TONY BLACK - STONE GINGER (2015)

Synopsis/blurb.....

When Charlie 'Minty' Lamb meets the gorgeous Ginger down the local boozer he thinks all his Christmases have come at once. Even the boys on the back-shift can't believe his luck, that is until one or two start to notice that Ginger might be something other than she appears. Soon Minty's questioning himself, and everyone else, with good reason. A fast-paced noir short for fans of the classic London crime caper.

Not too much to write about here - a 16 page short story from Tony Black which you can get over on Amazon.

Charlie is punching above his weight with his latest girl, but he feels good about himself, even if the lads do still extract the urine from him. And even if she might have charged for her favours in the past.

Charlie finds out there's no such thing as a free lunch though. Someone always picks up the tab.

Fast, enjoyable, a fair bit going on in a short narrative. And it serves to whet the appetite for his longer work, of which there are a few on the shelves.

I'm long overdue digging into his Gus Drury series - Paying For It, Gutted, Loss, Long Time Dead. Only had the first on the shelves 10 years!

Bay of Martyrs (co-written with Matt Neal), RIP - Robbie Silva and Truth Lies Bleeding have been enjoyed before. In the case of the latter two long before the blogging/reviewing days.

4 from 5

Read in January, 2019
Published - 2015
Page count - 16
Source - owned copy
Format - kindle

THOMAS PERRY - THE BURGLAR (2019)

Synopsis/blurb....

From the New York Times best-selling author Thomas Perry, "who can be depended upon to deliver high-voltage shocks" (Stephen King), comes a new thriller about an unlikely burglar - a young woman in her 20s - who realizes she must solve a string of murders or else become the next victim. 

Elle Stowell is a young woman with an unconventional profession: burglary. But Elle is no petty thief - with just the right combination of smarts, looks, and skills, she can easily stroll through ritzy Bel Air neighborhoods and pick out the perfect home for plucking the most valuable items. This is how Elle has always gotten by - she is good at it, and she thrives on the thrill. But after stumbling upon a grisly triple homicide while stealing from the home of a wealthy art dealer, Elle discovers she is no longer the only one sneaking around. Somebody is searching for her. 

As Elle realizes her knowledge of the high-profile murder has made her a target, she races to solve the case before becoming the next casualty, using her breaking-and-entering skills to uncover the truth about exactly who the victims were and why someone might have wanted them dead. 

With high-stakes action and shocking revelations, The Burglar will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they barrel toward the heart-racing conclusion.

I read Thomas Perry's The Butcher Boy many years ago and loved it. Since then I've tried a few more of his books in the hope that they hit the same heights - Metzger's Dog (3/5) and in 2013 - The Boyfriend (4/5). His latest, The Burglar was my third attempt to recreate the euphoria of that first exciting reading experience. Oh well, maybe the next one then.

Elle is our burglar. She's young, single, attractive, capable, fit and she's also a bit one dimensional, shallow, too clever by half and not someone I felt a great deal of empathy for. As the novel is 99% her, that's a bit of a problem.

Elle burgles a house, stumbles on a triple homicide that was recorded on camera and then subsequently finds herself targeted. Initially she thinks it's the police on her trail, but after witnessing the killing of a couple of other opportunist burglars by her nemesis, eventually realises she's involved in something far more dangerous.

I was really enjoying this one up to about page 60 or so, before coming to the realisation that it was just a bit too improbable, the plot was more than a bit weak, the main character a bit too much of a cardboard cut-out, a bit too stupid in some of her actions, to be as clever as she's being sold to me, and while I was still turning the pages at pace, from then I just wasn't that invested in the outcome.

Towards the back end of the book it gets worse. I think I might have rolled my eyes that many times they were suffering from RSI by the conclusion. Elle breaks into her foe's facilities to turn the tables and spy on them and the list of kit she carried with her was more in keeping with a team of firefighters attending a major incident. On her second visit to the enemy HQ, she somewhat conveniently overhears the boss of the local outfit explaining to his boss all of what he's been up to, thus rather lazily joining up the dots for the reader. You might expect to encounter this from a rather less skilled author than someone of Mr Perry's stature and reputation. Maybe he's written one too many books.

