Hi hi!
Today’s my stop on the blog tour for Zero by Matt Brolly! Having read and loved his two previous books I was delighted to be asked to read Zero for the tour! My thanks to Matt and Canelo for my review copy! And without further ado, here’s all the bookish info:
About the book:
No crime will go unpunished.
It is the near future. A zero tolerance policy results in the death penalty for all crimes, no matter how minor.
When a judge is kidnapped, and a ransom note demands the release of all prisoners awaiting execution, kleptomaniac Detective Inspector Kate Swanson is put on the case.
But soon her boss also disappears. Under increasing pressure from her superiors, and caught between the security services and the growing social unrest, Swanson must race to find a man whose murdered wife and daughter link the missing men.
Can she find him before it’s too late?
CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR COPY
About the author:
Following his law degree where he developed an interest in criminal law, Matt Brolly completed his Masters in Creative Writing at Glasgow University.
He is the author of the DCI Lambert crime novels, Dead Eyed and Dead Lucky, and the near future crime trilogy, featuring DI Kate Swanson, which begins with Zero.
Matt lives in London with his wife and their two young children. You can find out more about Matt at his website MattBrolly.co.uk or by following him on twitter: @MatthewBrolly
My thoughts:
Having read and loved Matt’s previous DCI Lambert series I was delighted to hear he was working on a new dystopian crime book. Needless to say I jumped at the chance to read it, and I’m really happy to be a part of the tour too!
Zero focuses on DI Kate Swanson and her appointment to the team investigating the kidnapping of a Judge. Working and living in a city with a zero tolerance policy on crime makes this investigation all the more difficult as it throws far more suspects in to the mix.
Zero tolerance is exactly that. Anyone caught engaging in criminal activity gets sent to the pods. The pods are travelling glass cars suspended above the city. The criminal is put into a pod for 30 days, so essentially they are starved to death in the pods. If they can’t handle the slow death, there is a suicide button which releases a toxin which causes immediate death shrouded in a red mist.
This is almost a novel of two halves. There is the general crime aspect, and then you factor in the dystopian regime-like city and it adds a sci-fi element which brings a very different feeling to the book. It’s reminiscent of The Fifth Element, but with a really dark and gritty criminal vibe the whole way through.
I read Zero fairly quickly. It was a really enjoyable crime novel, with some very interesting takes on the sci-fi/dystopian genre and it all intermingles really well. I think Matt Brolly has got the makings of a great series, DI Kate Swanson is a brilliant lead too so I am really looking forward to reading more.
Highly recommended!
Previous reviews for Matt Brolly’s books:
Make sure to keep up with the tour:
