J.A. MARLEY - GODSEND - BLOGTOUR

Author J.A. Marley's Godsend is released today by Bloodhound Books. Godsend is the sequel to Marley's Standstill, but can be enjoyed as a standalone. 

A recent house move has temporarily (I hope) derailed my reading so John has come to the rescue with a piece for the blog.....

I’m A Sick Individual

I’m sick in the head.

In my defence, it is for very good reasons, but I am pretty sure that my brain does not work in the same way as most people. When you spend your days staring at a blinking cursor on a word document, your mind starts to twist. You’re trying, on a daily basis, to surprise and delight your audience.  This leads to having devious thoughts.  Your priority is to obfuscate, to divert, to create literary sleights of hand. A famous author (I can’t recall which at the moment, my brain is too twisted) told me that writing a thriller is the art of the reader second guessing you as you second guess them second guessing you.  Got that?  Makes your eyes water thinking it through but he is right.

So, my thoughts are constantly trying to wriggle their way through a twisty plot, or the creation of a character whose motivation might suddenly shift direction, but can only do so in a credible, believable way.  See? Discombobulating!

It makes for a curious mindset most of the time.  When writing Godsend, I wanted the characters to spend a lot of the time trying to second guess each other so that the reader had to do the same.  Hopefully all that sick mindedness pays off…let the reader be the judge!

The sickness also reveals itself in other, more subtle ways.  I’ll explain. It’s a sunny day, you decide to go for walk with the dogs and a loved one.  People are strolling through the leafy glades admiring the blue sky or enjoying the smell of the woodland plants.  But me? Noooo. I’m not doing any of those things. I’m imagining whether or not the car park is a good spot for a secluded drug deal or if that thicket might be the perfect place to conceal a cadaver. 

This sort of thing happens to me everywhere. Stuck in traffic?  I’m not humming along to the radio, I’m looking around to see which direction my lead character, Danny Felix, might flick the steering wheel in, while mashing his foot on the accelerator and pulling a manoeuvre to escape a pursuing foe or worse still, the Old Bill. I know I’m not alone in these fanciful, visceral pursuits. Other crime writers do it too.  Crime readers might find themselves thinking about where a body might be concealed too from time to time, but not the constant flow of twistedness that us lot get up to in service of them and the entertainment levels in our books. We think about this stuff constantly

I remember once scaring the bejaysus out of my chiropractor.  She had just finished flinging me around the room like a ragdoll and as I paid her for the privilege I asked her the following question. “You know when in action movies the hero grabs a guard or a villain by the head and does that twisty, neck-wrench thing and breaks their neck.  Is that possible? Will that actually kill someone?” To say that there was a pause of at least five seconds in which you could hear the birds singing outside and traffic going by is not an exaggeration. She stared at me like I’m a sick individual (which we’ve already established I am).  Finally, I reminded her that I write thrillers and she exhaled with some relief. The answer is yes, by the way, but it is not as instantaneous as the movies make it out, and the victim will die a slow and very tortuous death.

And so, to absolutely leave you in no doubt as to me being sick in the head, my last piece of evidence is this.  I love it when people ask me what I do. Because I can simply never resist the temptation to look them straight in the eye and say, with a casual air, “I plan robberies and murders and how to get away with them.” The look on their faces is just too delicious to pass up.  I’m sure this little hobby will get me ejected or arrested at some point in my life, but the risk is worth it, and I don’t care I’m having fun.

And that is the absolute truth of what we crime writers are doing.  We are having fun. Fun in the darkest sense, yes, but it is endlessly fun to weave stories of mayhem, murder and malice. And in being allowed to do so, I, and most of my fellow writers, feel completely blessed. 

Hope you enjoy Godsend as much I enjoyed writing it.

J.A. Marley April 2018

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J.A. Marley has his website here.

He's on Twitter - @jamarleybooks

Godsend can be purchased here - AMAZON UK - AMAZON US

CORMAC O'KEEFFE - BLACK WATER (2018)

Synopsis/blurb…

I killed the boy . . .

