Tag: Murder

Waiting on Wednesday – The Murder Inn and Devil’s Kitchen

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday12 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight two upcoming books from a very talented Australian author, Candice Fox.

Over the last few years, I have been having a wonderful time getting into the novels of Australian crime fiction author Candice Fox, who has been a staple inclusion in my yearly reading schedule.  Fox has produced some amazing and compelling thrillers throughout her career, and I’ve deeply enjoyed several of her recent books, including Gathering Dark, The Chase and Fire With Fire.  Fox is also quite well known for her collaborations with legendary crime fiction author James Patterson, having written several novels together.  This includes their very entertaining novel from a couple of years ago, 2 Sisters Detective Agency, which proved to be a particularly exciting read.  As such, I am always quite excited when I find out details about some of Fox’s upcoming books and 2024 is shaping up to be a pretty major year for Fox with two awesome sounding books coming out.

The first of these is The Murder Inn, which Fox is once again co-authoring with James Patterson.  The sequel to their previous collaboration, The Inn, which follows the unusual inhabitants of a seaside in, including its former police officer owner, as they get caught up in a dangerous series of events.  The Murder Inn is set for release in February 2024 and looks like it will feature another great story, this time featuring two killers coming to the titular inn and raising hell.  The Murder Inn sounds like a pretty awesome read and I look forward to seeing what fantastic fun these two great authors come up with next.

The Murder Inn Cover

Amazon

Plot Synopsis:

In this thrilling follow-up to the international bestseller THE INN, past mistakes come back to haunt the friends and residents of The Inn by the Sea.

It’s the perfect getaway. But the past will always find you . . .

Since leaving the Boston Police Department, Bill Robinson has run The Inn by the Sea in Gloucester, Massachusetts. There he offers a safe and supportive home for his long-term guests.

That tranquil life, however, is about to be shattered.

Two murderers are heading to Bill’s door.

One needs his help to evade the cops. The other plans to kill again to silence the truth.

Standing in their way are the residents of the Inn. And not everyone will get out alive.

In addition to her collaboration with Patterson, Fox also has a standalone novel coming out in 2024 with Devil’s Kitchen.  Set for release shortly after The Murder Inn, Devil’s Kitchen has a brilliant sounding plot behind it about a heist crew made up of firefighters and the women who joins them trying to bring them down.  Fox has always been good at coming up with elaborate or unique thriller concepts for her books and Devil’s Kitchen sounds like a particularly cool one that I’m very keen to check out.

Devil's Kitchen Cover

Amazon

Plot Synopsis:

Candice Fox’s latest thriller is the definition of nailbiter, as a female agent goes undercover in a New York firefighting crew that is far more dangerous than the fires they fight.

When a city’s heroes become its boldest criminals . . .

For years the firefighters of New York’s Engine 99 have rushed fearlessly into hot zones, saving countless lives and stopping devastating blazes in their tracks.

They’ve also stolen millions from banks, jewellery stores and art galleries. With their inside knowledge and specialist equipment they’ve become the most successful heist crew on the East Coast.

Their newest member, Andrea ‘Andy’ Nearland, is not what she seems either. She’s an undercover operative, hunting the men of Engine 99 for a host of crimes – including the murder of an off-duty cop and the disappearance of a mother and child.

As the clock counts down to the gang’s most daring heist yet, loyalties begin to fray and mistrust boils over. Andy’s career is all smoke and mirrors, but infiltrating this crew of ‘heroes’ might prove her most dangerous job of all . . .

As you can see, Candice Fox fans have a pretty big year coming up in 2024 as this amazing Australian author has two great offerings for us, including one with the always impressive James Patterson.  Both The Murder Inn and Devil’s Kitchen sound extremely epic and it looks like I’m going to get a major crime fiction fix early next year.

Throwback Thursday – Ghost Story by Jim Butcher

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday5 Comments

Ghost Story Cover

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 4 August 2011)

Series: Dresden Files – Book 13

Length: 17 hours and 36 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

So by this point in my explosion of Throwback Thursday articles I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I have been really enjoying the epic Dresden Files series lately.  This amazing series has so much going for it, and after listening to and reviewing Small Favour, Turncoat and Changes, I honestly had no choice but to dive into the 13th entry in the series, Ghost Story, especially as it continued on from a great cliffhanger at the end of Changes, and boy am I glad that I did.

Harry Dresden is dead.  Brutally and suddenly gunned down following his victory over the Red Court of vampires and his decision to sell his soul to Queen Mab, Dresden’s life is over, and his body is lost to the murky depths of Lake Michigan.  However, nothing is ever simple for Chicago’s only professional wizard and supernatural protector, and even his own death proves to be far too complicated for his own good.

Waking up in spiritual realm between life and death, Dresden is given an option to travel back to Chicago as ghost to clear up his irregular death.  If he manages to find out who killed him, he may save the lives of the friends he left behind, but if he fails, he will be wiped from existence completely.  Determined to save those he loved, Dresden elects to return home and finds himself back in his city, but in the six months he has been away, everything has changed.

Without his protection, Chicago has become a target of deadly dark powers wishing to capitalise on the destruction of the Red Court.  Worse, his allies have each been affected by his death, and their attempts to keep Chicago safe in his absence have led many of them upon a dark path.  Determined to save who he can, Dresden calls upon the services of ectomancer Mortimer Lindquist.  However, Mortimer is facing his own difficulties as a sinister force seeks to capture him using an army of dark spirits.  To help Mortimer and his friends, and to discover who has behind his death, Dresden will need to master his new ghostly abilities and face down some of the deadliest creatures stalking the afterlife of Chicago.  But even if he succeeds, is the remnants of Dresden’s soul ready for the dark truths and hidden secrets lurking just around the corner?

Well damn, the further I get in this series the more I appreciate just how good an author Jim Butcher is.  Ghost Story is another exceptional and epic Dresden Files book, and it might be one of the very best things he has ever written.  A dark and complex character-focused tale that places its protagonist is his most unique situation yet, Ghost Story has so much going for it, and I loved every second I spent reading it.

Ghost Story probably has one of the most unique and memorable narratives in the entire Dresden Files series, primarily because the protagonist and narrator is dead.  Cleverly following on from the intense cliffhanger of Changes, in which Dresden gets shot and killed in the final scene of the book, Ghost Story sees Dresden’s shade sent back to Chicago six months later to solve his own murder.  The initial scenes of Ghost Story are pretty interesting, and I quite liked how Butcher set up the scenario and reinforced it with the book’s first major action sequence at Mortimer Lindquist’s house, where the protagonist learns some of the rules about being a spirit and has his first encounter with the book’s antagonist.  The story really takes off when Dresden meets up with all his old friends and sees how much things have changed since his death.  The emotional damage his murder has caused is pretty damn moving, and the unintended consequences of his victory against the Red Court serve as a good set-up for some new long-running storylines.

The narrative from here continues at a brisk pace as Dresden attempts to simultaneously solve his murder, aid his lost apprentice, help a bunch of street kids being controlled by a minor sorcerer, and save Mortimer from a dangerous entity.  The last one proves to be the major storyline of the book, especially as it involves an old foe of Dresden’s, and the protagonist is forced to use all his limited ghost powers to save him.  This leads to several intense and distinctively dark set pieces, including a memorable storming of the beaches, an invisible ghost duel, and some major sacrifices.  The final confrontation of the book is very impressive, especially as it helps to reveal the full truth behind Dresden’s murder.  Butcher was really clever in setting this up big reveal, and I thought it was very fitting and complex, especially as it ties nicely to some events in Changes and hints at some great evils yet to come.  The scenes that follow are some of the best and most emotionally charged, as many of the characters get closure, and you get to see just how important Dresden is to his friends and family.  In some ways I kind of wish that Butcher ended series here, as there was a certain finality to some of the storylines that I really appreciated.  However, I’m also not upset that Butcher chose to continue the Dresden Files even further, and the inevitable scene returning Dresden to life was handled extremely well, setting up a whole new course for the protagonist.

I really liked how effectively Butcher wrote Ghost Story so that it had a different feel to most of the other Dresden Files books.  Thanks to the protagonist’s ghostly form, there is less traditional action and adventure, although Dresden compensates for this by bringing in a lot more world building and a lot of emotional character moments.  Thanks to the situation of the protagonist and the general gloomy atmosphere of the current setting, this is a much more subdued and grimmer Dresden Files novel than you might be used to.  Luckily, Butcher does try to break through this darker content with Dresden’s usual humour, which helped to lighten up some of the other characters in the book.  The usual investigative elements are still strongly represented here, especially as Dresden has to find his own killer, and I really enjoyed how the protagonist’s new limitations forced him to think about the case in new ways.  The main mystery is set up extremely well throughout this book, with clues hidden both in Ghost Story and Changes.  I particularly appreciated how the subtle absence or mention of a recurring character ended up being a clue, and it’s a brilliant bit of writing once you understand it.  Butcher really got the right blend of story elements here in Ghost Story, and I liked how he made the book a bit darker while still allowing established readers the sense of familiarity to keep them going.  These excellent writing decisions really enhanced the overall impact of the book, especially when combined with the exceptional character work and intriguing new fantasy elements.

