TOM VATER - THE MONSOON GHOST IMAGE (2018)

Synopsis/blurb.....

DIRTY PICTURES, SECRET WARS AND HUMAN BEASTS - DETECTIVE MAIER IS BACK TO INVESTIGATE THE POLITICS OF MURDER

The third Detective Maier mystery is a taut and crazy spy thriller for our disturbing times.

When award-winning German conflict photographer Martin Ritter disappears in a boating accident in Thailand, the nation mourns the loss of a cultural icon. But a few weeks later, Detective Maier's agency in Hamburg gets a call from Ritter's wife. Her husband has been seen alive on the streets of Bangkok. Maier decides to travel to Thailand to find Ritter. But all he finds is trouble and a photograph. 

As soon as Maier puts his hands on the Monsoon Ghost Image, the detective turns from hunter to hunted - the CIA, international business interests, a doctor with a penchant for mutilation and a woman who calls herself the Wicked Witch of the East all want to get their fingers on Martin Ritter's most important piece of work - visual proof of a post 9/11 CIA rendition and the torture of a suspected Muslim terrorist on Thai soil. From the concrete canyons of the Thai capital to the savage jungles and hedonist party islands of southern Thailand, Maier and his sidekick Mikhail race against formidable foes to discover some of our darkest truths and to save their lives into the bargain.

Late to the party as usual with my first taste of Tom Vater's Detective Maier series in what may prove to be his final outing.

Tense, violent, brutal, gripping, stunning and a savage indictment on how America conducts itself overseas in a post-9/11 world. Angry and political would be an apt description, as a hunt for a German photographer in Thailand, a man who faked his own death morphs into something much bigger.

I really enjoyed this one. There's a darkness at it's core and Vater conveys his outrage convincingly. Our protagonist, Maier ably assisted by Mikhail - a friend and fellow detective-cum-bodyguard-cum-security expert - track down the missing man, Ritter and uncover a photograph Ritter has taken. The Monsoon Ghost Image opens up a can of worms for our two accomplices and a massive red target has just been painted on their backs.

Torture, experimentation, dark arts, technology, big brother, black ops, rendition, a manhunt, a mysterious ally (or maybe not), Thai military complicity, a chilling and deranged doctor with hynoptic almost other-wordly powers and a penchant for creative surgery, a German billionaire with a callous indifference for humanity and an isolated jungle playground, ideal for indulging his sickness... and a helluva lot more.

At it's heart we have Maier and Mikhail, our moral compass, shining a torch for the good guys and trying desperately to survive and outwit opponents with much greater influence and resources, while pondering what to do with the image. Mikhail with his previous tutelage in the Russian military/intelligence service is a bit more pragmatic than Maier in respect of fighting fire with fire, if it ensures their survival.

Topical - even though it's set in the early 2000s, relevant, entertaining, thought provoking, decent settings, though I may have been dissuaded from ever wishing to visit Thailand in the future, sympathetic characters, pacey, not over-long and relevant.

4.5 from 5

Tom Vater has two earlier books in the Maier series - The Cambodian Book of the Dead and The Man With the Golden Mind, as well as a separate standalone novel - The Devil's Road to Kathmandu. And a lot of non-fiction.

His website is here.

Read in December, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 217
Source - review copy from publisher Crime Wave Press
Format - PDF

2 BY RUTH RENDELL

A couple this week from British crime writing queen, Ruth Rendell.

She's not an author I've read too much from - one book fairly recently - King Solomon's Carpet in 2017, one other long since forgotten when I was a teenager.

I think I'm more drawn to her standalone fiction (30 novels) than her 25-book long series (give or take) with Chief Inspector Wexford. I've a few of them on the TBR pile.

In addition to her prolific output as Rendell, she published over dozen novels under the pen name Barbara Vine.

She died in 2015




A Sight For Sore Eyes (1998)

In traditional fairy tales the handsome prince rescues the beautiful princess from her wicked stepmother, and they live happily ever after.

But in Ruth Rendell's dark and damaged contemporary universe, innocent dreams can turn into the most terrible nightmares.

Teddy Brex emerges from a loveless, isolated childhood as a handsome but autistic young man. Francine Hill, traumatised by the murder of her mother, grows into a beautiful young woman, who must endure the over-protectiveness of an increasingly obsessive stepmother.

Teddy Brex does ride to her rescue, but he is a man who has already murdered... twice.

