Blood Red City by Rod Reynolds @OrendaBooks @Rod_WR #crimeactionfiction #review #blog @annecater

July 10, 2020June 2, 2020 / Bookpreneur / 2 Comments

Once again, I find myself praising Orenda Books for introducing me to another fabulous writer. I’m blown away by this compelling thriller that dishes out cliff-edge tension. A pacey read with so many blind alleys you feel dizzy with excitement. It’s the kind of story you could inhale in a leisurely few hours.

Book Description:

Click here

When crusading journalist Lydia Wright is sent a video of an apparent murder on a London train, she thinks she’s found the story to revive her career. But she can’t find a victim, much less the killers, and the only witness has disappeared. Wary she’s fallen for fake news, she begins to doubt her instincts—until a sinister call suggests that she’s not the only one interested in the crime. Michael Stringer deals in information—and doesn’t care on which side of the law he finds himself. But the murder on the train has left him exposed, and now he’ll stop at nothing to discover what Lydia knows. When their paths collide, Lydia finds the story leads through a nightmare world, where money, power and politics intersect, and information is the only thing more dangerous than a bullet. Blood Red City twists and feints to a superb, unexpected ending that will leave you breathless.

File Size: 639 KB
Print Length: 300 pages
Publisher: Orenda Books (April 11, 2020)
Publication Date: April 11, 2020
ASIN: B082P734LB

Journalist Lydia Wright works the graveyard shift on the showbiz desk. She has only been with the company twelve months and receives a video of an assault on the Northern line of the London Underground. An empty carriage and a man struggling for his life, a slowly unfurling nightmare that had me biting my nails down to the quick. There is no indication of who’d sent it, or any reason why Lydia had been targeted to receive it. Fake news? Maybe not.

With no indication of who the killers might be, gutsy Lydia meets her friend Tammy Hodgson, a former investigative journalist at the same paper, who’s brief meeting with the victim ‘Joe the banker’ has left her nervous. A money laundering scheme begins to unravel, while at the same time, promising a story worthy of a comeback. But will Lydia jump on the same bandwagon if her life is at risk? Working on the 13th floor could be seen as unlucky in some cultures, but maybe her luck is about to change.

To me Lydia is someone you care about. Her die-hard mentality gives a reason to keep going when everything tells her to give up. Following every lead, her tenacity never fails and I suppose you could put it down to a journo’s unmistakable determination to see it through to the end. The visceral prose draws you right in and with one revelation after another, it’s hard to put the book down. This is what kept me hooked.

Written in Reynold’s unique descriptive style, this is not an offering to be missed. There’s just the right amount of backstory not to bog you down and I enjoyed the way he toys with your expectations right up until the packs-a-punch ending. The dialogue is top-notch. I’m not sure I’ve seen it done better. As befits a crime action book of this nature, it’s the twists that make this novel such an exciting and surprising reading experience, and I enjoyed keeping company with these exceptional characters. It wouldn’t surprise me if someone is working on a screen play to bring Blood Red City out as a film sometime soon. Highly recommended.

Huge thanks to Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books, Anne Cater for including me on this blog tour, and author Rod Reynolds for an advance copy of this fabulous book.

About the Author:

Rod Reynolds is the author of four novels, including the Charlie Yates series. His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian have called the books ‘Pitch-perfect American noir.’ A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books will publish his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City. Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in novel writing from City University London. Rod lives with his wife and spends most of his time trying to keep up with his two young daughters. Contact him:

twitter: @Rod_WR
email: rodreynoldsauthor@gmail.com

What people are saying:

‘Brutal, brilliant and razor sharp. Blood Red City is pure adrenaline rush from the first page to the last’ Chris Whitaker

‘A searing, white-hot journey through the dark underbelly of modern London. Bristling with tension, danger and seamed with the constant threat of violence … Blood Red City confirms Rod Reynolds status as one of the greatest crime talents of his generation’ Tim Baker

