Review – Bibliophile Book Club

The Chemical Detective by Fiona Erskine

About the book:

Dr Jaqueline Silver blows things up to keep people safe.

Working on avalanche control in Slovenia, she stumbles across a delivery problem with a consignment of explosives. After raising a complaint with the supplier, Zagrovyl, a multinational chemical company and her ex-employer, her evidence disappears. She is warned, threatened, accused of professional incompetence and suspended. Taking her complaint to Zagrovyl head office, she narrowly escapes death only to be framed for murder. Escaping from police custody, she sets out to find the key to the mystery.

From the snowy slopes of Slovenia, to the wreckage of Chernobyl, Jaq attempts to expose the trade in deadly chemical weapons, while fighting for her life.

Published by Point Blank Books, click the link below to get your copy:

The Chemical Detective by Fiona Erskine

My thoughts:

I had seen The Chemical Detective popping up on social media recently so I was delighted to receive an ARC from the publisher for review on the blog.

The Chemical Detective follows Dr. Jaq Silver, a chemical engineer, as she uncovers some inconsistencies in what looks like a routine delivery from supply company Zagrovyl. Jaq used to work for this multi national company, but left under a cloud.

When evidence of these inconsistencies disappears, and people start getting hurt, Jaq realizes quite quickly that there is something serious amiss in the explosives supply and delivery.

What follows is a fast-paced thriller, reminiscent of Cold War era espionage movies, and almost cinematic in its writing. I could easily picture the snow covered mountains, the explosives facilities, all of it. It could even be a Bond movie, it’s got that kind of vibe.

Dr. Jaq Silver is an interesting main character too. Flawed, but with a fairly decent moral compass, it’s hard not to feel sorry for her with everything that takes place in the book.

If you like Jason Bourne, you’ll love The Chemical Detective.

Recommended for sure!

Disaster Inc by Caimh McDonnell~Ellen’s Review

Hi guys,

Ellen has a review for you all today of Disaster Inc by Caimh McDonnell and I’ll be sharing it with you a little further down!

About the author:

Caimh McDonnell is an award-winning stand-up comedian, author and writer of televisual treats. Born in Limerick and raised in Dublin, he has taken the hop across the water and now calls Manchester his home.

He is a man who wears many hats. As well as being an author, he is an award-winning writer for TV, a stand-up comedian and ‘the voice’ of London Irish rugby club. His debut novel, A Man with One of Those Faces, which was nominated for a CAP Award in 2017, is the first book of the Dublin Trilogy series. The sequel and prequel, The Day That Never Come and Angels in the Moonlight, were published in 2017. The books are fast-paced crime thrillers set in Caimh’s hometown of Dublin and they are laced with distinctly Irish acerbic wit.

Caimh’s TV writing credits include The Sarah Millican Television Programme,A League of Their Own, Mock the Week and Have I Got News for You. He also works as a children’s TV writer and was BAFTA nominated for the animated series ‘Pet Squad’ which he created.

During his time on the British stand-up circuit, Caimh has firmly established himself as the white-haired Irishman whose name nobody can pronounce. He has brought the funny worldwide, doing stand-up tours of the Far East, the Middle East and Near East (Norwich).

Follow Caimh’s witterings on @Caimh

Facebook: @CaimhMcD

About the book:

He’s a good man having a bad day with the worst hangover.

All Bunny McGarry wants is a spot of breakfast and a decent cup of tea. So imagine how annoyed he gets when two masked men attempt to rob the New York diner he is in? Unfortunately, dealing with that problem just leads to a whole lot more. One of the diner’s other customers isn’t who she appears to be, and the odds aren’t great that she is going to live to see another breakfast.

So just how much trouble is she in?

Well, you know how they’re always telling us to pay attention to our pensions? Some ex-employees of the US government are really taking that advice to heart by using their mayhem-creating abilities to maximise their investments. When one of their fund managers has a momentary crisis of conscience and confesses all to a woman he hardly knows, they will stop at nothing to deal with the problem. Amy Daniels is in big trouble and the only thing keeping her alive is a man who is supposed to already be dead.

