I’m usually more at home with police procedurals but when I was offered the chance to join the blog tour for Adele Parks’ new domestic thriller, I was keen to sign up. I’d heard great things about Parks’ books and this one sounded absolutely compelling.
The story is about two missing women. One, Leigh Fletcher, has left a husband and two adored stepsons in an average family home – the normal trials and stresses of raising children were present, but Leigh was happy and the family miss her very much. The second woman – Kai Janssen – has vanished from her wealthy Dutch businessman husband and glitzy penthouse apartment. Again, there was no discernible reason for her to leave. Two women, two devastated husbands, two very different lives – and it is down to DC Clements to work out where the women have gone any why.
I started this novel thinking it was a slow burner – the start of the novel gives us a lot of backstory about the two women and their domestic set-ups. However, this book soon had me in its grip and I raced through it because I was desperate to find out what had happened. In the process, I think I had pretty much everyone involved pinned as a likely culprit for the abductions – and was pretty much wrong on all counts.
This is definitely a book that will keep you guessing.
On top of the pacey plotting, I also found myself being caught up in the lives of the main characters – I particularly warmed to Leigh who seemed to be making a great job of the difficult role of stepmother to two boys whose mum had died when they were young. My heart actually hurt for the littlest boy who was desperate for news of the only mum he remembered. Much of Leigh’s domestic life seemed relatable and her husband a gentle giant who was lost without her. Kai and Daan (the Dutch husband) seemed much less engaging – but maybe that’s just my jealousy about not living their glamorous lives speaking there!
And that is pretty much all I can say without giving away some major plot elements,
I did enjoy this book a lot and was genuinely taken aback by the ending – again, I can’t say much more, but I really couldn’t see how it was going to end in a way that could tie up all the loose ends and resolve all problems. I do still have some questions and a few reservations – but nothing that detracted from my reading of the novel. I do wish that DC Clements had been a little more instrumental in the whole story – but that might be my love of detective fiction creeping in.
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers – it is cleverly plotted, surprising and immersive. The characters are well-developed and interesting, even if a lot of them aren’t nice and certainly don’t play nice!
Thanks to Harper Collins, the HQ publicity team and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Assistant’ by Kjell Ola Dahl, a twisty historical Nordic Noir thriller.
With thanks to Random Things Tours and Orenda Books for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
From the Publisher:
The new historical thriller from the author of the award-winning The Courier, which was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger and the Petrona Award.
The award-winning Godfather of Nordic Noir returns with a fascinating and richly authentic portrait of Oslo’s interwar years, featuring Nazis operating secretly on Norwegian soil and militant socialists readying workers for war…
Oslo, 1938. War is in the air and Europe is in turmoil. Hitler ’s Germany has occupied Austria and is threatening Czechoslovakia; civil war rages in Spain and Mussolini reigns in Italy.
When a woman turns up at the office of police-turned-private investigator Ludvig Paaske, he and his assistant – his one-time nemesis and former drug-smuggler, Jack Rivers – begin a seemingly straightforward investigation into marital infidelity.
But all is not what it seems. Soon, Jack is accused of murder, sending them on a trail which leads back to the 1920s, to prohibition-era Norway, to the smugglers, sex workers and hoodlums of his criminal past … and an extraordinary secret.
My Review:
Regular visitors to my blog will know I’m all about the setting…I love historical fiction that transports me to another time and place. With that in mind, I jumped at the chance to join the blog tour for this historical thriller set in prohibition-era Norway.
I’ll be honest – I had no clue that Norway had even had a prohibition era prior to reading this book. Every day’s a school day!
The novel opens with Jack Rivers, a smuggler of illegal alcohol and the main character in the book, on the run from the police after someone whistle-blows on his latest delivery. The book then cuts between this version of Jack in rural Norway in the 1920s and him in Oslo in 1938.
In the Oslo 1938 sections, Jack and his previous nemesis, Ludvig Paaske, have joined forces as private investigators and are asked to look into a possible case of marital infidelity. However, things aren’t so simple and they find themselves in a situation with much higher stakes…one that seems to lead back to Jack’s past.