‘An outstanding page-turner that ratchets up the tension as it builds via a labyrinthine plot towards a satisfying and well-crafted climax … relevant and at times alarming, Blood Red City slaloms its way through the world of social media, geopolitics and hi-tech innovation with compelling conviction’ G.J. Minett

‘A well-researched, complex and fully realised story with three-dimensional lead characters. The creeping tension and mistrust is palpable and there’s an absolutely cracking end reveal’ Shots Magazine

More Books By Rod Reynolds

Ash Mountain by Helen Fitzgerald, Published by Orenda Books @FitzHelen @OrendaBooks #bookreview #blog

May 5, 2020May 5, 2020 / Bookpreneur / 2 Comments

This is my first Helen Fitzgerald book. Nail-biting suspense, and a roller-coaster plot with pitch-perfect characters and tension a plenty. A relatable, thrill-a-minute ride that takes you into the heat of Fran’s Australian hometown – the last place she wants to go. A tour de force of storytelling that keeps you on the edge of your seat!

Book Description:

Helen Fitzgerald Ash Mountain Cover Image (2)

Link here

Fran hates her hometown, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway.
She returns home to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer.

As past friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating
bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants… Simultaneously a warm, darkly funny portrait of small-town life – and a woman and a land in crisis – and a shocking and truly distressing account of a catastrophic event that changes things forever, Ash Mountain is a heart-breaking slice of domestic noir, and a disturbing disaster thriller that you will never forget…

A fateful wish, a town burning. Ash Mountain, an inland town in Victoria, is about to succumb to the tragic loss of life and wildlife. Fran Collins prays she can get her daughter Vonny back before the fire storm above McBean’s Hill swallows the world whole. As the sky reddens, Fran must leave her dad alone and get to the monument.

Rewinding ten days prior to the fire, Fran returns home to look after her dad. As her story unfolds, we see a larger-than-life character who desires all the things a young woman would want and has survived exclusion and ridicule to boot. Understandably resentful of the town and it’s memories, she is tough, relatable and emotionally alert enough to survive this. But not without a few more challenges along the way. Humor sprinkled with high tension, Fran re-examines her life and the events that changed her forever — a hard-hitting journey expressed with lyrical prose and one that stays with you long after the book has finished.

The novel has a strong sense of place where secrets are peeled away through the chapters and staggering surprises keep coming. In fact, every new detail makes you wonder where the story is heading. A good portion of the book is dedicated to Fran’s backstory with scenes that drop you right there, seeing it through her eyes and feeling what she must have felt. Although I preferred being catapulted to the present, the backstory in this book is relevant to Fran’s character arc and has to be examined in order to appreciate her many layers.

As the fire engulfs the area, it is eerily quiet and the heat unbearable. The clock ticks and the burning question is; who will make it out alive. The power is off and there is no access in or out of the town. Everything is smoke as the fire approaches from the northwest. Fran grieves one death and soldiers on desperate to find Vonny. The burning photos are so poignant as is that last kiss, and hope and loss laid to rest one final time. Poor Ronnie Corbett brought a few more tears and I felt drained at the end.

I raise a glass to the author. This book is not only packed with emotion but stuffed with gold stars. It’s a powerful read which twisted and lurched where you least expected.

HUGE thanks to Anne Cater for organizing this tour, Karen Sullivan of Orenda Books and author Helen FitzGerald for a copy of this incredible book.

About The Author

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Her 2019 dark comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in both The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.

