Thriller

Review: THE KILLING KIND by Chris Holm (Mulholland)

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holmc-h1-killingkindukpbAn entertaining thriller introduces us to an interesting new anti-hero

Michael Hendricks kills people for money. That aside, he’s not so bad a guy.

Once a covert operative for a false-flag unit of the US military, Hendricks was presumed dead after a mission in Afghanistan went sideways. He left behind his old life — and beloved fiancée — and set out on a path of redemption…or perhaps one of willful self-destruction.

Now Hendricks makes his living as a hitman entrepreneur of sorts: he only hits other hitmen. For ten times the price on your head, he’ll make sure whoever’s coming to kill you winds up in the ground instead. Not a bad way for a guy with his skill-set to make a living — but a great way to make himself a target.

It took me altogether too long to get around tor reading this series. I thought it sounded great when it was first announced; and, now that I’ve read it, I’m glad to report that it didn’t disappoint. This is an interesting, fast-paced first instalment of a cool new series. Continue reading →

Review: THE BONE TREE by Greg Iles (William Morrow)

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ilesg-pc2-thebonetreecaMore evil that men do, only this time with cleverer evildoers…

Former prosecutor Penn Cage and his fiancée, reporter and publisher Caitlin Masters, have barely escaped with their lives after being attacked by wealthy businessman Brody Royal and his Double Eagles, a KKK sect with ties to some of Mississippi’s most powerful men. But the real danger has only begun as FBI Special Agent John Kaiser warns Penn that Brody wasn’t the true leader of the Double Eagles. The puppeteer who actually controls the terrorist group is a man far more fearsome: the chief of the state police’s Criminal Investigations Bureau, Forrest Knox.

The only way Penn can save his father, Dr. Tom Cage — who is fleeing a murder charge as well as corrupt cops bent on killing him—is either to make a devil’s bargain with Knox or destroy him. While Penn desperately pursues both options, Caitlin uncovers the real story behind a series of unsolved civil rights murders that may hold the key to the Double Eagles’ downfall. The trail leads her deep into the past, into the black backwaters of the Mississippi River, to a secret killing ground used by slave owners and the Klan for over two hundred years… a place of terrifying evil known only as “the bone tree.”

The Bone Tree is an explosive, action-packed thriller full of twisting intrigue and deadly secrets, a tale that explores the conflicts and casualties that result when the darkest truths of American history come to light. It puts us inside the skin of a noble man who has always fought for justice — now finally pushed beyond his limits.

Just how far will Penn Cage, the hero we thought we knew, go to protect those he loves?

The is the middle volume in Iles critically-acclaimed Natchez Burning trilogy. Penn Cage, Caitlin Masters and their allies have overcome one diabolical obstacle, only to be faced by the real power in Mississippi and Louisiana. The Bone Tree is another tale of Southern politics, historical brutality, and the evil that echoes down the generations. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE TIME TO KILL by Mason Cross (Orion)

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CrossM-3-TheTimeToKillUKCarter Blake’s previous employer cleans house…

It’s been five years since Carter Blake parted ways with top-secret government operation Winterlong. They brokered a deal at the time: he’d keep quiet about what they were doing, and in return he’d be left alone.

But news that one of Blake’s old allies, a man who agreed the same deal, is dead means only one thing — something has changed and Winterlong is coming for him.

Emma Faraday, newly appointed head of the secret unit, is determined to tie up loose ends. And Blake is a very loose end. He’s been evading them for years, but finally they’ve picked up his trace. Blake may be the best there is at tracking down people who don’t want to be found, but Winterlong taught him everything he knows. If there’s anyone who can find him — and kill him — it’s them.

It’s time for Carter Blake to up his game.