Ghost Story is honestly one of the most significant entries in the entire Dresden Files series, not only because it resolves the cliffhanger from the previous novel but because it starts to change the status quo of the series’ wider world.  A lot of major ongoing storylines start in Ghost Story, and the six-month gap between Changes and Ghost Story also results in some intriguing changes to the main setting and supporting cast.  These changes are pretty jarring for established fans but are really clever, and I liked the darker picture of the world they painted.  Unlike most of the books in the Dresden Files series, Ghost Story really should not be read as a standalone novel or an entry into the series.  While Butcher does do his usual excellent recaps, there are just too many big story elements going on in Ghost Story for it to be an effective launchpad for new readers.  The emotional impact of the character interactions will also be reduced for those unfamiliar with the characters, and the big reveal at the end also loses a lot of punch if you haven’t read Changes.

One of the things that I really enjoyed about Ghost Story was the way in which Butcher worked some cool new fantasy elements into the story.  The spiritual world and the undead aren’t unfamiliar concepts to the series, especially with previous entries like Grave Peril and Dead Beat, but Ghost Story takes it in a whole new fascinating direction with Dresden’s death and return as a spirt.  This transformation forces Dresden to learn about spirits and ghosts extremely quickly, especially when he needs to utilise all his new abilities to save his friends.  This proves to be an excellent and complex inclusion, and Butcher does an amazing job of completely changing the abilities of his protagonist for an entire book.  The resultant changes and new talents are very cool, and I loved the dive into what ghosts are and how they can affect the world around them.  It also allows for some impressive scenes, and it was a lot of fun seeing pitched battles between ghostly magical practitioners while the mortals are completely unaware.  Throw in some intriguing new long-term baddies, the Fomor, and some new abilities for established characters, and Ghost Stories proves to be a book where Butcher was at his most inventive.

As with all the Dresden Files novels, one of the key highlights of Ghost Story is the excellent characters and the elaborate personal stories that Butcher weaves around them.  The characters arcs in Ghost Story are particularly poignant and moving, even compared to Butcher’s usual high emotional standard, as the lingering impacts of the protagonist’s death drive many of them to do things they would never expect.

Naturally, most of the focus returns to protagonist Harry Dresden, who experiences some major life changes after dying.  Despite losing his physical body, Dresden maintains much of his usual drive, humour and general disrespect for all the dangerous and scary creatures out there, and if there were ever a character who would excel as a nosey and noble ghost, it would be Dresden.  However, despite his outer façade of good cheer and comedic charm, Dresden is experiencing a great deal of emotional turmoil, because of both the events of the previous books and his regrets of leaving those close to him behind.  There are some brilliant examinations of the pure guilt he feels, especially around his destructive choices in Changes and their impact on his friends.  Despite all this, Dresden is still his usual bold and determined self, and I had an excellent time watching him come to terms with his spiritual nature and his new abilities.  Dresden had to be a lot more passive in this book, which honestly drove him a little crazy at times, and it was an interesting change of pace to see him so helpless.  Butcher also used this book to dive back into Dresden’s past, providing us with some intriguing looks at his early adventures, including his first traumatic apprenticeship, which has been mentioned but not fully explored until now.  I really enjoyed how Dresden was portrayed in this book, especially as Butcher wrote some particularly emotional and hard-hitting scenes for him, and this was one of his most unique adventures.  I look forward to seeing what happens to him next, especially as he comes to terms with certain new facts of his life in the rest of the series.

While Dresden does get a lot of compelling and emotionally rich development in Ghost Story, I really need to highlight how exceptionally well Butcher featured several of his key supporting characters in this novel.  Many of the characters the reader has grown to know and love throughout the course of this series really change in Ghost Story, especially as they have all had to spend six months dealing with the death of Dresden and the crazy world that developed in his absence.  There is some outstanding and brilliant development here as a result, and I really appreciated how effectively Butcher examined the impacts of grief, anger and guilt.

This excellent development can be particularly seen in the character of Karrin Murphey, who, after losing her position in the police and her potential romantic partner in Dresden, was forced into a dangerous war to keep Chicago safe from supernatural threats.  The resulting fights made her a lot more dangerous and unforgiving than we’ve previously seen, especially as she barely manages to keep her grief and anger contained.  The always fun Waldo Butters also grows up a lot for Ghost Story, especially now he is the holder of Bob the Skull.  Butters honestly becomes a better character with each appearance in the series, and it was great to see him being a more determined and bold figure here to try and live up to Dresden’s example.  I also really loved how well Butcher featured the character of Mortimer Lindquist in Ghost Story, as he had a sizeable role here.  A somewhat minor figure from several of the previous Dresden Files novels, Mortimer has been slowly growing into a better person with each appearance, something attributed to Dresden’s influence.  However, Ghost Story is the book were he finally shines, as you get some real insights into his abilities and heart.  While he might not be a traditional heroic figure, he does his best in this book, especially when it comes to helping the lost spirits of Chicago, and I really enjoyed how Butcher featured him, and his ghostly companions, in this novel.

While I loved all the work for the characters above, the most impactful and tragic character development revolves around the fascinating character of Molly Carpenter, Dresden’s wizard apprentice.  Molly has always been a potentially dangerous figure due to her talent for mental magic.  However, the loss of Dresden drives her off the deep end as her guilt and sorrow turn her into something a lot more dangerous and unhinged.  Molly ends up becoming the murderous, magical vigilante, the Rag Lady, to scare sinister creatures away from Chicago, and begins living on the streets, untrusted by her former friends.  This is such a powerful and surprising transformation from her previous appearances, although it’s not too surprising considering some of the darker things she’s done in the past.  Butcher does an exceptional job of diving into her grief, her growing power, and the reasons behind her actions, and it is very heartbreaking to see Molly go down such a dark path.  The full extent of her mental issues is a major part of the book’s plot, and I think that Molly had some of the best development in this whole emotionally charged novel.

As with all the other Dresden Files novels I enjoyed, I made sure to check out Ghost Story on audiobook, which frankly never fails to impress me.  Coming in with a runtime of just over 17 and a half hours, Ghost Story is one of the longer Dresden Files audiobooks, but you really don’t mind as Butcher packed so much awesome moments into this complex story.  Interestingly enough, Ghost Story is the only Dresden Files audiobook that has two separate versions to it, as actor John Glover provided the narration for the first version before James Marsters narrated a second edition a few years later.  While I did love John Glover in Smallville, I decided to listen to the Marsters version, mainly because I have gotten so used to him over the previous 12 Dresden Files audiobooks.  Marsters of course was exceptional here, and his particularly emotional and heartfelt performance in Ghost Story really highlights why he is one of my favourite audiobook narrators at the moment.  There is honestly no better way to enjoy a Dresden Files novel than by having it read out by James Marsters, and this format comes very highly recommended.

Overall, the fourth and final Dresden Files novel I review here today, Ghost Story, was an impressive and highly captivating read, especially when it comes to powerful characters and intriguing fantasy changes as Jim Butcher really showcased his writing skills here.  Exciting, emotionally charged and featuring a very different story than fans are used to, Ghost Story is one of the strongest books Butcher has ever written, and I was hooked the entire way through.  I honestly cannot express just how epic and awesome this series is at times, and I look forward to getting through the last few Dresden Files novels in the coming months.

Amazon

Throwback Thursday – Turn Coat by Jim Butcher

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Audiobook, Fantasy, Five-Star Books, Throwback Thursday4 Comments

Turn Coat Cover

Publisher: Penguin Audio (Audiobook – 7 April 2009)

Series: Dresden Files – Book 11

Length: 14 hours and 36 minutes

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

It’s a Dresden Files multi-feature today! In addition to reviewing Small Favour, I also check out the 11th book in the series, Turn Coat.

As I mentioned in my other post tonight, I have been in a real Dresden Files mood recently.  Thanks to how much fun I had with Small Favour, I immediately started listening to the 11th entry in the series, Turn Coat, which was another excellent novel.  I managed to finish off Turn Coat in a couple of days, and it proved to be another amazing entry in the series, tying up several long-running storylines while diving into some of the unique relationships surrounding the protagonist.