Praise for Helen Fitzgerald:

‘Helen Fitzgerald’s sublime Worst Case Scenario, a foul-mouthed, satirical revenge thriller in which Glasgow probation officer Mary Shields battles career burnout and the menopause’ The Guardian

‘ The plotting is intricate and beautifully handled, and the narrative pace is absolutely breakneck … a wonderful, energetic, hard-hitting and deeply funny novel’ The Big Issue

‘Shocking, gripping and laugh-out-loud hilarious’ Erin Kelly

‘ The main character is one of the most extraordinary you’ll meet between the pages of a book’ Ian Rankin

‘A dark, comic masterpiece which manages to be both excruciatingly tense and laugh out loud funny at the same time’ Mark Edwards

‘Outrageous, extremely funny and ultimately devastating ’ Ambrose Parry

‘Fabulously transgressive and completely unique’ Mark Billingham

‘ The classic thriller gets a hell of a twist ’ Heat

‘FitzGerald writes like a more focused Irvine Welsh or a less misogynist Philip Roth’ Daily Telegraph

Other books by Helen Fitzgerald:

Violet by SJI Holliday @OrendaBooks #crime #thriller #mystery #review #blog

November 26, 2019November 22, 2019 / Bookpreneur / 1 Comment

YAY! You’re going to love this one! One helluva page-turner and perhaps one of the best psychological thrillers released this year. I’m privileged to be part of the blog tour for Violet by SJI Holliday. With such a thrilling setting and great characters, who wouldn’t be excited by this fabulous book and its cover? Quotes from Ian Rankin, Liz Nugent and the Guardian make it a must read for 2019.

Book Description

When two young women – strangers – end up sharing a cabin on the Trans-Siberian Express, a strange friendship develops, one that can only have one ending … a nerve-shattering psychological thriller from bestselling author SJI Holliday

When Carrie’s best friend has an accident and can no longer make the round-the-world trip they’d planned together, Carrie decides to go it alone.
Violet is also travelling alone, after splitting up with her boyfriend in Thailand. She is also desperate for a ticket on the Trans-Siberian Express, but there is nothing available.

When the two women meet in a Beijing Hotel, Carrie makes the impulsive decision to invite Violet to take her best friend’s place. Thrown together in a strange country, and the cramped cabin of the train, the women soon form a bond. But as the journey continues, through Mongolia and into Russia, things start to unravel – because one of these women is not who she claims to be…

A tense, nerve-shattering psychological thriller about obsession, manipulation and toxic friendships, Violet also reminds us that there’s a reason why mother told us not to talk to strangers…

What a nail-biter of a novel! The prologue is terrifying, definitely my idea of a nightmare, and sets the mood for the rest of the ride.

‘Looks can be deceiving’ but there is nothing is curious as two girls on a backpacking trip, both with their own secrets. The book opens with a young woman sitting outside the Beijing train station, abandoned by her boyfriend and missing her rucksack. Things are looking grim. Alone, she needs a friend, and the Beijing International Hotel offers one such possibility in the bar. Over the clink of glasses and laughter, Carrie and Violet appear to have much in common. Having parted ways with best friends and boyfriends, they are free to enjoy each other’s company. One has a ticket the other wants and with a little maneuvering, they are both traveling on the Trans Siberia Express. What makes this book intriguing is not only the setting but the unique agendas each girl has.

Even though the haze of alcohol and drugs, and bad decisions, things happen when you least expect it. Tiny cracks start to appear in their relationship as they journey from China to Moscow. There are so many twists and turns, and as hangovers kick in when the buzz wears off, there is jealousy, unrest, secrecy and murder. All of which make up an excellent thriller with a pace that hurtles along at break-neck speed. I can’t give away too much detail about the plot, you’ll just have to read the book!

The writing is addictive and so are the characters. Having traveled so much myself, I could relate to two young women forging a friendship and the impulsive decisions that follow. But a dark sense of menace lurks in the background as their relationship gravitates from crush to toxic, and you know things will spiral out of control. You just don’t know when.

The author has clearly done a ton of research to write this book as evidenced by her blog. Exotic settings where two exceptional characters take extraordinary risks. The chapters take you through Beijing to Ulaanbaater, Irkutsk to Moscow and then to Berlin. You can see, taste and smell the backdrop which is the sign of excellent writing. The story gains depth and complexity as it evolves and terminates each chapter with a mini-cliffhanger.

One helluva page-turner and a denouement I didn’t see coming. It’s hard not to give this book a solid five stars as so many other readers have. It’s a keeper, one of those memorable coffee table classics, because it kept my mind spinning in several different directions at once.

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour, to author SJI Holliday for writing such an entertaining read, and to Karen from Orenda Books for my copy of this book.

Paperback: 276 pages

Publisher: Orenda Books (November 14, 2019)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1912374854

ISBN-13: 978-1912374854

Links: UK here US here

What others are saying about SJI Holliday’s books

‘Such a brilliantly dark compelling story set against such a fantastically exotic backdrop. I don’t think I read the book as much as inhaled it. Compelling, gripping and horrifically entertaining, fasten your seatbelts, this is going to be a bumpy read! I loved it’ Liz Nugent

‘Twisted, gripping and totally addictive’ Paddy Magrane

‘Echoes of a Killing Eve vibe. Fabulously awful women you will love’ Sarah Pinborough

‘Utterly beguiling and darkly sinister, this superb Gothic ghost tale is a brilliantly crafted rug puller’ Lisa Howells, Heat Magazine

‘A wonderful cross-over novel that ranges from taut psychological chiller to supernatural suspense … Nail-biting stuff, superbly executed’ Sunday Times Crime Club

‘Readers will find this contemporary gothic tale hard to put down’ Publishers Weekly

‘A thrilling, chilling, shocking tale, perfect if you take delight in an icy shiver scuttling down your spine’ LoveReading

About the Author

S.J.I. (Susi) Holliday grew up in East Lothian, Scotland. A life-long fan of crime and horror, her short stories have been published in various places, and she was shortlisted for the inaugural CWA Margery Allingham prize.

She has written three crime novels set in the fictional Scottish town of Banktoun, which are a mix of police procedural and psychological thriller. They are: “Black Wood”, “Willow Walk” and “The Damselfly” – all featuring the much loved character, Sergeant Davie Gray.

Her serial killer thriller “The Deaths of December” (written as Susi Holliday), featuring Detective Sergeant Eddie Carmine and Detective Constable Becky Greene was a festive hit in 2017.

Her spooky mystery “The Lingering” was released in late 2018.

You can find out more at her website: http://www.sjiholliday.com and on Facebook and Twitter @SJIHolliday. Sign-up for updates and giveaways here: http://eepurl.com/beHpez

Other books by SJI Holliday

Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver @OrendaBooks @will_carver #blog #review #Contemporary #Urban #Fiction

November 15, 2019 / Bookpreneur / Leave a comment

This HAS to be one of the most memorable books I’ve ever read. But it’s also one of the hardest. Extraordinarily well written and typical of the high standards we’ve come to expect from Orenda Books. I couldn’t wait to dive in and I don’t believe I came up for air until the very end.

Book description:

When strangers take part in a series of group suicides, everything suggests that a cult is to blame. But how do you stop a cult when no one knows they are members? A shocking, mesmerisingly original and pitch-black thriller from the critically acclaimed Will Carver.

Nine suicides
One Cult
No leader

Nine people arrive one night on Chelsea Bridge. They’ve never met. But at the same time, they run, and leap to their deaths. Each of them received a letter in the post that morning, a pre-written suicide note, and a page containing only four words: Nothing important happened today.

That is how they knew they had been chosen to become a part of The People Of Choice: A mysterious suicide cult whose members have no knowledge of one another.

Thirty-two people on that train witness the event. Two of them will be next. By the morning, People Of Choice are appearing around the globe: a decapitation in Germany, a public shooting at a university in Bordeaux; in Illinois, a sports team stands around the centre circle of the football pitch and pulls the trigger of the gun pressed to the temple of the person on their right. It becomes a movement.

Paperback: 276 pages

Publisher: Orenda Books (November 14, 2019)

ISBN-10: 1912374838

ISBN-13: 978-1912374830

Links US and UK

The saying ‘you never really know what goes on behind closed doors’ is true in the case of Nothing Important Happened Today by Will Carver. Because something very important did happen to 9 people, nine very unsuspecting, seemingly unhappy people but with one thing in common. A drive to end it all and in a way that will shock thousands.