As anticipated, the historical setting was just perfect for me. I loved the details about Oslo, especially the evocation of the slightly sinister waterfront area and all the places that sound gloriously exotic and fascinating to my very English ears – Oscarshall castle, Frognerkilen, Torggata, Besserud Station. Probably not remotely glamorous, but they add to the atmosphere of the novel beautifully and it does feel a little like walking the streets of Oslo with Jack.
The historical moment is also interesting – this is a Europe poised on the brink of war and little reminders infiltrate the events of the novel without overwhelming the narrative: a conversation about war, a reference to Hitler, a German ship in the port. It all adds a layer of tension to the plot as Hitler’s Germany begins to threaten the peace in Europe and civil war rages in Spain. This feels like a dangerous moment for Jack and Ludvig to be caught up in political affairs.
The plotting of the book is extremely clever – at first, I couldn’t imagine how Jack and Ludvig came to be working together given their 1920s lives. However, it all fits together neatly and the revelations come thick and fast once the pair begin working on the mysterious case. I loved how the lives of the main characters were so interwoven – there was a kind of claustrophobia in how they kept being drawn back to their past lives and connections.
This book – a stand alone, so no prior knowledge expected – would make such a perfect film. There were so many parts of the novel that seemed almost cinematic, not least the lit window that becomes a theatre for the watching Jack – it all made me think of Edward Hopper paintings and film noir. It would be extremely dark and atmospheric – this is a book of misty ferry journeys, grim autopsy rooms, car headlights slicing through darkness.
My only wish was for there to be more women in the novel. I guess it is a feature of both the genre and time period, but I really wanted some more strong female representation – just my personal preference!
Overall, this is a lively and engaging historical thriller. It ticks boxes for pace, plotting, twists, a fabulous sense of place, sinister atmosphere, dodgy dealings and some really shady people. I’d love to read more by this writer…and definitely think the film rights should be snapped up soon!
About the Author:
One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eighteen novels, the most prominent of which form a series of police procedurals-cum-psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix, and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015 (published in English by Orenda books in 2019). His work has been published in fourteen countries. He lives in Oslo. Follow him on Twitter @ko_dahl
About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. Orenda Books was voted WINNER of the CWA Dagger for Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year in 2020. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme.
Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Ten titles have been short- or longlisted for the CWA Daggers; Doug Johnstone has been shortlisted (twice) for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year and Helen FitzGerald, Matt Wesolowski and Will Carver have been long /shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year.
Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir, Helen FitzGerald, Doug Johnstone and Will Carver.
Thanks to the lovely people at Harper Collins for inviting me on the blog tour for ‘The Therapist’ by B A Paris, a tense psychological suspense novel that is out today!
Thanks to The Write Reads for inviting me onto this Ultimate Blog Tour for the YA thriller ‘What Beauty There Is’.
From the Publisher:
Published: 08/04/2021
ISBN: 9780241441718
Length: 368 Pages
Dimensions: 222mm x 34mm x 144mm
Weight: 483g
RRP: £12.99
Imprint: Penguin
When everything you love is in danger, how long can you keep running to survive?
Life can be brutal Winter in Idaho. The sky is dark. It is cold enough to crack bones.
Jack knew it Jack Dahl has nothing left. Except his younger brother, Matty, who he’d die for. Their mother is gone, and their funds are quickly dwindling, Jack needs to make a choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent his father to prison.
So did I Ava lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father, a merciless man, has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one.
Did I feel the flutter of wings when Jack and I met? Did I sense the coming tornado? But now Ava wants to break the rules – to let Jack in and open her heart. Then she discovers that Jack and her father are stalking the same money, and suddenly Ava is faced with a terrible choice: remain silent or speak out and help the brothers survive.
Looking back, I think I did . . .
Perfect for fans of Patrick Ness, Meg Rosoff and Daniel Woodrell, What Beauty There Is an unforgettable debut novel that is as compulsive as it is beautiful, and unflinchingly explores the power of determination, survival and love.
‘Beautifully written and superbly constructed, Anderson pulls you onto a chilling footpath of love and loss and keeps you there until you’ve read every last word’
Ruta Sepetys, bestselling author of Between Shades of Grey
My Review:
I was drawn to this book by the interesting setting – with the action unfolding under the dark, brooding skies of Idaho in winter. What I wasn’t prepared for was a book that was also so dark in content!
