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."

When We Were Alive by C.J. Fisher

In the minority ... once again!

Blurb from Goodreads:

"When we first meet Bobby, he is a shy, twelve-year-old magician who falls in love with his best friend.

William is consumed with self-hate and drinks to escape the memories of his father’s sadness and his mother’s death.

Myles is writing letters to a mother he has never met.

Three different people from three different times each explore the dark side of relationships, search for beauty in sadness and try to bear the burden of guilt from living in a world we are powerless to fix."

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First off, I want to thank Legend Press for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review. Secondly, I want to apologise to Legend Press and the author for not actually finishing the book because, sadly, it just didn’t grab me in the way I think books should.

Now having said that I didn’t finish it, I will say that what I did read was well-written and the author definitely has a gift for description but, for me, it was a little too descriptive and long-winded and I found myself losing the thread part-way through a paragraph and having to go back and start again or skipping it totally. On reflection, I think this was part of the problem - doing this resulted in me losing interest and I had to force myself to read on and there were times when I would do anything other than pick it up. It was at this point, that I decided not to continue reading it - I hate doing that but life is too short and my “to-be-read” pile is massive!

I definitely think the fault is with me rather than the book - I just love getting lost in a book that excites me and gets my heart racing and my brain buzzing but, unfortunately, this book didn’t do that for me, then again, it isn’t being sold as such so this isn’t surprising.

After reading other reviews, it looks like I am in the minority (once again) so I would suggest that people who enjoy literary fiction and are tempted by the excellent cover and blurb, give it a go.

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Publisher website: http://www.legendtimesgroup.co.uk/legend-press

Author website: http://oldhotradio.com/

Fractured by Clár Nί Chonghaile

"A great debut"

Blurb from the book:

"Journalist Peter Maguire has been kidnapped in Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu. He does not know where he is or what is going to happen to him. He is filled with fear and, as the days go by, this dread of the unknown is shot through with remorse for the mistakes of his past.

Peter's mother, Nina comes to Somalia to wait for her son’s release. His plight forces her to relive another trauma—the fatal shooting in Liberia of Shaun Ridge, a young photographer she once loved, and Peter’s real father.

Abdi, a Somali teenager working with Peter’s captors strikes a tenuous friendship with the prisoner based on a shared feeling of captivity. He decides to help Peter escape. Together they set off into the barren vastness of a land filled with danger.

These three people must journey into one of the world's most dangerous places, the human mind, to answer the question: are we ever truly free?"

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This is a debut novel by this particular author and, to be honest, not one that I would have chosen to read myself but was lucky enough to have been sent an advance copy from the publisher, Legend Times Group, in return for an honest review and I am really pleased they did as I really enjoyed it.

The setting of the story is mainly Somalia and the author brilliantly captures and describes this war-torn country. In parts, it’s as bleak as the main characters’ lives but, in others, the author manages to bring out the beauty that the country so obviously has.

The story is told from 3 perspectives - Peter, Nina and Abdi. Peter is a journalist held hostage; Nina is his mother who has flown out to try and help secure his release and Abdi is a Somali teenager who is a participant in the “care” of the kidnapped Peter. I didn’t particularly warm to Peter despite his plight; he came across as an arrogant, selfish young man however, once his background is revealed. his actions become more understanding but he remains, to me, not a particularly likeable person. Nina is the voice of a mother who feels blame and responsibility for what has happened due to the choices she has made in her life which, like all the characters, is well explored throughout the book.

Abdi is a young man whose life has been filled with tragedy and I warmed to him almost immediately despite him being mixed up in the kidnapping of Peter. Abdi is as much a prisoner as Peter and he sees the similarities between them both - resigned to the fact they have no future. Abdi provides an insight into life in a war-torn country of being afraid to step outside because of a real fear of death at any moment - no wonder thousands risk their lives escaping similar situations - who would want to live like that?

The pace of the book is steady and well written but I do have one criticism; some of the language is a bit stilted, for example the author writes “I did not know” when “I didn’t know” would have been more natural and helped the flow a little better. I understand this happening in some of the conversations where English is the second language but not when Nina or Peter are reflecting to themselves or having an internal dialogue.

Overall though, I have few complaints and applaud the author on a great debut. The subject matter is topical given what is happening in various countries around the world and although it is a work of fiction, it is the strength of the author’s writing and her ability to make you think the characters are real people in real situations which makes this book very plausible and realistic - I actually think this would make a pretty good film.

I would be very interested to read Clár's next novel and hope it doesn't take 11 years to write that one.

Fractured is available to purchase on 1st February 2016.

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Author website - http://www.legendtimesgroup.co.uk/legend-press/authors/1054-clar-ni-chonghaile

Twitter - clarnic

An OK Début: The Boathouse by R.J. Harries

Book description:

A criminologist seeks revenge for his journalist girlfriend’s murder.
A property tycoon’s wife is kidnapped for an ever-increasing ransom.
Sean Archer must find the Boathouse to solve these seemingly unrelated cases.
But the Boathouse is an off-grid torture facility operated by black-ops mercenaries.

Sean Archer is a self-taught criminologist and profiler who has been obsessed with crime since his parents were found dead when he was fourteen. A computer savant who has developed digital profiling tools that the police have come to depend on, Sean has acquired a reputation for being able to solve crimes that no one else can. But when his own girlfriend, Alex, is brutally murdered while researching an off-grid torture facility called The Boathouse, his brilliant inventions are of no use. Alex has left little for Sean to go on – only a list of names. Then Peter Sinclair, a property billionaire, contacts Sean for help. His wife, Becky, has been kidnapped and will be killed if he goes to the police or doesn’t follow instructions. Sean agrees to help. Not because he wants the case, but because Peter Sinclair was on Alex’s list. When Sean tracks Becky down, she leads him right where he wants to go. Or so he thinks. As he climbs over the wall of the Boathouse, he’s sure he’s just one step from finding Alex’s killers. But Sean is utterly unprepared for this crime and this place. The Boathouse is more heinous, more sinister than anything Sean has ever imagined.

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Pretty good storyline with an interesting cast of characters. Good pace and flow throughout but particularly towards the end.

Lots of detail and description which, at the beginning, seemed a bit too much but was something that was appreciated as the story went on as it put you right at the heart of the action and enabled vivid pictures to grow and develop as you read on.

I would have liked to have been given more background into the main characters, especially Archer. This would have been helpful and would have enhanced my reading experience but as it was, I felt like I'd been thrown into the action without much information or "meat on the bones". To me, this made it come across as though it was the second book in a series and I actually had to check to make sure it wasn't.

Overall though an OK début and opener to a series - if that is the intention - and I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a book with action and tension but be prepared to be a little lost at times.

Thank you to www.netgalley.com and Troubador Publishing Ltd for the copy in return for an honest review.