Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

#BlogBlitz Faceless by Rob Ashman

After surviving a vicious knife attack, which left her husband dead, DI Rosalind Kray returns to work and is handed a serial killer investigation.

This killer is different, he doesn’t just want to take the lives of his victims, he wants to obliterate their very existence. The murders appear random but the killer selects his quarry with meticulous care.

While fighting her superiors Kray must conquer her own demons, which are tearing her apart.

Kray has the ability to think like a killer and her skills lead to a series of horrifying revelations that turn the case on its head. She believes she is getting close, then her world comes crashing down with devastating consequences.

Will Kray find the murderer and escape with her own life in tact?

The truth is closer than she could have ever imagined…

One chapter, it’s all you need, trust me…..

I say that because even before the end of the first chapter I knew I was going to love Faceless. DI Rosalind Kray is just the kind of female protagonist I love.  A feisty, no nonsense, straight talker she is everything that compels you to keep on reading, not only to discover the messes she’ll get herself into, but to revel in the way she gets out of them too.

Told in alternating narratives between Kray and the killer, it’s a read that will keep you guessing from page to page, it will at times have you horrified, the killer is more depraved than any I have read for some time.

All this said you will still be unable to put the book down.  I sat and read it in one sitting  and recommend you find yourself a comfy corner and huddle yourself up with all things cosy so you can enjoy.  Don’t do a LifeOfCri.me and sit in the dark, during torrential rain and a thunderstorm…..

 

 

Rob is married to Karen with two grown up daughters. He is originally from South Wales and after moving around with work settled in North Lincolnshire where he’s spent the last twenty-two years.

Like all good welsh valley boys Rob worked for the National Coal Board after leaving school at sixteen and went to University at the tender age of twenty-three when the pit closures began to bite. Since then he’s worked in a variety of manufacturing and consulting roles both in the UK and abroad.

It took Rob twenty-four years to write his first book. He only became serious about writing it when his dad got cancer. It was an aggressive illness and Rob gave up work for three months to look after him and his mum. Writing Those That Remain became his coping mechanism. After he wrote the book his family encouraged him to continue, so not being one for half measures, Rob got himself made redundant, went self-employed so he could devote more time to writing and four years later the Mechanic Trilogy is the result.

When he is not writing, Rob is a frustrated chef with a liking for beer and prosecco, and is known for occasional outbreaks of dancing.

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

Captor – Anita Waller

Liz Chambers is a devoted mother who works for a successful law firm. She has two children, a husband and a blossoming career. But behind closed doors, Liz is harbouring a secret that could destroy her life.

Then the unthinkable happens, and in a frenzied attack, her young son is snatched from the home of the childminder charged with looking after him.

As Liz’s life unfolds, it becomes clear that someone is out for revenge.

Desperate to get her baby boy back, Liz must work out who is responsible for his kidnap, and why.

But as the body count begins to mount, Liz’s concern grows for the safety of her child.

Who has taken her baby?

And why is Captor so determined on revenge?

Loved, loved, loved it….

Wow. what an amazing book.  To say I couldn’t put it down doesn’t seem enough.  I felt like it was glued not just to my fingers, but to my eyes and my mind.  I didn’t have a choice. It’s *that* good.

We begin, with the disappearance of Liz’s son, and we follow through as she struggles to find him.  At the same time as uncovering the ‘secret; she has been keeping and it’s far reaching consequences.

It’s a great tale of how even the simplest of our actions, all taken with the best of intentions create ripples, like a stone thrown in pond, that can unsettle the foundations of everything we believe in.

Posted in Blog Touring, Reading, Reviews

Degrees of Darkness – Tony J Forder

Pre-teen girls are being abducted from their homes and their families murdered. When Frank Rogers, once a DI with the Met and now running his own debt collection agency, is told that his own daughter is missing, his son murdered, he naturally wants to become involved with the case.

Soon Frank’s face is all over the news. In an unexpected turn of events, the killer contacts the police and says he is willing to talk, but only to Frank.

When the body of the first abducted girl is discovered, Frank realises it is a race against time to save his daughter.

In order to solve the case, Frank must work out how the killer is picking his victims.

But how do you catch a murderer who is hiding in plain sight? And can Frank solve the mystery, when he has so much to lose?

This is one of those fabulous books that just worms its way under your skin as you turn the pages.  Aptly titled, it creeps you out by degrees as one of the most heinous of serial killers I’ve read in months and one tenacious ex-cop play cat and mouse as Frank tries to locate his daughter.

Brilliantly written, and superbly paced it carefully takes you down dark corridors in your mind,    as you contemplate the cruelty of the killer.  I absolutely loved this book, and whilst it only took a couple of days to read I savoured every chapter.  In a genre that is currently filled with fast paced, race to the end it was a delight to read something different.  Whilst it is still a race against time thriller, it gives a really genuine feel for the passage of time, building the tension carefully.

It’s not an easy book to read, as it can be quite disturbing in places, but that is what makes it all the more compelling.  Highly recommended as a deeply dark and disturbing read for anyone who loves being entirely absorbed in a difficult world.

Posted in 12 Words, Author Q&A's

12 Words with Tony J Forder

On 1st February 2017, Tony signed to Bloodhound Books, who will publish his new edgy crime thriller Bad to the Bone in April. It is the first in a series.

Later this year, Tony’s second novel for Bloodhound Books, Degrees of Darkness, featuring ex-detective Frank Rogers, will be published.

Today he takes on 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 recent release Bad To The Bone?
 
TJF: Gritty crime thriller, a dead case brought alive, featuring murder and corruption.
 
LOC: How would you sum up the partnership between DI Bliss and DC Chandler?
 
TJF: Sarcastic and witty, but also serious and professional. Friendly, caring and loyal.
 
LOC: What’s your writing process like?
 
TJF: Once haphazard, now measured. Furious typing followed by contemplation. Seat of pants.
 
LOC: What inspires you?
 
TJF: Good writing. A hunger to improve as a writer myself. Cold beer.

LOC: Describe your perfect getaway
 
TJF: A cabin, deck overlooking a lake, mountains beyond, breeze, cold beer (again).
 
 LOC: Whats the best book you’ve read in the last twelve months?
 
TJF:  The Poet by Michael Connelly
 
LOC: Why?
 
TJF: An oldie. A classic crime novel from a master of the genre. 
  
and finally Just for laughs….
 
LOC: Thanks to the author Howard Lynskey you’ve just woken up on stage in front of the judges of Britains Got Talent with just A beach ball, a performing seal and a pint of beer.  What do you do? 
 
TJF: Let the seal drink the beer and then watch the mayhem ensue.

 

A skeletal body is unearthed in a wooded area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. DI James Bliss, together with DC Penny Chandler, investigate the case and discover that the young, female victim had been relocated from its original burial site.

A witness is convinced that a young female was struck by a vehicle back in the summer of 1990, and that police attended the scene. However, no record exists of either the accident or the reported victim. As the case develops, two retired police officers are murdered. The two are linked with others who were on duty at the time a road accident was reported.

As Bliss and Chandler delve deeper into the investigation, they start to question whether senior officers may have been involved in the murder of the young women who was buried in the woods.

As each link in the chain is put under duress, so is Bliss who clashes with superiors and the media.

When his team receives targeted warnings, Bliss will need to decide whether to drop the case or to pursue those responsible.

Will Bliss walk away in order to keep his career intact or will he fight no matter what the cost? 

And is it possible the killer is much closer than they imagined?