An exceptional writing talent

"All of his novels were so fast-paced that the reader was compelled to turn the pages in a non-stop effort to reach the end of the book. The final page often produced a totally unexpected plot twist that would invariably leave even his most die-hard fans surprised. His early books contained some violence that matched the era in which they were written, though this was considerably toned down as plots centred more on circumstantial situations to create the high degree of tension that was the hallmark of his writing. Sex was never explicit and, though often hinted at, seldom happened"  This is a Wikipedia description  of James Hadley Chase, a prolific quaintly English crime writer of the 1950's, 60's 70's His novels were always tightly constructed, intricate without being overly complicated but at the same time fast and exciting reads. I do hope Tim Weaver will not mind when I compare his style of writing to that of Chase but with very modern twists and themes. From the opening paragraphs- of "Vanished" we the reader are immediately drawn in...."Healy looked down at the temperature readout as he pulled up outside the estate. Almost twenty degrees. It felt hotter than that. He'd had the air conditioning on all the way from the station but, on the journey over, nothing had cooled His sleeves were rolled up, his top button undone, but the car was still stifling. Even in the middle of the night, under cover of darkness, the heat continued to cling on....." And so we ask...who is Healy and why is he out in the middle of a hot and sultry English summer night?

There are no wasted words in Vanished every page is readable and exciting drawing you in and inviting you to stay. The central character in all Weaver's books is David Raker an ex journalist who now uses his inquisitive skills hiring himself out as a kind of private detective to search for those individuals who have disappeared, desperately sought by loved ones who really only want to know why? Julia Wren hires Raker to find her husband Sam who disappeared some months ago, took an early morning London tube ride and was never seen again. Layer by layer, like the peeling of an onion, the twists and turns of this excellent thriller proceed at a terrific pace. The London underground/railway is used to great effect for the action scenes; the police are searching for The Snatcher and as his name suggests he removes his victims with stealth and cunning, is there any connection between this killer and the disappearance of Sam Wren? In the final chapters  just when we the reader thought the killer had been successfully identified there is a Hadley Chase moment and a "totally unexpected plot twist." My favourite character and one who demands greatest sympathy is ex London met detective Colm Healy, he was one of the Met's  best detectives - until the unsolved murders of a mother and her twin daughters consumed his career, his family and his life. Healy's world finally collapses when his own daughter Leanne disappears, soon to be the subject of a murder enquiry. Raker and Healy have a tenuous relationship and one can never be sure if the broken and distraught detective will finally succumb to suicidal thoughts.

As an ardent reviewer and keen blogger I awarded this book with four stars simply because the early David Raker lacked a little of the oomph, vitality and sparkle of later adventures (What remains;David Raker 6 and Broken Heart;David Raker 7 are exceptional) Tim Weaver is an extraordinary talent whose love of writing and his wonderful storytelling ability is beyond reproach and I look forward with great anticipation the new Raker adventure due for release at the end of July 2017.

Highly original polished cyber thriller

This is an edgy, pacy, futuristic and oh so very polished cyber thriller. At its centre is the author's idea of what life could be like beyond "Second Life" (virtual world for the sad and lonely geeks!) The skin suit:  a totally immersive online experience from software giants Wadesoft....."where the person wearing the suit can be made to feel the physical sensations of whatever software simulation the program is running...." Once the user enhances his body by wearing the skin he can enter the Streamplex where all his needs and wants can be realized in a virtual environment.

FBI agent Rose Blake has failed in her mission to capture and incarcerate  Shane Koenig, a killer who performs the most heinous deaths on this victims before uploading the video to his KKillKam site which is viewed by those who troll the shadowy side of the internet...the darknet. She has no time to dwell on past mistakes and must now use all her energy to investigate a suspected arson. However when a body is discovered Rose will commence a journey that will see her become engrossed in a world of online fantasy and video games, a world without rules or regulation and a world where she will encounter unexpected help in the form of project DIVA (an intelligence that can think for itself and make decisions) amidst "an orgy of virtual massacre and destruction."