"A tale as chilling as any Rendell has written to date" Marcel Berlins, The Times

Portobello (2008)

The Portobello area of West London has a rich personality - vibrant, brilliant in colour, noisy, with graffiti that approach art, bizarre and splendid. An indefinable edge to it adds a spice of danger. There is nothing safe about Portobello...

Eugene Wren inherited an art gallery from his father near an arcade that now sells cashmere, handmade soaps and children's clothes. But he decided to move to a more upmarket site in Kensington Church Street. Eugene was fifty, with prematurely white hair. He was, perhaps, too secretive for his own good. He also had an addictive personality. But he had cut back radically on his alcohol consumption and had given up cigarettes. Which was just as well, considering he was going out with a doctor. For all his good intentions, though, there was something he didn't want her to know about...

On a shopping trip one day, Eugene, quite by chance, came across an envelope containing money. He picked it up. For some reason, rather than report the matter to the police, he wrote a note and stuck it up on lamppost near his house:

'Found in Chepstow Villas, a sum of money between eighty and a hundred and sixty pounds. Anyone who has lost such a sum should apply to the phone number below.'

This note would link the lives of a number of very different people - each with their obsessions, problems, dreams and despairs. And through it all the hectic life of Portobello would bustle on.

ADAM MAXWELL - KILL IT WITH FIRE (2018)

Synopsis/blurb....

They say revenge is a dish best served cold but some like it hot.

Double-crossed and with her reputation as a master criminal compromised,
Violet Winters means to fight fire with fire.

She doesn't play by other people’s rules, or any rules so hell's fury is about to rain down.

Furious, fearless and fighting mad she is ready to risk her life to save her name.

"Fast-paced, funny, and fiercely entertaining."
Fergus McNeill


My second outing in Adam Maxwell's Kilchester in the company of Violet Winters and her gang of villains and another enjoyable caper.

Violet has been ripped off, getting paid for her talents with some funny money, by Kilchester king-pin Elias Croft. With a reputation to protect, payback is an obligation, particularly as Croft with cops on the payroll considers himself untouchable.

A plan, a nightclub, some props, a fire, a mute giant as a capable assistant, some distractions, two cops - one bent, one not, a confrontation, some violence, more funny money, complications and a close run escape.

Probably not a spoiler to confirm that Violet and the gang live to fight another day - not that the gang with the exception of Violet and Katie did too much fighting. With the exception of some minor involvement from Lucas, Barry and Zoe it's the Violet and Katie show all the way.

Plenty of humour, pacey, clever, well-plotted, entertaining characters and not over-long. My kind of book.

I look forward to the next outing for the gang and also seeing our honest cop, Zachary Roach again.

4 from 5

The first Kilchester caper - The Dali Deception was enjoyed previously. As was some of Adam Maxwell's short stories in Dial M for Monkey. 

Read in December, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 144
Source - review copy from author
Format - paperback

BLOG TOUR - KEITH NIXON - DIG TWO GRAVES

I'm happy to be part of the blog tour for the re-boot of Keith Nixons's Solomon Gray series. Here's my thoughts on the first - Dig Two Graves which is currently available for free over on Amazon.

Synopsis/blurb,,,

Was it suicide ... or murder? Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray is driven to discover the truth. Whatever the personal cost.

When teenager Nick Buckingham tumbles from the fifth floor of an apartment block, Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray answers the call with a sick feeling in his stomach. The victim was just a kid, sixteen years old. And the exact age the detective's son was, the son Gray has not seen since he went missing at a funfair ten years ago. Each case involving children haunts Gray with the reminder that his son may still be out there – or worse, dead. The seemingly open and shut case of suicide twists into a darker discovery. Buckingham and Gray have never met, so why is Gray's number on the dead teenager's mobile phone?

Gray begins to unravel a murky world of abuse, lies, and corruption. And when the body of Reverend David Hill is found shot to death in the vestry of Gray's old church, Gray wonders how far the depravity stretches and who might be next. Nothing seems connected, and yet there is one common thread: Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray, himself. As the bodies pile up, Gray must face his own demons and his son's abduction. 

Crippled by loss Gray takes the first step on the long road of redemption. But is the killer closer to home than he realised?

Set in the once grand town of Margate in the south of England, the now broken and depressed seaside resort becomes its own character in this dark police suspense thriller, perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, and Peter James.


Dig Two Graves is the first in the Solomon Gray series. Pick it up now to discover whether Gray finds his son in this thrilling new crime series.


An interesting series opener with Nixon's Solomon Gray. Gray has issues. The disappearance of his son, Tom ten years ago still haunts him. He holds himself accountable for Tom's disappearance. The aftermath - the decline of his marriage, the suicide of his wife and his ongoing separation from his surviving daughter - are all matters of ongoing regret. He still harbours hopes of finding his son alive and every spare minute is spent on reviewing the case file or exploring new possibilities however unlikely or tenuous. It's fair to say a huge shadow blights Gray's life and his sorrow resonates throughout the book.

The case in hand  - a sixteen year old boy going over a fifth floor balcony, suicide or something else?
This is a police procedural - so something else is the order of the day.

I liked this one, I enjoyed the dynamics of the police force involved in and around Gray. His direct boss is Yvonne Hamson. Her boss Carslake is an old friend of Gray's and the personal connection sometimes irritates her as Gray can on occasion try and circumvent the chain of command. The other member of the team is Michael Fowler. We also have interaction and a sympathetic relationship with the pathologist, Ben Clough .

Other deaths follow and there is also the involvement of a Met Officer in the original case. The dead sixteen year old having had some London links.

The setting is Margate, a Kent seaside resort that has definitely seen better days. That I visited the town itself a year or two ago, lent a certain familiarity to the backdrop. Definitely somewhere I want to return to, though probably only on the written page.

Dig Two Graves is short for a police procedural - approximately 230 pages long - though the novel never feels rushed. Nixon's just gets to where he wants to take the reader without any undue fuss. That said the relationships and characters of the main players are developed and interesting. There is a resolution to the initial tragedy and the subsequent deaths, but there is definitely some unfinished business for Solomon Gray.

4 from 5

Keith Nixon has his website here.

Burn the Evidence is the second in the Solomon Gray series and was read not long after this one.
Nixon also has a couple of other series under his belt - the Konstantin Files and a series with Caradoc, set in Ancient Britain. Some of each have been previously enjoyed.

Read in March, 2018
Published - 2017
Page count - 226
Source - Net Galley 
Format - Kindle










Dig Two Graves is currently free on Amazon     UK   US   CANADA


The rest of the series is Burn the Evidence, Beg For Mercy and Bury the Bodies

GLENN McGOLDRICK - BREAKING SPIRITS (2017)

Synopsis/blurb....

A young man wants payback for his mother, and he’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it…

In this chapter of the Dark Teesside series, the events unfold in Stockton and Thornaby...

Introducing Breaking Spirits, a dark short story by award winning author Glenn McGoldrick. 

"Brilliantly written, fast-paced as a short story should be, and with a satisfying end" - Amazon bestselling author Sam Burnell

An entertaining 13 page short story, hardly meriting it's own blog post, but it's listed as an individual kindle item and I read it - so there.

A case of revenge, somewhat complicated by the target, but our young protagonist is very clear about his goal. Mission gets accomplished - the things you do for family, the things you do to family.

Fairly straightforward, no actual jaw-dropping moments, no heart-stopping turns of phrase or stopped me in my tracks prose. But enjoyed nevertheless. Would probably be better served as part of a collection, as opposed to a single.

An entertaining 15 minutes

3.5 from 5

I've enjoyed a couple of McGoldrick's shorts before and would like to see something longer by him, but after a chat he tells me his focus and speciality is the short format. I'm not gonna argue with him. 

Dead Flies and Red Marks have been enjoyed before.

Read in December, 2018
Published - 2017
Page count - 13
Source - purchased copy
Format - kindle

DANIEL PEMBREY - INITIATION: AMSTERDAM, '83 (2018)

Synopsis/blurb.....

In autumn 1983, Henk van der Pol is twenty-three years old and just one week out of police training. His dream is to be admitted to the elite detective bureau of Amsterdam’s police force, but he knows he needs to prove himself as a uniformed officer first.

That is, until he is sent to interview witnesses of an audacious kidnapping in the city centre: Alfred Heineken, head of the brewery corporation, has been snatched by shadowy assailants and driven at speed from the scene. Is this really just about a ransom or is there any truth to the rumour that West German terrorists are involved? The case is far beyond van der Pol’s rank but his instincts tell him to do everything in his modest power to solve it—even if it means putting his own life at risk.