Disaster Inc is the first book in a new series featuring Bunny McGarry, beloved by those who enjoyed the critically-acclaimed Dublin Trilogy of books. It melds high-octane action with a distinctly Irish acerbic wit.

Click the link below to order your copy:

https://amzn.to/2SVnCGq

Ellen’s Review:

Now we all know I love Bunny McGarry and he’s back with a bang (and an EPIC hangover) in Disaster Inc! Bunny is in New York, no mean feat as according to official records he’s dead, and looking for the love of his life Simone Delamere. We catch up with Bunny in a diner where all he wants is breakfast and a cup of tea in the hope of recovering from aforesaid hangover, what he ends up with is being in the middle of a robbery gone wrong, the ensuing brawl and a damsel in distress!

Amy is the lady in need of help; a dominatrix just trying to fund her way to a law degree but thanks to the loose lips of a client dealing in some dodgy insider information she is being framed for a crime she didn’t commit. Bunny to the rescue! Of course it’s never going to be straight forward, this is Bunny McGarry we’re dealing with. Crazy comedic capers commence (try saying that after a few pints of Guinness and a few whisky chasers)and it wouldn’t be a Caimh McDonnell book without the bonkers characters and antics we’ve come to know and love.

Disaster Inc is book five featuring Bunny and can be read as a standalone but I highly recommend that you read the four books in The Dublin Trilogy first. I know..one’s a prequel sssshhhhh just roll with it. So go make yourself a lovely cup of tea and settle down with this cracking book! Qll the stars and LOLs for Disaster Inc and bring on book six!

Changeling (Six Stories #3) by Matt Wesolowski

Hi,

So you guys know I loved Six Stories and Hydra by Matt Wesolowski, right?! Well, he has a new book coming out in ebook (November ’18) and paperback (January ’19) called Changeling, and I read the whole thing today. It arrived in the post this morning, so how could I not read it immediately?! Before I go into that though, here’s the usual author and book info!

About the author:

Matt Wesolowski is an author from Newcastle-Upon-Tyne in the UK. He is
an English tutor for young people in care. Matt started his writing career in
horror, and his short horror fiction has been published in numerous UK- an
US-based anthologies such as Midnight Movie Creature, Selfies from the End
of the World, Cold Iron and many more. His novella, The Black Land, a horror
story set on the Northumberland coast, was published in 2013. Matt was a
winner of the Pitch Perfect competition at Bloody Scotland Crime Writing
Festival in 2015. His debut thriller, Six Stories, was an Amazon bestseller in the
USA, Canada, the UK and Australia, and a WH Smith Fresh Talent pick, and TV
rights were sold to a major Hollywood studio. A prequel, Hydra, was published
in 2018 and became an international bestseller.

About the book:

On Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished
in the dark Wentshire Forest Pass, when his father, Sorrel, stopped
the car to investigate a mysterious knocking sound. No trace of
the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden
was declared officially dead in 1995.
Elusive online journalist, Scott King, whose ‘Six Stories’ podcasts
have become an internet sensation, investigates the disappearance,
interviewing six witnesses, including Sorrel and his ex-partner, to try to find out what really happened
that fateful night. Journeying through the trees of the Wentshire Forest – a place synonymous with
strange sightings, and tales of hidden folk who dwell there, he talks to a company that tried and failed
to build a development in the forest, and a psychic who claims to know what happened to the little
boy…

Published by Orenda Books, click the link below to pre-order your copy:

Changeling (Six Stories #3) by Matt Wesolowski

Review:

We’re beneath different trees this series, but our feet are sounding against the same darkness and once again we’re facing our fears head-on.

If ever a quote summed up the experience of reading Matt Wesolowski’s books, this chiller from Changeling is perfect.

I had been dying to read Changeling ever since I saw the beautiful cover on Twitter a few months back, and let’s face it, being a superfan means I have literally NO PATIENCE when it comes to waiting for these things. So huge thanks to both Karen and Matt for letting me read an early copy.

Reader, it does not disappoint.

In Changeling, Scott King is back investigating again. This time it is the disappearance of Alfie Marsden from his father’s car in the Wentshire Forest Pass on Christmas Eve 1988. Alfie disappeared without a trace and was officially declared dead seven years and three months after he disappeared. Scott sets out with his usual investigative zeal in search of answers.

