50-50 by Steve Cavanagh

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Outline...

Two sisters on trial for murder. Both accuse each other.
Who do you believe?

Alexandra Avellino has just found her father’s mutilated body, and needs the police right away. She believes her sister killed him, and that she is still in the house with a knife.

Sofia Avellino has just found her father’s mutilated body and needs the police right away. She believes her sister, Alexandra did it, and that she is still in the house, locked in the bathroom.

Both women are to go on trial at the same time. A joint trial in front of one jury.

But one of these women is lying. One of them is a murderer. Sitting in a jail cell, about to go on trial with her sister for murder, you might think that this is the last place she expected to be.....
You'd be wrong. 

My Review....
I had seen Steve Cavanagh on a few youtube things with other crime writers like Mark Billingham, Luca Veste and Val McDirmed. He seemed a very entertaining and clever guy so I thought I would read one of his books and it did not dissapoint.

Cavanagh is an ex lawyer so knows his stuff. The setting is the law courts of New York and you would think that the author is a native of New York but surprisingly he is a Northern Irishman with a thick accent to boot.

I think this is the 5th or 6th in the series but I had not read any of the previous Eddie Flyn novels. A situation I hope to rectify throught out the course of the year.

This is a book of multiples. We have two potential killers and two protagonists. Eddie Flynn and Kate Brooks.

Our hero Eddie is an experienced street fighter of a lawyer who was once a conman, so has plenty of transferable skills as well as friends in low places. As a lawyer he will not fight for an innocent verdict of someone he believes to be guilty.

Kate is a junior lawyer representing one of the sisters. She eventually ends up blossoming as a lawyer and unfurling her wings. She too believes her client innocent.

The book is a plotters dream with more suspense than Hitchcock's braces. The chapters are seen through several characters point of view but only two are in the first person. One is Eddie the other is "She" the killer sister, whose identity is not revealed. With all these well written viewpoints we get a slick, fast paced tale.

Eventually the good hearted lawyers (I know eh!) begin to suspect malice aforethought by at least one if not both of the sisters. 

The only negative for me is the fact that I'll never listen to "She" by Elvis Costello again 😳🗡❤

As the investigation continues loose ends must be tidied up and the body count begins to rise.
Well plotted, great characters. Cavanagh writes like a young Grisham. 

Selected Quotes
"A murder trial with an innocent client is like saving someone who’s fallen over a cliff edge. You’ve got their hand. You’ve got to hang on. You’ve got to haul them to safety. Their life is in your grasp. Your strength is all that separates them from a chasm."

"Moonlight seemed beautiful to her. It was the devil’s neon."

"Whoever tells the best story wins."

"Verdicts are often flawed because people are flawed."

"The Magnum held five rounds in its cylinder. Each round looked the same size as a cigarette lighter and cost two and a half bucks. No matter what kind of problem you had, as long as you were carrying that gun, two dollars fifty was probably all you needed to spend in order to solve it."

About the author...

Steve Cavanagh is an Irish author from Belfast and at the age eighteen he studied law by mistake. He is now the international award-winning author of the Eddie Flynn novels. His debut novel, The Defense, was nominated for the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Award for Thriller of the Year, and The Plea won the Prix Polar Award for Best International Novel. Steve is still a practicing lawyer (someday he’ll get the hang of it) and co-host ofthe chart-topping podcast Two Crime Writers And A Microphone. He has been involved in several high-profile civil rights cases, his Eddie Flynn novels have been published in over twenty countries, he’s married with two young children, and in his spare time he is mostly asleep.

Feral Snow by Mark Lowes

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

You can buy Feral Snow...Here

You can follow Mark Lowes...Here

Description...

Alone and stranded in the Arctic wasteland, would you risk your life to save a stranger or try to get home?

Paul is a father-to-be; traumatised by his past, he's terrified of becoming a father after his own beat him until he was unilaterally deaf. While working as a freelance cameraman in the Arctic, he's caught in a blizzard, separated from his crew, and falls into a chasm. Alone, and waiting for death to come, personal demons plague his mind.

When a young native girl falls into the chasm with him, Paul must learn how to accept responsibility and what it takes to give your life for a child.

My Review...

Good authors know what interests readers, even when the reader themselves dont know. When asked what they like to read, readers will often reply  crime fiction, horror, SF or some other genres. They mistake the frame for the picture. What enchants us is not really the type of story, rather  it is the human condition that enthralls us when we read, love, hope, honour, despair, fear. So for example the Shawsank Redemption is a tale of the endurance and beauty of the human spirit even in the most difficult conditions entwined within a prison break story. A good author can splice the human condition and a rollicking yarn together. I think this is why Stephen King is so successful. In this his debut novel Mark Lowes also demonstrates this author's gift.