Jig loves football and his dog, hates school, misses his dead granda and knows to lie low when his ma's blitzed on the vodka.

He's just an ordinary boy on the brutal streets alongside Dublin's Grand Canal. Streets that are ruled by Ghost and his crew. And now Ghost inked, vicious, unprincipled has a job for Jig.

A job that no one can afford to go wrong not the gangs, the police, the locals, and least of all not Jig.

Fast-paced, compelling and expertly plotted, BLACK WATER introduces a powerful new voice in contemporary crime fiction.

PRAISE FOR BLACK WATER:

‘Shocking and compulsive, Black Water offers a grittily realistic insight into the causes and consequences of inner-city drug crime – think The Wire set in Dublin.’ – BRIAN MCGILLOWAY, NYT bestselling author of Little Girl Lost

‘O’Keeffe pulls you into the dark underbelly of Dublin city with well-drawn characters, chilling dexterity and unflinching truth – harsh, tender, steely and authentic.’ – LOUISE PHILLIPS, author of The Game Changer

One of the most enjoyable books I’ve read this year and even at this early stage a definite contender for one of my top reads of 2018. Admittedly, I do have a bias towards Dublin set novels - my family all hail from there and I was born there, albeit more than half a century ago.

In Black Water, author Cormac O’Keeffe serves up a tale of inner-city strife in Dublin’s not so fair city. Jig is a ten year boy, teetering on the precipice of involvement with the local drugs gang. A little errand run on behalf of Ghost, one of the king-pins in the Canal Street gang has dramatic repercussions when the target of his message – an elderly woman dies on receipt. Jig, manipulated and coerced by Ghost now has to work off his debt. Debt? WTF!

In the following pages, we see the effects of this event on the community through the eyes of Jig, his football coach, different elements within the Gardai Siochana (Irish police), a community worker, a priest and others including the gang’s top dog. A further dramatic event occurs which heightens tension on the streets.

Brian McGilloway makes a comparison regarding this book – think The Wire set in Dublin – which sums this up perfectly….. drug gangs, junkies, feckless parenting, feral teenagers, police mistrust, Republican activism (ok you might not find that in Baltimore), a broken community, a decline in the influence and authority of the church, police factions competing with each other and jockeying for power and influence, informers and bugs, a code of silence and a look the other way mentality.

The good guys – the authorities don’t all wear white hats with elements within the police service not above manipulating and bending people in much the same way as the targets (the Canal Street gang and a local Republican group) they are trying to take down use people.

Personal elements within the book, made events seem very real and plausible. Jig has a crap home life. His mother and father ignore him. If he does attract their attention it’s to inflict a verbal or physical assault. His brother, Maggot a few years older is already involved in the local gang and has had his run-ins with the police. His sister cares for him but is a recovering addict herself. His main preoccupation are his dog (passed onto him by his much loved and missed granda) and his football. Jig’s a gifted player and one possible escape from a life and a community bereft of hope or opportunity is through his sport. But not if the gang get their clutches into him.

Brutal, hard-hitting, impressive, realistic, and a tad depressing. If this is a reflection of life in Dublin in the 21^st Century, I’m glad my dad didn’t live to see it.

5 from 5

Black Water is Cormac O’Keeffe’s debut novel (hard to believe really). It is released tomorrow.

He has his website here. 

Read in April, 2018

Published – 2018

Page count – 320

Source – review copy from Black and White Publishing (thanks Lina)

Format – trade paperback

KEITH NIXON - DIG TWO GRAVES (2017)

Synopsis/blurb.....

Was it suicide ... or murder?

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, Tom, would've been, had he not gone 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?

With his boss, Detective Inspector Yvonne Hamson, Gray begins to unravel a murky world of abuse, lies, and corruption. An investigator from the Met is called in to assist, setting the local police on edge. 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. Crippled by loss but determined to find the truth, Gray takes the first step on the long road of redemption.