Throughout his entire magical career, professional wizard Harry Dresden has been feared and despised by the White Council of Wizard after killing his crazed mentor with magic.  Despite his crime being in self-defence, Dresden was watched and harassed for most of his life by a Warden of the White Council tasked with slicing his head off if he showed any dark magical inclinations.  The man who so relentlessly watched him was the implacable Warden Morgan, who still suspects Dresden of dark magic to this day.  So when Morgan shows up wounded at Dresden’s apartment asking for help, Dresden is reluctant to provide it.

Morgan has been accused of betraying the White Council and murdering one of its most senior members.  Despite the long history of hatred, Dresden agrees to help him, fully aware that Morgan is incapable of committing the acts he is accused of.  But by sheltering Morgan, Dresden has made himself a target of the White Council, and the only way to survive is to identify the real murderer before Morgan is discovered.

Digging into the case, Dresden soon uncovers an insidious conspiracy that threatens the fragile stability of the White Council and the world of magic it governs.  Forced to face off against friends, mercenaries, rogue vampires and one of the most dangerous mystical creatures in existence, a skinwalker, Dresden finds himself walking a razor’s edge.  If he succeeds, he could start a civil war within the White Council, but if he fails, he will be executed alongside Morgan.  With danger all around, can Dresden survive both his enemies and his own complicated feelings for Morgan?

This was a very interesting and compelling entry in the Dresden Files series, and I had quite a bit of fun with it.  Unlike the preceding novel, Small Favour, Turn Coat has a bit of a slower pace to it, and there is more of a focus on conspiracy, mystery and character growth rather than full on action.  The story has a very strong start, especially as Butcher brings back one of the more complex supporting characters: Morgan.  A lot of the story revolves around the contentious history between Dresden and Morgan, and the powerful tension between them makes for some excellent moments in the story.  I liked the central premise of Dresden attempting to uncover a conspiracy at the heart of the White Council and it follows up several key storylines from the rest of the series.  The shadowy plot that emerges is very intriguing, and the mixture of players, as well as a particularly terrifying antagonist, really ensures that the story is highly compelling the entire way through.  Everything leads up to the big fight sequence at the end of the book quite nicely and it was fun to see the unusual array of Dresden’s allies face off against a dangerous and deadly force.  The following big reveal of who the real antagonist of the story is was also very well set up and quite clever, although I was able to figure out the culprit some time in advance.  Still, this really didn’t detract from the impact of the reveal and the subsequent tragic events really hit the reader hard.  Butcher ends Turn Coat on a troubled and tragic note, with more questions than answers, and I quite enjoyed the darker, less hopeful tone that emerged as a result.

Butcher applied his typical writing style to Turn Coat, which I greatly appreciated, especially as it makes jumping from book to book in the series easy when I’m in the mood for something familiar to escape into.  Thanks to Butcher’s great continued use of the first-person perspective, you get a complex and intense story in Turn Coat, especially as much of the narrative focussed on Dresden’s hunt for the traitor and his other personal issues.  The protagonist’s usual glib outlook on life helped to provide much of the book’s humour, which melded well with the compelling fantasy and investigation elements of the book.  Butcher made Turn Coat particularly dark in places, and the haunting depictions of certain creatures and the inherent tragedy of much of the plot helped Turn Coat really stand out.  I personally enjoyed how well Butcher expanded the lore surrounding the White Council and the subsequent magical politics and backstabbing that emerged was a fascinating inclusion.  As with most of the Dresden Files books, Turn Coat can be read as a standalone novel or a starting point to the larger series, although much of the enjoyment of this 11th book relies on the continuation of key storylines and character arcs from the previous novels.  However, Butcher does an outstanding job of rehashing key events and characters were needed, so it is very easy to follow along if you start here.

I once again need to highlight some of the amazing characters featured in Turn Coat, each of whom expertly enhance the overall story.  Obviously, Dresden gets most of focus in Turn Coat and he proves to be as entertaining and enraging as usual.  Dresden has quite a lot of emotional baggage to unpack here, especially when it comes to his past with Morgan, and their hostility and inability to agree on the White Council and the laws of magic makes for some excellent scenes.  That being said, it is clear that Dresden has grown a lot as a person and a mentor by this point in the series, and his ability to plan ahead and outthink his opponents is quite impressive.  Thanks to how the story unfolds, the intriguing and harsh character Morgan got quite a lot of focus and I was really glad to see more of him here in Turn Coat.  Morgan has only had a few appearances in the series and is usually treated as a secondary antagonist thanks to his hostile attitude towards Dresden.  Butcher spends much of Turn Coat unpacking Morgan’s personality, and you finally get to understand why he’s so strict and concerned about dark wizardry.  The scenes featuring both Dresden and Morgan are some of the best in the book, and I deeply appreciated how Butcher was able to both expand upon and wrap up their turbulent relationship here.

Aside from Dresden and Morgan, Turn Coat also features an outstanding and compelling supporting cast, each of whom adds a lot to the overall story.  Recurring characters Molly Carpenter and Thomas Raith each get a great focus in Turn Coat for different reasons, with Molly trying to deal with the inherent prejudice of the White Council against her and Dresden, while Thomas is tortured for a good part of the book and reverts to his baser instincts.  Dresden’s current love interest, Anastasia Luccio, also has a great outing in Turn Coat, and certain elements of her emotional state prove quite vital to the story in some clever and quite tragic ways.  Dresden’s giant dog, Mouse, who is always a scene stealer, has some fantastic moments in Turn Coat, especially when he proves to be the only intelligent adult in the room when it comes to Molly, Morgan and Luccio.  There are also some great scenes featuring small pixie Toot-Toot and wizard elder Listens-to-Wind, who are very entertaining and fun in their own ways.  Finally, I really need to highlight one of the more sinister figures of the book, the skinwalker (also known as a Naagloshii), a Native American spirit who bursts into the scene by driving Dresden insane with fear.  Butcher did an amazing job building them up as a mega shapeshifting threat quite early in the story, and their powerful abilities and dark nature really comes across throughout the entire story.  These characters and more each added so much to the story and I had an amazing time seeing all of them get even further developed by this talented author.

As with Small Favour and the other Dresden Files books I have enjoyed over the years, I chose to grab the audiobook version of Turn Coat, which is just the best way to enjoy this amazing novel.  Thanks to the narration of the always talented James Marsters, Turn Coat was a real joy to listen to, and I love how well Marsters dives into the various characters.  His fun takes on many of the figures, especially protagonist Harry Dresden, are just perfect, and you must appreciate how well he knows all of the cast at this point.  Marsters does a lot of fantastic voices in Turn Coat, although I particularly enjoyed the voice he used for new character Binder, who sounds an awful lot like a certain blonde vampire from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.  I absolutely powered through this outstanding audiobook, and despite its 14 and a half hour run time, I managed to listen to it in an enjoyable two days.  Easily to best way to enjoy a Dresden Files novel, you will not be disappointed by the Turn Coat audiobook.

As you can no doubt tell from the gushy review about, I had a lot of fun with Turn Coat, and it was an outstanding addition to one of the very best fantasy series out there.  Slick, emotionally rich and building on some amazing long-running storylines, Turn Coat had so much going for it that I honestly could not put it down.  Heck, thanks to how awesome both Turn Coat and Small Favour was, I listened to yet another Dresden Files book, Changes, which I am also featuring today.  This is such an epic series, and Turn Coat is another five-star read that I cannot recommend enough.

Amazon

Quick Review – The Pit by Peter Papathanasiou

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Drama, LGBT+, Murder Mystery, Quick Review3 Comments

The Pit Cover

Publisher: Maclehose Press (Trade Paperback – 25 July 2023)

Series: DS George Manolis – Book Three

Length: 297 pages

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Australian author Peter Papathanasiou returns with his third DS George Manolis novel, The Pit, a complex and intriguing piece of Australian crime fiction that takes three unlikely companions on a memorable road trip.

Plot Synopsis:

A third outback noir from Peter Papathanasiou, following Special Constable Sparrow as he investigates a cold case in a barren mining region of Western Australia.

With DS Manolis on leave in Greece, Senior Constable Sparrow receives a phone call from a man who wants to turn himself in.

Bob is sixty-five years old, confined to a Perth nursing home. But thirty years ago, he killed a man in the remote northern Kimberley mining region. He offers to show Sparrow where the body is, but there’s a catch: Sparrow must travel north with him under the guise of being his carer.

They are accompanied on the drive by another nursing home resident: Luke, thirty years old, paralysed in a motorbike accident. As they embark on their road trip through the guts of Western Australia, pursued by outback police and adrenaline-soaked miners, Sparrow begins to suspect that Bob’s desire to head north may have sinister motivations. Is Luke being held against his will? And what lies in store for them when they reach their goal?