After two superb novels featuring Carter Blake, Cross has him clashing with the organization that helped train him to become the near-perfect, deadly operative he has become. Another fantastic novel, it shows us some key moments of Blake’s past, and also his determination and strategic genius. Continue reading →

Excerpt: THE VANISHING YEAR by Kate Moretti (Titan)

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morettik-vanishingyearAs part of the blog tour celebrating the release of Kate Moretti‘s The Vanishing Year, Titan Books has given us a short excerpt from the new thriller. First, though, here’s the synopsis:

Zoe Whittaker appears to have a charmed life. Newly married to a rich and attentive man, she has the best of everything.

But five years ago, Zoe’s life was in danger. Because back then, Zoe wasn’t Zoe at all.

When an attempt is made on her life, Zoe fears that her past has caught up with her. But who can she ask for help when even her own husband doesn’t know her real name?

Zoe must decide who she can trust before she — whoever she is — vanishes completely…

And now, on to the excerpt… Continue reading →

Review: NATCHEZ BURNING by Greg Iles (William Morrow)

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ilesg-pc1-natchezburningcaThe evil that men do…

Raised in the southern splendor of Natchez, Mississippi, Penn Cage learned all he knows of duty from his father, Dr. Tom Cage. But now the beloved family doctor has been accused of murdering the African American nurse with whom he worked in the dark days of the 1960s. Once a crusading prosecutor, Penn is determined to save his father, but Tom, stubbornly invoking doctor-patient privilege, refuses even to speak in his own defense.

Penn’s quest for the truth sends him deep into his father’s past, where a sexually charged secret lies. More chilling, this long-buried sin is only one thread in a conspiracy of greed and murder involving the vicious Double Eagles, an offshoot of the KKK controlled by some of the most powerful men in the state. Aided by a dedicated reporter privy to Natchez’s oldest secrets and by his fiancée, Caitlin Masters, Penn uncovers a trail of corruption and brutality that places his family squarely in the Double Eagles’ crosshairs.

With every step costing blood and faith, Penn is forced to confront the most wrenching dilemma of his life: Does a man of honor choose his father or the truth?

This series past me by, when Natchez Burning was first published. With the highly-anticipated final volume in the trilogy due out later this year, though, I was happy to get the opportunity to take part in the blog tour in honour of that upcoming release. Natchez Burning is a hefty book; packed with intrigue, mystery, secrets and violence. It’s an immersive, gripping and sometimes chilling novel. Continue reading →

Quick Review: THE APPROACH by Chris Holm (Mulholland)

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HolmC-H0-ApproachA great introduction to Michael Hendricks

When a strip-club mogul puts out a hit on a dancer who won’t give him off-the-clock attention, Hendricks takes a detour to Las Vegas to stop the job in its tracks. With tech genius Lester in his ear and a fake identity as cover, Hendricks has only one problem: he has no idea what the target looks like. Against the scorching heat of the city’s desert outskirts, a case of mistaken identity nearly turns fatal, but our principled hitman has a few tricks of his own up his sleeve.

To celebrate the release of Red Right Hand, the second novel featuring Michael Hendricks, Chris Holm has written a short story that serves as an excellent introduction or prequel to both the series as a whole, as well as the main character. It’s quickly-paced, has a good twist, and is very well written. We are given a good sense of what drives Hendricks, as well as his methods and skills.

I very much enjoyed this, and fully intend to read the novels ASAP. If you’ve been on the fence about trying the series, then The Approach should definitely convince you to give them a read. Definitely recommended.

Both novels — The Killing Kind and Red Right Hand — are out now, published in the US and UK by Mulholland Books.

Also on CR: Interview with Chris Holm (2012); Excerpt from The Wrong Goodbye

Quick Review: DARK MATTER by Blake Crouch (Crown/Macmillan)

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CrouchB-DarkMatterUSA gripping multiverse thriller

“Are you happy with your life?”

Those are the last words Jason Dessen hears before the masked abductor knocks him unconscious.

Before he awakens to find himself strapped to a gurney, surrounded by strangers in hazmat suits.

Before a man Jason’s never met smiles down at him and says, “Welcome back, my friend.”