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 detective thriller. Dig Two Graves is the first book in a series featuring Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray. The crime series is perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, and Peter James.

"Keith Nixon does for Margate what Peter James did for Brighton … As dark and brooding as the wind-lashed shores of the North Sea, and with its disturbing echoes of the Elm Guest House scandal and suggestions of deep-seated institutional corruption, Dig Two Graves is a superb addition to the rich Brit Crime scene."
- Tim Baker, CWA shortlisted author of Fever City

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 after approval from publisher Bastei Entertainment
Format - Kindle

2 BY E.A. AYMAR

E.A. Aymar is a recent discovery and these two are a couple of recent purchases.

Aymar came to my attention with his co-editing alongside Sarah M. Chen of Down and Out Books recently published anthology - The Night of the Flood

Aymar has two of the three published in his planned trilogy and as yet there's no word on the finale.

There was a shortish e-book prequel published - When the Deep Purple Falls in 2013 also.

His website is here.

He has a regular column in the Washington Independent Review of Books.

Catch him on Facebook here and Twitter - @EvenEd74

I'll Sleep When You're Dead (2013)

Tom Starks has spent the three years since his wife’s murder struggling to single-handedly raise their daughter, Julie, while haunted by memories of his dead spouse. When he learns that the man accused of her murder, Chris Taylor, has been released from prison, Tom hires a pair of hit men to get his revenge. But when the hit men botch the assassination, Tom is inadvertently pulled into their violent world.

And now those hit men are after him and his daughter.

You're As Good As Dead (2015)

Three years have passed since Tom Starks, a Baltimore community college professor and single father, tried to avenge his wife's death by hiring a hit man. Tom is now hopeful that he has left the world of violence and murder behind. But he is drawn back into Baltimore's criminal underground after he witnesses the assassination of an influential crime boss. To make matters worse, it appears the FBI has discovered Tom's involvement, and they force him to work with them as an informer. Now Tom must navigate a deadly path between warring crime families and ruthless federal agents, even as he desperately tries to keep his involvement a secret from those closest to him.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS WITH ROBERT PARKER

Robert Parker, author of A Wanted Man and Crook's Hollow answers a few questions for me....

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

Yes the writing is indeed full time.  I got to a point where I felt that if I wanted to give this the best chance of working that I could, I would have to drop everything else I was doing and really take the opportunity with both hands. It was a heck of a decision at the time to be honest, and one that I think most people assumed I was insane to do, but it's one I'm so glad I've taken.

Biography wise I have a very varied background in terms of employment and education. I was a solicitor's agent, a warehouse order picker, a van driver, barman, a commercial videographer and all sorts of things after a degree in law and then a degree in film production.  I feel all this is giving me a very varied background in terms of life experience and it's something I really enjoy putting in my writing. I'm also married with three young children

What’s your typical writing schedule?

Typically in a day I will start by getting up early with the kids and (hold on to your hats) do the school run.  Then I assemble my daily to do list which has anywhere between 15 and 30 items on it, and then try to crack on as much as I can. This is like the admin side of being an author - which these days I'm learning is a lot of e-mailing and social media.  I actually like to have a packed schedule and and be as proactive as I can with what I  want to achieve. When I eventually settle down to write I try to do 2000 words a day - if I'm 'writing' writing. In there I'll fit in training, as I box recreationally, and the daily rough and tumble of being a dad with three young kids who don't understand the concept of deadlines.

Do you insert family, friends, and colleagues into your characters?

Never. I kind of think that life can be complicated enough without putting your dirty laundry in a book. That's just me though! I'll often go with life experiences in terms of the sentiment occasions gave me but I will never put direct references in my work. The very idea makes me cringe to bits.

When you have an idea and you sit down to construct your 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?

 I'm afraid I don't really plot at all. I have a collection of scenes, and moments that inspire the story and characters, and place I want to get to. So I think when I start a book I have a bunch of things I want to achieve by the time I get to the end and a flavour of the kind of story I want to tell. When I start with the characters I don't really know how they're going to end up, where they're going, or where their stories will end so I usually just get writing and see where we go from there. I hugely believe that draft one is the most important - because you can't polish or edit anything that plain isn't there.

