Thin Ice the blog tour….
Launch with Leigh – Journey To Death
So back in September we had #TeaWithLeigh, where a few of us bloggers got to sit around, drink champagne and talk all things Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson.
This time around the character up for discussion was Lucy Hall, and not being one to do things by halves Leigh had several events to celebrate the launch of Journey To Death. Her soirée at The Sherlock Holmes Hotel on Baker Street London was the one I was lucky enough to be invited to attend.
It was a fabulous event and there was a great buzz to the whole evening with everyone there to celebrate everything Lucy Hall.
There was of course wine, but not only that there was some great food too with delicious canapés abound although my favourites, by far, were the mini burgers.
There was some great company, (yes I know that’s me), but I also got to meet up with some fellow bloggers and writers, many of which were already known to me, but equally and delightfully almost as many who weren’t. My address book and follow lists have increased to include the intriguing new contacts I made that I look forward to hearing from in the future.
On top of that was an amazing guest, the Minister of Tourism & Culture for The Seychelles, who having made a special journey in for the event, gave a great speech and made sure that all of us who want to travel to The Seychelles after reading Journey To Death, now know exactly how friendly the local sharks are.
And of course there was a fantastic cake, because it’s not an event until there is cake.
Above all the whole evening was one huge success, and I am grateful to Leigh for the invite, it was well worth the effort of a six hour round trip coach ride to attend.
Oh and speaking of coaches, I did at least make it back in time for mine.
Just.
By Ambassadorial request
I don’t know about you but when the Ambassador for Iceland invites you to the embassy itself to celebrate the launch of the latest book from an author you love, and regularly chat to at festivals, it’s not the sort of thing you turn down.
Thin Ice by Quentin Bates is the fifth and latest installment in his series featuring Officer Gunnhildur of the Reykjavik Police force, and I was very grateful for the invite to the event. I had a great opportunity to meet with bloggers I’d not met before, and experience something completely new to me, as it was the first London book launch I had attended.
Not only were we treated to some fantastic Thin Ice Cupcakes, but we were also lucky enough to hear an extract of Thin Ice read out, by Mel Hudson, who has been the narrator of all of Quentin’s Gunnhildur audio books since Frozen Out (released as Frozen Assets in the US) and has an amazing knack for getting all those tongue twisting Icelandic names right!
For me some of the high points of the evening including the opportunity to meet the Ambassador for Iceland
and of course spending some time with the much in demand (well it was *his* book launch) Quentin Bates, who is a fantastic writer and a fabulous guy.
Thin Ice by Quentin Bates
Snowed in with a couple of psychopaths for the winter…
When two small-time crooks rob Reykjavik’s premier drugs dealer, hoping for a quick escape to the sun, their plans start to unravel after their getaway driver fails to show. Tensions mount between the pair and the two women they have grabbed as hostages when they find themselves holed upcountry in an isolated hotel that has been mothballed for the season.
Back in the capital, Gunnhildur, Eiríkur and Helgi find themselves at a dead end investigating what appear to be the unrelated disappearance of a mother, her daughter and their car during a day’s shopping, and the death of a thief in a house fire.
Gunna and her team are faced with a set of riddles but as more people are quizzed it begins to emerge that all these unrelated incidents are in fact linked. And at the same time, two increasingly desperate lowlifes have no choice but to make some big decisions on how to get rid of their accidental hostages…
DragonFish by Vu Tran #WhereIsSuzy
When I heard about this fresh approach to a blog tour I just had to join in and give it a go. Instead of writing a review, or doing an author Q&A, us bloggers were given a hashtag and a challenge.
The Challenge
To read the synopsis of the novel, and in no more than a few minutes using only the information in the synopsis to write down where you think Suzy is. Then using #WhereIsSuzy encourage our followers to do the same, to see just where the creative flows will take us. So here goes…
The Synopsis
Robert, an Oakland cop, still can’t let go of Suzy, the enigmatic Vietnamese wife who left him two years ago. Now she’s disappeared from her new husband, Sonny, a violent Vietnamese smuggler and gambler who is blackmailing Robert into finding her for him.
As he pursues her through the sleek and seamy gambling dens of Las Vegas, shadowed by Sonny’s sadistic son, ‘Junior’, and assisted by unexpected and reluctant allies, Robert learns more about his ex-wife than he ever did during their marriage. He finds himself chasing the ghosts of her past, one that reaches back to a refugee camp in Malaysia after the fall of Saigon, and his investigation uncovers the existence of an elusive packet of her secret letters to someone she left behind long ago.
As Robert starts illuminating the dark corners of Suzy’s life, the legacy of her sins threatens to immolate them all.
Here’s what I thought….
Suzy is back in Malaysia looking for the son she left in the refugee camp to keep him safe from his gangster father, the man who trafficked her to America, and keeping herself and her secret son safe were the reasons behind marrying men who could protect her by whatever means necessary.
Then I thought I’d ask a couple of authors what they thought.
