Thirteen (Eddie Flynn #4) by Steve Cavanagh

Description from Goodreads:

"THE SERIAL KILLER ISN'T ON TRIAL.

HE'S ON THE JURY...

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'THIRTEEN is my favourite read of the year.' Sarah Pinborough

'Outstanding.' Lee Child

'Smart and original. This is a belter of a book.' Clare Mackintosh

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They were Hollywood's hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife.

This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.

All the evidence points to Robert's guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the court room start to raise doubts in Eddie's mind.

What if there's more than one actor in the courtroom?

What if the killer isn't on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?"

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WOW, WOW, WOW 😮😮😮

I can't even begin to explain how much I enjoyed this book ... it was so good, I didn't want it to end and I'm not one who normally reads courtroom books but I was drawn to this because of the serial killer angle .... I know, I know, I'm a little strange in my reading tastes!  Don't judge me 😉

Now, this is the first book I have read by this author containing Flynn and although it would have probably helped with background information to have read previous ones, I don't feel it is absolutely necessary but I will certainly be seeking them out after reading this.

Anyway, this book is basically about the murder of a starlet and her supposed lover - they were found by the husband who allegedly beat him to death with a baseball bat and stabbed her repeatedly.  In comes Flynn as part of the defence team who becomes 'the' defence team following a few revelations whereby the main lawyer (who is employed by the studio) is told to withdraw.  Meanwhile, someone is going to great lengths to be on the jury ... welcome to Joshua Kane, a very disturbed individual.

Flynn is a fantastic character; I adore him - so likeable and not 'up himself' like many lawyers seem to be portrayed ... he's "normal" ... well, if you can call a previous con-man with a shady history normal but it does give him a unique view of things which certainly comes in handy in his line of work.

Joshua Kane is far from normal but what a great character he is - such a good baddie!!

The supporting cast were equally as good and all had their part to play in this fantastic book.

The chapters are written alternatively between Flynn and Kane and whilst Flynn's are written in the first person, Kane's are written in the third; this was, I think, a stroke of genius as it gives different perspectives from Flynn who's trying his best for his client to Kane who is cleverly manipulating things from the jury box.  The pace of the book is perfect; there's plenty of action, thrills, twists and turns that had me hooked from page one.

This is, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read and one of the very few that I will read again.

Many thanks to the publisher, Orion Publishing Group, via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest review - thank you so much, I absolutely loved it and cannot recommend it highly enough.

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Connect with the author:

Website:  Steve Cavanagh Books

Twitter:  SSCav

The Man on the Roof by Michael Stephenson

Blurb:

"Someone has been creeping in the dark while the others sleep, and they've done terrible, terrible things. 

“There was a man on your roof,” claims curmudgeonly lane-hermit Herbert McKinney. Then, he initiates an unprovoked fight with a local punk. Drama escalates when that punk's dead body is found hanging at mid-street one August morning—a boastful killer messaging their next prey. All fingers point to Herbert as the culprit. Soon, the five couples he calls neighbors come under suspicion, too. When detectives divine blackmail as the motive, eyes cross to find who hides the most shameful secret. Husband versus wife, friend versus friend, the shiny suburban veneer of innocence has been forever tarnished. As hidden deviousness boils from their pores, there lurks a thief, a pill addict and a sadist—secrets worth killing for. 

Now, as the man on the roof helps guide justice and watches devious neighbors slip in and out of sleepy houses, confusion and questions persist. Who dies next? What have they learned? Who is becoming a monster? Who already is one? And just how many secrets can a small group of multi-ethnic Ohioans have? Only one cemented truth exists: the killer will kill again. 

A taut domestic mystery-suspense thriller, The Man On The Roof propels the reader through a tangled, volatile and suspenseful thicket of deception, murder and friends, inviting the reader to discover the murderer and who hides which lie. First there was Gone Girl. Then there was The Girl on the Train. Now, there's The Man On The Roof."

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Hmmmm ... if I could only use one word to describe this book, it would be ... frustrating!  Now don't get me wrong, it's not a bad book, it's just infuriatingly annoying.  Let me try and explain.

