would they recognise themselves?

My father-in-law was an Atlanta police officer, so a couple of his stories are fictionalized within the book. That being said, none of the characters are based upon anyone I know, however, many of them have elements from people I have met or known during my life. For example, there is one motorcycle chase in the beginning of the story that’s based upon an incident I saw when I was a little kid.

Are there any subjects off limits as far as your writing is concerned?

Not that I’ve found, however, I don’t think E.L. James has anything to worry about.

You’re self-published so far, have you been knocked back in your efforts to find a publisher, or are you content to continue this route?

I had some interest from agents and still believe that traditional publishing can offer tremendous upside, but I chose to self-publish primarily due to the speed of getting my book to market. Once Hallways in the Night was done, I was ready to release it into the world. I also thought by self-publishing it might, eventually, give me a better opportunity to attract a publisher if they were able to see that readers enjoyed the story.

Self-publishing was a much easier process than I expected, and one of the most enjoyable aspects of self-publishing has been the chance to interact with readers, reviewers, and book bloggers while promoting my book.

Five years ago I would have felt compelled to pursue a traditional publisher, but the landscape has undergone such a fundamental change that I thought going to market with a self-published book was the best choice for me at the time.

As a self-published author, how do you edit your work? Do you have a close circle of readers who you can rely on to objectively criticise?    

Once Hallways in the Night was done, I did close to ten rounds of proofing and editing. It took me almost three months. By the fifth round of edits, I felt like I was in the movie Groundhog Day.

The most valuable thing I did was a read-aloud of the book which helped me catch several errors that I missed while simply reading to myself.

As far as the overall story, I benefited greatly from several beta readers who gave me some guidance on the plot. I made some significant changes (and deletions) based upon their feedback.

I also had one New York based literary agent who gave me some great advice regarding the book. I ended up changing the ending and came up with the “elevator” scene at the end after listening to his feedback.

What are the last three books you’ve read?

Red Sparrow by Jason Matthews

Not a Penny More or a Penny Less by Jeffrey Archer

And then There were None by Agatha Christie

Who do you read and enjoy?

From my perspective, there is nothing better than being in the middle of a great book that has taken you to a different time or place. A few of my favorite writers are John Le Carre, John Grisham, Dennis Lehane, Jack Higgins, Michael Connelly, Frederick Forsyth, Mary Higgins Clark, Robert B. Parker, J.K. Rowling, James Lee Burke, Ben Mezrich, Kathy Reichs, and countless more.

My father was a prolific reader and introduced me to many of the above writers.

Do you have any literary heroes?

I’ve always pulled for the underdog trying to overcome great odds to achieve something bigger than his or herself.

Is there any one book you wish you had written?

The Count of Monte Cristo. I loved every page of it and reading it felt like being transported back in time.

If I call back in a couple of years’ time, where do you hope to be as an author? 

My dream scenario would be that our meeting would take place over drinks in a great London hotel. It would be around Christmastime, and I would be working on my third novel.

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Many thanks to Robert for taking the time to indulge me.

He has kindly offered 5 free kindle copies of his book to interested readers. If you would like to give the excellent Hallways a go – please leave a comment below.

Robert will hopefully be checking in on the comments during the next few days, so if there is anything else you’d like to ask him, please feel free. 

His website and blog is over here.

I'm off to look up The Count of Monte Cristo.

POUNDING THE MEAN STREETS OF LINSLADE, LEIGHTON BUZZARD

One recent lifestyle change has reduced my reading time by several hours a week. On a Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday morning if you happen to drive through Linslade's leafy steets at about 5am in the morning, you may spot a sprightly, 50 year old in either trackies or shorts, tee-shirt and trainers huffing and puffing his way around the mean streets. Three and a half miles each time, if the GPS doodah running app. on my daughter's phone is to be believed.    

The start line!

Hitting my stride!

Col - slow down mate!

Well, after tweaking the muscle in my calf on last Thursday's run, I decided to walk it yesterday and thought I'd take a few happy snaps on my phone whilst on my route.