From the bestselling author of The Harbour Master, Initiation introduces Daniel Pembrey’s beloved detective as a green young officer at the very start of his career, determined to outwit criminals and his superiors alike, in a first case that could well have been his last.

Another enjoyable outing with Daniel Pembrey's Dutch detective, Henk van der Pol and Initiation: Amsterdam,'83. Henk is a young uniformed officer, fresh out of training and eager to get involved in the efforts to resolve the kidnapping of beer magnate, Freddie Heineken. Probably too eager, truth be told.

Young, single, ambitious, intelligent, impulsive, naive and a little bit reckless, I enjoyed this early introduction to Henk. Pembrey wisely keeps it real though, by avoiding having Henk save the day single-handedly. His contribution to the case, through his intelligence gathering proves an asset. His impulsiveness and hasty actions, less worthy of merit. He's green, but he'll learn.

There's a lot going on here for a short 100-odd page book..... a briefly sketched family back story, Henk's current living arrangements and prospects, his love life - what love life?, though he has designs in this area, his ambition, his distrust of his boss, a kidnapping, frustration at his status, a bicycle, a houseboat, a road trip or two out into the Dutch countryside, a flat mate or two - one a friend, the other a little less trustworthy, a landlord, a few pub outings, an equally ambitious journalist, police corruption, a mentor and brighter prospects ahead.

I think after my recent disappointing outing with Pembrey's The Candidate, I had forgotten how good a writer he really is. Nice to be reminded.

4 from 5

Daniel Pembrey has been enjoyed before...
The Candidate
The Harbour Master
The Harbour Master II: The Maze
The Harbour Master III: Ransom

Read in December, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count  - 106
Source - review copy from author
Format - kindle

ARIANA D. DEN BLEYKER - RED HANDS (2016)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Meet Garrison Harper, a young man on the brink of adulthood, institutionalized after murdering his father and watching his mother die a gruesome death. RED HANDS is a tale of a man using his skills and talents to confront his family history through therapy and the ritualized killing of women while simultaneously fighting crime as a Pittsburgh police lieutenant. In a world of psychosis, psychological twists, and meticulous murders, Garrison assumes the role of Thomas Smith, a talented cop who kills with the lust and thoroughness of a hobbyist who can’t distance himself enough from his own delusions. 


My second time with Ariana D. Den Bleyker's work, after reading Dark Water a year or so ago and a more agreeable outing this time around.

Our main character, Garrison Harper has issues and is in therapy. Read the blurb and you'll discover why. I really enjoyed the scenes with his therapist where he struggles to conceal his true thoughts and feelings. He's obviously not a well man. Garrison is a janitor.

We also have a killer called Thomas (Garrison?) who is a cop. There's a lot of tension as he meets his victims and stalks them. Most of the focus is on his killing, as opposed to the day job. Only really when he is close to exposure does the job as a police officer seem to come into play.

An exciting confrontation with his partner is probably the highlight of the book for me. The conclusion shocks his colleagues but not so much the reader at this point.

I liked the writing. There are some great scenes and a fantastic build-up of tension at various points in the narrative when you feel things could slightly tip even further out of kilter.

At times though I was confused by the narrative and the characters, perhaps no, definitely I didn't fully understand the author's intent. Were Thomas and Garrison the same person? In which case, how could they be a janitor and a cop, unless we are talking two different time-lines which wasn't made clear.

The author is a published poet as well as a novelist so perhaps the narrative deserved a bit more effort than this particular reader gave it.

Great writing though....

For Garrison life was a Dali painting. Horses walked along a swerving stream, reflecting the brown mountains in rippling lenses. Legs stretched to second-hands. Numeric pointillism shaded in the gnarled limb. A dim sun outlined in the clouds, filled the vacuum of the sky. A somber clock hung, waving in the wind of gravity on the branch of one of the horse’s leg-trees. Each time it was layered oil chipping; the frame: wooden, gold, absent. He dreamed this most every night but not once had the inclination to express it. Brushes went on hair. Canvases stayed blank.


Overall, despite not fully understanding things I enjoyed it.

3 from 5

Ariana has her website here.

Read in December, 2018
Published - 2016
Page count - 87
Source - purchased copy
Format - kindle

* Red Hands is about to be re-published by Fahrenheit Press. I'll add the cover image to the post when that happens.