Positives - it flowed. I did enjoy the tension built earlier in the novel, between Elle and her Canadian suitor, while she tried to determine if he was who he claimed to be or if it was all a cover for getting close before killing her. I did also enjoy the scam being worked by our three homicide victims and the other party to their scheme. That was about it though. Oh, the LA setting worked for me as well.

On balance, just about a 3 from 5, borderline 2.5. I didn't hate it. I didn't at any point long to be reading anything else. I was just a bit disappointed and underwhelmed.

I'll approach my next Thomas Perry novel with a bit more caution and slightly lower expectations.

Read - January, 2019
Published - 2019
Page count - 302
Source - Net Galley, courtesy of Mysterious Press
Format - ePub file read on laptop

ALLEN ESKENS - THE SHADOWS WE HIDE (2018)

Synopsis/blurb...

The stunning new novel from the bestselling author of The Life We Bury.

A young reporter must come to terms with his past - and present - while investigating the murder of a man he believes could be his father.

Joe Talbert, Jr. has never once met his namesake. Now out of college, a cub reporter for the Associated Press in Minneapolis, he stumbles across a story describing the murder of a man named Joseph Talbert in a small town in southern Minnesota. 

Full of curiosity about whether this man might be his father, Joe is shocked to find that none of the town's residents have much to say about the dead man - other than that his death was long overdue. Joe discovers that the dead man was a loathsome lowlife who cheated his neighbors, threatened his daughter, and squandered his wife's inheritance after she, too, passed away - an inheritance that may now be Joe's. 

Mired in uncertainty and plagued by his own devastated relationship with his mother, who is seeking get back into her son's life, Joe must put together the missing pieces of his family history - before his quest for discovery threatens to put him in a grave of his own.

The Shadows We Hide reintroduces three of the characters encountered in Eskens' The Life We Bury - journalist Joe Talbert, his autistic brother Jeremy and Joe's girlfriend Lila.

An issue at work allows Joe Jr. the opportunity to investigate the death of a man with the same name as him. Joe tries to determine whether or not he was his father and if the 14 year old teenager found unconscious at the scene and now in a coma is his half-sister. It also gives him a bit of breathing space from the tensions in his relationship with Lila, after discovering that she has been in touch with his estranged mother. Joe last spoke to his alcohol and drugs addicted mother when he got her locked up at a guardianship hearing for his brother, a few years back.

Small town setting and the murder of an unpopular man, DNA tests, a teenage suspect on the loose, a devious uncle on the sniff for an inheritance, $3 million but might be 6, involvement in the investigation, good cop - bad cop, a hospital visit, a local lawyer, family history, Talbert Snr's dead wife and the rich dead father-in-law, a bar confidante, extra-marital nookie, a brawl or two, a missing brother, arson, a letter from home, an unwise kiss, more girlfriend friction, addiction and recovery, forgiveness and reconciliation, patrol car footage, a bit of head scratching and lo and behold a killer caught.

I have enjoyed reading this author's books in the past and this one was no exception. We have an interesting story with a kind of two-fold investigation - present day events and the murder of Joe's biological father - as he disappeared before Joe was born and even attempted to prevent his birth, you can't really regard him as a father in the true sense of the word - and as an off-shoot he learns more about his past and his mother and the events that helped shape her life and by definition the impact they had on him and his brother.

There's a few twists along the way, but nothing outlandish that has you shaking your head. Suspect A can't have done it, it looks like Suspect B. Hang on a minute B couldn't have because of X. Whoa it's C! All coherent, logical and perhaps if you've read the author before.... expected.

Enjoyable and a quick read. Eskens does get you turning the pages and invested in the outcome.