Vu Tran’s fellow No Exit stable mate Leigh Russell went for the pessimistic view.
I guess she went back to Malaysia to find the guy she left behind. Her boat capsized and she’s now at the bottom of the ocean….
Graham Smith author of Snatched From Home had this to say.
She’s in a Western country trying to track down the daughter she gave birth to after being raped in Vietnam. The daughter is now grown up and like her mother has married a westerner.
And finally, I asked some of my friends…
Ann B said firmly
She’s In Las Vegas
Vic W agreed
I think she’s in Fremont Street, Las Vegas.
Marc F isn’t quite so sure
She could be anywhere, but I’m guessing looking for someone in Asia…..
and the fantastic Kate H really let her imagination go
Suzy is in the UK, in Telford. She got nervous in Vegas and running through one of the hotels a few streets off the strip, quite by accident stumbled into a World Archery Vegas archery competition. Initially, she hid in the audience, but shrewd as she is, she quickly started befriending one of the coaches who she had noticed eyeing her up. Throwing all her best moves at him and hiding her fear, she manages to convince him to allow her to accompany him home to the UK for a holiday. She spends the last of her cash on a fake passport and heads back to the UK with the archery team from Telford. Once in the UK, she gets her bearings and then disappears from her ‘holiday romance’ and slips away to start a new chapter in her life…
Now, using the comments tell us what you think, and if you want to find out for real? Go pick up a copy of DragonFish now….
Not quite the Valentine I expected….
#MAESTRA
12 Words with Leigh Russell
Leigh Russell is the author of the internationally bestselling Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson crime series. She studied at the University of Kent, gaining a master’s degree in English. She has a Diploma in Specific Learning Difficulties from the British Dyslexia Association, and a Certificate in Teaching English as a Foreign Language. For many years she taught English at secondary school, specialising in supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties. She is married, has two daughters, and lives in north-west London. In addition to writing, she guest-lectures for the Society of Authors, universities and colleges, and runs regular creative writing courses for the prestigious Writers Lab in the UK and Greece. She also runs the manuscript assessment service for the CWA.
Her latest novel Journey To Death, the beginning of a new series featuring protagonist Lucy Hall, is released today and to celebrate Leigh has taken the LifeOfCri.me 12 word challenge.
Rules
Answers should be complete sentences, and completed in no more than 12 words (unless otherwise stated)
Contractions count. It’s = 2 words.
LOC: What can you tell us about your latest release Journey To Death?
LR: In the Seychelles, Lucy Hall is drawn into a life threatening adventure.
LOC: What was it like making the change from writing your regular characters and starting a new series?
LR: So far it has been great fun, but Geraldine Steel is continuing.
LOC: How would you describe your writing process?
LR: The process is completely chaotic, frequently exhausting and always exciting.
LOC: What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in your writing career?
LR: There have been several, including facing a man with a machine gun.
LOC: What’s the best book you’ve read in the last twelve months (title & author not in word count) and why?
LR: I reread The Hobbit by J R Tolkien – sometimes a break from adult fiction is necessary.
LOC: What’s the weirdest sentence you’ve ever written / read? (word count does not apply)
LR: ‘Word count does not apply.’ I feel like a dog let off the lead and free to ramble! I’ve read a lot of weird sentences, and no doubt written quite a few, but one that comes to mind is the opening sentence of ‘The Outsider’ by Albert Camus. The book opens with the words: ‘Aujourd’hui maman est morte.’ This sentence can be translated as ‘Today mother died’ but a more literal translation would be: ‘Today mother is dead’, which sounds more final. The beautiful simplicity of the language is not weird at all. But the bald indifference of the statement, combined with the emotive content, is weird and makes it one of the most chilling first sentences I have ever read. It sets the tone for a disturbing novel.
LOC: *rolls eyes* give an author some wriggle room, and off they go…. 😀
LOC: Describe your perfect day
LR: I have breakfast in bed, before writing all day.
and finally just for laughs……
LOC: Thanks to author Angela Marsons you have just woken up to find yourself on stage in front of the judges of Britain’s Got Talent, with an ironing board, a box of matches and an armadillo. What do you do?
LR: I set fire to the ironing board and escape on the armadillo.
You can keep up to date with all Leigh’s current and forthcoming releases on her website www.leighrussell.co.uk or by following her on Twitter @LeighRussell
Reminder Post – 2016 Writing Competitions Closing Soon…
Closing 20th February 2016
The Readers Digest 100 word story competition.
Closing 4th March 2016
The CrimeFest, Bristol Flash Bang Competition.
Closing 14th March 2016
The Mslexia Womens Short Story Competition
I do love a good mystery #2
This was today’s….
Exciting! 😀
A Masterpiece of Corruption – L. C. Tyler
It is December 1657. John Grey, at his cramped desk in Lincoln’s Inn, is attempting to resume his legal career. A mysterious message from a ‘Mr SK’ tempts him out into the snowy streets of London and to what he believes will be a harmless diversion from his studies.