The story follows Jack Dahl, a teenager who is left caring for his younger brother after the suicide of their mother. His father is in prison, leading Jack to embark on a scramble to find his hidden drug money. However, Jack isn’t the only one on the trail…
I’ll admit that this was not an easy read – the story is bleak and there are points that are really heartbreaking, for example Jack’s fleeting hope of having a job which is then snatched away from him because of his family name. And any scene with Matty in – the child unquestioningly trusting his big brother to protect him while Jack makes increasingly desperate decisions.
However, there are also some excellent reasons to read this book:
The setting – I love books set in interesting places that are unlike where I live. As I live in the grey dullness of northern-ish England, it felt exciting to escape to the bleak, snowy landscapes of Idaho in the depths of winter. It is the perfect setting for this story, adding another layer of hardship and challenge to the survival story of the Dahl brothers.
The style – Anderson’s writing is beautiful. Despite the often heart-wrenching things being described, the writing is vibrant, vivid and always engaging. I found that the concision of the descriptions always struck a chord and allowed me to picture exactly what was meant – ‘A disembodied sound. Like ash drifting’, a ‘granite sky’, ‘the shift of dark trees’. Anderson’s use of imagery is often surprising and really allows readers to imagine her dark and bleak world.
The characters – Jack isn’t perfect and makes some bad decisions as any teenager in his situation would. Bardem is utterly terrifying and brings real menace to the novel beyond what the Dahl brothers’ situation would suggest. Ava is – although not in the novel as much as I expected – a realistic figure caught in an impossible situation. And Matty is the innocent caught up in a life that he doesn’t deserve. This is a world that is vividly populated, although not always with the nicest people!
The pace – From Jack’s tragic discovery of his mother’s body at the start of the novel, the action barely slows. The reader is carried along at often breakneck speed and it is a breathless ride. There is genuine terror and tension in this book and it is compelling.
The narration – Although Jack’s story is told by an omniscient narrator, the italicised sections at the start of chapters give us an intriguing first person narrative from Ava. Often poetic and opaque in meaning, these sections add a sense of mystery and poignancy to the story.
This book is not for the faint-hearted. It is gritty, brutal and unflinchingly violent in places – definitely one to check the trigger warnings on before you read. However, if your preferred reading is on the shadowy end of the spectrum, this could well be a great book for you.
About the Author:
Cory Anderson is a winner of the League of Utah Writers Young Adult Novel Award and Grand Prize in the Storymakers Conference First Chapter Contest. She lives in Utah with her family. What Beauty There Is is her debut novel.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Seven Days’ by Michelle Kidd, the second book in the series featuring Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh.
I was lucky enough to be included on the blog tour last year for the first book in this series so I jumped at the chance to read the sequel!
This tour is organised by Damp Pebbles Blog Tours – thanks to them and Michelle Kidd for my free copy of the novel for review. As always, opinions are my own.
Book Blurb:
One killer. One city. One week.
July 2012 and a serial killer is terrorising the streets of London. With the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games in just seven days time, Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh and his team at the Metropolitan Police have one week to find him. With the killer’s motives unknown, and a mysterious clue being left at each scene, the case takes on a menacing and personal twist. Distracted by his own demons, will DI Jack MacIntosh solve the case before it is too late?
The clock is ticking. Tick. Tock.
My Review:
The first book in this series was a twisty, jet-setting thriller with a huge cast of characters, secrets galore and lots of tension.
With the second book, Michelle Kidd has produced an absolutely brilliant police procedural. Lots of the same cast, but a totally different feel to the first book – and I loved it.
The book opens with the discovery of the body of a woman in a London park. DI Jack MacIntosh, still struggling with the PTSD from his distant past, is called in to investigate and finds a mysterious clue…which makes a lot more sense with the death of a second woman and the deliberate placement of another clue. It seems that someone is taunting the police – but with only seven days to go before the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympic Games turns the world’s eyes to London, there is a race against time to catch the killer.
Returning in this book is Isabel (a main focus on the first novel), Mac and some other familiar faces. I was particularly pleased to see Isabel again as the first novel really immerses the reader in her story and she is an interesting character. She has moved on from her past experiences and set up a cafe in London – but, as expected, she can’t seem to stay out of trouble for long!