4 from 5

The Life We Bury and The Heavens May Fall  have been enjoyed before. I think his other two novels - The Guise of Another and The Deep Dark Descending languish on the TBR pile somewhere.

Read in January, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 292
Source - Net Galley courtesy of publisher Mulholland Books
Format - ePub read on laptop

2 BY ROBERT CRAIS

A couple from Robert Crais this week and his Elvis Cole PI series. An LA setting and a wisecracking PI - what's not to like?

A few years ago - 2013 actually, BTW where the f*** has six years gone? - I embarked on reading my way through the series, before getting side-tracked after book number five - Voodoo River.
I did that with a few series actually - Lawrence Block and Matt Scudder, Bill Pronzini and Nameless, Max Allan Collins and Quarry and John D. MacDonald and Travis McGee.

Eventually I'd like to read all eleven novels badged as the Cole series and follow on with the seven Cole/Pike novels. In the books I've read so far Joe Pike is an enigmatic but minor character, sidekick.

1. The Monkey's Raincoat (1987)
2. Stalking the Angel (1988)
3. Lullaby Town (1992)
4. Free Fall (1993)
5. Voodoo River (1995)

I do like an LA based PI series - Paul D. Marks with White Heat and Broken Windows - a slightly harder series is a recent favourite.


Sunset Express (1996)

On his own turf in LA, Elvis Cole is embroiled in a controversial, high-profile murder case. Hired by the defence lawyer to investigate alleged evidence tampering by the detective on the case, Cole soon begins to be more suspicious of the media-loving lawyers than the cops.












Indigo Slam (1997)

An action packed, razor sharp thriller featuring LA private eye Elvis Cole. Meet Elvis Cole. Vietnam Veteran, private eye who carries a .38 and is determined never to grow up. 15 year old Teri Hewitt has been left holding the babies now that her dad, Clark has disappeared without trace. She wants Cole to find him. The search reveals a chronically unemployed drug addict caught up in counterfeiting scams and mixed up with the Russian mafia and Vietnamese Gunmen. As the action heads towards a gunfight in Disneyland and Cole dodges his almost girlfriend's husband , Indigo Slam shapes up into the most entertaining and exciting American crime novel for years.

OWEN MULLEN - OUT OF THE SILENCE (2019)

Synopsis/blurb......

A powerful new thriller from a critically-acclaimed and bestselling author.

Star investigative reporter Ralph Buchanan’s glory days are behind him. His newspaper has banished him to Pakistan, not knowing the greatest moment of his long career is waiting for him there.

When Simone Jasnin asks him to help expose a grave injustice, he finds himself embroiled in a harrowing tale that began in a dusty settlement in rural Punjab, setting in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of everyone involved.

Seven years later in the city of Lahore, members of a prominent family are being brutally murdered one by one. The only clue is a hand-carved wooden bangle left at the scene of each crime.

As the list of suspects grows and the tension mounts, Ralph realises the answers might be closer to home than he ever thought possible.

Solving the mystery will put him back on top but at what cost?

Only when the smoke clears will the killing stop and honour be satisfied…

An interesting novel from Owen Mullen and a big departure, content and setting-wise from his last one - In Harm's Way.

Here we have a tale of a doomed childhood friendship-cum-romance-cum-dreams of a future together, dashed when Afra's mother denies Jameel her daughter's hand in marriage. Crushed and dispirited, Jameel sells his small parcel of land and makes his way to Lahore seeking out his uncle, his only living relative. Afra has an alternate suitor, one with money and prospects, and unfortunately as she soon finds out a cruel and vicious heart. A trait shared by his two brothers. Their mother and sister are carved from the same mould.

New lives then. Both in Lahore, both markedly different from the ones they imagined growing up. Jameel prospers. With his uncle he finds love, family, respect, friendship, an education and some life schooling and has a bright future learning his uncle's business and in time taking over the reins. In his heart he remembers Afra.

Afra is far less fortunate. Cruelty, abuse, marital rape, beatings and when unable to produce a child an heir and after an untruth is believed much worse. Found dying, Afra manages to impart her story to a doctor who tries to help her.