Are there any subjects off limits?

Not really, no, but considering I'm still largely at the outset of what I hope will be my career, I haven't encountered anything so far! Subject-wise, I don't think there's anything I wouldn't touch - but I would view them as off limits if I felt I couldn't do a good enough job of portraying them. For example, I'm not altogether comfortable with romance yet - perhaps that's why Ben Bracken has not been romantically involved for over a decade, a subconscious decision to make life easier for myself! But we touch some pretty grim topics in Crook's Hollow, which was written a few years later than A Wanted Man - so I suppose I'm growing in confidence.

I’m intending to read both A Wanted Man and Crook’s Hollow this month (March). From the back pages of both I see Manchester features in both, maybe only partly for AWM and kind of exclusively around the Manchester and Liverpool area for CH, is this part of the North West your home turf and stomping ground?

Oh yes, exactly so. I live in Warrington, which is pretty much equidistant between Manchester and Liverpool, and we are a bizarre breed of a bit of both. Growing up, there wasn't much to do round my way, in the rural corner of Warrington, and you were neither a true Manc nor a true Scouser, so you ended up adopting one or the other as your home city - and I started drinking out in Manchester, and fell in love with it in a big way. In terms of football allegiance, I went the other way...

How important is setting to your work?

I think at this stage of my career setting it's very important. In fact, it's probably important at whatever stage of career I'm at, but more so as I'm feeling my way into this as I believe that if I can get a sense of place right in my work , I will probably get away with more of the fantastical elements and moments were I use a bit of creative licence.  But generally I think a sense of place is one of the most important things in writing a book as that is the absolute basis and bedrock for your story. If you don't buy the setting how are you expected to believe what happens in it?

How long from conception to completion did Crook’s Hollow take? Was it a smooth process or were there many bumps in the road along the way?

 I loved writing Crooks Hollow. I wrote it in the summer of 2016 and it took about 6 weeks, having been percolating for about 3 months prior. I have to be completely honest I found this one of the easiest things I've written in terms of getting it on the page because everything in it, especially the characters, took on a life of their own as I was writing - I didn't know who the villain was until pretty much the end and it suddenly made sense. I started with a scene in my head, which was the opening scene involving attempted murder by combine harvester (I do like a challenge) and I just let my mind wander from there. the motivations of the characters changed as we progressed and as the world around us changed with it, with Trump and Brexit etc. And as it was set in an area similar to one that I grew up in, I was very comfortable in letting it all hang out in terms of establishing setting and I actually had a lot of fun working out how I felt about certain things in that environment I knew so well . The hardest part was finding the right publisher,  but luckily we found that in Black Rose Writing, who have been great to work with and seemed to 'get' what I was trying to do from the beginning - prior to that, publishers liked it but just didn't know how to categorise it. I mean there aren't that many 'country noir' books out there, as this book is being described as.

You seem to have garnered some praise from an impressive list of authors in respect of Crook’s Hollow – Adrian McKinty, Steph Post, David Joy and others – how did you manage that? McKinty lives on the other side of the world!

Firstly, my encounters in the world of crime fiction and publishing have been unanimously positive. Everyone has been so friendly and so generous with their time. I am a fan of the authors you mentioned - McKinty is, I think, my favourite author. There's stuff he does with words and their rhythms that just blows me to bits every time. And Post and Joy, I'm big fans of their work in the American Grit-Lit genre, which I was reading a lot of at the time of writing Crook's Hollow and would class as a pretty obvious influence of what I was trying to do with the book. These authors, and the others like Torquil MacLeod and Danielle Ramsay, really inspire me daily in my own work, and I reached out to them and told them so - and asked very politely if they'd take a look. The fact that they enjoyed it still thrills me like you wouldn't believe.