Having not read Simon Scarrow's historical novels ( a mistake I plan to rectify) I was intrigued by his latest offering an almost futuristic crime thriller which goes beyond the virtual world giving a glimpse of what might be possible and how those possibilities create a frightening but not unreasonable scenario. I felt a  certain warmth towards agent Blake her love for her son Robbie and her worry about husband Jeff who held lustful thoughts for the lovely Pandora and when not reciprocated purchases his own skin suit, enters Streamplex there hoping to realize his dark inner self. This novel is filled with intelligent, perceptive thought and analysis, a compassionate hero and a deadly foe who will stop at nothing to damage and destroy. Will Shane Koenig by finally stopped? Will Rose successfully navigate the virtual world of Streamplex? Will Jeff be saved from his overworked labido? All will become clear in an exciting and very fulfilling conclusion that leaves open the possibility of further novels in the series. Thanks to netgalley for this gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Astounding

This story is all the more astounding when you consider that it is based on the real life events that occurred to the author. I have never been more affected or more enthralled by the content of a novel or by its alternate voice method of presentation. Vivian Tan, independent and vivacious traveller, is in Belfast invited to contribute in the celebrations of the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement. As a keen walker she plans to use the opportunity to explore the nearby Colin Glen Forest Park close to the city. She meets a young, seemingly innocent boy John Sweeney who continues to follow the hiker seeking a reaction from her as he attempts to strike up a friendly conversation. The situation develops in a frightening and unexpected manner when a pleasant exchange turns to a violent assault and uncontrollable lust ending in the rape of Mz Tan.

It is the telling of this story through the voices of the victim and the perpetrator that makes for compelling reading. A victim so traumatized by a violent act that her life from here on is changed irrevocably and a perpetrator totally unconcerned by the affect of his actions on the victim..."But they have no idea how far she is now from the person they knew a week ago. They just see her, hear her voice. But the real Vivian checked out days ago, and she doesn't know when she'll return.".... As we alternate quickly between the thoughts of Vivian and Sweeney we encounter the rape, the aftermath, the trial and the fallout. It is often so easy to read about a sexual assault and to dismiss very quickly, but the voice of Winnie Li, and her articulate literary presentation taking us from a solitary walk to her life today, (as the lines between Winnie and Vivian must surely be merged) is a meaningful, sombre and sad experience to me as a male reader.

An essential important read by a lady who I can only hold the greatest respect and admiration for. The scenes in the Northern Irish courtroom and the questioning that Vivian received at the hands of a well educated defence lawyer had me totally engrossed by its realism and authenticity ( I work within the legal system) This is a novel that should be read by everyone and can only add to the understanding of a victim in a violent sexual attack, a victim with the courage to tell her story knowing that...."One of these day, she tells herself, she'll be able to walk into a field on her own. An open field under the broad sky in the middle of the day. She'll be able to lie down on her back, feel the grass beneath her, the sun on her face, close her eyes and she will feel completely content. And she will feel no danger....." Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Predictable average story

No matter what other reviewers say about a particular author or story it may not be to my liking...and unfortunately, although I do normally enjoy the writing of Greg F Gifune, this  was a rather poor offering. I usually associate his work with the darker side of relationships and family life( good examples being Saying Uncle and Gardens of Night) however I found Savages reminded me somewhat of" Predator" where a group of soldiers are sent on a rescue mission and a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life secretly strikes and hunts down the group. In Savages 7 friends are lost at sea when they encounter a small uninhabited island and hope that by resting here they can survive until the "cavalry" arrives. An entity decides that he does not welcome this intrusion and so this evil monstrous predator proceeds to remove those poor defenceless trespassers. A formulaic story, pleasant to read but totally unoriginal.

After a great start...........

Anyone who has watched The Killing (Danish version) will know that this type of Nordic crime telling has a raw, edgy yet intensive burn. It's almost as if the action is slowed down, and combining this with the bleakness and solitude of the weather and dour intensive characters certainly makes for unmissable viewing. This translates very well into the written word and I have always enjoyed reading the highly addictive prose of Jo Nesbo and Henning Mankell. Having therefore read the positive amazon reviews and noting that the English "Daily Express" has described the book as "Terrifying yet hugely enjoyable" I was eager to make the acquaintance of The Stalker!