And then the husband and his family, learn what's its like when the shoe is on the other foot.

In a separate story strand which eventually ties in we have a washed up alcoholic has-been journalist killing himself slowly with alcohol, before being offered the opportunity to write one last story that could make a difference and have someone significant in his life.

Quite a topical novel.... women's rights in Pakistan, or more realistically the lack of them, arranged marriage, alcoholism, doomed love, revenge, and second chances.

A bit different from what I usually read, in respect of setting mainly and quite enjoyable for that. Mullen makes some serious points about women in Pakistan while still entertaining with a tale of violent revenge where the killer's identity is unknown but hinted at. Obviously Mullen has a trick or two up his sleeve and there are several twists before our outcome is revealed. Fair play it wasn't someone I was expecting.

Interesting, enjoyable. Top marks for setting and story. Solid characters, especially our young lad Jameel and his journey to manhood and our old soak of a journalist, Ralph. Lots to like overall.

4 from 5

Out of the Silence is published today.

Read in January, 2019
Published - 2019
Page count - 306
Source - review copy from author
Format - kindle

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH TESS MAKOVESKY

Tess Makovesky, author of the very enjoyable Brummie set crime caper - Gravy Train (on the blog yesterday - here) was kind enough to submit to a bit of gentle questioning about her reading and writing habits

Is the writing full time? If not, what’s the day job? Can you give us a quick biography of yourself?

I don't have a day job at the moment. I used to, but suffered a nasty work injury which still affects me and makes it difficult to do what I used to do. Which gives me the perfect excuse to write instead!

Do you have a typical writing schedule? Do you write every day?

I try to write most days, but it isn't always possible. My Other Half's job is pretty full-on and quite random in terms of hours and destinations, so it's hard to keep to a schedule or make plans. I've got used to that over the years, though, and even if I'm not actually sitting at my desk and typing I'm usually thinking about writing, or listening to my characters holding long conversations inside my head. Hmm, sounds like I should see someone about that...

When you have an idea and you sit down to construct a story – do you know what the end result is roughly going to look like? Are you a plotter, or do you make it up as you go along?

Totally make it up as I go along, but I do usually have a good idea of the end point I'm aiming for. Sometimes that changes as I go along - my characters have a rather alarming habit of hijacking their own stories and running off with them - and sometimes it leads to the notorious 'muddle in the middle'. But I tried plotting once and it took up all of my creative energy, so I had nothing left to actually write the book! So seat of the pants it is.

You seem fairly prolific as a short story writer. Your work has appeared in numerous anthologies and the usual list of well-regarded online haunts – Pulp Metal Magazine, Out of the Gutter, Punk Noir, Spelk Fiction and more. Is it a different process writing a short story as opposed to longer works?

Yes, actually, surprisingly so. I really struggle with longer works, having specialised in short stories most of my writing career. I find it much easier to work with the structure of a short story, and it's interesting that my two longer works so far, 'Raise the Blade' and 'Gravy Train', are both quite episodic in nature with lots of short sharp chapters that could almost be short stories in their own right. But now I've experimented with longer books, I do enjoy the wider scope they give me to explore the characters and their stories.

Your latest novella – Gravy Train drops 30th November (I’ll hopefully have my grubby mitts on my copy by the time this piece appears) is published by one of my favourites – All Due Respect. How did you hook up with them?



I have Paul Brazill to thank for that (and for a lot of other writing-related favours, too). He mentioned last year that they were open to submissions, and as I'd just finished translating 'Gravy Train' from a novella into a full-length novel, and it seemed to fit their profile, I decided to send it along. And they liked it, so the rest is history...

Can you pitch the book to potential readers in a short paragraph?

I can do it in one sentence: how far would you go for £80,000?!