One of the main strengths of this book is the clever plotting – I honestly thought I’d solved this mystery several times over, only to be confounded at every turn. At least I wasn’t alone – DI Jack MacIntosh and the Metropolitan Police seemed to be having the same problem!
I found the timeline easier to keep track of in this novel as it didn’t jump around as much as the first. I liked that each scene in the book had a clear time and place so it was easy to follow – it felt a lot more cohesive than the last book which was great but made my head spin with the time and location jumps!
Although this is the second in the series, I think it probably could be read as a standalone. There are some elements that carry across the books and it obviously would be better to have the back-story, but I think the plot absolutely carries this book in its own right. There are also a lot of flashbacks which help to explain the history behind Jack, Mac and Isabel.
A lot happens in this book and the pacing is generally good – I never felt like I was bored or waiting for something to happen. My only gripe would be that there did feel like there were some additional scenes that weren’t central to the plot, especially at the end – although I would guess that these may well feed into the sequel.
I’d recommend this to anyone who is looking for an engaging and immersive police procedural. There are properly scary, thriller elements too – but the real strength is in the clever plot, likeable (and familiar) characters and the wow-factor twists.
About the Author:
Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.
Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.
But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.
In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.
Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order J
OK, this one isn’t quite within my usual genres, but I’ll admit I was intrigued! A sexy, shocking, glamorous, ‘unputdownable’, revenge-filled thriller? I totally fell for the blurb! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
This book was published yesterday (18th February).
The novel is set in a beautiful location just off the coast of Jersey where a soap opera, ‘Falcon’s Bay’, is filmed. A long-term fixture of the TV schedules, ‘Falcon’s Bay’ has taken a tumble in the ratings and the new network head, Madeline Kane, arrives to solve the problem.
She arrives onto a set already run by Queen Bees – director Farrah, Head of Casting Helen and producer Amanda. All are fighting their own battles as women with major ambitions and a lot of responsibility, as is lead actress Catherine who has carried the show for a lot of its 40 years on air. That’s a lot of ruthless women…
I have no clue how to describe this novel at all – but I did enjoy it! Imagine Jackie Collins wrote about a soap opera set on the Channel Islands and you might have some clue. There is plastic surgery aplenty, libidos that are out of control, and an awful lot of breasts (blush!) Throw in some thrillery elements – especially towards the end – and you have a page-turner on your hands. There are horrible men, some #MeToo elements, a dash of feminism…and a twisty plot where everyone is out for themselves.
One thing really worth noting, I think, is that all of the female characters are older. This is not a story of starlets climbing the fame ladder – this is packed with sassy and strong older women (who have a huge amount of sex).
This is quite a long book by my usual standards but I flew through it. I can’t say I really liked many of the characters or really understood the motivations, but it is a story that really goes for the jugular and doesn’t let go! I’m not sure it is a thriller in the sense I would usually expect, but it is compulsive.
I’d recommend this to anyone who wants an immersive and twisty read. You might not love any of the ruthless women but you will absolutely be caught up in the glamour, the backstabbing and the gossip!
If you want to dive into this glamourous but dangerous world for yourself, please use my affiliate link below. Thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases!
I love crime fiction and there have been some brilliant books published in this genre in 2020! I’ll admit that I’m particularly partial to a police procedural and love a twisty crime thriller.
Affiliate links are provided – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases (at no extra cost to you).
Here are my top 10 crime novels of this year, starting at number 10…
10 – ‘Neon’ by G S Locke
This is serial killer thriller with a very unconventional detective duo who are working very much outside the law themselves! It’s an absolute page -turner set on the gritty streets of Birmingham – you can read my original review here.
9 –‘Knife Edge’ by Simon Mayo
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Simon Mayo’s novel as I’m always a bit sceptical when people in the public eye turn to writing. However, I needn’t have been worried – this is a tense, tightly-plotted novel with terrorism at its fore. It keeps you reading from the very first pages when the first attacks take place in rush-hour London. You can read my full review here.
8 – ‘The Cutting Place’ by Jane Casey
I’m a huge fan of the DS Maeve Kerrigan series – this is the ninth book and I think could work as a stand alone (but why miss the other 8?!) This story is about uncovering corruption at the highest levels in society and it is another excellent police procedural. My review is here.
