Category: Book Reviews

CTG REVIEWS: LOST IN NASHVILLE by NEIL WHITE

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Now, as you know I’m a big country music fan. And today I’m super excited to be reviewing a book that’s more country than crime … LOST IN NASHVILLE by Neil White.

What the blurb says: “James Gray is a lawyer and his life is a success. Or, at least he thinks it is, but it has something missing: a bond with his father, Bruce. Bruce Gray is old, tired and estranged from his family. He spends his time drinking and drifting in the small seaside town in England that James once called home. James decides to take Bruce on a road trip, to try to connect with his father through the one thing that has always united them: a love for Johnny Cash and his music. Together, they travel through Johnny Cash’s life; where he grew up, the places he sang about – a journey of discovery about Johnny, the South, and each other.”

Readers who are fond of fast-paced, gritty crime ficton will be no stranger to crime writer Neil White’s best-selling crime novels. He’s known for great characters and twisty-turny action packed stories with a gritty authenticity, but there’s something else dear to his heart – and that’s country music.

And his love and knowledge of country, especially the work and life of Johnny Cash, come through loud and clear in his latest, and first non-crime, book LOST IN NASHVILLE.

The story is one hell of a read – part road trip, part exploration of Johnny Cash’s life – the man and the music – and part a journey of self-discovery for the two main characters, James Gray and his father, Bruce.

It’s a road trip where the journey is measured in far more than the miles covered. Where life choices – the good and the bad – are examined. And relationships are re-discovered and re-formed.

As a country fan I found the study of Johnny Cash’s life, the descriptions of the places visited by the characters and the history hidden within them really fascinating. That, partnered with an emotive story of fractured relationships, regret and redemption as James and Bruce try to connect as father and son, as adults and as flawed human beings, makes this an unputdownable read.

As heart-breaking and heart-warming as the very best country music – LOST IN NASHVILLE will have you laugh, cry and sing along!

 

LOST IN NASHVILLE is out today! Buy it from Amazon here

To find out more about NEIL WHITE hop on over to his website here

And to read more about the ‘making of’ LOST IN NASHVILLE be sure to check out this blog post by Neil http://www.neilwhite.net/single-post/2016/07/18/Ive-got-more-than-a-life-of-crime

CTG Reviews: OUT OF BOUNDS by Val McDermid

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I’m delighted to be hosting a stop on the OUT OF BOUNDS blog tour today and reviewing the fantastic new book by Val McDermid.

What the blurb says: “A teenage joyrider crashes a stolen car and ends up in a coma, a routine DNA test reveals a connection to an unsolved murder from twenty-two years before. Finding the answer to the cold case should be straightforward. But it’s as twisted as the DNA helix itself. Meanwhile, Karen Pirie finds herself irresistibly drawn to another mystery that she has no business investigating, a mystery that has its roots in a terrorist bombing two decades ago. And again, she finds that nothing is as it seems.”

Still grieving over the death of her partner, DCI Karen Pirie, head of Police Scotland’s Historic Cases Unit, finds throwing herself into work is the only way to cope. By day she hunts down leads and looks for evidence to find justice for those victims whose murderers have gone unfound, and by night she walks the streets of Edinburgh hoping to exhaust herself physically so that she will finally sleep. She’s a compelling lead character – damaged yet determined to get justice for those who can’t get it for themselves, and principled yet willing to flex the rules in order to do the right thing or find the truth. Brave and dynamic, she’s exactly the kind of person you want in your corner, and also the kind of person you could have a laugh with in the pub or over a meal.

In OUT OF BOUNDS she’s working two cold cases. Both involve complicated, fractured family situations. Both have gone unsolved for many years. To succeed in finding the truth, they require a tenacious and creative approach, and that’s what Karen has in spades.

Her sidekick, DC Jason Murray aka “The Mint”, isn’t overly bright but he makes up for that with his easy going nature and willingness to do whatever Karen says. And it’s good she’s got an ally, because her boss, Assistant Chief Constable Simon Lees aka “The Macaroon”, isn’t a fan of Karen and is always looking for a reason to give her a bollocking or, if he can, get rid of her. Karen isn’t fazed though. She follows the evidence, using her honed investigation skills and her ability to get people to trust and confide in her, in order to find leads that others have missed.