But for a little more detail: when Sandra the barmaid overhears details of a betting scam, she thinks all her Christmases have come at once. But when she collects her winnings she reckons without mugger Lenny, lurking outside the betting shop door. And he's reckoned without car thief Justine, and she's reckoned without Lenny's boss Ball, and he's reckoned without Sandra's almost-uncle George. They're all great at nicking the money but terrible at hanging onto it. So when there's a showdown on the banks of the local canal, will any of them get their hands on it, or will their precious gravy train come shuddering to a halt?

It seems slightly less bloody than your previous one Raise the Blade, are you done with serial killers or do you reserve the right to re-visit at a later date?

My natural style is for a slightly more 'comedy noir' approach (think Hot Fuzz or Midnight Run) so 'Raise the Blade' was the exception rather than the rule. Although I enjoyed writing it, I possibly wouldn't do anything quite that dark or grisly again. However, I loved working out what made the various characters act in the way they did and would love to have another go with something more psychological like that.

Both works are set in Birmingham, what’s your connection with “Britain’s second city?” (quoting David Cameron…. whatever happened to him?) 

I deny all knowledge of washed-up politicians, but I can claim to know Birmingham reasonably well having lived there for over twenty years. It's a city that constantly surprises me and that I love very much. Now that I've moved away I find it easier to look at it objectively and use it as a setting for many of my darker tales.

How long from conception to completion did Gravy Train take?

Um, pass? I can't actually remember! I do know, though, that I wrote it as a novella first, and was then, er, persuaded by some of my writer friends to turn it into something longer. And I had so much fun with the characters that it seemed to write itself relatively quickly - maybe three or four months until I'd finished it. I did already have the structure and most of the characters in place, though, so that was a huge bonus.

Was it a smooth process or were there many bumps in the road along the way?

It was relatively smooth, more so than many of my other works. One of the most complex things was having to rewrite the second most important character, Todd, to fit the All Due Respect house rule of no law enforcement officers. I had a few days of despairing pen-sucking before I struck on the idea of turning him into a grass rather than an undercover cop. Once I'd made that decision I was able to rewrite his chapters relatively easily.

Did it end up being the book you anticipated at the start of the process?

Well, it's a lot longer than I ever thought it would be! It's kept the same overall feel that I wanted, and the humour, and the circular plot-line where each character hands over to the next one in a slightly dizzying chase. But there have been changes. As I mention above, Todd started life as an undercover cop, and most of the characters had very little backstory. In the end, thanks to rewriting, lengthening, and editing, I actually think it's a better book than the one I first anticipated, and I'd like to thank my friends Linda, Jackie and Irene, and the guys at All Due Respect, for that.

What’s the attraction to the darker side of the crime fiction genre? Were you never tempted to aim for more readers by penning work closer to the mainstream?

I don't think 'mainstream' and me have ever gone together all that well! So far my whole writing career, under a number of different pen names, has embraced the less commercial, the more unusual, the 'road less travelled'. In the end my own quirky, unconventional nature seems to transfer itself to my writing, which means I prefer to rebel, make my own rules, and then live by the rather dubious consequences...

What can we look forward to next? Any hints on the current work in progress?

Yes, it's another crime caper set in Birmingham called 'Embers of Bridges'. Where 'Gravy Train' was mostly about greed, this one is about loyalty, or the lack of it, and involves a gang of robbers, a series of heists that go horribly wrong, and a somewhat bizarre getaway on a canal boat. I'm heading towards the latter stages of the first draft, but it'll still need a lot of work after that so it probably won't be seeing the light of day until this time next year at the earliest. Assuming anyone likes it enough to publish it, that is...

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

I don't think it's a single moment, but rather a series of small quiet triumphs each time I achieve something new. Getting 'Raise the Blade' and 'Gravy Train' published, organising my own book launch, reading aloud at an open mic night... they've all been significant milestones along the way and I've loved them all.

Any unpublished gems in your bottom drawer?

There's plenty of unpublished stuff in there, but whether any of it qualifies as a 'gem' I'm not sure. I have at least two, perhaps three further works in various states of progress, which I'm hoping to work on once 'Embers of Bridges' has left the building. But that's a fair way off yet... and as for my really early work, the less said about some of that the better!

