Chrysalis by Harrison Murphy

 

Rating 4.5⭐s

303 pages

You can buy Chrysalis...here

• The Blurb...

An implant with the potential to save humanity, but only in the right hands.

Not long after a disease leaves thousands dependent on blood transfusions, the UK’s blood reserves are stolen overnight.

The government’s response? Make blood into currency.

The stolen blood is sold by dealers being controlled by a mysterious implant.

Ginley and Sara, two rival political journalists with opposing agendas, cover the government’s handling of a country thrust into crisis. As they find out more about the blood heist and the implant, a political story turns personal, and they have to put their differences aside and work together to unravel a colossal conspiracy.

*contains some traumatic and disturbing scenes

• Our Review...

Well what an unexpected gem this was. This is type of book is the reason why i not only review big, posh, shiny famous books but also the little quiet ones that nobody hears. Most of the quiet ones are exactly that, but every now again one starts to whisper in your ear as you begin reading. It gradually grows to become an ear-worm and by the end it's up there with the big boys, solidly ensconced in your head. 

The story is set in the near future after another global pandemic. This one affects the body's ability to clot blood, so basically air-borne haemophilia.  It is known as hemo. It's traits are only hinted at up until you are 20% into the book, which, if I'm honest, I found very frustrating and why I'm telling you upfront! On top of this the country's blood supply is stolen. Thus uninfected blood becomes super valuable. Blood replaces £s as a currency. As intriguing as this scenario is, it is only the starter. 

A back street trade in blood soon develops. However all these new blood dealers have one thing in common. A powerful microchip implant that ensures that they are under surveillance 24hours a day. In addition to this the implant also acts as a kill switch. So with this the scientific premise is set. I will divulge no more of the plot for fear of spoilers. 

However the book is far more than a scientific think tank. It is a critical look at politics and politicians. It holds a mirror up to the dark hearts of society in showing how inventions or institutions that can be used for the benefit of the whole planet are eventually always used as tools to make the rich and powerful even more rich and more powerful. Think how the potential for nuclear power or the NHS has been corrupted from its altruistic inception and used as a resource to lever power for the few and you get where the author is trying to get to.

The author is obviously a keen observer of British politics and all the subtle and not so subtle dark arts within. He marries it well with the currently just out of reach technology that is just around the corner. It reminded of a Michael Crichton novel albeit a UK version, a bit darker on a smaller, somehow more seedier scale. The blend of short range science fiction and contemporary political corruption makes for a heady blend. Like having a vision of a car crash your about to be in.

 Wonderful book

• Selected Quotes...

As the bigger picture becomes increasingly bleak, the people who can afford to, and I include those of a left-wing persuasion in that description, the ones who claim to be full of compassion and empathy, they’re going to start ignoring the bigger picture and do only what they need to do to survive.

Lightfoot wanted to emulate what Starmer had done, and surround himself with competent, if unexciting, people. He wanted the X-Factor days of politics to be over. For voting to be about competency again, rather than a popularity contest. It would be easier to extinguish the fires if all the arsonists were out of the picture.

By learning the lessons from Covid-19, Lightfoot prioritised lives over the economy. Whereas, during Covid-19, the Tories had tried to prioritise the economy over lives, yet still managed to trash the economy.

Does it really matter? Think of all the evil bastards that run companies. Mum often writes columns about them. The kind of bastards that run fashion chains which have sweatshops in Bangladesh and use materials that are bad for the environment, or the sportswear chain that abuses those awful zero-hour contracts, or the pub chain that treats their staff like the shit on the soles of their shoes, or just all shareholders and directors in general, getting away with not paying their taxes even though they have billions in the bank whilst the little guy gets shafted. Why is the money going to an ‘international crime syndicate’ so bad? It’s just a different kind of crook, innit.”

• If You Liked This, You May Like...

Prey by Michael Crichton

Blind Faith by Ben Elton  (review here)

The Ministry of Time by  Kaliane Bradley

• About The Author

Harrison Murphy is a writer from Motherwell, Scotland. His Chrysalis trilogy focuses on the societal impact of an fictional (yet conceivable) implant which revolutionises the 2030s. It allows for something akin to cosmetic surgery, but for the mind. He released Chrysalis in March 2022, Dandelion in November 2022, and Elephant in April 2023. He is now working on three standalone works loosely inspired by the afterlife, reality TV and Rapunzel.

Flames of Anarchy by Leslie Scase

 

Rating...4⭐s

288 pages

You can buy Flames of Anarchy...here

You can find Leslie's face book page...here

You can find out about Crime Cymru...here

• The blurb...

After a plot to assassinate the Czar of Russia is foiled by government agents, Inspector Thomas Chard is tasked with finding a lone assassin who may be being protected by a gang of anarchists somewhere in Glamorganshire. Having just returned to Pontypridd from Shrewsbury, where he was fighting to clear his own name, Chard is more concerned with rebuilding his career. But events soon overtake this aim and Chard’s efforts to find the assassin are frustrated by a series of apparently random murders. As the anarchists plot to promote unrest, the body count begins to grow. Soon a local politician is amongst the dead. Tensions rise as the anarchists fight amongst themselves, with one group’s actions becoming increasingly more extreme. Still the killer's true objective remains a mystery... one that Chard must solve, and quickly.

• Our review...

This is the fourth outing for our flawed, Victorian police offer Inspector Chard. This is the third one I've read and as I sat down to begin reading I realised it felt like I was looking forward to settling down to and old friend and an entertaining evening. A bit like when Bake Off comes back on the telly in the autumn. 

We find Chard a free man  and back in Ponty after his experiences in Shrewsbury in Sabrina's Teardrop. He may be free and back but he is still in the doghouse both with his boss and his colleagues. Luckily for Chard before he returns home a home-office fixer taps him up to do some "special branch" type work in South Wales where the is a suspected terror cell being formed. Chard is charged with locating a former college friend who may or may not be involved. As always with Leslie's writing the past reflects the present and with current spate of rioting with a religious/ethnic background his finger is again bang on the pulse. Just swap islam/asian/MDL or christain/white/EDL for catholic/Irish/Fenian and you've gone from 1895 to 2024 by the end of the page. Thus proving the old adage "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes."

Chard must keep his MI5 secret while he goes about his day job. His current task being to develop a report into the feasibility of a plain clothes CID force in Glamorganshire. Thus he is able to travel throughout the county with impunity. As he draws closer to the quite frankly embarrassing attempts at revolution by the hapless band of Glamorgan anarchists (for those of  a certain age think Citizen Smith and you get the picture) as series of seemingly unconnected, grisly murders take place that are loosely linked to the crew. Is there an assassin hidden their ranks.

As Chard uncovers clue after clue pressure mounts from the Home Office and the pace increases to a frenetic chase. The authors two main attributes are research and plot and he displays both to the maximum in this novel. The Victorian method of CPR is an eye opener! Another enjoyable romp from the Welsh Arthur Conan Doyle.

• Selected Quotes...

And there's the problem. People like that in charge, firing whoever they want.It's the same everywhere.Those who have no common sense lording it over us. Poverty and destitution for all working men. That's what they want.

As  you are aware the participants are allocated an argument to defend, and they do so regardless of  their own personal beliefs. the object is to win the debate. That's all that matters. They carry that principle on to the House of Commons. Whether an issue is right or wrong is of no concern..

• If you liked this, then you may like...

The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz

Victorian Murders by Jan Bondeson

The Malvern Murders by Kerry Tombs

• About the author...

Leslie Scase is the Shropshire-based author of  the Inspector Chard Mysteries, crime thrillers set in the heyday of Victorian Britain. The first novel Fortuna’s Deadly Shadow was published in 2020. The second, Fatal Solution, was published in May 2021. Sabrina’s Teardrop, a thriller set mainly in Shropshire and Birmingham was published on 10th October 2022. An advocate of the ‘classic’ murder mystery genre, Leslie is also a keen historian, which is reflected in the authenticity of his novels.

Born and educated in South Wales, Leslie worked in local industry before travelling widely across the UK during a career in the Civil Service. His first novel was inspired in part by his Italian and English ancestors having settled in South Wales in the late nineteenth century. A keen fly fisherman and real ale enthusiast, he lives close to the Welsh border, in the county town of Shrewsbury