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You can buy "Lies After Death"...Here
You can follow KJ Dando Facebook page...Here
Five years ago, Tom Crane's world was turned upside down when his wife was followed and killed in a tragic car accident. Despite a thorough investigation, her killer was never found, leaving Crane to live in the shadow of her death.
But now, Crane, who works as a fixer for the wealthy and powerful, begins receiving mysterious letters and phone calls from someone claiming to know the truth about his wife's death. Can he trust these messages, or are they part of a larger conspiracy?
As Crane uncovers more and more lies and secrets, he finds himself pulled into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. But will the truth bring him closure, or will it plunge him even deeper into the darkness?
Lies After Death is a fast-paced, gripping crime fiction novel that will keep you guessing until the very end.
I reviewed this book as part of the 52 books in 52 weeks challenge. Click here for details. This week's prompt is a book begining with the letter L. And after reading a few books outside my comfort zone for the last few weeks, This week I returned to my sweet-spot, Crime Fiction set in Wales. And what a sweet-spot it turned out to be.
After a prologue that sets out where Crane stands on the moral spectrum, we are off and running. Someone is watching him and sending him cryptic notes, telling that local pimp and thug Luke Maddocks is somehow involved in the death of Crane's wife years earlier. Crane tries to follow this lead, while also trying to find the mystery informant. All this in addition to dealing with his dead beat twin brother and reconnecting with his teenage niece who is about to go off the rails with the local wrong 'uns. He does this all with the help of his tech genius, agoraphobic and possibly autistic mate Ricky. Crane's wife's best friend is also still knocking round, still gorgeous and still single. So Crane has his hands full. The plot is an engaging journey with a surprise left turn just before the end.
Lies After Death is a quite simply, excellent debut novel in my niche genre. The opening chapter in particular was punchy and memorable. The lead character of Tom Crane is a Welsh version of "Ray Donovan." A fixer for hire, intelligent, handsome, independently wealthy with a social conscience. Men want to be be him and women just want him. I have read a few reviews online on Amazon and was surprised by the amount of women readers and how they thought about Crane. 😲 .
The pacing is just right, not to slow and not to quick. The plot is intriguing without being overly complicated. The supporting roles while not unusual are well drawn. The setting of the mean streets of Cardiff/Caerphilly are a big plus. Next time I'm in Cardiff I shall be looking for the inspiration behind Corkers!
The violence or threat of violence in the book carries an air of authenticity when you consider the author is an army veteran of several war zones.
Having read several crime novels set in South Wales, I am slowly building up a cinematic universe in my head equivalent to any heroes Marvel can produce. See "If You Liked This Then You May Like..." Section In addition to Tom Crane fixer from Caerphilly, there is Jonah Greene, Coroner's Officer from Cardiff (The List by Graham H Miller), DI Mandy Wilde ( The Nesting Place by Jacqueline Harret). And finally DI Marc Fagan of Abergavenny (The Dead Will Beckon by Jason Chapman). It's like Stephen Kings Derry/Bangor Maine but less horror and more crime. More murders than Midsommor 😁.
It is a compliment to the author that his creation fits so well into the aforementioned pantheon. It augers well for a bright future for KJ Dando. A blistering debut.
Beth’s heart had stopped beating the moment her hatchback struck the tree. The other smaller heart inside her continued to beat a little longer. A tiny heart that fought valiantly for its own survival but unfortunately faced a losing battle. Without its mother’s support, the little heartbeat weakened until it eventually faded away.
He was clearly a bodybuilder who was no stranger to steroids and growth hormones. His silhouette looked part man, part mountain gorilla.
In his experience, bodybuilders were never great fighters. They were big and heavy but sloth-like slow. Most of them struggled with the range of motion to throw a decent punch; in fact, most of them struggled with the range of motion to wipe their own arse properly.
“Are you a policeman?” Would he ask to see my ID if I lied? Probably. “No.” “Sorry,” said the cashier, “it’s company policy to only show the camera footage to the police.” “Why?” The cashier shrugged. “To protect people’s privacy and personal data and stuff like that, I suppose.” “Okay,” said Crane. “In that case, I am a policeman.” The cashier peered at him through dubious eyes and stretched one corner of his mouth to the side. “Can I see some ID?” Crane took out his wallet, removed a twenty, and placed it on the counter. The cashier smiled. “Follow me, officer.”
- If You Liked This Then You May Like...
The Dead Will Beckon by Jason Chapman. Review hereThe List by Graham H Miller. Review here The Nesting Place by Jacqueline Harret. Review here
Keith lives in Wales with his wife, two young daughters and a cockapoo called Buddy. Before he began writing thrillers, Keith served in the British Army and actively engaged on operational duties in Iraq, Kosovo and Bosnia. He then pursued careers in a number of industries until he finally decided to follow his true passion - writing thrillers. When he isn't writing, you can usually find him up one of the many mountains or on one of the many beaches of Wales, probably with Buddy in tow desperate for him to throw the ball again and again and again.
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