Any advice for prospective authors out there?

Don't give up. Getting your work published can be a slow, and at times frustrating, process, but you never know what's going to happen when, or when your break or chance will come. And never stop learning, either. I'm still honing my craft after nearly 20 years, and I hope I'll still be honing it in another 20 years time.

What’s the best thing about writing?

For me it's the actual creative process, where I sit down at my desk with all my characters in my head and transfer them via the screen onto a sheet of paper. On a good day, with no distractions and if I'm in the right mood, I can dash off several thousand words that flow without much apparent effort. That's a wonderful feeling, but at the moment what with editing, marketing and (deep joy) shopping for Christmas, those days are too few and far between. Once things settle down in the new year I'm hoping they'll return.

The worst?

Honestly? Writing synopses. It's a challenge that most writers seem to find nearly impossible. Just how do you crystallise 70,000 words or more into a single page of narrative that still manages to be enjoyable and isn't just a dull list of 'then he did this' and 'then she said that'? I'm getting better at it than I used to be, but it's still massively hard work.

What are the last five books you’ve read?


Hmm, let's see *consults Goodreads*... Ah yes, here you go, most recent first:
1. 'The Saint vs Scotland Yard' by Leslie Charteris
2. 'Rival Sons' by Aidan Thorn
3. 'Cross Purpose' by Claire MacLeary
4. 'Too Many Crooks' by Paul D Brazill
5. 'How to Kill Friends and Implicate People' by Jay Stringer

Who do you read and enjoy? Is there anyone I should be reading who has snuck under my radar?

I doubt it! I suspect (no, make that know) you know far more about crime fiction than I ever could. But I enjoy all sorts of authors from the old classics (Christie, Heyer, Sayers, Marsh) to modern commercial (Peter May, Ann Cleeves) to humorous pulp (Charteris) to some much more unusual books - crime with a hint of the supernatural (John Connolly) or history (Mark Mills). And then there's all the stuff pouring out from authors in my own peer group like Jay Stringer, Nick Quantrill, Aidan Thorn, Paul D Brazill, Jason Beech and literally hundreds of others. I couldn't hope to list them all here, but there's some wonderful books out there now.

Favourite activity when not working or writing?

My biography refers to me as "roaming the fells with a brolly, dreaming up new stories and startling the occasional sheep". It's true that I'm lucky to live in a very scenic area with lots of open countryside and I enjoy taking off on foot with a camera, looking out for wildlife (and those sheep) and taking pictures of the constantly changing weather over the hills.

What’s the last film you watched that rocked you?

This is a toughie since so many recent movies seemed to suffer from disappointing endings (or middles, or even beginnings). I loathed the newest Mission Impossible, for instance, and even some indie crime movies like B&B or City of Tiny Lights didn't live up to their initial hype. For sheer watchability I keep going back to old favourites like Red (Bruce Willis in a daft but hugely entertaining spy movie) or the Bourne series, or Ocean's 11/12/13. And my all-time favourites are Grosse Pointe Blank, Midnight Run and the incomparable Hot Fuzz.

TV addict or not? What’s the must watch show in the Makovesky household?

Yes, definitely. Recent 'must watch' shows have included Brotherhood, Get Shorty, Bodyguard, Innocent, Unforgotten, and I'm now loving The Sinner, which is wonderfully layered and full of tension without resorting to stalk-and-slash. I also love most of the Scandi-noir series like The Bridge and The Killing. However, one of my absolute favourites is the two series (so far, hopefully there's more to come) of Follow the Money - a crime drama without heaps of dead bodies, which features 'backroom boy' style detectives investigating financial crimes. It's won all sorts of awards and is much more gripping than I'm making it sound.

In a couple of years’ time....

People will probably expect me to say I'd like to be rich and famous, but that's not really 'me'. Most of all I'd like to have 3 or 4 books out (hopefully with All Due Respect as they've been so supportive with 'Gravy Train'), all set in Birmingham and all with titles nicked from Pink Floyd.

