The Family Man by Kimberly Chambers#Blog Tour#Crime New Series. RandomThingsTours Anne Cater

About the book:

MEET THE BONDS…
Kenny Bond is finally out of prison after doing a long stretch for killing a copper, and is determined to get back to life on the straight and narrow. He’s got a lot of time to make up for, he’s missed his beloved
wife, Sharon, and his family is growing up fast.

A FAMILY LIKE NO OTHER…
Kenny’s son Donny might lack his father’s edge but his twin grandsons, Beau and Brett – well, they are Bonds through and through. Like him, they won’t let anyone stand in their way.

BUT THEY’RE ABOUT TO MEET THEIR MATCH…
Family comes before everything else for Kenny. There’s nothing he won’t do for them. But there are enemies from his past he can’t shake off, and a family feud is brewing. Kenny’s determined that nothing,
and no one, will threaten his family. But can the Bond family stick together when someone’s out to take them down?

My thoughts:

Well Kimberly has written another corker of a book and what looks like a belter of a new series. Tough, gritty and not for the faint hearted! Kenny is a cop killer and has just been released after serving a hefty prison sentence and not only expects to step into, not only as head of his family but top dog in the crime world. Will it be as easy as it seems to be?

Kenny has a son, Donny who doesn’t seem tough enough to be his heir apparent. But not to worry his grandsons Beau and Brett are chips off the old block. In fact they are evil little buggers, and the apples of granddad’s eye.

Kimberley Chambers is back and back with a bang, a massive bang with this book,where as we have learnt to expect anything and everything can and does happen.

At the start of the book Kenny is celebrating being out with his wife, son, grandsons and the rest of family: blood related and crime related. And this is the start of a belter of a book as Kenny says he is going straight but is this just a front. Well you would be bloody surprised if it was true.

There are a lot of people to get to know in this book and some you will like and others you will simply detest. Kimberley always has plenty of meat on the bones of her characters. She knows how to build a tale and keep you turning the pages.

 It is told in the past from the 70’s onwards as it charts their stories and lives and dramas. Known for her her no holds barred approach this book is for me her rawest and most shocking and some of the situations the family find themselves in will leave you reeling, it doesn’t describe the writing well enough to say it’s ‘down to earth’, fans will know what to expect and will not be disappointed by this book and like me look forward to Book 2 and hearing more about what has and is happening to them all

Recommended highly and all the stars from me. Grab a copy if you like gritty, earhy crime books.

A brand-new series from the queen of gritty crime
A fascinating interviewee and a brilliant raconteur, Kimberley has appeared on
BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 4 Saturday Live, Loose Ends and Front Row, BBC Radio 2
Graham Norton and the Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio

About the Author:

A truly unforgettable character, Kimberley injects authenticity into her gritty
gangland crime novels set around the east end. She came to writing later in life,
having worked as a street trader (being promoted from tea girl to sales when she
rugby-tackled a shoplifter), a DJ and a cabbie. Fed up of scraping a living, she set her
mind to writing a novel, despite being laughed at by friends and family, who dubbed
her ‘a female Del-Boy’. But with her creative mind, colourful life experiences and
memorable covering letter (‘Take a chance on me, you won’t regret it. This time next
year I’ll be wearing Prada, not Primark’), she quickly had five agents knocking at her
door and a publishing contract. Fifteen novels and three Sunday Times number ones
later, she’s top of her game and an incredible inspiration.
Join Kimberley’s legion of legendary fans on facebook.com/kimberleychambersofficial and
@kimbochambers on Twitter.

The Accused by Owen Mullen Blog Tour Crime# Wrongful Imprisonment# Fight For Justice#Is It What It Seems @Rachel’sRandomResources.

