Bad Actors - Mark Pepper

Actor and fun, middle-aged psychopath Matt Spiller has finally made it to Hollywood. With a big movie under his belt, his life as a provincial English taxi driver is firmly in the past. As are the drug dealers he was forced to kill.

He’s landed the lead role in a TV series called Veteran Avenue, and he’s got a new girlfriend.

Life is improbably peachy.

Then people start arriving in LA.

His ex-wife is the least of his worries; she just wants to send him on a guilt trip.

His ex-agent, on the other hand, wants a chunk of his new-found wealth, and will use blackmail to get it, while a dogged detective wants to jail him for a spate of unsolved murders.

And when Spiller stumbles upon a secret that could destroy Hollywood, a hell of a lot of people want him dead.

 

What did I think?

I've thoroughly enjoyed all of Mark Pepper's novels and it feels like they were all leading up to the pinnacle of Bad Actors.  You can of course read Bad Actors as a standalone but you won't pick up the references to all of Mark Pepper's previous books and I absolutely loved how they were all woven into the fantastic plot.

It's the second book featuring Matt Spiller who we met in Man Down and the former British taxi driver is living it up in LA after starring in a major movie and then securing the lead role in a TV series.  Everything is going great but this is Matt Spiller we're talking about and when it goes wrong, it goes spectacularly wrong.

I really don't want to give away any of the plot so I'm saying no more about it but believe me when I say that this is a book you don't want to miss.  The whole book is outstanding from the amazing cover to the explosive plot and the characters that are so razor-sharp you need to wear gloves when reading about them.

Blisteringly fast-paced and incredibly gripping, if Bad Actors was any grittier it would be a tonne of grit.  Without doubt, it's all of the stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Bad Actors so it's an easy five stars from me.  One of the streaming services or a film producer seriously needs to pick up this book right now!  I don't often shout but I'm shouting now: DON'T MISS THIS BOOK!!!

Many thanks to Mark Pepper for sending me a digital ARC to read and review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

COVER REVEAL: Man on a Murder Cycle - Mark Pepper

Having absolutely LOVED Veteran Avenue, I consider myself to be a Mark Pepper fan so I'm delighted to be taking part in the cover reveal today for his new novel, Man on a Murder Cycle. So, scroll down to have a look at the cover and find out more about the book below. 

Well, isn't that an awesome cover?  It looks like something you might see in your nightmares and I can't wait to read it.

Here's a little bit about the book:

HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE AN AUTHOR BETRAYED.

Tom Roker’s debut thriller was an instant bestseller. Since then, he has written four more books, none of which have been published. His reputation has faded from overnight success to one-hit wonder.

Now, finally, he’s making a comeback. His latest novel, Man on a Murder Cycle, is a blockbuster. The dark tale of Milton, a vengeful biker with a penchant for brutal acts of violence, perfectly recaptures the mood of Roker’s first novel. And everyone loves it!

It’s just a shame he didn’t write it.

The real author is recently deceased. Roker stole the manuscript, passing it off as his own. He’s covered his tracks well, so the trivial matter of who wrote what can be overlooked.

That is, until a mad man on a big bike starts killing people, exactly as described in the stolen novel – even those scenes that didn’t make the final cut.

Only one person can know what was written in those scenes, and he’s dead. 

Isn’t he?

Preorder HERE from Red Dog Press

BLOG TOUR: Man Down - Mark Pepper

Matt Spiller drives a souped-up taxi, suffers from SAD, and has a troublesome past.

It’s Christmas Eve, and one of his fares is about to become extremely problematic.

Helen Spiller still loves her husband, but can no longer live with his moods.

She’s a wonderful mum, with a screw quietly working loose in her head.

Now, their eldest daughter has hooked up with a very bad boyfriend.

Spiller thinks he has the skillset to handle all these problems.

He’s dead wrong.

 

What did I think?

Mark Pepper stole my weekend; I simply couldn't put his new book down!  Man Down is just brilliant: gripping, gritty, funny and totally addictive.  I already know that Mark Pepper is an outstanding writer as I absolutely loved his previous novel, Veteran Avenue, and I'm delighted to report that Man Down is every bit as good.

Main character Matt Spiller makes one heck of a first impression; this is one man I won't forget in a hurry - he makes Die Hard's John McClane look sane.  The same could be said for his wife Helen; the blurb mentions a 'screw quietly working loose in her head' and just you wait to see what happens when that screw finally comes loose.  It's unforgettable!

Take a bow, Mr Pepper!  Man Down is outstanding.  I gave it so many virtual rounds of applause as the scintillating plot played out.  It's so full of thrills and spills that it had my heart beating 19 to the dozen and I had a few gasp out loud moments too.  I also loved the humour written into the book through the characters' speech - they sure don't hold anything back.

With an ingenious and highly original plot, Man Down is an unforgettable fast-paced thriller.  I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.

I received a digital ARC from the publisher to read and review for the blog tour; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

Buy it from:

Red Dog Press

Amazon

About the author:

Mark lives in Manchester with his wife of 30 years, Jeannifer, and his daughter, Jade. 

In his day job, Mark is an Intelligence Analyst for a financial regulator in Washington DC. He is a qualified secondary school drama teacher, and worked as an actor for fifteen years, having graduated from RADA in 1990. 

His first two novels, The Short Cut and Man on a Murder Cycle, were published by Hodder & Stoughton, and his third, Veteran Avenue, originally published by Urbane and now by Red Dog Press. Veteran Avenue, is mainly set in LA, and is currently being developed as a TV series by the actor Warren Brown. 

Find him on twitter @PepSixSix