OUT OF BOUNDS has all the twisty-turny suspense that you’d expect from a writer at the top of her game. And it has all the procedural complexity – criminal and family law – combined with the forensic details that give a real authenticity to the story. But it also delivers more than this. It engages the reader in some of the big social questions of our time, not in a preachy way, but in a way that makes you stop and consider how life is changing (or not) and how we are all part of that – either through our action or in-action. It’s a compelling, page turner of a read, and one that stays with you long after the final page has been turned.

OUT OF BOUNDS is out now. You can buy it here from Waterstones or from Amazon here

To find out more about Val McDermid and her books visit her website here and follow her on Twitter @valmcdermid

And be sure to check out all the stops on the OUT OF BOUNDS blog tour …

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CTG Reviews: BLACK NIGHT FALLING by Rod Reynolds

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What the blurb says: “Having left Texarkana for the safety of the West Coast, reporter Charlie Yates finds himself drawn back to the South, to Hot Springs, Arkansas, as an old acquaintance asks for his help. This time it’s less of a story Charlie’s chasing, more of a desperate attempt to do the right thing before it’s too late …”

 

The second book in the Charlie Yates series is another noir-drenched belter of a thriller.

When Charlie gets a call from Jimmy Robinson, a shady reporter from Texarkana – a place Charlie just wants to forget – asking for help, his gut instinct is to hang up. But when Jimmy hints that the trouble that chased Charlie from Texarkana could be connected to murders in Hot Springs, Charlie finds himself agreeing to make the trip. But when he lands at Hot Springs things aren’t at all what he’d expected, and a bad situation turns dire fast. Charlie feels driven to discover the truth of what’s going on and starts to investigate. He soon finds out that beneath it’s party town exterior, Hot Springs has a darker, and much more dangerous side.

Picking up a few months after Rod Reynolds stunning debut The Dark Inside ended, Black Night Falling oozes authenticity and a whole lot of deeply dark menace. The prose is a delight, and I adored the rhythmic Southern cadence.

Reporter Charlie Yates is a great character, and in this second book of the series he’s doing his damnedest to move on from his past – his exile from New York, his failed marriage, and the brutal events in Texarkana that nearly claimed his life – by making a new life for himself in California. But it seems no matter how hard he tries, trouble always finds him! He’s still rather brooding and a bit mysterious, but he’s got a little more hope about him – or at least he’s trying to have!

I think that if Raymond Chandler and John D. MacDonald had co-written a book it might have been rather like BLACK NIGHT FALLING. Darkly gritty and authentically compelling, this is a flawless treat of a novel.

A must-read for all thriller fans.

I recommend that you get it now!

(And if you’ve not read The Dark Inside – get that too!)

BLACK NIGHT FALLING is published today! You can buy the book here from Amazon or from Waterstones here

To find out more about Rod Reynolds and his books go to his Amazon author page here and be sure to follow him on Twitter @Rod_RW

 

CTG’s TOP TEN “MUST PACK” #CrimeFiction SUMMER READS

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If you’ve been stressed out and counting the hours (minutes, seconds …) till your holiday the last thing you want is more stress from picking the right books to take with you!

But there are so many red hot sizzlers of reads out there, how do you pick the books to pack into your luggage? It’s a tough call, so to help you out I thought I’d do a top ten selection of my favourite reads from the past few months to give you a bit of a head start.

And so, after A LOT of deliberation, these are my top ten “must pack” reads.

**drum roll**

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If you love super smart and sparkly fun non-fiction … then REACHER SAID NOTHING by ANDY MARTIN is the perfect companion to lie back on your beach towel with.

Through Andy’s eyes, you’ll get a backseat view of Lee Child as he writes his most recent bestseller – MAKE ME. It’s a captivating snapshot of the life of Lee Child during the writing process – illuminating how his life and his writing feed into each other – and a lesson in thriller writing distilled through the expert observations and analysis of Andy Martin. REACHER SAID NOTHING is an honest, access-all-areas study of a writer at the top of their game, and a damn entertaining read – an absolute must for Reacher fans and aspiring writers too. If you’re a fan of crime thrillers this is a book you just have to read!

Read my review of REACHER SAID NOTHING here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Andy on Twitter @andymartinink

 

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If you love your crime to come with a heavyweight emotional sucker-punch … you’ll need IN HER WAKE by AMANDA JENNINGS in your rucksack when you head off to the British seaside.