Leave the house, turn left, up the road then left again. This street is a quiet road of bungalows mainly populated by elderly residents. As I hit my stride, I usually manage to mutter a few profanities as I pass the house housing the neighbour whose fallen tree has caused me so much aggravation and grief in the past few months. There's a 20MPH speed limit along this road and I fear that I'm unlikely to be travelling sufficiently fast to come to the attention of any lurking traffic officer.

No time for a pint!

We turn right opposite the Buckingham Arms. This is the nearest pub to my house and whilst I used to have the occasional drink in there with my wife, I don't think I've darkened its doors for over 20 years.

It would be quicker by train! 

Further on we cross the railway bridge, where I have a temporary breather, walking for about 20 yards before hitting my stride again. Past the end of the road my children's first school is housed upon, around the corner and past the back entrance to Leighton Buzzard railway station.

Add caption

Along Southcott Avenue and around another corner, where we pass our second public house, The Hare. I went in there once on a Tuesday maybe 27 years ago at a lunchtime to get a drink and a bite to eat with my future wife. It was the chef's day off and we never went back.

Smile for the camera! 

Onwards and on the right there is a field housing a couple of horses, something I only noticed whilst walking. When running they would have just been a blur on the edge of my peripheral vision..... or perhaps my speed and elegant running gait, perhaps left them feeling inadequate in my presence and they flee to a secluded corner of the field, hidden from my view?

Wing Road bridge.

Up an incline around the corner and under the low railway bridge, which has over the years seen many a vehicle become stuck after the driver miscalculated his height. About two miles along the railway track is the scene of the famous Great Train Robbery in 1963. Buster Edwards, Ronnie Biggs, Bruce Reynolds and others stole £2.6 million in cash from a mail train.

More about the Great Train Robbery here.


Once under the bridge I come close to the bungalow my wife's grandparents lived in for over 50 married years and where my mother-in-law was born and raised. It originally was the size of a small holding and chickens and pigs were raised during the war, as well as being the home for some evacuee children from London.

Scene of the crime.

Along Cedars Way for 50 yards then left down Finch Crescent. At the 90 degree corner on the Crescent sits a local corner shop, which serves the community. An ideal place to get the forgotten loaf or bread or pint of milk or daily newspaper. The shop has a history. Back in 1981 before I lived in the town, Carol Morgan the lady shopkeeper was brutally bludgeoned to death. The crime has remained unsolved for over 30 years. Whether the continuing improvements in forensics will eventually bring this sad state of affairs to a conclusion is unknown, but we can but hope for a resolution.

More about the murder here.

Once I leave Finch Crescent, I feel easier as every subsequent footfall takes me closer to home as opposed to further away. We run along Mentmore Road where our local leisure centre and swimming pool is housed and also the site of my children's secondary school - two have passed through its doors and one currently remains.

In Memory of.

Maybe half a mile along and there's a quiet garden, which houses a memorial to Linslade's war dead from the two great wars. It isn't somewhere I usually pay an awful lot of attention to, but I wasn't in a hurry and with the 70th anniversary of the Normandy Landings approaching it was appropriate to pay my respects.

Nostalgia rules.

Next to the garden sits the tennis club and then a park. In the far distance you can make out a small single story building which used to house (and possibly still does) a young children's play centre. All three of my kids attended there an hour or two each week as two year olds and had their first interaction with other children that paved the way for some enduring friendships for them that have lasted to this day. (Is 17 years enduring? I think so.)

Up another incline and onto Wing Road.  At the bottom of Wing Road we have a parade of shops that houses a printing workshop, a key-cutter-cum-cobblers, a Premier Coop (small grocery store, with wines and spirits, newsagent, lottery tickets, cigarettes), a hairdressers, a betting shop, a Chinese takeaway, an Indian takeaway, a kebab shop and over the road a barber shop and a beauticians.

Local shops.

At the bottom of the road, lies a now empty public house - formerly The Bedford Arms. When I first moved to Leighton Buzzard in 1986, I was working 12 hour shifts at a bakery and living in digs in a flat around the corner. Often times I would stop for a pint and a game of pool on the way home at the Bedford. On one of the first occasions inside this pub, I saw a man get glassed for some unknown reason. I did have cause to wonder where on earth I had moved to and why.