Mr SK’s letter proves to have been intended for somebody else entirely and Grey finds himself unwittingly in the middle of a plot to assassinate the Lord Protector – a plot about which he now knows more than it is safe to know. Can he both prevent the murder and (of greater immediate relevance) save his own skin? Both the Sealed Knot and Cromwell’s Secretary of State, John Thurloe believe he is on their side, but he is unsure that either is on his. As somebody is kind enough to point out to him: ‘You are a brave man, Grey. The life of a double agent can be exciting but very short.’
Grey just has to hope that prediction is wrong.
A masterpiece of double dealing and clever plotting…
I have to admit to never really being a reader of historical crime fiction, but I have long been a big fan of LC Tyler, so when the opportunity arose to get an early copy of A Masterpiece Of Corruption , it was one I could not pass up.
The book is set in an intriguing, and certainly in my own circles, largely unknown period of English history, a time when the monarchy had been overthrown and Oliver Cromwell was in power over the country. It is a time about which I know little beyond what I learnt in school far too many moons ago, and one that is ensuring that I am more than a little fascinated with in this adventure.
A Masterpiece Of Corruption is the second book in Tyler’s series about young lawyer, and somewhat accidental double agent John Grey, a young republican, who with a royalist mother and step-father constantly finds himself precariously navigating his way between the two opposing sides.
In A Cruel Necessity, John uncovers the truth behind a murder in his home village in Essex, and begins to unravel the web of royalists, republicans, Roundheads and Cavaliers, spies and informants that surround him in his everyday life. A Masterpiece of Corruption sees him moving on from his discoveries, back in London and returning to his legal studies at the Lincoln Inn. He is only drawn back into those circles when a mysterious letter, leads to an even more mysterious meeting that sees Grey suddenly working for the advantage of the royalists. Grey immediately reports his new endeavour to his republican confidante and advisor John Thurloe, looking for help and guidance only to discover they would prefer to assist him in his task in order to further their own aims.
For me it is this meeting in the opening chapters which sums up much of what I love of LC Tyler’s writing, these characteristic bluff and double bluff conversations where no one knows really knows what the other is talking about, and yet each party seems utterly convinced that they do and indeed are also correct in their beliefs. They inject such realism into a character trying to muddle his way through a potentially dangerous situation, and into a story where everyone has a dedicated side, and yet insists on ‘covering their backsides’, as fear ensures they lack the conviction to stand up and be counted.
John Grey is a fabulous character, still very unsure in his dealings with not just The Sealed Knot, and John Thurloe, but also with his ‘cousin’ Aminta, daughter of his mother’s new husband and his own childhood friend. He seems completely unable trust in his own feelings about the ulterior motives of any and all of them, despite being quite insightful into the real ‘goings on’.
A Masterpiece Of Corruption is a masterpiece of double dealing, clever plotting, and with a sprinkling of humour as Grey’s puritanism and naiveté is challenged. It will draw you into its pages, lose you in its history, and deliver you an absolutely cracking read.
A Masterpiece in Corruption is published by Constable and available to buy from the 14th January 2016.
Follow Me – Angela Clarke
LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE
The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.
But this is no virtual threat.
As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.
Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?
Time’s running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?
ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM …
Absolutely bloody loved it.
Still living the student life, years after finishing university, Freddie Venton scrapes by in the world by sleeping on the sofa in the lounge of her shared accommodation and working at Espress-oh coffee. She dreams of being a full time journalist, but is resigned to writing free web copy on student life for ‘The Family Paper’.
After a run in with her annoyingly chipper, all round company man and Espress-oh manger Dan, Freddie has a chance encounter with ex-school friend, Nasreen Cudmore, and as her journalistic insights kick in, she ends up finding herself dressed as a forensics expert and stranded in the middle of a brutal murder scene.
I have to say picked up Follow Me on a bit of a whim, due to its bargain 99p Amazon price tag, and I’m glad I did, I absolutely bloody loved it.
I really enjoyed the realistic way the twitter followers of the #Murderer are depicted, at first joining in with the ‘game’ and then turning when they realise the horror of what is actually happening, the whole playing out of the crimes on social media was brilliantly done, meaning even those readers who don’t ‘get’ / use the various platforms will be able to follow the whole tale.
One of my favourite parts was the way that each of the chapters was entitled with a popular piece of text speak and its explanation, and perfectly summed up the action to follow. Put together with the way Freddie talks to herself in headline asides, Follow Me is a gripping read that successfully deals with terrible events, without going over the top and becoming too dark for many readers.
Freddie Venton is a great character, feisty, go getting, determined to succeed, and yet staying grounded by the very real devastation being caused all around her. Her ex-schoolfriend Nasreen is far more straight-laced, and down the line desperately trying to succeed. I didn’t really warm to her character initially, but as the back story of what happened between them eight years before unfolds I began to change my mind. I’m certainly hoping we get to hear more from Freddie in the future.
Life of Cri.me 