What really happened forced me out one rainy day to a coffee shop, where I could read this book in the safety of a crowded room. To say the writing style is addictive would be an understatement. I had to know what happened at the end. It’s not often I find the subject matter of a tale unforgiving, and sometimes a little uncomfortable. But this is a train-wreck of a book where you can’t look away. One that talks of ‘nobodies’ — dissatisfied and directionless, all running away from something. Shockingly, even DS Pace is trying to escape from something, and what makes it psychologically realistic is that we all are. Let’s not forget, this is not Pace’s case. He is merely drawn to it — as I was drawn to him to solve these bizarre and chilling deaths.

The writing is tense, dark and broody, and whenever someone new comes on scene, there is a high probability he/she will buckle under this terrifying ‘thing’ that has blighted the 9. All over the world people have been selected, ripping themselves from their families and we are left wondering how children, husbands, wives and dogs will cope without them. How many more will die in horrific self-inflicted deaths and in public places to an audience of horrified onlookers? Because any one of them could be next.

But who is behind The People Of Choice? Or The People Of No Choice. And how are these victims linked?

This is one of the most twisted stories I’ve ever read and probably one of the darkest. Too many scenes to count that are heinously graphic, namely the car and the rope, although there are a few others that made me want to stop, drop and roll.

The thing about this book is that it’s memorable. The residue sits with you for days and you’ll go over it in your mind, especially the final words that bring a high-five moment at the end of a very depraved few hours of reading. Definitely one of a kind, brutal, thought provoking and with a pace that leaves you breathless.

A brilliantly, twisted story that will make your toes curl!

Huge thanks to Anne Cater for allowing me a place on this blog tour, Orenda Books and the lovely Will Carver for a copy of this brilliant book. Many apologies for missing my stop! But here it is.

About the Author

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Daily Telegraph and Sunday Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

More books by Will Carver

Praise for his books:

‘Will Carver has taken the rules of a serial killer novel and ignored every single one of them … A twisted and twisty thriller. This book will mess with your head’ Michael Wood

‘A literary thriller with the darkest storyline and the most ingenious execution I’ve ever read. If you think you know what’s going on in this book, you’re wrong; and when it all unfolds, your jaw will drop. This book is incredible, and Will Carver one of a kind’ SJI Holliday

‘I’ve never read such an original, stunning, clever, literary thriller. I’m absolutely blown away. This deserves so much success’ Sarah Pinborough

‘Will Carver redefines crime fiction with a twisted slice of literary noir that breaks all the rules. This is a gloriously melancholy, twisted and twisty, with so much to say on modern lives it’ll stay with me for a very long time. Wow’ Tom Wood

‘It’s darkly twisted and deliciously distorted, shocking and completely mind warping!’ Book Obsessed

‘It’s beautifully written. The writing is staccato – quick, fast-paced and compelling’ Off-the-Shelf Books

‘This is stylish and extraordinary writing. It’s puzzling and perplexing but so damn good. There is something quite mesmerising about this story that defies genre and quite frankly, logic. Stunning … this will linger in my mind forever’ Random Things through My letterbox

Cage by Lilja Sigurdardottir @OrendaBooks #review #blog #crime #thriller

October 2, 2019October 2, 2019 / Bookpreneur / 2 Comments

Cage by Lilja Sigurdardottir is a crime thriller, published by Orenda Books. With a quote by Val McDermid, I knew I was in for a treat! Told in multiple points of view, it’s an easy read with complex underpinnings that give the book that extra oomph!

About the book

Drugs, smuggling, big money and political intrigue in Iceland rally with love, passion, murder and betrayal until the winner takes all … in the masterful, explosive conclusion to the award-winning Reykjavík Noir trilogy…

The prison doors slam shut behind Agla, when her sentence ends, but her lover Sonja is not there to meet her.