In the near 30 years since then I have never witnessed anything like it again. The recession has hit local pubs hard, with many people choosing to enjoy their drinks at home. This pub has changed hands and closed and re-opened maybe 4 times in the past 10 years. Whether its doors have shut for the last time I don't know.

Ex-pub!

As I turn the corner from Wing Road, there's my local Indian Restaurant - The Raj. Less than half a mile from my house and scene of a fair few family celebrations over the years. I do like a nice curry!

Curry time!

Across the road is Dillamore's - the local undertakers and funeral home. I expect I'll be putting a bit of business their way someday, but hopefully not for a good while yet.

See you later, but not just yet!

Homeward bound - onwards and upwards!

Onto my road now and a steep climb up one of the last hills I encounter. With my house in sight, I cut left and divert back around the long road of bungalows that starts my run off. With the 20 MPH limit in a lot less jeopardy than it was half an hour previously I curse my way past Mr Tree Man's house before trundling the last quarter of a mile home.




Job done and as Blackadder once said - " Ready to face the rigours of the day!"      

 

MAY 2014 READING LIST AND PICK OF THE MONTH

May's book of the month.

May was a peculiar reading month for me insofar as I kind of thought I was going along nicely regarding numbers and  I thought I'd hit 10 for the month easily, but then things kind of drifted and meandered away from me.

Quality-wise there were no issues as I had 4 - 5 star reads in the month and the other books all merited 4 stars in my opinion.

All 7 authors were new to me, only 1 was female - I'm assuming that mystery author A.E. Greystone is male, but I could be wrong. 3 were British, 3 were from the US and 1 was French. 4 were debut books and 4 could be classed as self-published.

Only 2 were physical - hold in the hand, turn the pages, dog-ear the corners - books. And maybe therein lies the problem. I spend a large portion of my working day on a PC, so when I want to relax and blog surf and google-stuff, I'm on a laptop and then I try and indulge my favourite pastime on another gadget-gizmo. Maybe if I concentrate on actual books, my mojo will return? I'll try for more paperback reads in June then.

I didn't read anything towards any of my personal challenges, apart from a contribution against the numbers game. To be honest, whilst half tempted to abandon them I think I'll leave them be and let them serve as a reminder not to get carried away with things. I'll finish them when I finish them.

Next year's challenge, apart from targeting 120 books again, will be a challenge for me to not sign up for any challenges. Whilst I genuinely want to read books concerning espionage and from Scotland and Australia, they seem to be a bit restrictive and inhibiting. I'm going to be more of a free spirit and soar like a mighty eagle; an eagle that is a compulsive reader that reads what it wants when it wants.

Spoiled for choice regarding a nominated book of the month, I'll plump for the self-published, non-reviewed, mystery author - A.E. Greystone and the not totally faultless, but still disturbing A Prospect of Death.

The full list of May reads with links is as follows:

Legal thriller

 
Pascal Garnier - The Front Seat Passenger (5)

Alexander Baron - The Human Kind (5)

Daniel Tremblay - The Harbour Master (4)

Claire Duffy - Identity Part 1 (4)

A.E.Greystone - A Prospect of Death (5)

R.C. O'Leary - Hallways in the Night (5)

Terry Irving - Courier (4)

Second World War 

French slice of noir.

MAY FILMS AND TV

There were some decent films and a bit of TV enjoyed during May.

MUD - Matthew McConaughey is an actor who I enjoy watching. I saw the trailer for this last year and liked the look of it. My son thought it looked awful. After watching it, I wouldn't rush to see a repeat or be inclined to own a copy. I wouldn't go so far as to say my son's instincts were right but in truth it's not the best film I've ever seen in my life. A bit slow in a lot of places.







Ever After: A Cinderella Story - Drew Barrymore is one of my favourite female actresses. There's something about her that comes across as refreshingly normal, which for all I know could be a carefully constructed anti-Diva persona that she has cunningly adopted to fool me. I do like her though, particularly in her two collaborations with Adam Sandler, who is someone else I have fun watching. The Wedding Singer and Fifty First Dates are films I never tire of.