7 – ‘Their Silent Graves’ by Carla Kovach
This is the seventh book in the crime series featuring DI Gina Harte – I personally think this is one of the best in an always-excellent series. In this book (which I think could be read as a stand alone), Harte and her team are called in to investigate some particularly chilling Halloween murders in which a serial killer stalks the residents of a town. You can read my review here.
6 – ‘The Watcher’ by Kate Medina
I could not put this book down when I read it for a blog tour earlier in the year! It is gruesome, gritty and absolutely edge-of-your-seat tense. The story is about a killer who stalks their victims and leaves horrific crime scenes, but what I really loved was the fact that one of the investigators is a police psychologist, Dr Jessie Flynn. This gives a different flavour to the police procedural and I’m hoping Dr Flynn will feature in many more books. My review is here.
5 – ‘The Postscript Murders’ by Elly Griffiths
This one is a slightly cosier option than some of my other choices. In this, an unusual mix of characters come together to solve the killing of a ‘murder consultant’ who helps authors with their crime novels. I really enjoyed the combination of a cleverly-plotted murder mystery with the literary backdrop to it all. My original review can be read here.
4 – ‘Lost Cause’ by Rachel Lynch
This is the eighth instalment in the brilliant crime series featuring DI Kelly Porter and set in the Lake District. I think this is a high-point in a series that can always be relied upon to deliver solid police procedurals with plenty of twists. In this book, Porter and her team are investigating the brutal death of a woman whose abused body is found in a bin – but is she the only victim? It is grim and gritty but absolutely compelling. My review is here.
3 – ‘All Fall Down’ by M J Arlidge
In a kind of modern twist on the classic ‘A Murder is Announced’, victims are being warned of their own impending demise in a phone call. DI Helen Grace and her team are called in to investigate and begin to find connections to events eight years before. This is tense and twisty and really quite creepy – full review here.
2 – ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ by Richard Osman
This was a highly-anticipated debut from Richard Osman and I was charmed by this mystery set in a retirement village. Although the mystery plot was well handled, the real strength of this book was the characterisation and emotional punch. You can read my review here.
1 – ‘Broken Silence’ by Liz Mistry
This was one of those books that I was totally unprepared for – the pacing, the twists and the tension all totally took me by surprise and I loved it! It’s a gritty tale of Bradford’s criminal underworld featuring DS Nikki Parekh (who I loved) investigating the disappearance of a fellow police officer and I absolutely raced through it! Full review here.
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Watchful Neighbour’ by Debbie Viggiano. Today is also the publication day of this book so do buy your copy now!
This is a blog tour for Rachel’s Random Resources and I thank Rachel and the author for my copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are my own.
From the Publisher
When Jade Ferguson’s affair with a married man abruptly ends, she’s devastated.
There is no quick fix for a broken heart. A fresh start is required.
New job. New home. New neighbours.
The residents of Gresham Terrace seem pleasant enough.
Except for one…
An absolutely gripping debut psychological thriller.
I do like a psychological thriller – something creepy and tense that doesn’t end with the main character’s husband being a secret killer! It seemed a no-brainer when I was invited on this tour – no serial killer husbands in sight!
In this story, Jade Ferguson finds herself down on her luck. Her affair with a married man has got her fired, she had a breakdown and he never even left his wife as he promised (shock!) She finds herself in a little rented house on Gresham Terrace and working in a job she hates to make ends meet.
Jade’s suspicions are raised about a man called Greg Good who is the local Neighbourhood Watch contact and who just happens to be her neighbour. She is sure that he is being a little too watchful over her and hates the fact that he is a key holder for her landlord…
As Jade’s certainty grows that Greg is causing trouble, the other residents of Gresham Terrace can’t seem to see the problem. So is it all in Jade’s mind?
What I liked about this book was the fact that Jade is established as an unreliable narrator from the beginning. She has spent time in a psychiatric unit prior to the events of the novel and the reader is never sure what is her own paranoia and what is real. This continues all the way through the book as strange things happen and the reader is kept in the dark about the truth. This kept me guessing and I liked the fact that I was never sure!