The Pit proved to be quite an interesting and compelling novel which honestly was very different from what I was expecting.  I thought this would be more of a standard crime fiction/murder mystery novel in the Australian wilderness, but instead I got a character driven story that dove into one protagonist’s complex life, and I honestly think it worked out better this way.

The plot of The Pit is very far removed from Papathanasiou’s previous DS George Manolis novels, with the protagonist of the first two books not even actually appearing.  Instead we get an intriguing story about supporting character Special Constable Sparrow, who finds himself presented with an unusual opportunity by an old man, Bob, wanting to confess to a 30-year-old murder.  While I do think that Sparrow agreed to Bob’s strange request without backup a little too readily, it sets up an interesting and heartfelt storyline where Sparrow accompanies Bob and Bob’s unsuspecting young protégé, Luke, across Western Australia into the heart of mining country.  The narrative splits into two separate timelines at this point, with the main narrative focusing on the three companions as they travel across the Pilbara, getting into all manner of trouble and meeting a range of outrageous and unique outback locals.  The other main storyline is a series of intense flashbacks that examine the full life of Bob and the many hardships he experienced as a homosexual man in Australia from the 1960s onwards.  There is also a subplot that follows the friendship Bob formed with Luke in the nursing home and why Bob decided to take him on the road trip.

These different fantastic storylines are interesting and emotional in their own way, and the reader gets heavily invested in seeing both the past and the present.  Bob’s tragic and violent life story really drags the reader in, and it was fascinating to see his take on the homosexual experience throughout various periods of recent Australian history.  At the same time, you get quite entranced by the unique friendship that forms between the three road trippers, especially as each of them has their own secrets, personal issues and emotional turmoil.  I felt that the darker past storylines blended well with the unusual hijinks of the modern storyline, and the hidden clues in Bob’s recounting of events ended up having some interesting impacts on the central story.  These split storylines come together in an excellent way, and Papathanasiou really lays on the tragedy in the main narrative threads, especially when it comes to Bob and the tragedies he’s experienced.  The ending of the book is quietly poignant and ultimately unavoidable, and you will come away quite moved by how everything turned out and how the main characters developed.

Papathanasiou backed up this emotionally rich story with some fantastic and highly detailed background settings.  The Pilbara in particular is shown in all its red glory, and the author does a remarkable job describing its harsh beauty and the heavy burden of those who traverse it.  The anecdotes about the unusual people who worked in the Pilbara, both in the modern day and in the 1970s and 80s, are pretty over-the-top and very entertaining to absorb.  I do hope that Papathanasiou was exaggerating just how crazy everyone out in the Pilbara is, as there were a lot of unsettling and concerning characters involved who added some interesting spice to the story.  The memorable social interactions and courtship rituals of the repressed male Pilbara mining community back in the 1970s also seemed a bit unlikely, and I doubt I will be able look at a ute full of blokes the same way again after reading this book.  These outrageous scenes were quite entertaining, and I think they helped to enhance some of the more emotional parts of the book in greater detail.  Throw in other interesting historical locations, such as Sydney during the AIDS epidemic, and you have a fantastic background to this intense story that Papathanasiou used to full effect to tell his unique story.

Overall, The Pit was quite a memorable and compelling read by Papathanasiou, who told quite a complex Australian tale.  As a dramatic Australian tale with historical elements more than a pure crime fiction read, The Pit was a fantastic book that beautifully dove into some dark issues and showcased some amazing characters.  Charming and heartbreaking, The Pit was an excellent piece of Australian fiction that is well worth checking out.

Amazon

Throwback Thursday – Mr Mercedes by Stephen King

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Five-Star Books, Thriller, Throwback Thursday16 Comments

Mr Mercedes Cover 1

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Paperback – 3 June 2014)

Series: Bill Hodges – Book One

Length: 407 pages

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Welcome back to my Throwback Thursday series, where I republish old reviews, review books I have read before or review older books I have only just had a chance to read. Is this week’s Throwback Thursday, I am going back to some of the older works of the legendary Stephen King lately, starting with his compelling and intense psychological thriller, Mr Mercedes, an excellent and captivating read that I had an outstanding time reading.

I have to admit that I don’t have a lot of experience with Stephen King’s books, having only read some of his more recent releases, such as Later, Billy Summers (one of my favourite novels of 2021), and Fairy Tale.  However, I have been keeping an eye out for King’s upcoming novels, including his next book, Holly, which is out very soon.  In preparation for Holly’s release, I decided to go back and read an earlier King novel, Mr Mercedes, especially as it serves as the introduction of the titular character from the upcoming book, and boy was I glad to try this fantastic novel out.

On a dark and cold morning in a depressed mid-western city, a desperate crowd gathers outside a jobs fair, hoping to turn their lives around.  However, many never got the chance, as a lone driver in a stolen Mercedes drives into the crowd, killing eight people and wounding more, before managing to escape.  This gruesome crime has haunted the community, and especially detective Bill Hodges, who was unable to catch the “Mercedes Killer” before he retired.

Years later, Hodges is living the solitary and depressed life of a former police officer who has seen too much.  Barely managing to get through each day, Hodges is suddenly revitalised when he receives a disturbing letter from someone claiming to be the Mercedes Killer.  Now more determined than ever to hunt down this killer and bring him to justice, Hodges jump-starts an unofficial investigation, hoping that his prey’s decision to contact him will be his biggest mistake.

Hodges’s new search leads him back to the owner of the Mercedes, who committed suicide from the guilt of her car being used in such a horrendous attack.  Teaming up with the dead woman’s sister and a band of unlikely helpers, Hodges begins to finally unravel the case.  However, the Mercedes Killer is a far more dangerous prey than Hodges ever realised.  Not only is he obsessed with killing Hodges, but he also has a nefarious plan that will rock the city to its core.  Can Hodges finally defeat his nemesis before it is too late, or will the Mercedes Killer once again get away with an outrageous act of violence?

This was a very impressive novel from King, who masterfully explores the psychological thriller genre the way only he can.  Featuring some powerful and complex characters, an elaborate cat-and-mouse plot, and King’s intense and addictive writing style, Mr Mercedes is a masterful novel that proves near impossible to put down.

I loved the powerful and captivating story that King pulled together for Mr Mercedes, as the author really dives into this dark story in a big way.  Starting with the gruesome and over-the-top Mercedes killing, which definitely sets the scene for much of the book, the main plot begins years later, with the retired Bill Hodges receiving a letter from the Mercedes Killer, who is attempting to persuade Hodges to kill himself.  However, Hodges instead enters into an off-the-books investigation, attempting to goad the Mercedes Killer into making a mistake while also connecting with the sister of the case’s key witness.  Half the book also focuses on the character of Brady Hartfield, the Mercedes Killer, who has become obsessed with ending Hodges, while also launching a new attack.  Disturbed, and determined to win, Brady’s perspective adds a great narrative edge to Mr Mercedes, and you are soon swept up in his complex emotional journey, especially once he realises that Hodges is on his tail.

The plot develops at a pretty fast and compelling pace, and you swiftly get drawn into each perspective character’s unique view on life and the grizzly events unfolding around them.  King really focuses on the dark and damaged minds of each of his characters, and the ongoing narrative is littered with compelling and fascinating dives into each of their pasts and the events that led them to where they are now.  The author also introduces several great supporting characters, each of whom adds their own unique elements to the book, whether it’s by helping Hodges with his investigation or by adding to the emotional fire that burns within both main characters.  Most of the story is devoted to the cat-and-mouse chase between Hodges and Brady, especially as they come closer and closer to confronting each other and digging at each other’s psyche.  King really moves the story along in the second half, thanks to a massive moment that really shatters the somewhat comfortable narrative that had been building at that point.  Everything leads up to the big and inevitable conclusion, as Brady attempts to unleash his master plan and Hodges and his allies close in on him.  This big confrontation is pretty damn interesting and intense, especially as a surprising third party takes the lead, but it leaves a fantastic and satisfying conclusion that readers will deeply appreciate and will leave you wanting more of the great characters and King’s unique style.

This awesome story was well backed up by King’s uncanny and wonderful writing style, and he really had me hooked the entire way through.  While early parts of the book where a tad slow in places, especially as King was building up the main two characters, once the full psychological dance between Hodges and the Mercedes Killer truly begins, you really cannot pull away from this great novel.  The mounting tension as these characters make their respective plays is so damn effective, and you get drawn into the dark mental battle between them.  King’s use of multiple perspectives really helps to enhance the brilliant story, and the captivating look into all the key characters’ minds is such an essential part of the book that it proves hard to turn away from these tragic and damaged figures.  I honestly could not put this book down in places, especially the last third, as the tension, emotional power and tragedy that King had built up by then was extremely palpable.  This was probably one of the better King novels I have read so far, especially as it had an excellent conclusion that fit the earlier themes of the book, and I deeply appreciated how well he explored the darker areas of the mind.