Anyway the Cinderella film was repeated on TV recently and though I have seen it before, you can never have too much Drew in your life!

The Lincoln Lawyer - Matthew McConaughey again and in a much better film than Mud. I recorded this maybe 3 months ago and only just got around to watching it this week. I was vaguely familiar with the character - lawyer, Mickey Haller having read this first as a Michael Connelly book, along with most of his other Haller themed stories. It was long enough ago that I couldn't actually remember the plot or outcome, only going.......oh yeah..... as it all played out on screen in front of me.



X-Men: Days of Future Past. Currently showing in cinemas world-wide, my wife and daughters fancied this. So last Saturday evening we ignored the attractions of the Champions League Final on TV and went to Milton Keynes for a pre-cinema meal which was enjoyable as I got the chance to relax my dietary intake for an evening; before rolling up to a 90% empty cinema for the main event. Enjoyable and entertaining, decent effects and I like a bit of James McAvoy anyway. Only downside was that I think someone left the doors open as it was absolutely freezing in the theatre. We could have done with a few more attendees as we could have huddled together for warmth. I don't think I could have been colder if I had somehow been able to watch it from the street, whilst on my way home from the swimming pool after having my car and all my clothes stolen.

More X-Men: First Class. Well having decided on our cinema trip on the Saturday, we thought we had better watch the earlier film for some context, so the night before we watched this one on the small screen. Ok and a similar reaction to the one above. Decent effects and entertaining enough. I'm not sufficiently minded to have my wife run me up a Wolverine costume on her sowing machine, so I can indulge a secret repressed fantasy of mine to cavort around the back garden displaying my super powers to the neighbours.



NEDS - a British film from a couple of years ago, or Scottish if you're feeling parochial. Non-Educated DelinquentS would give it more context. A tale set in early 70's Glasgow, a swotty schoolboy, with an alcoholic, wife-beating father and a gang-leader older brother, gradually goes off the rails and embraces the gang culture. Unfortunately this one has only been half-watched as time didn't allow us to finish what we had started. I was enjoying this and will get back to it in the next day or so. Peter Mullan has a minor role and also directs, our main man Conor McCarron stars as John McGill. Some of the Glaswegian dialect was difficult to comprehend particularly the banter when the young gang members were doing their thing.

John Simm

Prey - UK TV starring John Simm. Simm is another actor who is compellingly watchable. Prey was a 3 part mini TV series/drama involving him as a man on the run after being accused of murdering his wife and one of his sons. Superbly acted and compelling viewing. Reviews said...."grittily British with compulsive appeal" and an "unabated misery-fest" ......... which sums it up nicely. The main detective in charge of pursuing the hapless Mr Simm was superb and probably stole the show - Rosie Cavaliero.

Rosie Cavaliero

MAY ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY......SOME OF AT LEAST

Well I was going along quite merrily during the month of May, until about halfway through when my resolve cracked and I had a bit of a splurge for my kindle.

After that things settled down again, until an e-mail from 280 Steps advised me of some of their forthcoming titles, which included a re-issue of a Scottish crime author from the 60's and 70's - Hugh C. Rae and The Shooting Gallery. After a bit of web browsing and some help from Brian Greene at Criminal Element, I dug out some information on Mr Rae and some of his intriguing and gritty crime books from back in the day. Several were available cheaply so it would have been remiss of me not to have taken things that one step further.

Whilst on the Criminal Element site, I was looking at another post by Brian which concerned Adam Kennedy's The Domino Principle - a lost classic of noir apparently. Well I've got to have some of that, so a hop and a skip over to Amazon and another few positive reviews, particularly from Clifford - here. Bang the wallet's back out again! Roll on cold war, conspiracy, paranoia and a "perfect mystery/thriller" awaits me.

There was a movie adaptation of this with author collaboration and starring Mickey Rourke and Gene Hackman - The Domino Killings. The film isn't that great apparently and there was a second book called The Domino Vendetta which also features Roy Foster written in about 1985 - something I'll probably feel compelled to buy as well.