Is there one of your two offspring you are more proud of? Which would you press into the hands of a new reader?

Very tough this one, but I firmly believe that I'm learning as I go here, and getting better with every book. Crook's Hollow is one that I had so much fun with, and it's more recent, so I'll say that one - but the story of A Wanted Man will continue soon...

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

When A Wanted Man came out, it was initially ebook only. I desperately wanted that print deal, but just couldn't get it. But within 2 weeks of the book being available for download, it was quickly established that the demand was there, and that a print run was in the offing. I won't forget the phone call, ever. I was on holiday with the kids and they all thought there was something wrong with me when I slipped into stunned silence.

Any unpublished gems in your bottom drawer?

I don't know about gems - there is definitely some unpublished garbage down there. I think every writer has that dearth of horrible material they come across from time to time when cleaning out something at home. What I do have are 15 of the worst screenplays you'd ever wish to read, and a host of abandoned novels.

What’s the current project in progress?

Ben Bracken 4 (which is the fourth book in the series started by A Wanted Man), and something else which I don't know what genre it is in yet - which is weird because I'm halfway through it. If I stick to where I'm growing my name, I'll dumb down my original idea - but if I stick to my guns (and knowing my stubborn streak, I will do, I can feel it) it'll end up a horror. Or maybe a crime-horror. Not sure. I'm just going to finish it and see what's what.

What’s the best thing about writing?

The time it gives me to spend time with my children. I'm so SO lucky in that respect.

The worst?

I genuinely can't think of anything. Obviously there's stuff about needing to stay original, needing a certain number of book sales to keep doing what I'm doing, but I'm certainly someone who'll try to see the positives where I can.

What are the last five books you’ve read?



The Smiling Man by Joseph Knox (my God, is that guy going places...), Lightwood by Steph Post (everything I love about books and small-town crime stories was in this one), Unsub by Meg Gardiner (which was nothing short of sensational), The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson (a brilliant mystery which took me places I was not expecting) and Force of Nature by Jane Harper (which I somehow preferred to The Dry, which I loved!).

Who do you read and enjoy?

Well, I've mentioned McKinty, but I love anything by Don Winslow, Dennis Lehane, Ace Atkins and CJ Box. There are so many authors I enjoy though, that it would take me forever.

Is there any one book you wish you had written?

Jaws by Peter Benchley. It changed everything for me. I read it when I was 12 with a bag of pick'n'mix under my duvet with a torch and it changed everything. I had no idea fiction could be so powerful, so visceral.

Favourite activity when not working or writing?

Boxing. I started a couple of years ago, and it has uncorked something in me I definitely didn't know was there - and apparently having black eyes and busted nose help the overall image of the crime writer.

In a couple of years’ time…

I'll still be here. I'm digging my heals in.

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Many thanks to Robert for his time.

You can catch him at the following haunts...

 www.robertparkerauthor.com

 @robparkerauthor

 @robertparkerauthor

 @robertparkerauthor

ROBERT PARKER - CROOK'S HOLLOW (2018)

Synopsis/blurb......

In the quiet village of Crook’s Hollow, almost exactly between Manchester and Liverpool, land and pride are king.

And now someone has just tried to kill Thor Loxley – but Thor has no clue as to why. As the estranged youngest of the omnipresent Loxley farming dynasty, all of whom view him as a traitorous turncoat, in a village where everybody knows everybody else’s business, life is hard enough.

But here, farmers do things the old way. You deal with problems on your own terms. You keep everything in house where possible. You avoid involving the authorities. With nobody to turn to, Thor sets out to uncover who wronged him. But with corrupt land developers circling, the rival Crook family seeking to unsettle the Loxley’s at every turn, his own family despising him, and jealous old acquaintances lurking, the mystery plunges ever deeper – and up floats more greed, betrayal, secrecy and blood than Thor could possibly imagine.