In this world he’s woken up to, Jason’s life is not the one he knows. Hiswife is not his wife. His son was never born. And Jason is not an ordinary college physics professor, but a celebrated genius who has achieved something remarkable. Something impossible.

Is it this world or the other that’s the dream? And even if the home he remembers is real, how can Jason possibly make it back to the family he loves? The answers lie in a journey more wondrous and horrifying than anything he could’ve imagined — one that will force him to confront the darkest parts of himself even as he battles a terrifying, seemingly unbeatable foe.

There was so much buzz surrounding this book in the lead-up to its publication. So much, in fact, that I started to get nervous. Having now finished the novel, though, it’s very easy to see why so many people have been recommending it: it’s superb. Crouch, author of the Wayward Pines novels, has penned a fantastic sci-fi mystery. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE BOOK OF MIRRORS by E.O. Chirovici (Century/Atria)

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ChiroviciEO-BookOfMirrors

I am really looking forward to this novel. Already sold in 38 territories, UK-based Romanian author E.O. Chirovici‘s first novel in English, The Book of Mirrors, sounds great. You can read a short piece about it from the Guardian here. Here’s the synopsis:

When big-shot literary agent Peter Katz receives an unfinished manuscript entitled The Book of Mirrors, he is intrigued. 

The author, Richard Flynn is writing a memoir about his time at Princeton in the late 80s, documenting his relationship with the famous Professor Joseph Wieder. 

One night in 1987, Wieder was brutally murdered in his home and the case was never solved. 

Peter Katz is hell-bent on getting to the bottom of what happened that night twenty-five years ago and is convinced the full manuscript will reveal who committed the violent crime.

But other people’s recollections are dangerous weapons to play with, and this might be one memory that is best kept buried.

Unfortunately, we have quite some time to wait before we’ll be able to get our mitts on the book: The Book of Mirrors is due to be published on January 26th, 2017 in the UK by Century; and in February 2017 in North America, by Atria Books. Well, given that it’s September already, I suppose it’s not that far away. It just feels like it…

Interview with HUMFREY HUNTER

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HunterH-AuthorPicLet’s start with an introduction: Who is Humfrey Hunter?

I’m 39 and I live in the south of England. I spent five years working for newspapers followed by a couple of years in PR and then went into publishing, first as a literary agent, then as a publisher and literary agent, and now as an author, publisher and literary agent.

Your new novel, The Storykiller, will be published soon by Silvertail Books. It looks rather intriguing: How would you introduce it to a potential reader? Is it part of a series?

The Storykiller is a modern thriller which I hope will appeal to readers of The Ghost and fans of TV shows like House of Cards. Its main character, Jack Winter, is a former news reporter who left newspapers after blaming himself for the death of a young girl and now works for the rich and powerful protecting them from the kind of journalist he used to be. In a nutshell, he kills stories his clients don’t want published, and so is a kind of poacher-turned-gamekeeper in the media world. He struggles with this because he has become the opposite of what he used to be, and he was a reporter with principles. In The Storykiller, a new client comes along and Jack is drawn into a far more dark and dangerous world than anything he’s ever known before. And yes, it is part of a series. I’m well into a second book featuring Jack Winter.  Continue reading →

Guest Post: “Why Not Zombies…?” by K.S. Merbeth

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MerbethKS-AuthorPicMy debut novel, Bite, recently hit the shelves. When I give people a run-down of the book, as soon as they hear “post-apocalyptic,” the first question is always an inevitable: “So, are there zombies?” After saying, “nope, only cannibals” at least a dozen times, I started to wonder – why didn’t I include zombies? Because honestly, the thought had never crossed my mind until people began to ask.

Don’t get me wrong, zombies are awesome. I’ve happily watched every gore-filled “X of the Dead” Romero film to date, mowed down the shambling hordes in the Left 4 Dead games, and studied up on the Zombie Survival Guide. I’ve spent family dinners discussing our zombie-slaying weapons of choice, and which pets we’d eat first in the event of an outbreak. Continue reading →