I read Changeling over the course of today, making notes as I went, which I never do. And even with these notes, I still feel like I can’t do this book the justice it deserves.

Changeling is by far, my most favourite of the Six Stories books, and I love them all, I mean I REALLY love them. So just know I am not saying that lightly. Changeling got under my skin in a way the others didn’t.

The tension and sense of menace is there from the outset. It builds steadily, rolling like waves in a storm, until it crashes around your consciousness and leaves you almost breathless. Hidden and implied horror help to make Changeling a thoroughly bracing read, leaving the reader more than a little unsettled in its wake.

Much like the Changeling in old folklore, this book itself goes through a metamorphosis. But the author does this slowly, almost imperceptibly, and it creeps up on you gradually that what you are reading is a little different to what you started reading.

I PROMISE I will do a more in-depth review, but for now, know this;

Changeling is an intense, dark and utterly absorbing book. The pages crackle with tension, the characters have real depth and the writing is truly stunning.

Matt Wesolowski has to be one of the most imaginiative and talented young writers out there at the moment. His ability to make his writing current in terms of style, while still managing to write the perfect kind of crime/horror/psychological thriller mash-up, astounds me more with every book of his I read.

Highly, highly recommended.

Always.

Previous Matt-related posts:

Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski

*Blog Tour* Six Stories by Matt Wesolowski

~COVER REVEAL~ Hydra by Matt Wesolowski

Hydra by Matt Wesolowski

Recent Reads Rapid Reviews

Hi everyone,

Another batch of mini-reviews for you all again today. I didn’t realise just how many of these I had to do until I wrote out the books that need reviewing, so there will be a good few more of these posts, haha!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

In general, Karou has managed to keep her two lives in balance.

On the one hand, she’s a seventeen-year-old art student in Prague; on the other, errand-girl to a monstrous creature who is the closest thing she has to family.

Raised half in our world, half in ‘Elsewhere’, she has never understood Brimstone’s dark work – buying teeth from hunters and murderers – nor how she came into his keeping. She is a secret even to herself.

Now the doors to Elsewhere are closing, and Karou must choose between the safety of her human life and the dangers of a war-ravaged world that may hold the answers she has always sought.

I had been meaning to read Daughter of Smoke and Bone for years, so I finally picked it up during the summer to read. My husband had actually read it before me and kept telling me I should read it as I would enjoy it, and he wasn’t wrong. I loved Karou, and the story was really interesting. I couldn’t put it down once i started reading, and I was eager to find out what was going to happen. We had been to Prague this year too, so the location was easy to keep up with as it was familiar. A really great start to a series and definitely recommend it if you enjoy fantasy!

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

You’re still alive in alternate universes, Theo, but I live in the real world where this morning you’re having an open casket funeral. I know you’re out there, listening. And you should know I’m really pissed because you swore you would never die and yet here we are. It hurts even more because this isn’t the first promise you’ve broken.

Griffin has lost his first love in a drowning accident. Theo was his best friend, his ex-boyfriend and the one he believed he would end up with. Now, reeling from grief and worsening OCD, Griffin turns to an unexpected person for help. Theo’s new boyfriend. But as their relationship becomes increasingly complicated, dangerous truths begin to surface. Griffin must make a choice: confront the past, or miss out on the future…

I have seen Adam Silvera’s name a lot this year, so when I saw History in my local library I figured I would give it a go. I actually think I read the whole book in one day. It was one of those kinds of books where you just have to keep reading. While I had some issues with the main character and his actions at times, I still found myself compelled to keep reading to see how it would all go. I enjoyed this one, as it was a departure from my usual reads.

History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

About A Girl by Lindsey Kelk

Tess Brookes has always been a Girl with a Plan. But when the Plan goes belly up, she’s forced to reconsider.

After accidently answering her flatmate Vanessa’s phone, she decides that since being Tess isn’t going so well, she might try being Vanessa. With nothing left to lose, she accepts Vanessa’s photography assignment to Hawaii – she used to be an amateur snapper, how hard can it be? Right?

