BLOG TOUR: Manhattan Down - Michael Cordy

A propulsive rollercoaster high concept international thriller which dares to take the world to the edge of oblivion.

THE CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS JUST SAID GOODNIGHT.

On the anniversary eve of the 9/11 terror attack, New York swelters under a heat dome of record temperatures. Even the global leaders assembled at the UN HQ are forced to admit that the climate crisis has reached boiling point and the world’s time is running out.

That same day, at precisely 5:25 p.m., everyone on Manhattan Island – every man, woman and child, including all the world leaders at the UN – falls unconscious. Everyone that is, except for Samantha Rossi, a single mother reeling from devastating personal news and Nick Lockwood, a wounded NYPD detective who wakes from a coma just as the City That Never Sleeps falls into one.

Rossi’s first concern is her daughter. Lockwood’s is his city. As night draws in, they must work together to unravel the mystery of what has happened and why. Each must decide how far they will go and what lines they will cross to save what matters most to them.

Manhattan Down is a pulse-pounding contemporary thriller which dares to imagine the unimaginable, a leaderless world being held to ransom by forces unknown for reasons unknown. The questions it asks are terrifying – and so are some of the answers.

 

What did I think?

That chilling strapline really made me sit up and take notice of Michael Cordy's new thriller, Manhattan Down, and it delivered chills and thrills on every page.  It's an incredibly original and highly imaginative thriller that takes the reader to the real, and scarily empty, streets of Manhattan in a breathtaking race against time.

When Manhattan falls asleep on 10th September, only a handful of people are left walking the streets: a group of eco-terrorists, a wounded detective and a single mother.  Nick Lockwood has sworn to protect and serve so he only has one thing on his mind: save the city.  Samantha Rossi is like a lion with its cub as she trawls the streets of Manhattan to find her daughter.  It's only a matter of time before the pair cross paths with both each other and the people responsible for bringing Manhattan to its knees.

I have got goosebumps just thinking about the book and my thoughts have been well and truly provoked.  It's like a cross between Die Hard and 24 and it would be an absolute travesty if this amazing book is not picked up for the big screen.  There are so many interesting subjects running alongside the razor-sharp plot to provoke debate, which makes this book a great choice for book groups.

Chilling, gripping, blisteringly fast-paced and scarily realistic, Manhattan Down is a breathtaking cli-fi thriller that had me on the edge of my seat from start to finish.  I couldn't put it down and would highly recommend this completely unmissable and unforgettable book.  An easy five stars!

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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UK.Bookshop.org

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BLOG TOUR: Zero Ri$k - Simon Hayes

 

Ten days. Seven Deadly Sins. Zero Ri$k.

What’s not to like when your bank account gains an extra zero or two at Christmas?

When customer complaints on Christmas Eve about tenfold inflated bank balances herald not early Christmas gifts, nor a botched computer system upgrade, but the most sophisticated cyber attack in history, National Bank Chief Operating Officer Rob Tanner finds himself in the eye of a ‘Black Swan’ storm no one predicted, but anyone could have anticipated.

Tanner enlists the help of brilliant American cyber security expert Ashley Markham, but the attacks only worsen: bank balances rise remorselessly and spread to all the nation’s banks. The only clues to the hacker’s intentions are cryptic daily emails, centred on Hieronymus Bosch’s medieval representation of the seven deadly sins—and packed with colourful artistic and cultural references—taunting Tanner and the newly incumbent Prime Minister, James Allen.

With financial markets—and the very world as he knows it—on the brink of collapse, Tanner races against the clock to decode not just the bizarre emails but their deeper meaning, and the implications for who he can really trust. All the while, his former boss “The Toad” is seeking revenge... and answers of his own.

This enthralling, multi-layered debut follows the story of a disillusioned banker facing unthinkable financial Armageddon, where money has no value, stock and bond prices are meaningless, and the economy is destroyed. Can Tanner unravel the mystery of the hacker’s obsession with Bosch, sin and retribution before modern society returns to the dark ages?

What did I think?

WOW!  What a debut!  Zero Ri$k is absolutely brilliant - I actually uttered those exact words after I had turned the final page and finally released the breath I didn't realise I had been holding.  It's a chunky book at 780 pages long but I flew through it as I couldn't put it down.

Rob Tanner deserves a medal for working for 'The Toad' for so long and when their bank is hit with a cyber attack on Christmas Eve, The Toad will blame anybody but himself.  As quickly as the attack started, it appeared to have finished so things can get back to normal right?  WRONG!

I felt like my nerves were balanced on a knife-edge as the action played out before me on the page.  Simon Hayes' writing is as vivid as the Hieronymus Bosch paintings that depict the seven deadly sins.  I loved how Bosch's famous artwork is woven into the plot and it's very thought-provoking to consider what Bosch would make of our current society where few people could claim to never have experienced greed, pride, gluttony, lust, sloth, envy or wrath.

If I thought the writing was exquisite, the plot is even more so.  Although I do have a financial background myself, you don't need any financial knowledge to fully appreciate the sublime plot.  Just the thought of how much trust we put into banks to keep our money safe and the odd occasion we hear of banks having issues that stops people accessing their money is enough to give me nightmares.  Simon Hayes takes that fear and increases it a hundredfold as people's bank balances change at will.