And a bit less uncertainty, divisiveness and political in-fighting in the country might be nice...
-----------------------

Many thanks to Tess for her time. 

You can catch up with her at the following haunts.

http://www.tessmakovesky.com
https://www.facebook.com/tess.makovesky
https://twitter.com/tessmakovesky
https://www.instagram.com/tessmakovesky/

Links to Gravy Train 
AM UK    AM US   AM CANADA  AM AUS

TESS MAKOVESKY - GRAVY TRAIN (2018)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Crime pays. So barmaid Sandra thinks when she overhears details of a betting scam and wins herself and fat husband Mike eighty thousand pounds. But they’ve reckoned without mugger Lenny, lying in wait outside the betting shop door. And he’s reckoned without a top-notch car thief, his own devious boss, a fellow gang-member with a grudge, and Sandra’s unpleasant almost-Uncle George. 

Chaos ensues as a whole bunch of disparate—and desperate—characters chase the bag of money around Birmingham’s back streets. Plenty of them help themselves to the cash, but none of them are good at hanging onto it. As they hurtle towards a frantic showdown on the banks of the local canal, will any of them see their ill-gotten gains again? Or will their precious gravy train come shuddering to a halt? 

Praise for GRAVY TRAIN: 

“Tess Makovesky’s Gravy Train is a terrifically entertaining, raucous and rough ’n’ tumble Brit Grit crime caper that will leave you breathless.” —Paul D. Brazill, author of Last Year’s Man, A Case of Noir, and Guns of Brixton 

Some fast-paced fun and frolics, as a bunch of Brummie low-lives chase around the city, determined to get their hands on a holdall full of cash.

I do have a soft spot for criminal types in my reading. I'd far rather spend time in the company of some ne'er do wells on the look-out for a score than a bunch of ordinary Joes confirming to society's norms and expectations. Makovesky characters deliver big-time.......to mention just a few..

Sandra - the disaffected pub landlord, a dreamer and a schemer,

Mike - her corpulent, poker playing husband, more interested in his next bacon butty than £80k of wonga,

uncle-George major league criminal and major league creep and sex-pest,

Lenny, an ex-con mugger,

Vernon Ball - crimelord, ruthless and greedy, but not at the top of the tree

Todd - fearfully grassing on his boss, while still fondly remembering sexual encounters with his police handler and ex-girlfriend, Inspector Charlton.

Justine-cum-Danny - a car thief with a skill-set and regrets over Fred her-ex

Each of them with their own limitations and motivations, each of them fully realised.

Our plot (not necessarily in the correct order) - a dingy pub, an overheard conversation, a plan, a betting scam executed and a bag full of readies, a mugging and short-lived dreams of a better life shattered, a skilled car thief steps in, an unhappy crime boss, an undercover informant, an ambitious police officer, a perverted step-uncle with a fearsome reputation arrives to save the day, our hapless mugger again, a dodgy garage owner, a shaky marriage or two, discontent, dodgy photos and blackmail, the canal, a brothel fire, a dead prostitute, a showdown, and an aftermath, with loads more besides.   

Collisions, comedy and collusion, decisions, dreams and delusion.

Enjoyable and entertaining, interspersed with some darker undertones - eg the death of a loose lipped girl. It also casts a light on an ordinary couple, drifting along, scraping by, taking each other for granted, one oblivious, the other dreaming of a different life, a better life, convinced that happiness is something that only money can buy.

One slight niggle. I was a tad uncertain about the big bet and the big pay-out. I'm not totally convinced that it would fly. It wasn't enough to bump me out of an otherwise exciting caper. 

My first time reading Tess Makovesky, but not my last.

4 from 5

Tess Makovesky has her website here. Her novella Raise the Blade sits on the TBR pile.

Read in January, 2019
Published - 2018
Page count - 252
Source - purchased
Format - paperback