Rod Reynolds - Blood Red City Published by Orenda Books, paperback £8.99. I received a proof copy from the publisher for review purposes. Rod Reynolds set his first three novels, a series, in America in the 1940s. All of them slices of pure period noir with a modern eye to pace and characterisation, they are … Continue reading Review: Blood Red City
Category: Reviews
Review: Plender
Ted Lewis - Plender No Exit Press (reissue), paperback £9.99. I bought this title new, direct from the publisher. I’ve been banging on about Ted Lewis, Get Carter (both the 1971 film and the novel, first published as Jack's Return Home) and Nick Triplow’s biography of Lewis and the birth of Brit Noir for several … Continue reading Review: Plender
Review: Bad Memory
Lisa Gray - Bad Memory Thomas & Mercer paperback, £8.99. I bought this new. The path from journalist to novelist is a well-worn one, and for good reason - the love of and a confidence in the use of words, the discipline of writing to a deadline and the familiarity of being edited are staples … Continue reading Review: Bad Memory
Review: No Place To Die
Neil Broadfoot - No Place To Die Published by Constable, paperback £8.99. My review is of the hardback edition (Constable, £19.99), which I received a copy of from the author. Venture capitalist-turned-lifestyle guru Blair Charlston has chosen a luxury hotel on the outskirts of Stirling to deliver his message to the faithful at a weekend … Continue reading Review: No Place To Die
Review: Thirty-One Bones
Morgan Cry - Thirty-One Bones Published by Polygon Books, paperback £8.99. I received a proof copy from the publisher for review purposes. A new name is on the cover of this novel, but it's not a debut - Morgan Cry is an alias for crime writer and Bloody Scotland board member Gordon Brown, who has … Continue reading Review: Thirty-One Bones
Review: Jeremiah’s Bell
Denzil Meyrick - Jeremiah’s Bell Published by Polygon, paperback £8.99. I received a proof copy from the publisher for review purposes. After Denzil Meyrick ended last year’s A Breath On Dying Embers with a mighty cliff-hanger, fans will have been desperate to get their hands on Jeremiah’s Bell to see what happens next. (You can … Continue reading Review: Jeremiah’s Bell
Review: Conviction
Denise Mina - Conviction Published by Vintage, paperback £8.99. My review is of the hardback edition (Harvill Secker, £14.99) purchased new. The prologue - which speaks of telling the truth and reveals the fact our main character, Anna, is actually called Sophie - immediately puts your senses on high alert. Anna is married to Hamish, … Continue reading Review: Conviction
Review: The Way Of All Flesh
Ambrose Parry - The Way Of All Flesh Published by Canongate Books, paperback £8.99. I received a free proof copy (of the hardback edition) from the publisher for review purposes. The Way Of All Flesh begins, as so many hackneyed crime novels have done before, with a man standing over the dead body of a … Continue reading Review: The Way Of All Flesh
Review: Breakers
Doug Johnstone - Breakers Published by Orenda, paperback £8.99. I received a free proof copy from the publisher for review purposes. Much of Doug Johnstone’s work falls into two camps: action-packed (Smokeheads, Crash Land) or psychologically powerful (Gone Again, The Jump). Last year’s Fault Lines saw him weld these strands together and in Breakers he … Continue reading Review: Breakers
Review: A Treachery Of Spies
Manda Scott - A Treachery Of Spies Edition read: Corgi paperback, £8.99 I bought this new in paperback. We open with violence in Paris in 1942, and a voice: “You may die here in darkness if you so desire, but I have come to offer you a proposition.” Then we move swiftly south to Orléans … Continue reading Review: A Treachery Of Spies