We really experience our flawed protagonist through his external trauma of cold, injury, wild animals etc but even more so we feel his internal adventure of fear, shame, regret and possible redemption. We live both his real and metaphorical journey.

The author has a very descriptive turn of phrase, which he uses wonderfully well to describe the relentless, biting cold (see selected quotes) I found my self gripping my hot tea a little closer and edging ever closer to the fire as I was reading. It also speaks to the author's talents that even in a vast  expansive backdrop like the arctic he can still make us feel everything so intensely.

You end up cheering our hero on, even when you find out some of his past that even he would rather forget.

Our protagonist runs away from the imminent birth of his first child to be a wildlife cameraman in the arctic. From the dedication at the start of the book, you can see the author was about to become a first time father himself. Talk about self projection. He need not worry, in my experience any man who stresses this much about becoming a good father already has all the building blocks he needs to be a good dad.

I have seen this book described as a cross between 127 hours and the revenant. I would go a little further and throw in a pinch of "a christmas carol" with a sprinkle of "it's a wonderful life."

An exceptional tale of arctic survival and character reflection. Amazing when you realise this is a debut novel.

Selected quotes...

"Cold sets into his lungs like an infection. It spreads through veins, strangling the life from them until they are no more than scrawled blue ink across pallid skin."

"The coolness soothing the side of his face like the cold hand of a lover."

“I’ve dealt with disappointment forever. But disappointment in yourself is the worst thing I’ve ever experienced."

"His body is beginning to shut down. Someone inside him is going from room to room and flicking the light switches off."

"It isn’t fair that he suffered the childhood he did, that he’s terrified of fatherhood as a result."

About the author...

Mark Lowes is an author from Cardiff, Wales in the UK. He's been writing stories since before it was cool. He also had a beard before it was cool but the less people know about that, the better.  He works for a national charity helping deaf children develop their literacy skills. He has worked in education his entire professional career, however, he will always come back to his dream of writing.  FERAL SNOW is his debut.  Please follow Mark Lowes on Twitter: @MJLAuthor

I am here to kill you by Chris Westlake

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Outline....

A sleepy Welsh village out in the sticks has a women's support group where nothing happens and life continues to meander on its mundane way. That is until a beautiful stranger turns up and ingratiates herself into the group.  She secretly begins to stir the pot and long buried issues begin to surface once more. Sexual tensions rise, cliques are formed and broken. Is she controlling the group? Is someone controlling her? What is her history? A young man's death sparks police involvement. It's all spiralling out of control or maybe it is all going according to plan...

My review...

I was first drawn to this book because it has a great cover and is set in a small village 50+ miles outside Cardiff much like the village I was born and brought up in. However the author's village is very different to my own. It is a lot more middle class and it is full of twisted, duplicitous inhabitants and that's the beauty of this book. It set me to thinking, perhaps the people in my village were like that but I just was unaware of it. All sorts of things go on under a rock but you can only see the rock.

This book is a sequel to Chris Westlake's first book "30 days in June" that tells the tale of a serial killer from the Bridgend area of Wales. Thanks to some clever writing I am here to kill you can be read as a stand alone though with the benefit of hindsight I would have read 30 days in June first. (As an aside; immediately after reading I am here to kill you I bought 30 days in June that should tell you how much I enjoyed this book)

It is written in the first person, however the author avoids the pitfall of only seeing one point of view by having each chapter devoted to one of the main characters and seeing the narrative from their point of view. Very "Quantam Leap" and it works because there are huge differences in the characters. From the bored Thai bride, to ex hooligan with a heart of gold to the sad lonely widow who organises the support group. The author inhabits their souls extremely well.

Old memories are dredged up from those affected by horrific crimes. Others begin to see they are living a lie. Hidden desires  are revealed and passions released. What originally seemed a bland community slowly morphs into Soddam and Gomorrah.

The author writes with a sure touch  about the most scariest of things......yes that's right Women. Here  they can be lovely cuddly bottles of nitro. Each one has depth and shade no 2D cardboard cutout stereotypes here.They can be just as ruthless as the men and a lot more cunning. Take Sheena as a case in point. The sexy stranger who enters the metaphoric quiet pond of the sleepy village of Pontbach and causes the ripples to radiate. She is manipulative and manipulated, depraved and wicked like a cross between Jessica Rabbit and Priti Patel.

The author swings our allegiance between the cast members as our understanding of them grows. There are several plotlines which I would love to expound upon but will refrain from doing so in case I give the game away. 

If you cant tell already I really enjoyed this book. A thrillingly, well plotted, complex thriller that shows that underneath we are all far deeper than can be seen from the surface. Its up there with Alex Michaelides The Silent Patient. 

Selected quotes...

"It's different for me. I've lived here all my life. Why would you want to jump from the big sea, with endless possibilities, into a goldfish bowl, where the same things happen day after day? Why would anybody willingly make that choice?"

"I love her because she stops me from being alone."

"My house is meticulously clean and tidy - very minimalistic. It is the perfect example of how a normal, sane person should live. Of course, there is nothing accidental about that."

"I swear to God, her tiny, child- like tits perked up. Who needs plastic surgery when you have gossip to share?"

About the author...

Chris Westlake was born in Cardiff and brought up in Wick, a coastal village seven miles from Bridgend. He now resides in Birmingham with his wife, Elizabeth, and two young children, AJ and Chloe. 

After completing a Creative Writing course in 2010, Chris' short story, Welsh Lessons, was awarded 1st place in the Global Short Story Award. He followed this up with 1st place in the Stringybark Erotic Fiction Award and 2nd place in the HASSRA Literary Award. 

He has written three previous novels, Just a Bit of Banter, Like, At Least the Pink Elephants are Laughing at Us, and 30 Days in June. You can find out more about Chris, and his books, at his website, chriswestlakeauthor.co.uk 

Promise (A Book of Death) by D.P. Applebury

 

⭐⭐

Outline

Promise (A Book of Death) tells the tale of a man who dies and passes on to the afterlife where he becomes a sort of apprentice to the Grim Reaper. We follow his adventures through time and various locations.

My Review

My over riding impression after reading this book is one of confusion. At only 159 pages it should have been a quick read. However, it was more heavy than it need have been.

I found the prose very thick (especially in the first third of the book) and often found myself re reading a sentence several times before getting to grips with its meaning. It is not an easy read. See selected quotes for examples.

The plot jumps from place to place and era to era, which can add to the confusion.

The author is trying to describe the afterlife and time,  which are abstract concepts in and of themselves and are difficult to describe and understand. Added to this is the fact that there is only limited dialogue due to the fact that our protagonist often travels on his own and even when he doesn't the Grim Reaper isn't a great conversationalist.

There is a decent, head warping twist at the end and there is a potentially interesting tale within this book. The author clearly loves the English language and has an extensive vocabulary but I feel it needs to be very much more user friendly.

Selected Quotes

Furthermore, and this is the principal of paramount predominance, I have been, I currently am, and I forever will be entangled as a cohort and acquaintance of eternity.

Light, and the absence of it, shared tone with pigment in a beauty that would feign to mask its foreboding.

I could still hear its gentle babbling meld with the hypnotizing throb of my puissance. 

Having gained the knowledge of choosing my destinations, I subsequently reclused completely into individuality as I made history my home.

About the Author

David Peter Applebury's debut novel "Promise (A Book of Death) is

the first of many more tales to come

David is a musician  vocalist, award winning poet, a decent cook and a self proclaimed nerd. Born and raised in the Pacific North West of the USA. He currently lives in Longview Washington. You can find him on Twitter as @dp_applebury

American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins

 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

By Special Guest Reviewer Adele Powell (R.M.) (R.N.)

This story pulls you in from the very first dramatic scene. We meet Lydia and her 8 year old son Luca as they are hiding from the Mexican Cartel ‘Los Jardineros’. We quickly find out the cartel has murdered 16 of their family members and Lydia is wise to the fact that the cartel will not stop until they kill her and her son too.

However, the reason for this is kept hidden from the reader, ensuring a page-turner story! The story documents Lydia and Luca’s treacherous journey running from the cartel, from Acapulco to the US border. I have never heard or read very much about a refugee’s journey to the US border, so this was a complete eye opener! 

We learn about the perils that can easily befall a refugee on this journey such as, drug trafficking, sexual assault, and murder. We also learn how easily accidental death can occurby falling off ‘La Bestia’, the infamous freight train network that refugees and immigrants travel on by literally jumping on the moving train and hauling themselves to the roof. This risk being preferable to dying of thirst whilst walking miles through the desert. 

There are a couple of key elements I personally took away after reading this story. 

Firstly, it highlighted that any person could find themselves in the position of desperation, seeking a better life. Lydia begins the story as a middle-class bookshop owner, but tragic circumstances change her life immediately and she finds herself a refugee.

It’s interesting to read Lydia’s thoughts about this dramatic transition as, like most people, she’d heard about immigrants and refugees in a transient way, on the news in the background or an attention-grabbing headline. She never fully imagined herself in that position, believing herself impervious to this fate.

Secondly it also brought to life the very real terrifying journey of survival that millions of people are part of every day. One particular quote completely sums up the desperation of a refugee at the US border ‘She spits through the fence. Only to leave a piece of herself there on the American dirt’.

Written during the Trump presidency this story also highlights how utterly heartless it is to dismiss a refugee’s traumatic experience or indeed exacerbate it by detention and family separation at the US border. 