As I mentioned above, one of the main highlights of Mr Mercedes were the complex and highly damaged characters that were such a vital part of the plot.  King always excels at effectively utilising impressive and highly realistic character driven narratives in his books, and Mr Mercedes was no exception to this.  The major figures featured in this book were also highly unique and complex in their own way, often with some distinctive and understandable psychological damage that defines them and which they spend much of the book trying to overcome.  These highly personal and compelling character elements were really well woven into Mr Mercedes’ plot, and you really get drawn into each character’s own damaged journeys, as well as the intriguing relationships that they form.

The main character of Mr Mercedes is retired police detective Bill Hodges, who serves as a dogged and solid protagonist.  A rugged and tired figure who has seen too much, Hodges was an awesome retired cop character, and King did an outstanding job of capturing his loneliness and regret, especially in the early stages of the book.  However, this burns away when the killer contacts him, and he once again has a purpose.  I felt that this change in character focus was very well done and you easily understand why he dives back in the case, desperate to solve that one lingering case.  While initially driven by obsession, Hodges soon develops more reasons to live, as he connects with several of the other characters in the book and each connection makes him want to live that little bit more.  It was also interesting to see him revisit and reflect on his previous actions as a police officer, especially when he connects with the family of the witness he falsely accused of negligence, and the insights and empathy he develops now he is no longer a cop is quite touching.  You really grow to appreciate Hodges as a character as the book continues, especially as you see him once again enjoying life, and King’s portrayal of a man who suddenly rediscovers his purpose is very well done.  Of course, this opens him up to even greater tragedy, and watching him suffer cuts you to the core.  Thanks to the television adaptation of the book, I could only envision Hodges as Brendon Gleeson, which I think fit the depictions shown in the book, and I really enjoyed seeing this gruff, no-nonsense figure in action.

I also really need to highlight the excellent work that King puts into creating the antagonist of Mr Mercedes, Brady Hartfield, the titular Mercedes Killer.  I have read many good villains of the years, but frankly, the Mercedes Killer was one of the best, mainly because of how quickly and effectively King makes you despise him.  King does such a good job of introducing and utilising the character of Hartfield throughout Mr Mercedes, and his dual life and obsession with Hodges become a key part of his chapters.  The character’s sheer arrogance, distain and disregard for human life are so well written, and you understand just how deranged and damaged Hartfield is in just a few pages of his introduction.  King does take the time to build up Hartfield as a character, showcasing his traumatic past, formulative family events and unsettling relationship with his mother, all of which helps the reader understand how he become the monster he currently is and why he does the things he does.  However, even with that, it proves very hard to find any sympathy for the character, especially as every scene of his features an arrogant and hateful internal diatribe about the people he encounters and the world around him.  I deeply appreciated how King was able to capture Hartfield’s sociopathic superiority complex and inherent sense of greater intelligence with his writing, and it was such a key part of Hartfield’s character.  This ensures that when things do not go his way or when he is outsmarted by Hodges, a man he views as his inferior, he takes it badly, and watching Hodges manipulate Hartfield this way was a fantastic part of the book.  This is honestly one of the better King villains I have so far had the pleasure of reading and his obsession with Hodges and being the smartest man in the room, was so damn well written.

Aside from the main perspective characters of Hodges and Hartfield, King also features several other intriguing figures in Mr Mercedes who also add a great deal to the plot in a supporting role.  I personally really enjoyed the character of Janelle Patterson, who serves as Hodges’ main love interest.  Janelle was a feisty and highly likeable figure in the book, and I actually really enjoyed the heartfelt connection she formed with Hodges, especially as they filled an emotional hole in each other’s lives.  Janelle’s self-involved sister, Olivia Trelawney, also proves to be a great inclusion, despite being dead by the time the main plot starts.  King builds her into a complex and tragic figure, and it was intriguing to see her sense of reality combat with guilt and despair in several flashback scenes.  Jerome, the wisecracking teenager who serves as Hodges’s assistant and tech support added some great humour to the story, and his loyalty to Hodges ensured the reader grew quite attached to him, while also getting worried as Hartfield circled around.  However, probably the most unique supporting character was Holly Gibney, who, as I mentioned above, is getting her own spin-off story soon.  Initially shown as emotionally damaged and barely able to function, Holly doesn’t strike you as having protagonist potential.  However, thanks to her bond with Hodges and certain shocking events breaking her out of her trauma shell, Holly ends up becoming a key supporting figure, able to assist in the case due to her unique insights and life experiences.  Despite only being in the book for a relatively short amount of time, Holly really shines through as a complex and exciting figure who the reader quickly gravitates to.  As such, by the end of the book you very much understand why Holly goes on to become her own protagonist, and I look forward to seeing how much she further developed when I grab King’s next novel.

Overall, Mr Mercedes was just as good as I had been led to believe, if not better.  Stephen King did a masterful job with this powerful and captivating dark psychological thriller, and I got so wrapped up in the awesome battle of damaged minds that emerged.  Featuring an excellent story, some exceptionally complex protagonists, and King’s infallible character-focused writing style, Mr Mercedes was a joy to read from start to finish, and I have to give it a full five-star rating as a result.  I cannot wait to dive into King’s next book, Holly, when I get my hands on it in the next week, and I have no doubt that will also blow me away.

Mr Mercedes Book Two

Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday – The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Murder Mystery, Waiting on Wednesday6 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I look at the next upcoming entry in one of my favourite crime fiction series with The Ghost Orchid by Jonathan Kellerman.

The Ghost Orchid Cover

Amazon

Over the last few years I have found myself getting attached to several great long-running crime fiction or thriller series, most of which have spoken to me in their own specific ways.  One of the most surprising for me has to be the iconic Alex Delaware series from acclaimed author Jonathan Kellerman, which has been going for nearly 40 years, but is still going strong.

The Alex Delaware books follows the team of psychologist Alex Delaware and his police friend, Detective Milo Sturgis, as they investigate a series of unique murders through LA.  The Alex Delaware novels turned out to be a pretty inclusive series that you can start reading at any point, and all of them have featured some outstanding and clever mysteries.  I have so far had the pleasure of reading The Wedding Guest, The Museum of Desire, Serpentine, City of the Dead and Unnatural History.  Each of these books has been fun and compelling in their own fantastic way, and I have really got drawn into each of their distinctive cases.

Due to have intriguing and entertaining each of the previous Alex Delaware novels have been, this series is now a permanent and anticipated entry in my yearly reading schedule, and I always have a ball of fun reading the latest Alex Delaware novel.  As such, I was pretty excited when I recently found out the details about the next book in this impressive series, with The Ghost Orchid.

The Ghost Orchid will be the 39th entry in this excellent series and is currently set for release in February 2024.  This new book will set the compelling protagonists on another intriguing investigation, this time involving the double murder of two people with complicated pasts.

Plot Synopsis:

Psychologist Alex Delaware and Detective Milo Sturgis confront a baffling, vicious double homicide that leads them to long-buried secrets worth killing for in the riveting thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling “master of suspense” (Los Angeles Times).

LAPD homicide lieutenant Milo Sturgis sees it all the time: Reinvention’s a way of life in a city fueled by fantasy. But try as you might to erase the person you once were, there are those who will never forget the past. . . and who can still find you.

A pool boy enters a secluded Bel Air property and discovers two bodies floating in the bright blue water: Gio Aggiunta, the playboy heir to an Italian shoe empire, and a gorgeous, even wealthier neighbor named Meagin March. A married neighbor.

An illicit affair stoking rage is a perfect motive. But a “double” in this neighborhood of gated estates isn’t something you see every day, The house is untouched. No forced entry, no forensic evidence. The case has “that feeling,” and when that happens, Milo turns to his friend, the brilliant psychologist Alex Delaware.

As Milo and Alex investigate both victims, they discover two troubled pasts. And as they dig deeper, Meagin March’s very identity begins to blur. Who was this glamorous but conflicted woman? Did her past catch up to her? Or did Gio’s family connections create a threat spanning two continents?

Chasing down the answers leads Alex and Milo on an exploration of L.A.’s darkest side as they contend with one of the most shocking cases of their careers and learn that that some secrets are best left buried in the past.

Ooh, now this a very cool sounding mystery and I am already quite curious about what sort of case this is going to turn out to be.  A complex double homicide with all manner of secrets, motives and hidden pasts is just what I am in the mood for and I know that Kellerman’s distinctive and captivating style will help to turn The Ghost Orchid into a powerful and addictive read.  I already know that I will have a wonderful time with The Ghost Orchid next year and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next epic murder mystery from Jonathan Kellerman.

Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller5 Comments

Kill For Me Kill For You Cover

Publisher: Headline (Trade Paperback – 25 July 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 356 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

The always entertaining Steve Cavanagh returns with another outstanding thriller, this time with an awesome new take on an old classic with Kill For Me Kill For You.

Steve Cavanagh is an outstanding author who I have been having a wonderful time reading in recent years.  Cavanagh is best known for his awesome Eddie Flynn legal thriller series that follows a former conman turned defence attorney as he uses his unique insights and tricks to win impossible cases, even when everything is stacked against him.  I have had a ton of fun with the last few books in the series, The Devil’s Advocate and The Accomplice, and Cavanagh is firmly on my yearly must-read list now as a result.  I had been hoping for another Eddie Flynn novel this year, but I was happy to receive a copy of Cavanagh’s new standalone thriller, Kill For Me Kill For You, which throws a grieving mother into a terrible situation.

Amanda White is a woman who lost everything in life when her young daughter was kidnapped and murdered.  Left helpless as the prime suspect is found innocent while her own husband killed himself out of despair, all Amanda has left is a desire for revenge.  But with her target aware of her hatred, and the police certain to arrest her if she tries anything, Amanda can only sit back and do nothing.

Required by the court to attend a trauma support group, Amanda has a chance encounter with another member, Wendy, who has her own desire for revenge.  Like Amanda, Wendy wants to kill the man responsible for her own child’s death but is determined to avoid police retaliation.  Together, the two women plot on how to take out the men that they hate, and soon draw inspiration from a classic Hitchcock film in which two strangers kill the other’s target.

However, when Wendy suddenly kills Amanda’s obsession, she is forced to act quickly and commit her murder for Wendy before the police come for her.  But nothing is as it seems, and Amanda soon finds herself trapped in a deadly situation with the police hot on her trail.  To survive, Amanda will need to dive into the past to discover a legacy of hatred, death and manipulation that will drive her to the brink of sanity and despair.

This was an excellent new thriller from Cavanagh that I managed to power through in no time at all thanks to its exciting and fast-paced plot.  Told from several different perspectives, Kill For Me Kill For You tells a clever and multi-layered narrative that proves very hard to put down, especially as Cavanagh loads it with his usual fun collection of twists, betrayals and compelling reveals.

Kill For Me Kill For You has a great character-driven narrative that follow several very damaged protagonists in a series of compelling situations.  The main storyline follows the character of Amanda White, whose desire for revenge against her daughter’s killer sees her form a friendship with Wendy, when they try to enact their Strangers on a Train inspired double murder.  At the same time, a good chunk of the plot revolves around the character of Ruth Gelman, who survives a brutal attack by a serial killer and is forced to deal with the traumatic consequences.  These two storylines are linked by a third major point-of-view character, Detective Farrow, who investigates both the assault on Ruth and the murder of Amanda’s daughter and finds himself getting drawn into both of their lives.

Both major storylines continue at a fast and compelling pace throughout the book, with Amanda’s storyline focusing on the clever intrigue, while Ruth’s storyline has a more emotional edge to it as she and her husband Scott are forced to deal with her injuries and ongoing fear of the killer’s return.  There are some fantastic developments in both, especially for Amanda when the Strangers on a Train plan goes out the window as expected.  I really loved the fantastic twists that surround Amanda at the middle of the book which completely change the trajectory of her entire plot as a result.  Both stories continue mostly unrelated for the rest of the book, and I think both develop in a great way independent of the other.  They do eventually come together towards the end of the book, and for me that was where Kill For Me Kill For You fell apart a little.  The joining twist of these two independent storylines is very predictable, even though Cavanagh did try to cover it up in a few clever ways.  Certain elements of this twist also stretch the feasibility of the plot to a degree, and while possible, it was a very unlikely.  Still, this only ruins the flow of the book a little and readers will still be hooked on the plot.  I loved the final few twists that Cavanagh loaded towards the end of the book, and the overlying emotional story writing and character moments that are utilised throughout the entire plot ensure that this is a very powerful read.  Readers will come away from this book very satisfied, and I honestly could not put Kill For Me Kill For You down the entire way through.

With the exception of the that problematic twist I discussed above, I mostly enjoyed how Cavanagh wrote Kill For Me Kill For You.  The excellent use of multiple character perspectives which shift from chapter to chapter works well to tell an expansive story with a lot more facets than I thought it would.  The different story focuses is very interesting and I liked the unique stories that both of the major characters (Amanda and Ruth) told throughout the book.  While I did find the chapters focusing on Amanda and her crisscross a lot more interesting, the Ruth storylines are more psychologically powerful and have some compelling edges to them.

I have to say that I was also very impressed with how Cavanagh made excellent use of the Strangers on a Train inspired murder plot throughout Kill For Me Kill For You.  Cavanagh makes some clever references to the classic film (and the book it is based on) throughout the novel, and I loved how he put his own spin on this classic tale.  I was worried in advance that it would be too much like other crime fiction homages to Strangers on a Train that I have seen before, but Cavanagh really made this plot element his own in Kill For Me Kill For You, working the film into his story in an excellent and memorable way.  The resulting compelling storyline was so much fun, and I cannot emphasise how brilliant and captivating this part of the book was.

In addition to the fun story elements, I also deeply appreciated the powerful character focus that Cavanagh featured throughout Kill For Me Kill For You.  There are four major point-of-view characters in Kill For Me Kill For You, and Cavanagh ensures that they have some complex and emotionally charged moments throughout the course of the plot.  All four of these characters are damaged by trauma or loss in their own unique way, including Amanda’s deep obsessive need for revenge, Ruth’s intense fear after surviving her traumatic attack, Scott’s guilt for not being there for his wife which leads to anger and despair and Farrow’s detrimental connection to his cases and the people impacted by them.  The author does an amazing job of diving into each of these character aspects throughout the course of Kill For Me Kill For You and you really grow to understand their individual traumas, obsessions and motivations throughout the course of the book.  Each character reacts to their damage and obsessions in different ways, and watching them overcome them, or succumb to them, are a key part of the plot.  This was probably the most emotionally charged and character focused book of Cavanagh’s that I have read so far, and I really appreciated how he dove into his complex protagonist’s psyches and attempted to highlight just how damaging death, violence and trauma can be on a person.

Kill For Me Kill For You was an outstanding read from Steve Cavanagh and one that I would very strongly recommend.  Featuring a unique and highly entertaining thriller narrative that cleverly balances intensity, twists, a wonderful homage to a classic piece of crime fiction, and powerful character moments, this is an excellent read that I really got attached to.  While I did have issue with a certain key point in the book, Kill For Me Kill For You was an overall strong and compelling novel that really showcases Cavanagh’s rising talents as an awesome thriller writer.

Amazon

Killer Traitor Spy by Tim Ayliffe

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Thriller9 Comments

Killer Traitor Spy Cover

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia (ebook – 5 July 2023)

Series: John Bailey – Book Four

Length: 310 pages

My Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Amazon

One of Australia’s fastest rising thriller authors, Tim Ayliffe, returns with the fourth book in his outstanding John Bailey series, Killer Traitor Spy, which sees Cold War espionage re-emerge right in the heart of modern day Australia.

Over the last few years I have been having an amazing time reading a particularly cool Australian thriller series, the Jon Bailey books by journalist Tim Ayliffe.  Following a damaged investigative reporter who relentlessly follows his stories no matter how dangerous they are, the John Bailey books are an outstanding series that combined intriguing storylines with compelling and highly insightful depictions of modern-day Australia.  This series has so far featured three fantastic books, The Greater Good, which looked at Chinese interference in Australian politics; State of Fear, which examined Islamic radicalisation; and The Enemy Within, which presented a compelling look at Australian white supremacism.  I have deeply enjoyed all three of Ayliffe’s previous novels and I was very glad that I managed to get a copy of his fourth book, Killer Traitor Spy, a few weeks ago.

After a sex worker is accidently poisoned by a deadly neurotoxin, it quickly becomes clear that someone is trying to kill Russian millionaire Dmitry Lebedev.  As Dmitry disappears into the wind, reporter John Bailey finds himself drawn to the mysterious events, especially as his old friend, Scarlett Merriman, was the unintended victim.  As Bailey begins to dig into the circumstances around Scarlett’s poisoning, he soon discovers a hidden world of spies, espionage and secret deals, all tied to his long-time friend, CIA agent Ronnie Johnson.

It soon becomes apparent that Dmitry was an undercover spy secretly working with Ronnie and providing insights into Russian espionage efforts in Australia.  His latest bit of intelligence could expose a deadly traitor working at the highest echelons of the government, and many people wanted him dead to keep that a secret.  As Ronnie attempts to bring him in, he finds himself being targeted as well, as whoever tried to kill Dmitry has just framed Ronnie for murder.