I also liked the fact that the action nearly all takes place within a few homes in Gresham Terrace. This gave the book a claustrophobic feel as Jade and her neighbours navigated their relationships with each other. Indeed, there are few outlets for Jade to discuss her feelings as she is presented as not getting on with her work colleagues and not being close to her family – this made it more tense as the reader constantly questioned what the sane onlooker would make of her behaviour.
The plot itself is clever and constantly twists away from what is expected – all the little things that happen to Jade seem to escalate but might have rational explanations (up to a point). It certainly kept me turning the pages as I was keen to know what happened.
My only quibble was that I guessed some of the ending but I’m not giving any spoilers to explain that further!
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers that feel tense and claustrophobic – this one has a small cast but Viggiano is excellent at making us constantly question our feelings about all of them!
About the Author
Prior to turning her attention to writing, Debbie Viggiano was, for more years than she cares to remember, a legal secretary. She lives with her Italian husband, a rescued pooch from Crete, and a very disgruntled cat. Occasionally her adult children return home bringing her much joy… apart from when they want to raid the fridge or eat her secret stash of chocolate. Tweet @DebbieViggiano or follow her on Facebook!
Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Phoenix Project’ by Michelle Kidd. This book was published on 5th October, 2018. The tour has been organised by Damp Pebbles Blog Tours.
This is the first book in the series featuring Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh – there are two further books in the series: ‘Seven Days’ (Book 2) and ‘The Fifteen’ (Book 3).
The Blurb
How long can the past remain buried?
A simple message in a local newspaper. A set of highly sensitive documents left in the back of a London black cab. Both events collide to cause Isabel Faraday’s life to be turned upside down. Growing up believing her parents died in a car crash when she was five, Isabel learns the shocking truth; a truth that places her own life in danger by simply being a Faraday. Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh of the Metropolitan Police races against time to save her, and at the same time unravels long forgotten secrets involving MI5, MI6, the KGB and NASA. Secrets that have lain dormant for twenty years. Secrets worth killing for. With kidnap, murder and suicides stretching across four continents, just what is the Phoenix Project?
The Phoenix Project is the first Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh novel.
If you like a gripping page turner, with plenty of surprising twists, buy The Phoenix Project today to discover its secrets.
My Review
I’ll admit that this book was slightly outside my usual genres – although I love a police procedural, this one looked a lot more like a thriller and on an international scale so I wasn’t sure what to expect.
However, from the first page, it became evident that I was in safe hands as the story was revealed – multiple characters, many locations and different time periods were dealt with confidently by the author and I sat back to enjoy the ride!
I don’t think it can be emphasised enough that the scale of this book is HUGE. As well as involving MI5, MI6, NASA, the KGB and the Metropolitan Police, the story shifts between countries. The plot is also complex and on a massive scale with even an element about space travel. Although the premise initially seems a little far-fetched, it is absolutely compelling as the plot is developed around it. Although this was not within my usual genres, I found myself being pulled along by the story.
One of the ways that this book stays pacey and fresh across nearly 500 pages is the twists. Wow, the twists! There were so many that I felt like I was being pulled in so many directions and absolutely raced through the book in order to work out what was truth among the various plot strands featuring spies, double crosses, liars, corruption and secrecy!
In the middle of all this is DI Jack MacIntosh – we mainly follow his investigation and so discover things alongside him. He is an interesting character with a bit of back-story and I’d be interested to see how he develops in the rest of the series.
Also thrown into the middle of the mix is Isabel Faraday, a young woman working in an art supplies store who believes that her parents were killed in a car crash when she was a child. She receives a message to meet her ex-boyfriend, Miles, one evening and becomes central to the plot as she – along with the reader – tries to make sense of the bewildering events. I really liked Isabel as a character because she was surprisingly tough in the face of adversity and some very odd circumstances.
This is a hugely ambitious novel and one that I enjoyed very much, although I did sometimes feel that the plot was the driving force of the novel – I would have liked a little more character development in places as sometimes motives were not so clear. However, this is a minor quibble only as the plot is so fast-paced and twisty that there is never a dull moment.
I’d recommend this to those who like thrillers with a political dimension – although there is a central police figure, this is far from being a police procedural in the traditional sense. Instead, the reader is thrown into a whirl of people, places, plot twists and embarks on a race through the pages in order to discover the truth.
About the Author
Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.
Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.
But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.
In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.
Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order.