The synopsis is simple. The National Crime Investigation Department, based in Stockholm, is receiving tapes/video that purport to show a young lady alone at night in her house plainly unaware that she is the subject of some deranged mind. Soon after the tape is received a badly mutilated, and savaged body is discovered the natural conclusion being that the narcissistic killer is pre warning the police of his intentions and they can do nothing to stop him as he is in total control. Imagine you, the reader, alone at night with the windows and doors hopefully locked and secured when you read the following....."There's a breeze blowing straight through the kitchen. The door to the garden is wide open. The thin curtain of plastic strips is fluttering into the room. She walks slowly forward. It's hard to see anything behind the dancing curtain. There could be someone standing just outside...."........"holds her breath when she hears footsteps outside the cupboard. They move off in the direction of the kitchen, the doors knock against each other the other door slips open a couple of millimetres. She stands in the darkness with her eyes open wide, and hears a kitchen drawer being opened. There's a metallic clattering sound, and she's breathing in short gasps....." These highly memorable and truly frightening descriptions were in all honesty the highlight of what in reality became a ponderous and very average crime thriller.

Detective Margot Silverman is senior officer tasked with bringing the stalker to justice. After a very short period she is instructed to approach and enlist the help of  D I Joona Linna who is on compassionate leave. I thought this was a mistake as the heavily pregnant Margot was a much more interesting and likeable personality and it would have been good to understand how she combined a stressful job with pregnancy and home. Eric Maria Bark, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, hopes that his insight into the psychotic mind can play a positive contribution into the investigation. A bizarre situation develops when Eric decides to commence piano lessons (??) Within a very short time he is sha**ing the piano teacher and making a clumsy attempt at a Chopin Etude. It is this type of random incident that really turned what could have been an excellent frightening thriller into a very mediocre story. (spoiler to follow) A totally unexpected event happens when Katryna, the wife of Margot's assistant Adam Youssef, becomes the next victim of the stalker. Now the hunt for the killer is personal but unfortunately the author barely mentions Adam or Katryna again. How did this traumatic event effect Detective Youssef? This was such an horrific occurrence and yet the author barely makes mention in the remainder of the book.

Apart from a few genuinely brilliant moments the storytelling was very average, lots of time and description wasted on a clueless police force chasing an elusive psychopath throughout the streets and suburbs of Stockholm. What about the killer you may ask? Without wishing to unveil or spoil your entertainment (?) I found the disclosure of the killer preposterous and highly unlikely...of course you may choose to disagree. I realize that Jonna Linna is the main character in The Stalker as it is part of a series. The author missed a good opportunity here to remove an overrated, conceited and unfit Detective Inspector and replace with the womanly charms of the unassuming Margot Silverman.

Difficult to engage with

DCI Anderson and DI Costello are investigating the disappearance of a young lady called Paige Riley, and trying to make sense of girl who believes she has been abducted by aliens. As this is happening the body of a man is discovered in a refuse bin. There is also the ongoing search for Paul Kerr whose mother Irene fears that he may be the body in the bin. This was not a story I particularly enjoyed and at times I found the writing somewhat confusing. Having said that I did love the events and residents of Athole House.."home for the retired stars of stage and screen" and in particular the Duchess who was looked after and cared for by her son and care assistant Sandra..."He always dressed the Duchess in the style of the women she admired; Jackie Onassis, the Queen, Walls Simpson..." The intentions of Sandra and the hilarity and sadness of the paying elderly guests were to me the high points in a plot that I found at times very difficult to engage with..."Enjoy the scenery as you fill up your incontinence pads and ring bells that nobody ever answers so you are left to rot and decay in some old stinking armchair, the TV left on,  sound blaring and the same episode of Deal or No Deal playing over and over again..."  Thanks to the good people of netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Welcome back Harry