As a group of foreign businessmen tries to draw Agla into an ingenious fraud that stretches from Iceland around the world, Agla and her former nemesis, María find the stakes being raised at a terrifying speed.

Ruthless drug baron Ingimar will stop at nothing to protect his empire, but he has no idea about the powder keg he is sitting on in his own home. At the same time, a deadly threat to Sonya and her family brings her from London back to Iceland, where she needs to settle scores with longstanding adversaries if she wants to stay alive.

With a shocking crescendo, the lives of these characters collide, as drugs, smuggling, big money and political intrigue rally with love, passion, murder and betrayal until the winner takes all … in the masterful, explosive conclusion to the award-winning Reykjavík Noir trilogy.

Book details:

Series: Reykjavik Noir trilogy

Paperback: 276 pages

Publisher: Orenda Books; None edition (April 1, 2020)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1912374498

ISBN-13: 978-1912374496

Book links: UK here US here

Agla is restless and sitting out a sentence for financial crimes. Unable to get over why her girlfriend Sonja left her, life on the inside offers plenty of distractions. An Islandic smelter scheme for one. With Maria nosing around on the outside, Agla soon realises she gets the information she’s looking for and Maria gets one hell of a scoop.

Agla comes across as brusque and rigid. With her history in an unforgiving financial environment, you can’t expect her to be anything else. Her kindness to pill-popping Elísa builds as the relationship deepens but life outside comes at a cost. Breaching probation conditions for one.

María Gunnhildur Jónudóttir, who was a former investigator at the special prosecutor’s office where Agla Margeirsdóttir had been a person of interest, now runs an online news outlet. But when she goes to see Agla in prison to ask about her links to Ingimar Magnússon and William Tedd — the Paris-based markets guru — she is denied visitation. But she doesn’t have to wait long. With the tenacity of a bloodhound, she is determined to get to the bottom of a conspiracy where a few greedy men could push their profit margins through the roof. But this settling of scores is detrimental.

Ingimar Magnússon, closely connected to Iceland’s business and politics, likes to play dangerous games. With a natural cold, ruthless streak, he’s rather good at it. He’s also good at infringing international regulations while staying just within the legal limits. Dirty tricks, blackmail and willing to hold a gun at anyone who stands in his way, this is a man you’d want Agla and María to steer well clear of.

And then we have Anton, a creative and dynamic individual, who has a project simmering in the cellar. Too much listening to Radio Edda makes him feel it’s time for action. If he takes matters into his own hands, his plan could blow a hole in the stratosphere. But will such a rash decision be a hit with his beloved Júlía? I have to say I was floored by the outcome.

Including Sonja, all of these people are in a cage of their own making, and each with their own axe to grind. The chapters are compact and the pace, even when weaving from character to character, is rapid and full of intrigue. You can’t get enough. It’s one of those books that if you have to put down, you’ll still have each scene fresh in your mind, frantic to know what happens next. When all stories converge, it’s a thrill to learn who belongs where and how their lives might or might not be intertwined. About three quarters of the way through, I guessed a small portion of how the ending might play out. But certainly not all.

All in all, I gave it five big fat stars. The story-line shifted effortlessly between each point of view and spun a complex tale of murder, revenge and betrayal. Flawlessly paced and painfully gripping.

Bonuses:

A map: Found in the front matter to show us the region and setting. Major plus!

Book cover: One that will definitely stand out on bookshelves.

Writing style: Relaxed and comfortable, with visceral descriptions.

About the Author

Icelandic crime-writer Lilja Sigurdardóttir is an award-winning playwright who has written four crime novels. The previous titles in the Reykjavik Noir series are Snare and Trap, which was a Guardian Book of the Year. The film rights for the series have been bought by Palomar Pictures. Quentin Bates is the author of a series of Icelandic crime novels that include Frozen Assets and Cold Comfort. He has translated all of Ragnar Jónasson’s Dark Iceland series.