BLOG TOUR: Ice Lake (Harry Cull Thriller #1) - John A Lenahan

…WHERE EVERYBODY LIES. AND SOME PEOPLE KILL…

An electrifying debut crime novel and the first in a new series featuring psychologist Harry Cull. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Mark Billingham and Peter May.

AN ABANDONDED BODY

Deep in the woods of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the body of a man is found – shot three times, dumped under the trees where the local kids will find him.

A HAUNTED PSYCHOLOGIST

Psychologist Harry Cull, tormented by his past, arrives in the picturesque town of Ice Lake to help with the murder investigation. There he unravels a web of lies and deceit that leads to the dark heart of a community torn apart by fracking, drugs and murder.

A DESPERATE KILLER

It’s not long before the second corpse turns up, this time a lawyer left for dead in the forest, and Harry finds himself on the trail of a twisted killer – who will do anything to keep the town’s darkest secrets buried.

What did I think?

Oh my word, I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did...and that's no lie.  I'm going to make a prediction right here and now - this is going to be a bestselling, long-running series.  Harry Cull is one of those characters that you can't get enough of, like Michael Connelly's Bosch or Peter James' Roy Grace.  You've got the story he's investigating now plus the intrigue of his past that had my brain fighting over which story I wanted to read more about.  Both are winners as you couldn't possibly choose one over the other.

Harry Cull turns up in the sleepy Pennsylvania town of Ice Lake to help his friend, Trooper Ed Cirba, investigate the murder of a local man. The pair met at a conference in Las Vegas and I got my first inkling of the sparkling humour involved when Cull won't let Cirba forget about their visit to a strip bar, or titty bar as they are hilariously known in Ice Lake.  The locals all know each others' business and can't finish a sentence without saying 'and that's no lie', but when another body turns up, clearly somebody is lying.

When two of his pals turn up dead, local drug dealer, Feather, thinks he could be next on the hit list.  The interactions between Cull and Feather were one of the many highlights of the book.  Cull has a knack of being able to tell when someone is lying, with or without his Frankenstein-esque lie detector machine.  With an excellent well-placed quote from Spiderman and paying serious homage to Star Wars, Feather shows his awe of Cull by referencing the jedi knights, causing me to laugh out loud on many an occasion.

Cull has a devastating history that lays down the thread that will link all the Harry Cull books together (and please let there be MANY more).  There's always going to be a hint of danger following him around after he got mixed up with the Jersey mob.  As we all know from watching The Sopranos, you can run but you can't hide.

Ice Lake is a sizzling start to what I'm sure will become a favourite series for many readers...and that's no lie.  The sizzling dynamic between Cull and Cirba reminded me of Starsky and Hutch; always a little bit tongue in cheek and I'm sure I'll spot things I've missed on the second reading.  Hopefully we won't have long to wait for book 2, and I'll definitely be first in line for that!  I could write so much more about this book (I haven't even mentioned the fracking or the love interest), but seriously - just go buy it!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult

I've never read a Jodi Picoult book before, but I will be reading more after this.  Despite Katie's burying her head in the sand, which is sometimes hard to believe, Plain Truth gives a wonderful respectful insight into the Amish way of life.

Katie Fisher is a young Amish girl living the plain life in Paradise, Pennsylvania.  She is courting Samuel, attending church and helping her parents on their farm.  One night she wakes up with stomach cramps and goes into her father's barn where she delivers a baby boy.  Exhausted, she falls asleep holding the baby and praying to God to help her.  She wakes a few hours later and God has answered her prayers - the baby has disappeared. Katie goes back to the house to sleep then when the boys come to do the milking, the dead body of the baby is found.

Katie's "Englischer" cousin, Ellie, is a lawyer and volunteers to defend Katie when he is charged with murder of the baby.  Katie first denies that she was ever pregnant but, as she comes to trust Ellie, the story unfolds whilst Katie awaits trial.

Jodi Picoult effortlessly slips from simple farm life to courtroom drama and I read this book in a few days.  I didn't really know much about the Amish community so I enjoyed learning about their way of life whilst this tragic story unfolded.

Mistake alert: 

page 81 - Furniture had been moved to make room for the the long, backless church benches, which arrived by wagon and could be transported from home to home.

page 393 - As if listening to his own his words, he slowly got to his feet and stared at the jury.

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