It’s a remarkable book – part psychological thriller, part coming-of-age story, it entices you in with a gloriously rich web of secrets and mystery, and holds you spell bound right through to the final heart-wrenching revelation. Beautifully written, IN HER WAKE is a story of toxic relationships, family betrayals and self-discovery. It’s both gritty and tragic, and achingly emotive and heart-warming. A stunning read.

Read my review of IN HER WAKE here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Amanda on Twitter @MandaJJennings

 

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If you love a classy whodunit with a psychological twist … be sure to take DIE OF SHAME by MARK BILLINGHAM with you when you load the truck to drive Route 66 on your road trip.

Told across two timelines, the story follows the police investigation, led by no-nonsense DI Nicola Tanner, into the murder of a member of a North West London addiction therapy group in the ‘NOW’. While in the ‘THEN’ it shows the group, and its members’ lives, as they were in the weeks leading up to the murder of one of their own. It’s a book that explores the lasting effects of addiction, the guilt of having to live with the consequences of actions you may have little recall of taking, and of each person’s battle to find and keep (or get back) their place within the world. It also shows the lengths that some people will go to in order to hide their secrets and take their revenge. For police procedural fans, the investigation narrative is as rich with detail and as tensely pacey as you’d expect from a crime-writing master of the genre. Gritty, thought provoking and utterly addictive!

Read my review of DIE OF SHAME here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Mark on Twitter @MarkBillingham

 

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If you love a modern luxury twist on the classic locked room mystery … take THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by RUTH WARE along for the ride when you journey on the Orient Express.

It tells the story of Lo Blackwood who has been given the career opportunity of a lifetime – attending the press launch of a new boutique cruise ship and writing about her experience on its maiden voyage. But in the days leading up to the cruise her flat is burgled while she’s sleeping, and her relationship with her boyfriend, Judah, hits the rocks. Unsettled and exhausted, Lo makes her way to the ship, convinced some rest and recuperation will help her feel better. But things don’t work out like that. Against the backdrop of ultimate luxury – white velvet, raw-silk, chandeliers with over two thousand Swarovski crystals – and the breath-taking natural beauty of the Norwegian fjords, Lo finds herself facing the possibility she’s trapped on a boat, cut off from the outside world, and one of the other passengers is a murderer. THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 brings the classic locked room mystery bang up to date, with creepiness and ever increasing dread oozing from the pages. It’s packed with suspense and twisty with tension to the final page.

Read my review of THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 over on the @deadgoodbooks website here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Ruth on Twitter @RuthWareWriter

 

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If you love gritty American noir … a copy of BLACK NIGHT FALLING by ROD REYNOLDS is essential reading while you’re waiting for your date to arrive in that back street whiskey bar.

The second book in the Charlie Yates series is another noir-drenched belter of a thriller. “Having left Texarkana for the safety of the West Coast, reporter Charlie Yates finds himself drawn back to the South, to Hot Springs, Arkansas, as an old acquaintance asks for his help. This time it’s less of a story Charlie’s chasing, more of a desperate attempt to do the right thing before it’s too late.” I think that if Raymond Chandler and John D. MacDonald had co-written a book it might have been rather like BLACK NIGHT FALLING. Darkly gritty, authentically compelling, this is a flawless treat of a thriller.

You’ll be able to read my review of BLACK NIGHT FALLING when in comes out in August. In the meantime, click here to pre-order it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Rod on Twitter @Rod_WR

 

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If you love seeing beneath the cash and the glitter thrillers … then EXPOSURE by AVA MARSH will keep your eyes wide open as you lounge by the rooftop pool.

At the start of the book, porn star Kitty Sweet is in prison for double murder, but she’s never told the secret of what really happened. When a long lost friend visits, bringing some upsetting news, Kitty’s offered some sessions with a therapist. She figures why not, she’ll turn up and play along. It’s hard to squeeze EXPOSURE into a single sub-genre – it’s a thriller for sure; a tale of deceit, and exploitation, and murder. It’s also a tale of friendship, of love and of heartbreak with a real emotional core. And the twist at the end, well, let’s just say it’s not many books that can make me cry – and this one did!

Read my review of EXPOSURE here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Ava on Twitter @MsAvaMarsh

 

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If you love high adrenaline action thrillers … then you’ll want to take THE TIME TO KILL by MASON CROSS with you when you jet-ski back to your yacht.

This is the third book in the Carter Blake series, and it’s one hell of a read! The story starts with Blake accepting a new job – finding an employee of an internet tech company who’s gone AWOL with a piece of ground-breaking software. But as he starts tracking his target, Blake isn’t aware that he himself is firmly in the sights of his old employers – Winterlong – and that they’ll stop at nothing to neutralize the threat they now believe him to be. THE TIME TO KILL is an adrenaline rush from the first page to the last. Packed with stunning set-piece action sequences, and an emotional punch as you discover more of the rather mysterious Blake’s backstory, this cinematic action thriller is like reading Reacher crossed with Bourne plus added fabulousness.

Read my review of THE TIME TO KILL here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Mason on Twitter @MasonCrossBooks

 

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If you love your police procedurals packed with ghostly wonder … you’re going to need JONATHAN DARK OR THE EVDIENCE OF GHOSTS by AK BENEDICT to accompany you on that London city getaway you’re planning (maybe you’ll even be tempted to try some mud larking).

Every once in a while you read a book that enthralls you, wrapping you up tight inside its world and holding you spellbound throughout the entirety of the story. For me, this is that book. “Maria King knows a secret London. Born blind, she knows the city by sound and touch and smell. But surgery has restored her sight – only for her to find she doesn’t want it. Jonathan Dark sees the shadowy side of the city. A DI with the Metropolitan Police, he is haunted by his failure to save a woman from the hands of a stalker. Now it seems the killer has set his sights on Maria, and is leaving her messages in the most gruesome of ways. Tracing the source of these messages leads Maria and Jonathan to a London they never know. To find the truth they’ll have to listen to the whispers on the streets.” Quirkily original, with deeply drawn unique characters and a brutally magical London setting, this story has you traversing all the emotions from darkness to delight with a gut wrenching honesty – rather as if you’ve been kissed and sucker punched all at the same time, but in a good way.

Read my review of JONATHAN DARK OR THE EVIDENCE OF GHOSTS here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Alexandra on Twitter @ak_benedict

 

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If you love twisty-turny legal thrillers … take THE PLEA by STEVE CAVANAGH on your New York city break – you could even visit some of the locations in the book while you’re there.

The second book in the Eddie Flynn series, THE PLEA, sees con-man-turned-criminal-defence-lawyer Eddie Flynn facing another terrifying situation: persuade social media genius David Child to become his client and get him to plead guilty to the murder of his girlfriend, or the FBI will make sure Eddie’s wife goes to prison for involvement in an illegal scheme operated by her law firm that she had no direct knowledge of. But Eddie suspects that David Child is innocent, and he won’t send an innocent man to jail. Eddie sets out to prove David’s innocence, and to protect his own family. Problem is, there is more than one bunch of bad guys after David, and some are closer to home than even Eddie might think. With an urgent, time pressured feel from the get-go, electric courtroom scenes, stunning action sequences and the witty and unique character of Eddie Flynn, THE PLEA a tremendous read.

Read my review of THE PLEA here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Steve on Twitter @SSCav

 

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If you love heart-racing creepiness in your thrillers … WILLOW WALK by SJI HOLLIDAY is the book to pack for that walking holiday in the Scottish Highlands.

This is the second book in the Banktoun trilogy. Set in a small town community in Scotland where everyone knows each other’s business and secrets are deeply held, Sergeant David Gray is investigating a series of deaths linked to legal highs, while also trying to work out what is going wrong in his relationship with girlfriend, Marie.

This twisty, turning police procedural has a strong psychological twist, and tackles some controversial issues. It’s a gritty tale of obsession, revenge and escape. Chillingly nuanced, and pulse-poundingly suspenseful, it’s totally unputdownable.

Read my review of WILLOW WALK here. Click here to buy it from Amazon. And be sure to follow Susi on Twitter @SJIHolliday

 

So don’t forget to pack your books in your suitcase (or pack them virtually onto your Kindle) and have a fab summer hols!

 

CTG Reviews: CUT TO THE BONE by Alex Caan

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What the blurb says: “Ruby is a vlogger, a rising star of YouTube and a heroine to millions of teenage girls. And she’s missing. She’s an adult – nothing to worry about, surely? Until the video’s uploaded. Ruby, in the dirt and pleading for her life.