I do like tales where one man is in a world of woe and has no idea who or why someone's gunning for him. Thor Loxley, a barman is such a man and after narrowly escaping death by combine harvester at the hands of an unidentified assailant, we spend a couple of hundred pages in his company trying to get to the bottom of the mystery. Who wants him dead and why?

Parker serves up a dark tale of intrigue as Thor endeavours to identify his attacker. We learn of life in the village of Crook's Hollow, where everyone knows everyone else and everyone else's business. We learn of the reasons for Thor's estrangement from his family, a family set in the ways of the village and the farming life. We find the roots of their hundreds years old rivalry with the Crooks. And we encounter some new faces in the village, ones that may not just be threatening Thor but could endanger the future of the whole community.

Thor has only his not so secret - secret girlfriend, Roisin for an ally. Their illicit romance, if revealed will further damage the remaining tenuous links to his family. But at least he has someone he can trust. Her and one of his sisters.

Fantastic setting, secrets, history, family, betrayal, infidelity, deceit, land, farming, floods, attempted murder - more than once, developers, community, police, friendship, loyalty and much more.

Lots to like and admire in this slice of English noir from Robert Parker.

4.5 from 5

Parker's A Wanted Man appeared on the blog yesterday - here.

Robert Parker has his website here. Catch him on Twitter - @robparkerauthor

Read in April, 2018
Published - 2018
Page count - 210
Source - review copy from publicist Linda MacFadyen
Format - paperback
     

ROBERT PARKER - A WANTED MAN (2017)

Synopsis/blurb.....

It’s down to fathers and fatherhood.

Ben Bracken, ex-soldier, has just got out of Strangeways.

Not by the front door.

With him, he has his ‘insurance policy’ – a bag of evidence that will guarantee his freedom, provided he can keep it safe – and he has money, carefully looked after by a friend, Jack Brooker.

Rejected by the army, disowned by his father, and any hopes of parenthood long since shattered, Ben has no anchors in his life.

No one to keep him steady. 

No one to stop his cause…

The plan: to wreak justice on the man who had put him in prison in the first place. 

Terry ‘The Turn-Up’ Masters, a nasty piece of work, whose crime organisation is based in London.

But before Ben can get started on his mission, another matter is brought to his attention: Jack’s father has been murdered and he will not rest until the killers are found.

Suddenly, Ben finds himself drawn in to helping Jack in his quest for revenge.

In the process, he descends into the fold of Manchester’s most notorious crime organisation – the Berg – the very people he wants to bring down…

This action-packed and fast-paced story will keep you turning the pages. Manchester is vividly portrayed as Ben races around the city seeking vengeance.

Praise for A Wanted Man

'Narrated with page-turning mastery... A stunning crime thriller' – GOODBOOKSTODAY.COM 

‘A dark, gripping, revenge thriller’ – Thomas Waugh

An enjoyable book with an interesting main character, Ben Bracken but a little bit marred by my unwillingness to be totally convinced about Bracken’s motivations.

Bracken is ex-army and has escaped from prison. He wants revenge on the man responsible for putting him there, I get that. His willingness to fight other people’s battles, less so.

That said when he goes up against a secretive Manchester underworld gang it was an entertaining, series of encounters and meetings, almost akin to a chess match, before it turned brutal and bloody with more than a few casualties.  

Bracken doesn’t have many friends and those who do help him seem to live to regret it. He is estranged from his family. There was one particularly moving scene when Ben revisits his old family home on the off-chance of maybe reconnecting. Gone with no forwarding address, greets him and you feel his loneliness.

Lots to like, a Manchester setting, plenty of action, a quick-moving fast-paced narrative, a main character that grew on me as the book progressed and an ending that paves the way for a continuation of the series and Ben Bracken’s main goal – revenge, without feeling like a cliff-hanger.

3.5 from 5

Robert Parker has his website here and is on Twitter – @robparkerauthor

A Wanted Man is his debut, Crook’s Hollow is his second novel and a stand-alone.

Published in 2017

Read in March, 2018

Page count – 320

Source – review copy received from publicist, Linda MacFadyen

Format - paperback