Tubing by K A McKeagney

Description from Goodreads:

"A modern-day Looking for Mr Goodbar -- Fay Weldon

Polly, 28, lives in London with her 'perfect-on-paper' boyfriend. She works a dead-end job on a free London paper. . . life as she knows it is dull. But her banal existence is turned upside down late one drunken night on her way home, after a chance encounter with a man on a packed tube train. The chemistry between them is electric and on impulse, they kiss, giving in to their carnal desires. But it's over in an instant, and Polly is left shell-shocked as he walks away without even telling her his name.

Now obsessed with this beautiful stranger, Polly begins a frantic online search, and finally discovers more about tubing, an underground phenomenon in which total strangers set up illicit, silent, sexual meetings on busy commuter tube trains. In the process, she manages to track him down and he slowly lures her into his murky world, setting up encounters with different men via Twitter.

At first she thinks she can keep it separate from the rest of her life, but things soon spiral out of control.

By chance she spots him on a packed tube train with a young, pretty blonde. Seething with jealousy, she watches them together. But something isn't right and a horrific turn of events makes Polly realise not only how foolish she has been, but how much danger she is in...

Can she get out before it's too late?"

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A pretty successful debut ... original, darkly erotic and thrilling and one which will make you look a bit harder the next time you are on a train .... or not! 

This book is not one I would normally go for as I tend to keep away from overly sexual books but there was something about the synopsis that attracted me to read this ... maybe it's my dark side coming out!

The main character, Polly, is a complex and deeply flawed individual formed by a troubled upbringing and addictive personality.  Not happy with her seemingly perfect life, Polly goes awry following an erotic encounter on the tube and she becomes addicted to finding that stranger again and in the process, becomes embroiled in the what can only be described as "seedy" practice of #tubing.

Written at a fast pace in an easy-to-read style with great characters, this book will immerse you in a hidden world that might just exist in the cramped and overcrowded tube system.

Thank you to the publisher, RedDoor Publishing, and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.

I look forward to Ms McKeagney's next outing.

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Twitter:  @kamckeagney

Information about the author from RedDoor Publishing's website:

"K.A. McKeagney studied psychology in Bristol before completing a Masters degree in creative writing at Brunel. She won the Curtis Brown prize for her dissertation, which formed the basis of her first novel Tubing. She has worked in London as a health editor writing consumer information as well as for medical journals. Her writing has been commended by the British Medical Association (BMA) patient information awards.

She is currently working on her second novel."

Girl On Fire (Max Wolfe #5) by Tony Parsons

Description from Goodreads:

"When terrorists use a drone to bring down a plane on one of London’s busiest shopping centres, it ignites a chain of events that will draw in the innocent and the guilty alike.

DC Max Wolfe of West End Central finds himself caught in the crossfire between a tech-savvy terrorist cell and a revenge-seeking, Bible-quoting murderer called Bad Moses.

And when Max’s ex-wife suddenly reappears to reclaim custody of his beloved daughter Scout, he finds himself fighting the greatest battle of all ... "

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"I woke up and the world was gone.

All was silent, all was black, the darkness so complete that it was as if all the light had been drained from the world."

Those are the dramatic opening lines to this book which had me hooked and eating up the pages as if my life depended on it.

Mr Parsons writes with grit, authenticity and humanity which I find very addictive and although Max isn't perfect by any stretch of the imagination, he is a very engaging character that I love getting to know a little more with each outing.

I must admit that there were times when I felt reality was ignored for the sake of the story (i.e. missed suspects which, in my opinion, were glaringly obvious) but I just put them to one side and continued to enjoy the ride on Mr Parsons' roller-coaster because, after all, this isn't a true story although the subject matter certainly is unfortunately.

Although this can be read as a standalone, I would very much recommend you read the others in the series as this will give more depth and understanding to the main characters and will enhance the whole reading experience.

I would highly recommend this series and Tony Parsons as a great British author and would like to thank the publisher, Random House UK, Cornerstone and NetGalley for my copy in return for an impartial review.

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Other books in the series I have read and reviewed - click the link under the book covers to be taken to my review:

Click here to read my review of
Die Last

Click here to read my view of
The Slaughter Man

Click here to read my review of
The Hanging Club

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Connect with the Author:

Twitter:  TonyParsonsUK

Facebook:  TonyParsonsBooks