Who better to head up the investigation than the Met’s rising star, Detective Inspector Kate Riley? She’s leading a shiny new team, high-powered, mostly female and with the best resources money can buy. It’s time for them to prove what they can do. Alongside her, Detective Sergeant Zain Harris – poster boy for multiracial policing and the team’s newest member – has his own unique contribution to make. But can Kate wholly trust him and when he’s around, can she trust herself?

Ruby’s millions of fans are hysterical about what may have happened to her. The press is having a field day and as the investigation hurtles out of control in the glare of publicity, it becomes clear that the world of YouTube vloggers and social media is much, much darker than anyone could have imagined in their worst nightmares.

And the videos keep coming . . .”

CUT TO THE BONE is the latest debut coming out of Bonnier’s Twenty7 Books imprint, and it’s an outstanding edition to their line-up. Utterly contemporary, with a rapid pace and nail-biting tension from the get-go, it’s a super-twisty police procedural that kept me guessing right until the end.

The story starts with the disappearance of superstar vlogger, Ruby Day. This is a novel hot on technology – it’s bang up to date – but the human element is strong too, and Ruby’s story is heartbreakingly compelling. Bullied at school, Ruby turned to vlogging as a way to overcome her demons and help others. When her subscribers grew, she was catapulted into the spotlight, and with that came loyal fans, but also hangers on, and those looking to exploit her for profit. When she goes missing, DI Riley and DS Harris have a number of possible suspects who each has a stake in Ruby, but who would profit most from her disappearance? As the investigation cranks up, and more videos of Ruby in distress are released, it becomes clear that beneath the surface of Ruby’s business relationships and personal relationships there are darker, and seedier, motives than any of them could have possibly imagined.

The two main characters – DI Kate Riley and DS Zain Harris – make for an interesting pairing. Both damaged by the events in their past, they’re equally suspicious of others and find it difficult to trust people. They’re also both exceptional at what they do, and determined to get to the truth, and for justice to prevail (even if Zain’s version of justice may be a little more ‘hands on’ at times). Their origins – finding out why Kate Riley had to leave America and start over in the UK, and why Zain Harris is struggling to fit into his new role as a DS in Riley’s team – are fresh and original, and really made me want to spend time with them.

CUT TO THE BONE is perfect for readers who like their police procedurals fast paced, twisty-turny, and served with a side order of grit. I loved it, and can’t wait to read the next in the series.

CUT TO THE BONE is out in eBook now. You can buy it from Amazon here

Check out my interview with Alex Caan here and be sure to follow him on Twitter @alexcaanwriter

CTG Reviews: THE STEPMOTHER by Claire Seeber

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What the blurb says: “Jeanie and Matthew are a happily married couple who both have teenage children from previous relationships. No one said it would be easy to raise a blended family under one roof but Jeanie and Matthew are strong. They will make it work. And whilst Jeanie’s step-daughter Scarlett rejects her, Jeanie will just have to try harder to win her over.

But Jeanie has a past. A terrible secret she thought she’d buried a long time ago. And now, it’s coming to the surface, threatening to destroy her new marriage. Someone is playing a terrifying game on Jeanie and she must put a stop to it once and for all. After all, a fairytale needs a happy ending…doesn’t it?”

There are a lot of psychological thrillers around at the moment, so it was a real pleasure to read THE STEPMOTHER which makes a quirkily original addition to the sub-genre.

It tells the story of Jeanie, a single mum, who has recently married Matthew, who has custody of the children from his first marriage – Scarlet and Luke. As they start married life, and try to join their families together, Jeanie starts to feel increasing unwelcome in the family home. At first she explains same strange situations as teething problems and her own paranoia, but as the weeks and months pass, and increasingly bizarre and macabre things occur, it becomes very clear that someone doesn’t want Jeanie around. The question is, how far will they go to get rid of her?

The story is split between Jeanie’s viewpoint and that of Marlena – Jeanie’s younger and bolder sister – and uses a twist on the classic fairy tale of Snow White within the narrative, to great effect.

Jeanie is an immediately likable character. She’s human and flawed, a hopeless romantic even though life hasn’t been so great to her, and a devoted mother to her teenage son, Frank. I liked her, and wanted things to work out for her with her new marriage and blended family.

This, combined with the dark undertones, sense of impending doom and creeping dread that permeates the chapters, makes THE STEPMOTHER highly compelling and unputdownable.