Now on the run from the authorities and with no official backup to help him, Ronnie has no choice but to call on Bailey to help him investigate the attempted assassination and uncover the traitor.  But the more Bailey works with Ronnie, the more he discovers the dark side of the espionage business and the fact that nobody is what they seem.  Moving from the deadly urban sprawl of Sydney to the secretive suburbs of Canberra, can Bailey and Ronnie find the truth before it is too late, or will they be the latest victims of an insidious intelligence plot threatening to undermine the entire country?

This was another great book from Ayliffe, who continues to impress me with his intense and addictive reads.  Killer Traitor Spy served as a brilliant fourth book in the series, and I had such a wonderful time getting through this captivating and clever story that I ended up reading this book in a single day.

Killer Traitor Spy has a great story behind it that I instantly got hooked on.  Ayliffe sets up a fast and high-stakes narrative for his fourth book that brings in some compelling real-life spy elements to increase the realism and impact of the plot.  Starting off with a failed assassination, some fantastic spy elements, and a great reintroduction to Ayliffe’s relentless protagonist, the author gets Killer Traitor Spy going strong, and it barely slows down after that.  The author weaves together a complex net of mystery and espionage as the protagonists try to find the missing Dmitry, while also uncovering Russian agents working in Australia.  The fantastic web of murders, betrayals and lies proves to be very compelling.  There are several interesting reveals and clever turns as the plot progresses, and I loved how the story soon moved to Canberra with a ton of fun scenes.  Ayliffe really raises the stakes in the second half of Killer Traitor Spy, and the final reveal of who the various traitors and culprits are proves to be very satisfying.

I honestly had a hard time putting down this awesome book, and I wasn’t kidding when I said I read it all in a single day.  Ayliffe did a fantastic job of making his complex and compelling story as fast-paced and addictive as possible, and there wasn’t a single scene in this book that slowed me down.  There were a ton of great features to how Ayliffe wrote Killer Traitor Spy, and I personally loved how the plot featured a fun combination of journalism, espionage and mystery throughout.  While there is a bit of action throughout the book, the focus is always on uncovering the deeper secrets, and I loved seeing the different methodologies that the various protagonists used.  The author’s reliance on multiple character perspectives in Killer Traitor Spy was a particularly effective feature, especially as you got even more scenes from the always entertaining Ronnie Johnson.  This allowed Ayliffe to really separate out the various focuses of his novel, and the contrasts between Bailey’s scenes, where he investigates, and Ronnie’s scenes, where he uses more direct methods, are a lot of fun.

Unsurprisingly, the scenes focusing on journalism and investigative reporting are very impressive and insightful as Ayliffe makes full use of his background to dive into the intricacies and secrets of the trade.  However, the more espionage focused sequences are also really clever and helped ensure this book felt a lot like his original novel, The Greater Good.  The focus on the various espionage concerns in Australia were really quite compelling, and it was clear that the author did a lot of research around it.  I recognised quite a few espionage elements featured in the novel from Australian news stories, and the author covers a lot of compelling ground as a result.  I particularly liked the focus on Australia’s strategic importance, the intelligence relationship it has with other Western nations, the examination of potential espionage elements currently running around the country, and there was even a fun inclusion of the infamous “Havana Syndrome” and the potential weapons behind it.  I really enjoyed this deep dive into potential Russian espionage in Australia, and it was certainly eye opening in places, especially considering current world events.  This excellent novel really draws you in quickly and I had such an outstanding time getting through it.

One of the things that I have always deeply appreciated about the John Bailey books is the way in which Ayliffe masterfully depicts and utilises his Sydney settings throughout the stories.  So many of Sydney’s suburbs, iconic areas, and even several restaurants and bars serve as either key locations or have cameos throughout the series.  It is always very cool to see locations you are familiar with utilised in fiction, and Ayliffe always does such a wonderful job of showcasing these locales in his stories, which really help to draw Australian readers in.  This continues to be the case in Killer Traitor Spy, as several different areas of Sydney are featured strongly throughout the plot. Ayliffe, who clearly has a lot of love for Sydney, has fun bringing these locations to life throughout this book and it was really fascinating to see how he fits his narrative around these real spaces.  A good chunk of the second half of the book is set in my hometown of Canberra. As the national capital hosting government agencies and politicians, Canberra is an excellent setting for a spy thriller book such as Killer Traitor Spy, and it was great to see it utilised as such within this book.  I had a ton of fun seeing the characters reference areas that I see all the time, and it was awesome envisioning some of the action occurring within them, especially as most of our scandals aren’t so thrilling.  I also had a chuckle at all the inside jokes or references that Ayliffe layered into the story around these settings, such as his very accurate description of the drive between Sydney and Canberra (it really is that visually boring).  This excellent use of real locations as a backdrop really helped to drag me even further into Killer Traitor Spy and I really appreciate it when authors draw from their own experiences to help tell an awesome story.

Finally, I must highlight the character work featured in Killer Traitor Spy.  The intrepid and damaged protagonists have always been a big reason why the John Bailey books have been so successful as you grow very attached to these complex figures.  I have a lot of love for the impressive character growth that has surrounded the main character of John Bailey in the lead-up to Killer Traitor Spy and it was really moving to see him finally have his life together, despite all the traumas he has experienced.  This also allowed him to focus more on his journalistic work, and watching the dogged, veteran reporter chase down several stories in his usual gruff and unrelenting manner was a ton of fun.  Of course, Ayliffe did add in a few more issues for him in Killer Traitor Spy, both psychically and ethically, and I will be interested to see how they impact him in the future.  Ayliffe also features quite a lot of Ronnie Johnson in this latest novel as well, which was a major plus in my book.  Ronnie has always been a fantastic character (he caused a damned Harold Holt moment in the first book), and it was great to see him a much more of a central figure in Killer Traitor Spy.  His more espionage and violence focused chapters balance out Bailey’s chapters in some compelling ways, and I enjoyed the fantastic deeper dive into the relationship between these two protagonists that emerged as a result.  Ayliffe’s use of these two main characters was a real highlight of Killer Traitor Spy and I really appreciated the powerful story the author wove around them.

Overall, Killer Traitor Spy is a fantastic novel from Tim Ayliffe that did a wonderful job continuing his excellent John Bailey series.  A complex and entertaining Australian thriller, Killer Traitor Spy was a ton of fun to read and I really got hooked on it compelling and fast-paced story.  With great characters, a complex plot, and some intriguing Australian inclusions, Killer Traitor Spy is well worth the read, especially if you loved the previous books in the series.

Amazon

Waiting on Wednesday – Vendetta by Sarah Barrie

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Australian, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Waiting on Wednesday5 Comments

Welcome to my weekly segment, Waiting on Wednesday, where I look at upcoming books that I am planning to order and review in the next few months and which I think I will really enjoy.  I run this segment in conjunction with the Can’t-Wait Wednesday meme that is currently running at Wishful Endings.  Stay tuned to see reviews of these books when I get a copy of them.  For this week’s Waiting on Wednesday, I highlight an awesome upcoming Australian thriller from an outstanding local author, with Vendetta by Sarah Barrie.

Vendetta Cover

Due my geographical location, I am a massive fan of Australian fiction, especially as there are so many talented authors here creating some amazing and elaborate reads.  I particularly enjoy Australian crime fiction that set dark and compelling stories in locations I am more familiar with, as this usually results in some truly outstanding reads.  One of my favourite Australian crime fiction authors at the moment talented writer Sarah Barrie, who has been killing it over the last couple of years with her fantastic novels.

Barrie is a veteran author with several compelling Australian series under her belt.  I am personally familiar with her due to her amazing Lexi Winter series, which so far features two great books.  These novels follows titular protagonist, Lexi Winters, a vigilante hacker turned police officer, who uses her computer talents to take down the worst criminals around Sydney, often behind her superiors back.  The first book in the series, Unforgiven, saw Lexi attempt to destroy a child paedophile ring that was connected to her own childhood abuse, while in Retribution, she faced off against a notorious crime family who were getting in the way of her vengeance.  Thanks to their clever mysteries, complex characters, and very dark story content, both Unforgiven and Retribution were very impressive reads and they were some of the best Australian fiction I read in 2021 and 2022 respectfully.  I am now a firm fan of this series and I was very happy to hear that a third Lexi Winter novel is coming out later this year.

This new Lexi Winter novel is titled Vendetta and is currently set for release in early November 2023.  Vendetta looks set to continue several of the storylines from the previous two books, with the protagonist struggling to determine whether she is a vigilante or a police officer.  This new book will also apparently dive deeper into her hidden criminal/vigilante past as she is forced to return to an outlaw motorcycle club she used to work for, this time to save some of her friends.  It looks like Lexi is once again going to go rogue in her attempts to get justice and help the people she loves, and this should result in some compelling and emotionally charged storylines, especially as she tries to work out just what side of the legal fence she is on.  The inclusion of a deadly motorcycle gang that the protagonist used to be a part of should also be an interesting feature, especially as they will find themselves at war with their former president who is out for his own form of justice.  This outstanding plot has a lot of potential behind it and it should make for quite the awesome read.