Having temporarily scratched the itch, I'm not making any rash promises for June.

Some of the acquisitions were....

1970 assassination novel.

Short story compilation

Latest 280 Steps offering

More short stories

Essex crime with a psychic!

Great cover and title.

  

First novel from Out of the Gutter editor

Les likes it - good enough for me!

Scottish crime.

More Scottish crime.

TERRY IRVING - COURIER

Synopsis/blurb……….

Get ready for the ride of your life…

It’s 1972. The Watergate scandal has Washington on edge. Rick Putnam, a Vietnam veteran and motorcycle courier for one of the capital’s leading television stations, is trying to get his life back together after his nightmarish ordeal in the war. But when Rick picks up film from a news crew interviewing a government worker with a hot story, his life begins to unravel as everyone involved in the story dies within hours of the interview and Rick realizes he is the next target.

Before Twitter and Facebook, the fastest way get a story on the news was on a BMW R50/2 motorbike. It was also the fastest way to get killed…

Courier is a political conspiracy thriller as exciting as Three Days of the Condor, with a lead as cool as Easy Rider, all set in Nixon-era Washington.

Written by a four-time Emmy award-winning writer and producer, this is a killer blend of action and surprise twists, certain to appeal to fans of James Ellroy and Dennis Lehane.

Courier is Terry Irving’s debut novel. I was attracted to it on Net Galley because of the striking cover and the premise of a Vietnam veteran, not long back from his war and he’s landed slap bang in the middle of a conspiracy and cover-up in Washington, 1972. Though we have mention of Watergate and Nixon, our story deals with other shenanigans here.

We have our troubled veteran, Rick Putnam, suffering from PTSD and surviving on 3 hours sleep as he re-visits nightly his war and experiences in Ia Drang. His escape from his nightmares comes in the form of late night, pedal to metal motorcycle rides around DC. His day job as a courier for a TV station, brings him into the firing line when a whistle-blower and the news crew he talked too all die in simultaneous “accidents.” The film of the exposé goes missing and Putnam, who was seen receiving the back-up film is targeted. Putnam’s training and “spidey sense” enables him to escape the first “accident” planned for him.

Unwilling to trust too much in coincidence, Putnam with the help of his “geeky” computer-savvy housemates seeks to unravel the conspiracy. With a relentless adversary, himself a veteran from the Vietnam-US conflict, we have continued attempts on Rick’s life and those who he entrusts with his knowledge.

Courier is an interesting tale, well told. I’m a bit too young to recall first-hand the presidency of Richard Nixon and his subsequent resignation and the tumultuous time and place the US capital must have been in the early 70’s, but Irving does a great job is placing the reader there.

Washington, Watergate, Vietnam, motorbikes, conspiracies, veterans, Ia Drang, elections, campaign contributions, investigative journalism, dark arts, cover-ups, TV reporting, (covert) homosexuality, Native American issues, the BIA, reservations, motorcycle gangs, gay bars, Vietnamese restaurants and cuisine,  explosions, arson, car accidents, thugs for hire, pursuit, murder……. and more all whipped up together to provide a heady cocktail.

Decent characters that are well-fleshed out, with a sympathetic main lead and an interesting bunch of support characters. Slight criticism in that I would have liked to have seen more of our adversary, though we do get some of his history, it was his present I would have liked to have seen greater depth to, in respect of who was pulling his strings. There’s also a bit of love interest in the guise of a politicised Native American girl, which added another layer and dimension to the mix.

The author I would guess has a passion for motorbikes as he imparts a fair bit of knowledge into the mechanics and behaviour of a bike being ridden at the edge of its limits. There’s a fine balance between too much technical stuff – cue snooze-fest and just enough to prove you know what you’re talking about and the author manages to strike the right balance here, as well.      

Overall verdict – 4 from 5. The fact that Irving gets it all done and dusted in about 220 pages is another tick in the box from me.

Terry Irving’s blog/website is here.  

I accessed this one via Net Galley.
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* My 400th blog post, since I started back on 16th May 2012.
My Book Trivia was my first. I can't say anything has changed in two years, only the figure is maybe 1000 more!