THE STEPMOTHER is out now. To buy it from Amazon click here

To find out more about Claire Seeber and her books visit her website here and follow her on Twitter @claireseeber

And be sure to drop by the CTG blog on Friday when I’ll be posting my interview with Claire …

 

 

CTG Reviews (over @DeadGoodBooks): THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 by Ruth Ware

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Shush, *don’t tell anyone*, but today I’m moonlighting over at the awesome http://www.deadgoodbooks.co.uk and talking about Ruth Ware’s new psychological thriller THE WOMAN IN CABIN 10 – it’s a pacey page turner, packed with suspense and twisty with tension; a fabulously contemporary locked room mystery.

To find out more hop over to Dead Good Books and check out my review here

*tell everyone*

 

 

CTG Reviews: THE TIME TO KILL by Mason Cross

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What the blurb says: “It’s been five years since Carter Blake parted ways with Winterlong, a top-secret government operation with a shady past. At the time, they agreed a deal; he’d keep quiet about what they were doing, and in return they’d leave him alone.

But now something has changed, and Winterlong is coming from him.

Blake may be the best there is at tracking down people who don’t want to be found, but Winterlong taught him everything he knows. If there’s anyone who can find him – and kill him – it’s them.

THE TIME TO KILL is the third book in the Carter Blake series, and it’s one hell of a read!

The story starts with Blake accepting a new job – finding an employee of an internet tech company who’s gone AWOL with a piece of ground-breaking software. But as he starts tracking his target, Blake isn’t aware that he himself is firmly in the sights of his old employers – Winterlong – and that they’ll stop at nothing to neutralise the threat they now believe him to be.

Before long, Blake’s simple ‘find and return’ job becomes a whole lot more complicated, and he finds himself on the run. As the body-count starts to rise, Blake realises the only way to end things is to get to what Winterlong want back from him before they do. Question is, can he make it across the country to where he stashed it before them?

This is a game of cat and mouse, played between a group of deadly, armed cats and one seriously kick-ass mouse! As Blake races against time across the country, a severe snowstorm descends, and the situation becomes even more dire.

THE TIME TO KILL is an adrenaline rush from the first page to the last. Blake is a terrific action hero – he’s smart, agile, and although prefers not to kill people (even the bad guys) he’ll fight as hard as it takes to make sure the good guys win.

Packed with stunning set-piece action sequences, and an emotional punch as you discover more of the rather mysterious Blake’s backstory, this cinematic action thriller is like reading Reacher crossed with Bourne plus added fabulousness.

It’s a total must read. In fact, stop what you’re doing right now and start reading it – you won’t regret it!

You can buy THE TIME TO KILL here from Waterstones, or from Amazon here 

And be sure to check out www.MasonCross.net and follow him on Twitter @MasonCrossBooks

[note, THE TIME TO KILL had a title change after the first proofs went out, so if you see chatter about a book called WINTERLONG, they are the same!]

CTG Interviews: Ava Marsh about her new thriller EXPOSURE

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Today I’m delighted to have the fabulous Ava Marsh – writer of the brilliant page-turning thrillers, UNTOUCHABLE and EXPOSURE – join me for a bit of a Q&A about her latest book EXPOSURE.

Welcome to the CTG blog, Ava.

So, your second book EXPOSURE is out this month, can you tell us a bit about it?

EXPOSURE follows the story of Leanne Jenkins, otherwise known as Kitty Sweet, a notorious young porn star who pleaded guilty to double murder nearly ten years ago. Up to this point, Leanne has always refused to tell anyone why she did it, but a visit from an old friend sparks an incident that convinces her to finally come clean to the prison psychologist.

EXPOSURE is set in the porn industry, and told through the eyes of Kitty Sweet (aka Leanne Jenkins). What sparked your interest in writing a thriller set in the porn world?

Having written about high class escorts in UNTOUCHABLE, it seemed a natural next step to centre a book in the other bastion of the sex trade, pornography. Again, I felt it was an industry which marginalised the women who worked in it, and I wanted to explore what that world would feel like to someone immersed in it. And it came to me very quickly that my main character would be a porn star in prison for double murder. From that premise, I had to work out why.

Kitty/Leanne is a bold yet very humanly flawed young woman, and despite her being in prison for double murder I found her instantly likeable and very easy to empathise with. What’s your process for creating such realistic characters?

Wow, now you’re really making me think! I guess writing in first person helps a great deal. It puts you inside someone’s head, experiencing the world through their eyes, reading their thoughts. But I also worked hard to provide clues within that opening chapter – the part where she rescues the little silverfish was there specifically to show that Leanne/Kitty had a softer side to the one she was portraying, along with her reactions to the news of her mother’s illness.