ABOUT THE BOOK: When Private Investigator Charlie Cameron agrees to take on a cold case, he is drawn back into Glasgow’s dark underworld… Glasgow PI Charlie Cameron knew Kim Rafferty was bad news the moment they met. Desperate people always spelled trouble in his experience, and Mrs Rafferty was as desperate as they come. What she was asking for was insane. If he agreed to help the wife of the notorious East-End gangster, the consequences for them both could be fatal. Twenty-four hours later, another betrayed woman with a hopeless case is pleading for Charlie’s help. The PI is her only chance to keep an innocent man from serving a second prison sentence for murders he didn’t commit. Dennis Boyd is on the run, and as Charlie fights against the clock to keep him out of jail, he crosses a line that puts him on the wrong side of the law and pits him against his old friend and ally, DS Andrew Geddes. As the body count grows, and the defence for his client falls apart bit by bit, Charlie refuses to accept the inevitable. But everyone has their limits – even the infamous Charlie Cameron. Will he be forced to admit that this case may be the one to beat him… MY THOUGHTS: Well here we are at book four in The Charlie Cameron series. I have read all the previous books in the series, which are exceptional this book continues in the same high quality. Charlie Cameron is a Private Investigator who usually specialises in finding missing people and he never has been known to take on cold cases. It is just not his thing. So when Kim Rafferty appears on his doorstep asking him to investigate a cold case in which she says Dennis Boyd who has just been released from prison after serving a long sentence for a crime he did not commit and there had been a miscarriage of justice. His first reaction is to say no. For two reasons firstly he doesn’t believe her story and secondly and more importantly Kim is the wife of notorious Glasgow gangster Sean Rafferty and anyone who gets involved with this man is asking for trouble and obviously has screw loose. But as Dennis finds himself involved in another crime and is on the run. Charlie finds himself like a dog with a bone, holding on and refusing to let go. Charlie says no but the big problem is he finds himself backtracking on that original decision. He is quickly up to his neck in the murky waters of this investigation. This is a great book, brilliant story and top quality writing wrapped up in one delicious bundle. You will love this book and though it is part of a series it can be read as a stand alone but do yourself a favour and read the other three books. You will bloody well enjoy them. I can guarantee this and you wont be disappointed. A belter of a book and a great central character in Charlie but great supporting cast in Patrick Logue, David Geddes, Charlies ally and nemesis and Jacky manager of NYB where all these characters hangout at times. Give Charlie a try you wont regret it, I haven’t.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Bestselling author Owen Mullen is a McIlvanney Crime Book Of The Year long-listed novelist. Owen Mullen graduated from Strathclyde University, moved to London and worked as a rock musician, session singer and songwriter, and had a hit record in Japan with a band he refuses to name; Owen still loves to perform on occasion. His great love for travel has taken him on many adventures from the Amazon and Africa to the colourful continent of India and Nepal. A gregarious recluse, he and his wife, Christine, split their time between Glasgow, and their home away from home in the Greek Islands where all of his crime thrillers were created.

The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves Blog Tour # Two Rivers(2) NorthDevon#Matthew Venn RandomThingsTours.AnneCater

ABOUT THE BOOK:

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to
its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime
scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an
elaborately staged murder – Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed.
His daughter Eve is a glassblower, and the murder weapon is a
shard of one of her broken vases.
Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He’s a good man, a public
servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved though to
find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.
Then another body is found – killed in a similar way. It’s not long since Matthew’s returned to North
Devon with Jonathan, after 20 years estranged from his deeply religious family, now he finds
himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that
is dangerously close to home . .

MY THOUGHTS:

Well Ann fairly gets around in her writing journey. The far north with Jimmy Perez, Northeast England with Vera Stanhope and now North Devon with the second in the Matthew Venn series. I read this as a standalone, not having read The Long Call. It worked quite well as a standalone but I will go back and read book one in the series.

What I liked about this book, in fact in all of Ann’s books, is not only the great storyline but her characters and their backstories.

I really like the way Ann delves into the character’s background and their relationships. That is what is good and what I love about great story telling. The way way the author builds a picture that you can see clearly in your mind. This is a slow paced book and sometimes that is what you as a reader need. Time to try and connect the dots and usually failing.

The plot is very twist and throws up red herrings and misdirection galore. Just when you think you have it all sussed you find you are totally wrong and are back to square one!

The ending is totally unexpected and will astound you.

Yet again, Ann Cleeves just keeps hitting them out of the park. As with all of her books, this is another I highly recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty critically acclaimed novels and is translated
into as many languages. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope and
Jimmy Perez who can be found on television in ITV’s Vera and BBC One’s Shetland.
The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations,
capturing the minds of millions worldwide. Sunday Times number 1 bestseller, THE
LONG CALL, was the first in Ann’s Two Rivers series set in Devon, and is now in
production for an ITV drama.
Ann moved to North Devon when she was 11 years old. Before then the family lived in
a tiny village, and as the headmaster’s daughter she always felt like the outsider at
school. But in Barnstaple, Ann found a real home. She made life-long friends and fell
in love with the beautiful North Devon coast, which still has a very special place in her heart. She worked as a
probation officer, librarian, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she embarked on her career as an author.

Ann’s been awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the 2017 CWA Diamond Dagger, and is a
member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. A
passionate champion for libraries, she was a national libraries Day Ambassador in 2016. Her new ‘Reading Coaches’ project, providing support for health and wellbeing in communities, launches in the North East this summer

. Ann lives in North Tyneside near where the Vera books are set. Find her on twitter @AnnCleeves.

Black Reed Bay by Rob Reynolds #Blogtour.RandomThingsTours crime novel#female detective @orendabooks

ABOUT THE BOOK:

When a young woman makes a distressing middle-of-the-night
call to 911, apparently running for her life in a quiet, exclusive
beachside neighbourhood, miles from her home, everything
suggests a domestic incident.
Except no one has seen her since, and something doesn’t sit
right with the officers at Hampstead County PD. With multiple
suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies,
and interference from the top threatening the integrity of
the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an
increasingly puzzling case that looks like it can have only one
ending.
And then the first body appears, and Casey’s investigation
plunges her into a darkness she could never have imagined..