This sounds like such a fun book and I am really glad that we are getting another Lexi Winter novel in a few short months.  Barrie has really proven herself to be such a talented and intense crime fiction author and I cannot wait to see how she continues to explore her complex and damaged protagonist.  I already know that I am going to love this book and I am very excited to see how Vendetta turns out.

Plot Synopsis:

Cop or criminal? When you’re undercover, the lines can get a little blurry. Former vigilante Lexi Winter, returns in a fast-paced, suspenseful crime thriller for readers of Candice Fox and Shelley Burr


Ace hacker, former sex worker and vigilante, Lexi Winter is now a cop and not keen to revisit her criminal past. But when old friends invoke the wrath of a local motorcycle club – the same club Lexi herself used to work for – she races to help them the only way she can: undercover.

If Lexi is to save a child’s life, she is going to have to go back – back to a life she thought she had outrun. Back to the person she used to be. But her timing isn’t great. Former club president Arthur Cronin has finished his long prison sentence and is out for revenge for the death of his wife and child. As he launches a series of bomb attacks on the club members who set him up and the cops who took him down, Lexi is caught in the middle.

Torn between old loyalties and new responsibilities, she must decide once and for all which side she’s on, but even if she does decide to break free, are her old criminal friends ready to let her go?

Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner

On By The Unseen LibraryIn Thriller6 Comments

Her Sweet Revenge Cover

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton (Trade Paperback – 6 April 2023)

Series: Standalone

Length: 408 pages

My Rating: 4.75 out of 5 stars

Amazon

Last year I was lucky enough to receive a copy of the fun and twisty thriller novel, Her Perfect Twin by Sarah Bonner, an outstanding read that got a full five-star rating from me and which ended up being one my top debuts of 2022.  I have a lot of love for Her Perfect Twin thanks to its murderous plot and brilliant surprises, and I have been eager to see how Bonner was going to follow up her first book.  As such, I was pretty excited to see that she had a second cool thriller, Her Sweet Revenge, coming out this year, and I just finished it off.  Her Sweet Revenge was another outstanding read that blends complex characters with a fantastic and complex revenge plot to create an outstanding story.

Helena is a successful fashion blogger living in Exeter and married to a seemingly perfect man.  While her controlling in-laws seem to be her biggest problem, Helena is hiding a dark secret, one that could twist her entire life around and turn everyone against her.  When a series of notes begin to arrive, threatening to expose her, Helena desperately tries to keep her secrets hidden from her husband and evil mother-in-law.  But her attempts to stop the truth leaking out have lethal consequences.

Several years later, Thea is still mourning the loss of her best friend, Helena, and is convinced that her death was no accident.  Digging into the mysterious circumstances surrounding Helena’s demise, Thea is contacted by someone who claims to have known Helena and is also convinced that her death was deliberate.  Determined to get revenge for her friend’s murder, Thea dives even further down the rabbit hole and soon begins to create a lethal plot against those she thinks is responsible.  But not everything is as it seems, and the secrets surrounding Helena’s death are far more complex and dark than anyone realises.  As she gets closer to her target, Thea will need to determine just how far she is willing to go for revenge, and who truly deserves her wrath.

This was another exceptional novel from Bonner, who really looks set to make a name for herself in the thriller genre.  Her Sweet Revenge was another brilliant standalone novel which takes the reader on a wild and dark journey through death, bad relationships and revenge, and which proves near impossible to put down.

Bonner came up with quite the intricate and complex narrative for Her Sweet Revenge, and it really worked to tell a unique and powerful story.  Told in a similar style to her first book, Her Sweet Revenge is broken up into several parts and employs a series of time jumps and different character perspectives to tell a particularly intense story.  The first part of the book, which is one of the more substantial sections of Her Sweet Revenge, is told from the point of view of Helena in 2018 and Thea in 2022, with the story jumping between them chapter to chapter.  Both character-focused storylines set the scene extremely well, with the Helena chapters showing her turbulent life and the events that led up to her death, with the Thea chapters show the characters initial investigations into her friend’s death.

These two disparate timelines complement each other extremely well, and the reader is soon drawn into each character’s distinctive emotionally charged narratives.  Both storylines are pretty powerful in different ways, with Helena’s story focusing on her abuse by her in-laws and the trauma of being blackmailed for her secrets.  Watching Helena’s slow dive into instability is both shocking and moving, and you can’t help but feel for the injustices that the character is experiencing.  These feelings are further expanded on in the Thea chapters, as you feel the pain the character is experiencing at the loss of her friend, as well as the guilt that drives her to investigate Helena’s death and find the truth.  Bonner makes great use of this first part of the book to primarily set the scene for the rest of the plot, as well as introduce the key characters to the reader, and as such there are limited big reveals or twists at this point in the plot.  However, Bonner does do a good job of whetting the reader’s anticipation for what is to come by leaving several plot points unfinished and really showcasing just how bad all the people involved are.  The jump between 2018 and 2022 works really well, and it was interesting to see events from Helena’s chapters play into Thea’s storyline, especially when you know that there are still secrets being kept from both characters.

The second act of Her Sweet Revenge is where the plot really starts to fire up.  This section of the book is primarily focused on revenge, as Thea finds out some truths about Helena’s death and starts to plot about how to get her justice.  This section is solely shown from Thea’s perspective, and Bonner uses this to full effect to really dive down into the character and show how she got so vengeful and clever.  There are a lot of great moments here, especially when it comes to the plotting for revenge, and I loved the great character focuses that emerged.  There still aren’t a lot of twists at this part of the book, as Bonner is mostly building on what was revealed in the first half of the novel, but the author does do some good set-up here that works perfectly for the rest of the story.

The final third of the book is broken up into several separate parts, each of which is told from a different perspective character.  I won’t go into too much detail, but it works really well in the context of the story, and it is very interesting to see who gets focused on and why.  Bonner really starts to layer in her trademark twists and turns here, as everything you thought you knew about several characters turns out to be false, as motivations change, people are revealed to be something completely different, and the author includes some great dives into the past to show what really happened to Helena.  All the accompanying revelations have been masterfully set up in the earlier chapters, and I loved how the twists and turns seemed to build on top of one and other, with one betrayal or lie for a character followed by a bigger lie from another.  You honestly don’t know where the story is going at times, and I was extremely hooked for the last 150 pages as I waited to see who was going to come out on top and just who was getting revenge on whom.  While there are a lot of twists and reveals, Bonner keeps the story pretty tidy, and at no point did things get too convoluted or unbelievable.  I loved fully untangling the clever web that Bonner came up with, and the final result is pretty amazing and highly satisfying, especially as the very last reveals are some of the best, with everyone who should be punished getting what they deserve.  This was such a well-written and impressively crafted thriller narrative, and I guarantee that you won’t be able to stop yourself from reading more and more, just to see how everything ends.

In addition to the meticulously crafted narrative, I really need to highlight the outstanding characters featured throughout Her Sweet Revenge, each of whom is driven to edge in various different ways.  Bonner does an excellent job of introducing and building up several great characters throughout the course of her plot, and each of them was distinctive in their own way.  A good chunk of the plot’s focus is on the initial point-of-view characters, Helena and Thea, old friends who go through quite a lot during the novel.  Bonner introduces some excellent development to both in different ways, with Helena given a crash course in personal destruction, while Thea is slowly built up as a caring friend with a scary vengeful streak.  You get very invested in both of their respective storylines, one because of how sudden and emotionally crushing it is, and the other because of the reader’s natural sense of justice and loyalty, and I felt they were great focuses for so much of the book.  The rest of the cast is interesting and distinctive as well, mainly because so many of them are just naturally bad or dislikeable characters, with Helena’s mother-in-law, Geraldine, being an extremely good example.  Everything about Geraldine is designed to aggravate the reader and make them feel extreme sympathy for Helena, and Bonner made excellent use of her throughout the plot as a compelling side character.  These complex figures and more added a ton to the impact of the narrative, and I deeply appreciated Bonner’s ability to create intriguing characters with such fantastic nasty streaks behind.

Her Sweet Revenge was another outstanding thriller from Sarah Bonner, who produces a brilliant and captivating narrative, loaded with fantastic twists and surprising turns.  The revenge focused story is deeply addictive, and you find yourself quickly getting dragged into the intense and clever book.  I had a wonderful time reading Her Sweet Revenge, and it comes very highly recommended to anyone who wants a slick and memorable thriller read.

Amazon