There is some controversy surrounding this book, as many readers have felt that the story is cultural appropriation as Cummins is not a refugee or immigrant and is also not Mexican. Personally, I feel that this book is written appropriately as Cummins had completed 5 years of research prior to writing and it is also a fiction book, it does not proclaim to be documentation ofa real-life journey or person. It gives the reader a small insight into the perilous journey of a refugee, and hopefully increases empathy and understating in the reader. 

Overall, I highly recommend this book. The story is equal parts tragic and gripping. Cummins’ excellent description ensures you feel like you are journeying through the unforgiving landscape with Lydia and Luca. The reader also finds themselves trying to decide which people to trust and which to treat with suspicion, a testament to Cummins cleverly written characters. 

Although full of heartbreak and edge of your seat moments, Cummins also subtly weaves in acts of kindness, emotion catching the reader off guard. It is a story so beautifully written you will be moved.

Guest Reviewer Adele Powell (RM) (RN)

Adele is currently a research Midwife based in London. She loves reading autobiographies and stories (fiction or non fiction) about different cultures to her own. Her favourite authors include Khaled Hosseini, Min Jin Lee and of course the great literary midwife Jennifer Worth.

Reviewer Noel Powell

Noel Powell (@grumpyoldbooks)

Is the main reviewer on this site. All reviews are by him unless stated otherwise. He is a 50+ bibliophile from Wales, whose day job is on the shop floor in heavy industry. He also enjoys hiking and watching rugby and NFL. He is married with two adult children. He particularly enjoys crime and historical fiction but will have a bash at any genre.

Post Mortem by Gary Bell

 

⭐⭐⭐

The blurb...

Can Rook keep his criminal past a secret when facing the most dangerous case of his life?

Thirteen men have died in a London prison. Barrister Elliot Rook QC, who risks losing everything if his secret criminal past is revealed, must defend Charli Meadows, the vulnerable single mother accused of smuggling the deadly tainted drugs inside.

But just as Rook becomes suspicious of those closest to Charli, a note arrives at his flat – threatening violence if the trial is not called off.

While Rook battles to defend Charli and protect himself, his young protégé Zara Barnes is fighting for her livelihood. In a few short weeks, only one tenancy at the legal chambers will be available to the ever-multiplying mass of pupils. Determined to make it hers, Zara takes on her biggest solo case yet.

But will her gamble pay off?

My Review...

I would like to thank Net Gally, Bloomsbury publishing and Raven books for this Advanced reader copy (A.R.C) in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Post mortem is the tale of Elliot Rook the once homeless barrister now fighting for justice in the courts as well as the odd spot of breaking and entering and occasional punching of a known criminal, his protege is the young and equally feisty Zara who is coming to the end of her time as a junior with Rook's law firm and the big guns at the company must soon decide wether to keep her or not offer her a place  at chambers. Against the backdrop they take on two new cases. A prison officer accused of smuggling a deadly batch of drugs that has killed several inmates is taken by Rook, while Zara gets a case of alleged wrong place, wrong time when a young man is arrested as a drug dealer in a police pub raid. As they work together they realise that their cases are connected and a new drug gang is behind them both. 

  I found the plot interesting and twisty enough to keep me turning the page. The depictions of crime and drug ridden Leyton in London and the speech patterns of the locals did seem stereotypical but then again they may be justified as I have never been there 🤷‍♂‍. 

  I think I would have enjoyed the book much more if it were a bit more realistic, in that Rook rose from homelessness to barrister, even being homeless through his early semesters as  junior barrister. It all seems a bit too far fetched for me. Make him a working class lad done well (like the actual author/barrister) by all means but just can't see a practising, albeit junior, barrister living on the street. 

 I believe this book is the second in a series. It can just about be read as a stand alone but there is a fair bit of reference to Rooks earlier adventures. 

 An enjoyable legal thriller/whodunnit, with an interesting plot. It also had engaging lead characters (in my head Rook was played by Alan Davies of Q.I. fame, must have been the curly hair.) 

Selected quotes....

‘You think he’s still dangerous?’ Zara asked. ‘Everybody is dangerous. If you don’t realise that soon, then you’re both going to end up in the ground.’

The houses were small, terraced, squashed up together like drunks in a crowd. ‘It’s this one?’ Zara said as I stepped through a front gate onto gravel that was more dandelion than stone. ‘She’s no Tony Montana.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR...

Born the son of a coal miner, Gary Bell QC left school without any qualifications and drifted in and out of a number of jobs before being convicted of fraud aged eighteen. He then spent two years penniless and homeless in Europe, before returning to his studies aged twenty-one and, after seven years, became a barrister. He has spent the last thirty years at the Bar, becoming a QC in 2012. He specialises in defending major fraud and murder trials