But Tess is soon in big trouble. And the gorgeous journalist on the shoot with her, who is making it very clear he’d like to get into her pants, is an egotistical monster. Far from home and in someone else’s shoes, Tess must decide whether to fight on through, or ‘fess up and run…

I haven’t read a book like this in years. When I say like this, I mean the light-hearted, girly kind of books. They are not something I would usually pick up, but that is exactly why I went for it this time. It is fun and it kept me turning the pages. Escapism is what I was after, and I found it with this one. A perfect holiday read!

About A Girl by Lindsey Kelk

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living – one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers’ arms to take their turn in the killing and dying.

Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon’s secret temple and dreamed of a world that was a like a jewel-box without a jewel – a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.

This was not that world.

Back to the second book in the series, and while it didn’t capture my imagination as much as the first one, I was still hooked and invested in the characters. Taylor’s world-building is really good, and it is easy to get pulled into the story. An enjoyable second installment, but it definitely left me wanting more!

Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor

Until next time, happy reading 🙂

Aftershock (Pendulum #3) by Adam Hamdy

Hi guys,

So I know I’m not meant to be reading crime/thriller type books at the moment, or even reviewing for that matter, but when I came home from Harrogate, there was a copy of Aftershock waiting for me. I have loved this series from the beginning, so I genuinely couldn’t relegate this one to the TBR. I know it isn’t out until November either, but once again, I couldn’t wait!

About the author (via Adam’s website):

British author and screenwriter Adam Hamdy works with studios and production companies on both sides of the Atlantic.

He is the author of the Pendulum trilogy, an epic series of conspiracy thriller novels. James Patterson described Pendulum as ‘one of the best thrillers of the year’, and the novel was nominated for the Glass Bell Award for contemporary fiction, and chosen as book of the month by Goldsboro Books and WH Smith Travel. Pendulum was also selected for the BBC Radio 2 Book Club. Adam is currently adapting Pendulum into an eight-part series for Hardy, Son & Baker and NBC Universal.

Freefall, the second book in the Pendulum series, will be published by Headline in November 2017. Freefall has been described as a ‘thrill overload’ with one critic saying, ‘It’s a fabulous thriller, with a very contemporary spin. Excitement guaranteed.’

Prior to embarking on his writing career, Adam was a strategy consultant and advised global businesses in the medical systems, robotics, technology and financial services sectors, experience that has given him a useful insight into many industries.

Adam has a law degree from Oxford University and a philosophy degree from the University of London. He is a seasoned rock climber, skier and CPSA marksman.

Adam is a member of the ITW, Crime Writers’ Association, and Society of Authors. He is the membership coordinator for the ITW Debut Authors Program.

Twitter: @adamhamdy

About the book:

THEY BELIEVED IT WAS OVER
Having survived the lethal Pendulum conspiracy, photographer John Wallace atones for his past mistakes.
DI Patrick Bailey clings to the hope that he can, at last, return to a normal life in London.

BUT IT’S ONLY JUST BEGINNING
FBI investigator Christine Ash – alone and paranoid – hunts down the remaining members of the ruthless Foundation organisation.

DARK FORCES ARE RISING AGAIN
But when masked assassins strike at the heart of the UK government, a shocking new threat emerges that forces all three to reunite.

DEADLIER THAN EVER BEFORE
With time running out, they must defeat a lethal new adversary: a manipulative mastermind with sinister powers unlike anything they’ve seen before.

Published in November, click the link below to pre-order, you won’t regret it 🙂

Aftershock (Pendulum #3) by Adam Hamdy

My thoughts:

If you follow my blog, you’ll know I’ve read and loved the previous books in the trilogy (review links are left below) so I had been eagerly awaiting Aftershock since I finished Freefall last summer. Which feels like a lifetime ago! So you can imagine my delight to find a copy waiting for me after I got home from Harrogate. I literally turned the last page of Aftershock a half hour ago, and I am shook, in the best possible way of course.

I’m mindful of the fact that I don’t want to go into too much detail in this review, so I will try to keep it relatively short because if I start rambling about the book, I probably won’t stop too easily!

Aftershock starts with a bang, and I swear the pace doesn’t let up for the entirety of the 500+ pages. If you’ve read the first two books, you’ll recognise Adam Hamdy’s innate talent for writing extremely cinematic thrillers, and this one is no exception!

We are back with the usual suspects, Wallace, Ash, Bailey as they try to deal with the fallout from the events that took place in Freefall. Each is trying to battle their own demons, and the internal guilt/struggles they are experiencing make for tough and emotive reading at times. The journeys that each one goes on, and the arc of their respective characters is so well plotted, and I found myself really rooting for them at various points in the book.

The Foundation has claimed so much of these people’s lives, and in Aftershock they try to claw back something for themselves. Destruction and force are The Foundation’s weapons of choice, but murder seems to be the order of the day and its up to Wallace, Ash and the rest to try to finally put a stop to this wide-reaching organisation.

I swear the tension and pacing in these books is designed to get your adrenaline pumping, but not in a bad way. I kept my reading of this one to daylight hours, but even then I was on tenterhooks while the action was unfolding. Lets not even mention the bits that made me tearful!!!

Aftershock is a pitch perfect ending to what has been one of the best action series I have ever had the pleasure of reading. Cleverly plotted, excellent characters and a truly terrifying reality made Aftershock a truly gripping read.

If you like your thrillers with real heart, then I highly recommend you pick up Aftershock, and its equally impressive predecessors.

You will not be disappointed.

All the stars for this one!

Previous reviews:

Pendulum by Adam Hamdy

Run by Adam Hamdy

Freefall (Pendulum Trilogy #2) by Adam Hamdy

Assassins Vengeance by Rachel Amphlett @EllenDevonport @RachelAmphlett

Assassins Vengeance.jpg

About the book:

Spies. The best unreliable narrators that money can buy…

Eva and her fractured team are on the run, desperate to find answers and uncover who has betrayed them from within the shadowy government organisation known only as the Section.

Evading assassination in Berlin and Prague, Eva has had time to regroup and try to solve the mystery behind the attempts on her life.

But her enemies are one step ahead of her, eliminating anything and anyone who stands in their way.

Hell hath no fury like a woman who’s been shot at and survived… twice

About the Author:

rachel-2016-2141

Rachel Amphlett is the bestselling author of the Dan Taylor espionage novels and the new Detective Kay Hunter series, as well as a number of standalone crime thrillers.

Originally from the UK and currently based in Brisbane, Australia, Rachel’s novels appeal to a worldwide audience, and have been compared to Robert Ludlum, Lee Child and Michael Crichton.

She is a member of International Thriller Writers and the Crime Writers Association, with the Italian foreign rights for her debut novel, White Gold, being sold to Fanucci Editore’s TIMECrime imprint in 2014, and the first four books in the Dan Taylor espionage series contracted to Germany’s Luzifer Verlag in 2017.

Follow the author:

Email: info@rachelamphlett.com

Skype: rachel.amphlett1

http://www.rachelamphlett.com

Twitter: @RachelAmphlett

Instagram: @RachelAmphlett

Facebook: Rachel Amphlett

Ellen’s Review:

After the bombshell that was dropped at the end of Assassins Hunted I wasn’t prepared for the further truth bombs that are revealed as soon as Assassins Vengeance began! Suddenly Eva, Nathan and Decker are responsible for not only the safety of another child but the protection of the world from a megalomaniac who is hell bent on releasing a bioweapon. Maxim Kowalski is a Russian scientist plotting to release a plague and watch the world’s governments blame each other while millions die in agony.

As well as this they are still unaware who is the leak within the Section and unsure who is friend or foe that they come into contact with. Every step closer to the truth they put themselves further onto the path of danger. I found myself questioning everyone’s motives.

Assassins Vengeance is a taut thriller with heart that had me racing through the pages, we are left under no illusion that Eva Delacourt will finish what has been started and that whoever stands in her way will be dealt with!

Doorways by Robert Enright @REnright_Author

About the book:

When will you discover The Otherside?

There is more to the shadows than just darkness

The Otherside is located at the fringes of our world, hiding in plain sight and existing within our shadows. Shielded from humanity, the Otherside is watched over by the BTCO, a highly secret government agency, whose members all possess ‘The Knack’, a genetic anomaly that allows them to see this other world.