MY THOUGHTS:

Well this my first read by this author and on this form it wont be my last. Rod has several books under his belt, but this is the first in a new series. I’m glad I’m in at the start and I will definitely be onboard with each subsequent book featuring a fabulous new female detective Casey Wray.

Casey is a no nonsense heroine who not only finds herself battling to solve the crimes placed in front of her but also the powers that be who seem to being playing office politics and hard and fast with peoples emotions. At time Casey finds herself confronted with obstacles not of her own making when trying to do her job.

This book is a slow burner; no bad thing but the reader is drawn into the solving of the crimes that they feel they are investigating along with Casey.

A solid, meaty and somewhat grim book that gives the reader a delicious slice of American Noir. If a lover of crime fiction gets their hands on this book and gives it a chance I’m sure they will love it! I know I did!

Casey is, as stated earlier, is a no nonsense woman. A woman who will give any man a run for their money. She has got grit, takes no b******t and has b***s of her own’

The author has written a great book. The prose is essential to the storyline and keeps the reader invested in it. I recommend it to all.

Black Reed Bay introduces a breathtaking, powerful and
addictive new series, fronted by the fantastic Detective Casey
Wray, from the CWA-nominated author of Blood Red City and
The Dark Inside.

AOUT THE AUTHOR:

Rod Reynolds is the author of four novels, including the Charlie Yates series.
His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger,
and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018);
the Guardian has called the books ‘pitch-perfect American noir ’. A lifelong
Londoner, Rod’s first novel set in his hometown, entitled Blood Red City, was
published by Orenda Books in 2020.
Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in
novel writing from City University London. He lives with his wife and family and
spends most of his time trying to keep up with his two young daughters. Follow
him on Twitter @Rod_WR

A Final few words: Thanks to Rod for the tale.

Karen Sullivan@OrendaBooks for the ARC.

Anne Cater@annecater for the tour invite.

A Hundred years to Arras by J.M. Cobley# Blog Tour @RandomThingsTours GREATWar

ABOUT THE BOOK:

On a painful, freezing Easter Monday in 1917, Private Robert Gooding Henson
of the Somerset Light Infantry is launched into the Battle of Arras.
Robert is twenty-three years old, a farmer’s boy from Somerset, who joins up
against his father’s wishes. Robert forms fast friendships with Stanley, who lied
about his age to go to war, and Ernest, whose own slippery account betrays a
life on the streets. Their friendship is forged through gas attacks, trench
warfare, freezing in trenches, hunting rats, and chasing down kidnapped
regimental dogs. Their life is one of mud and mayhem but also love and laughs.
This is the story of Robert’s journey to Arras and back, his dreams and
memories drawing him home. His story is that of the working-class Tommy, the
story of thousands of young men who were caught in the collision between old
rural values and the relentlessness of a new kind of war. It is a story that
connects the past with the present through land, love and blood.

My Thoughts

This was my first read by this author and what a book it was. A short book yes, but it covered a large event in human history, The Great War. But in this book there is the story of friendship between three men and the circumstances that placed them there.

Robert signs up against his father’s wishes; maybe in a misguided attempt to impress. Stanley who lied about his age and Ernest who thinks the hell of war is better than life on the streets.

This book centres mostly on Robert and tells of his time in France and his life on the family farm.

The quality of the author’s writing is such that a no time does the reader feel lost and appreciates the balance between the two narratives.

The story highlights the everyday and the mundane. It also highlights the forces that put these men in the position they find themselves in; and how they’re dispensable to these forces.

A story that centres more on the humans than on the war.

The story has its basis in truth. This book is so close and personal to the author , you can feel how much it means to him , the author is related to the hero of the book which means that you can feel the depth and the emotion that has gone into the book , you feel it in the words on the page !

The story and the quality of the prose and writing is top notch. A book I would recommend without question to all lovers of a great story wrapped up in a great bundle.

If it crosses your path, pick it up and read it!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

J. M. Cobley was born in Devon of Welsh parents and now lives in Warwickshire
with his wife and daughter. Jason studied English Language and Literature at
university and is currently Head Teacher at a hospital school in Coventry.
Jason is otherwise known for his work writing scripts for the long-running
Commando comic and graphic novel adaptations of classics such as Frankenstein
and An Inspector Calls, as well as the children’s novel The Legend of Tom
Hickathrift. Jason also hosts a weekly show on Radio Abbey in Kenilworth, where
he indulges his passion for classic and progressive rock. The central character
of A Hundred Years to Arras is based on his relative Robert Gooding Henson.
@JasonMCoble