A top class thriller from Jo Nesbo and his antihero Harry Hole. Harry is now lecturing but is requested by the police in Oslo to head up a small team and help trace a killer who is using "vampire" techniques to attack and kill his victims. At a 538 page count this is a long and at sometimes complex book but for those who have followed Harry through his drunken alcoholic binges and failed relationships the book does not disappoint and once again we can see just why Jo Nesbo is revered as a writer of superior nordic crime fiction. Harry's relationship with Rakel and her son Oleg is severely tested when an incident occurs that nearly destroys his now settled domestic life....."He walked quickly past Rakel without looking at her, without a word of farewell. She was already sidelined, pushed from his consciousness by one of his two lover. Alcohol and murder." Returning to the pressure of fronting a murder investigation opens the way for the "demon" drink to once again present as a problem to our nonconformist cop..."He needed a drink. Harry didn't know where the thought came from, but there it was, as if someone had shouted it, spelling it out, straight into his ear. The thought needed to be drowned out quickly." So a good read with a central character haunted by the actions and events that had happened to him in the past.."Harry stared at the ceiling. The ghosts hadn't come. Maybe they wouldn't be coming tonight. You never knew....."

Great second book in the series

Two young men, Danny Lawson, Stephen Foster are dead and a third Ryan Jones is seeking help and counselling from psychologist Dr Jessie Flynn. Are there connections? and can Jessie discover and uncover the closed mind of young soldier Ryan, a deeply troubled and disturbed individual....."He started to fidget, fingers picking at a thread that had come loose from the stitching of his navy blue beret. His nails had been bitten to the quick, the cuticles raw."

This is the second book in the Jessie Flynn crime series and just as enjoyable as the first. It is not so much the story that is at the heart of Kate Medina's writing (although a well structured thriller is always vital) but rather the characters that adorn those pages with all their weaknesses, self doubts, and insecurities, and at this the author excels. Jessie is the central figure a fine and dedicated psychologist and yet possibly one of the most flawed, sensitive and self doubting individuals I have ever encountered. She has borne courageously a troubled childhood with her father departing the marital home, making her feel responsible for her younger, and sick, brother Jamie...."My father dumped me when I was twelve, dumped Jamie when he was only five, sick, dying. He dumped all of us for that...Bi**h" This has tragic consequences when Jamie commits suicide and is discovered by Jessie on her return home, something she will never recover from feeling responsible for his death as she was not present when it happened. She suffers from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder indicated by her extreme sense of order...."She put the kettle back on its stand, straightened the handle flush with the wall"......"the bread and butter lined side by side on the top shelf, an identical space between each item."

Captain Ben Callan is employed as an officer in the Special Investigation Branch. He previously served courageously in Afghanistan and as a young soldier...."he had already taken two bullets whilst on duty. The first a gift from the Taliban eighteen months ago in Afghanistan, still lodged in his brain; the fallout permanent seizures, manageable at the moment with drugs..." Captain Callan has not disclosed his tenuous and fragile health prognosis to his employers for to do so, in his opinion, would surely mean his instant dismissal. As a result of this injury the unfortunate Callan now suffers seizures and blackouts manifesting in the form of epileptic fits. There would appear to be an attraction between Ben and Jessie possibly two wounded souls seeking comfort in the arms of the other. This is something that the reader really hopes will happen, will they or wont they is an occurring theme throughout the story. DI Bobby "Marilyn" Simmons contributes a little light relief if only for the fact that his nickname..." which he had acquired on his first day with Surrey and Sussex Major Crimes thanks to an uncanny resemblance to the ageing American rocker Marilyn Manson.

So with some great leading players and an enjoyable story that results in the exposure of a well hidden killer this the second book in the series draws to a dramatic close. The author has created a wonderful heroine and there must certainly be many more secrets to discover in the further adventures of Jessie and Ben in book 3 of the series. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for supplying me with a gratis copy for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Disappointing

A bit of a disappointment for me as I previously read and really enjoyed  Dark Corners and Something in the Dark. In "I was Jack The Ripper" (part 1 of a series) the author has contrived to create what he thinks is a clever plot...Charles Hapgood, author, receives a visit one night from a man claiming to be Jack the Ripper and is eager to tell his story and explain his actions. So we follow a testimony of debauchery  where our supposed notorious ripper killer attempts to explain how he was transformed from an ordinary child to a monster of historical significance. Michael Bray is a writer of extreme horror and dark fiction,  not something I am particularly fond off as the reading is often comparable to watching slasher horror movies such as Scream, A nightmare on Elm Street or Childs Play (with that cute little Chucky doll) There is little in the way of story just gratuitous violence which will undoubtedly be continued as further episodes of this serialized narrative are released.