Occasionally I draw on things I’ve found out during research or just real life. Victor, for instance, was loosely based on a real character I read about in my research – a very nasty man indeed, who remains anonymous to this day. Generally though I have no particular formula, though I do go through a list of various character prompts and questions to develop a fuller picture of the people who appear in the book.

You include a lot of detail about the workings and goings on in the porn industry and the prison environment. How did you go about researching for this?

I’d like to say I did exciting things like go to a porn shoot or visit a prison, but the boring truth was I researched all of it online and from books. I have a kindle full of porn memoirs – if I ever lose it, people are going to think I’m either a pervert or some sort of obsessive fan.

Can you tell us a bit about your writing process – did you plot the story in advance or start writing and see what happened?

I’m a half-and-half sort of girl. I need the bones of the story – roughly what happens to whom and why – before I can start writing. I’m amazed by those authors who sit down to a blank document and begin typing, with no idea where they’re going. I’ll usually flesh out an outline and some character studies, so I have a basis from which to dive in. But I’m very flexible – when things occur to me as I go along, I’ll go back and make changes there or then, or put them on a snagging list for the second draft. Things always change, at least a little bit, as you get to know your characters and plot more intimately.

And, finally, what does the rest of 2016 have in store for you?

Hopefully plenty of tea, cake and sunshine! On the writing front, I’m halfway through one first draft, while brainstorming another new idea, despite having promised myself lots of time off after a very demanding schedule for the last 18 months. Somehow it seems easier to carry on working than sit around feeling guilty for not doing any writing. Perhaps this was because I was severely blocked for many years before I embarked on fiction, and now I’m always haunted by the sense that I need to make up for lost time.

A big thank you to the wonderful Ava Marsh for letting me grill her about her latest thriller – EXPOSURE – and here’s to a summer filled with tea, cake and sunshine!

In case you’ve not seen it, here’s the blurb on EXPOSURE: “In a world without boundaries it’s hard to know where to stop … Kitty Sweet isn’t like anyone you’ve ever met before. She’s an infamous porn star, imprisoned for double murder. As damaged as she is charismatic, as dangerous as she is charming. But once no different from you or I. Kitty’s past is full of heartbreak and desperation, of adulation and glamour. Of ruin. She’s descended to an underworld most people can only imagine, and lived to tell the tale … This is her story.” You can read my review here

EXPOSURE is out now. Buy it here from Waterstones or from Amazon here

And be sure to follow Ava Marsh on Twitter @MsAvaMarsh

 

 

**COVER REVEAL** DOUBLE TROUBLE EXCLUSIVE** #TwoOClockBoy by MARK HILL

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OMG I am so incredibly excited to be a part of this cover reveal – playing number two in the one-two “double trouble” exclusive reveal along with the Queen of Bloggers LizLovesBooks – and revealing the fabulous cover for my good friend MARK HILL’s debut crime thriller – THE TWO O’CLOCK BOY. 

This is one hell of a read – I can say that because I’ve been allowed a super early preview of this gritty London-set crime thriller – and folks, it’s something really very special.

Here’s the gorgeously fabulous cover – a thing of glass-breakingly, ice-shatteringly loveliness …

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And here’s the blurb:

TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS… ONE BECAME A DETECTIVE… ONE BECAME A KILLER…

One night changed their lives
Thirty years ago, the Longacre Children’s Home stood on a London street where once-grand Victorian homes lay derelict. There its children lived in terror of Gordon Tallis, the home’s manager.

Cries in the fire and smoke
Then Connor Laird arrived: a frighteningly intense boy who quickly became Tallis’ favourite criminal helper. Soon after, destruction befell the Longacre, and the facts of that night have lain buried . . . until today.

A truth both must hide
Now, a mysterious figure, the Two O’Clock Boy, is killing all who grew up there, one by one. DI Ray Drake will do whatever it take to stop the murders – but he will go even further to cover up the truth.

THE TWO O’CLOCK BOY is the first in the DI Ray Drake series and, if you like your crime thrillers twisty-turny, high on drama and grit, and packed with gasp out loud moments, this is going to be just your thing.

Trust me, you will not want to miss THE TWO O’CLOCK BOY when it’s published on 17th November 2016!

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