Franklyn ‘Bermuda’ Jones is the BTCO’s finest agent, the only human to have passed to the Otherside and returned. Gifted with the ability to physically interact with both worlds, Bermuda reluctantly stands between both worlds, pining for the life he had to leave behind and the daughter he can no longer see. Teamed with Argyle, an enigmatic Otherside warrior, Bermuda is assigned the case of a missing woman who has vanished under mysterious circumstances.

As Bermuda delves further into the disappearance, he uncovers a threat that could destroy the truce between two worlds…and finds himself in a race against time to safeguard humanity’s very existence.

Doorways: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Doorways-First-Bermuda-Jones-Casefile-ebook/dp/B07813HWTB/ref=pd_sbs_351_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=WWYXCGK6GCGWQD2C0CJJ

About the author:

Robert Enright was born and raised in North London and resides in Chesham, Buckinghamshire. Working as a HR System Manager by day, he spends his evenings and weekends writing (or binge watching TV with his fiance).

In March 2015, Rob self-published ONE BY ONE on Amazon, a violent, revenge thriller which was critically acclaimed, breaking into the top 50 books on Amazon on release. One year later, One by One leapt up to #3 in Kindle Crime and back into the top 50 on Kindle.

Robert then signed with Urbane Publications and his second book DOORWAYS was released on the 13th October 2016. An Urban Fantasy Thriller, Doorways is the first Bermuda Jones Casefile, a series following the aforementioned agent as he struggles to govern the truce between our world and ‘The Otherside.’ Released to critical acclaim, Doorways has achieved consistently high rankings on both the Sci-Fi and Urban Fantasy charts.

In October 2017, ONE BY ONE was republished on Kindle and Paperback by Britain’s Next Best Seller.

In early 2018, DOORWAYS will be re-released as an ebook, paperback and audio book under Robert Enright’s management. The sequel, THE ABSENT MAN will also be released in early 2018. The third in the series, WORLDS APART, is set for a late 2018 launch. A prequel, titled BERMUDA, is in the works for a 2018 launch also.

For more information about Rob and his upcoming books, then feel free to check him out on social media:

Website: www.robertenright.co.uk

Facebook: www.facebook.com/robenrightauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/REnright_Author

Previous posts:

*Blog Tour* Doorways by Rob Enright

My thoughts:

I have (shamefully) had Doorways on my TBR for a while, so I was delighted when the author contacted me to review it as it meant I could bump it straight to the top of Mount St. TBR! And it is safe to say I was not disappointed!

Doorways is a bit of a genre mash-up. There are elements of the supernatural running alongside a good old crime thriller/ mystery element. Usually I am a bit skeptical with books like this, but after broadening my reading horizons in 2017, I was looking forward to getting stuck in.

Bermuda Jones works for the BTCO, an organisation that deals with the Otherside. The BTCO are supposed to watch over the Otherside, make sure that entities don’t cross over and generally keep the peace. But life is never that simple really, is it?

Called to investigate the disappearance of a missing woman, Bermuda and his partner Argyle quickly learn that someone or something has crossed over, and they begin a race against time as more people begin to disappear. Interestingly, Bermuda is the only one who has crossed to the Otherside, and returned. Because of this, he has extra abilities that mean he can interact with both worlds, but this could have devastating consequences in Doorways.

I really liked Bermuda as a character. He is wry and witty, but there is also a selflessness there underlying his decesions. He has a daughter that he can’t see for fear of putting her in danger, so he is very much isolated from his family for their protection. He is very much a flawed detective type, but it works well in Doorways. It gives the tortured hero a whole new spin, for reasons you’ll see when you read the book!

Argyle is another character that I really liked. He defected from the Otherside, and he seems to be having an internal conflict when he deals with his own kind. Moral dilemmas, if you will, even though he is far from mortal. Argyle is the perfect compliment to Bermuda, and they work really well together as a team.

Doorways was definitely a surprise for me. I don’t know what I was expecting when I picked it up, but once I started it I was hooked. I became invested in Bermuda and his investigation. I really liked the world-building too. The Otherside sounds like an abysmal and dangerous place, and the author has done a great job in creating a world that will make you shudder.

Highly recommended!