The story is basically about the murder of a young lad found suspended from a banner in a cul-de-sac of houses where we find the main suspects who, we learn, all have secrets that they don't want to come out.  In comes the police to investigate the crime and the various suspects that live in the cul-de-sac.  Sounds ok so far however, therein lies the problem.  There are so many suspects, none of which are particularly likeable, it was difficult to keep track of who was who and who was married to who and as the secrets were revealed, whose secret was it!  In addition, each of the chapters is written in different styles from different people and you don't always know who the people are ... I ended up being very confused.  There's lots of description and whilst some of it is good, e.g. people's gestures and behaviour, a lot of it is unnecessary and this makes it a very long book ... well it seemed long to me.

There are some inconsistencies as well which I found annoying.  For example, the names of the police officers change ... one minute they were Detective Cady Lambert and Detective Braidey Fitzsimmons and then they were Cady and Braidey and then they were Lambert and Fitzsimmons ... this may seem trivial but when you have so many characters, it's hard to keep track so changing their names throughout causes you to lose the thread of who is who.

Now don't get me wrong, as I said this isn't a bad book, it actually has the bones of being an excellent dark and gritty thriller but there's just too much going on that affects the flow of reading for me and I just think it needs tidying up.

I am grateful to the author for sending me a copy of his book after finding my blog.  I really appreciate the time and effort he has made in writing a complex story and putting it out there for people like me, who couldn't write a decent letter, to criticise and pick apart ... that is brave and I salute you Mr Stephenson and encourage you to keep going.

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Connect with the author:

Website:  Are You Not Entertained

Twitter:  @filmbooksbball

Hard Prejudice (Dan Reno Novel #5) by Dave Stanton

Description from Goodreads:

"The DNA evidence should have made the rape a slam dunk case…

But after the evidence disappeared from a police locker, the black man accused of brutally raping a popular actor’s daughter walked free. Hired by the actor, private detective Dan Reno’s job seemed simple enough: discover who took the DNA, and why. Problem is, from the beginning of the investigation, neither Reno, the South Lake Tahoe police, nor anyone else has any idea what the motivation could be to see ghetto thug Duante Tucker get away with the crime. Not even Reno’s best friend, fellow investigator Cody Gibbons, has a clue.

When Reno and Gibbons tail Tucker, they learn the rapist is linked to various criminals and even a deserter from the U.S. Marine Corps. But they still can’t tell who would want him set free, and for what reason?

Things get murkier when Tucker visits an Arabic restaurant whose owners are suspected terrorists. Then Cody’s ex-boss, a San Jose police captain, is found to be dallying with Tucker’s sister. 

The clues continue to build until Reno and Cody find themselves targeted for death. That tells Reno he’s getting close, so he and Gibbons put the pedal to the metal.

The forces of evil are running out of time, and the action reaches a boiling point before an explosive conclusion that reveals a sinister plot and motivations that Reno never imagined. 

Hard Prejudice is a fast-paced thriller full of action and adventure. The Dan Reno series appeals to fans of Lee Child's Jack Reacher series as well as authors like; Rob Sinclair, David Baldacci, Mark Dawson, Michael Connely and David Archer."

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I haven't read any of the other books in this series so started reading worrying whether coming in at book number 5 was a mistake I am happy to say ... it wasn't ... it can easily be read as a standalone.

Well written at great pace with action and intrigue aplenty, this book is great.  It does deal with the uncomfortable subject of rape and, I have to warn you, there is a particularly grim and disturbing section but this can't be avoided and helps to put you in the mindset of the main characters of Dan and Cody who go to great lengths to get justice.

This is a gritty read that pulls no punches and I would most definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys a a book that has non-stop action.

Thank you to Bloodhound Books for my copy in return for an unbiased review.

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Connect with the author:

Website:  Dan Reno | Mystery Books, Detective Fiction & Crime Novels where you can also get a copy of Dave Stanton’s Wrong Turn at Carson just by providing your email address ☺️

Twitter:  @danrenonovels

Facebook:  DanRenoNovels

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