Incredibly imaginative, heart-poundingly thrilling and scarily realistic,  Zero Ri$k is easily one of the best books I have read this year and it's even more astonishing that it's a debut novel.  Although the book will always be better, I think it's destined for the big screen and I would be very surprised if it's not snapped up by a movie producer.  I really can't recommend this unmissable novel highly enough - an easy five stars.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

UK.Bookshop.org

Amazon

About the author:

Simon Hayes is a seasoned professional with a diverse background spanning financial services, executive search, and consultancy. With over three decades of international experience, he has lived in the US, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Simon began his career with Bank of Boston, Morgan Grenfell and James Capel, before spending much of the 90s in Asia, serving as Head of Equity Research for Warburg in Japan and later as Managing Director for Salomon Bros and UBS in Hong Kong. Simon is a Trinity Hall, Cambridge, Law graduate and the creator of rubriqs®. Recognised as a top-ranked securities analyst by Extel and II, and later as the "Best Headhunting Executive" in Japan byAsiamoney, he has also been an executive coach, mentor, and financial consultant, spending much of 2023 in Zimbabwe on a major fraud case. Born in Ealing, he is a lifelong supporter of Brentford FC. A proud father to India and Ivo, Simon now lives near Tower Bridge.

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The Confession - Jo Spain

SOMETIMES THE TRUTH IS NOT ALL IT SEEMS...
SOMETIMES A CONFESSION IS JUST THE BEGINNING... 

Late one night a man walks into the luxurious home of disgraced banker Harry McNamara and his wife Julie. The man launches an unspeakably brutal attack on Harry as a horror-struck Julie watches, frozen by fear. It looks like Harry's many sins - corruption, greed, betrayal - have finally caught up with him.

An hour later the intruder, JP Carney, hands himself in, confessing to the assault. The police have a victim, a suspect in custody and an eye-witness account, but Julie remains troubled.

Has Carney's surrender really been driven by a guilty conscience or is this confession the first calculated move in a deadly game?

What did I think?

I just had to read this book after seeing such a buzz on social media and with it being rather unusual; more of a 'whydidhedoit' rather than the more usual ‘whodunnit’.  We’re so used to trying to guess the mystery perpetrator with a big jawdropping reveal towards the end of the book, but Jo Spain turns this tried and tested method on its head and tells us exactly who has committed the crime on the very first page!  This violent crime seems so mindless and unprovoked that you naturally ask ‘Why?’ and then you’re hooked.  You clever lady, Ms Spain!

‘Why?’ is the question that follows us throughout the book from the moment that JP Carney walks into Harry and Julie’s house, beats Harry to death with a golf club and calmly walks back out of the house and in to a police station to hand himself in.  Julie is so shocked and frozen with fear that she is unable to move from the sofa to even check for signs of life...but we’d all be like that wouldn’t we?  I wondered, as I’m sure Jo Spain intended me to, whether Julie was more shocked or relieved by Harry’s death.

Narrated in three distinct voices: Julie, JP and police officer Alice, we delve into Julie and JP’s lives in our quest to find out ‘Why?’.  I found myself continually asking questions and trying to guess the link between JP Carney and Julie McNamara.  Do they know each other?  Is it something to do with Harry’s bank?  Is JP after justice that the court failed to provide?  I’m sure, like me, you will have these questions and so many more as you whizz through the pages of this brilliant book.  Even when you think you’ve guessed what’s going on, Jo Spain has more surprises up her sleeve.

I can see why there's a lot of excitement about The Confession - what an addictive and surprising read this turned out to be.  With more red herrings than Morrison’s fish counter, The Confession grabbed my attention from the very first page and refused to let go until I had discovered every dirty little secret hidden within. This may be my first Jo Spain book but it definitely won't be my last.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Empathy Problem - Gavin Extence

Driven by money, power and success, Gabriel has worked ruthlessly to get to the very top of the banking game. He's not going to let the inconvenience of a terminal brain tumour get in his way.

But the tumour has other ideas. As it grows, it appears to be doing strange things to Gabriel's personality. Whether he likes it or not, he seems to be becoming less selfish, less mercenary, less unlikeable.

Once he could dismiss the rest of humanity as irrelevant. Now he's not so sure. Women, in particular, are becoming worryingly three-dimensional. And none more so than Caitlin, the 'unremarkable' girl he sees busking on the steps of St Paul's Cathedral. When she plays her violin, Gabriel could almost believe that he has a soul...

But as each day that passes brings him closer to his last, has time run out for second chances?

What did I think?

This was actually a bit of a wake up call for me as I saw so much of myself in Gabriel - not his power and success but definitely putting work before health.  Getting the work life balance is something that many people have off to a tee but for the small number of workaholics out there it's something that is very difficult to do, even when you have a health scare.

Gabriel simply doesn't have time for a brain tumour, it will involve taking too much time off work.  Gabriel will allow absolutely nothing to interfere with his work, not even any treatment that might extend his life or make him more comfortable - treatment can be done on a Saturday, can't it?  (Anyone who knows me will be seeing the similarity to me right about now).  The brain tumour, however, does not love work as much as Gabriel.  As the tumour grows, Gabriel begins to experience emotions he didn't know he possessed and it causes him to make some very surprising decisions.

All of this is going on at the time of the anti-capitalism Occupy protests in London in 2011 to 2012 as thousands of people took to the streets to protest about inequality and corporate greed following the banking crisis.  Gabriel's luxury office overlooks the Occupy camp and he is in effect one of the bankers that they are protesting about.  As Gabriel's emotions start to change, he takes a walk through the square and hears the most beautiful music.  He is inexplicably drawn to Caitlin, a talented busker, who he then scarily stalks.  You could really feel him losing control of the rational part of his brain at this point.  His stalking actually proves useful when Caitlin is mugged and Gabriel, lurking behind in the shadows, challenges her attacker.  Caitlin and Gabriel strike up a friendship that is both hilarious and despondent as Gabriel tangles himself into a web of lies.

I'm not a big fan of politics and there's a large part of the storyline that's dedicated to the anti-capitalism protests, however, it wasn't overbearing.  There's enough going on with Gabriel's rainbow of emotions to hold the reader's interest.  It's so intriguing to see the experiencing of emotions that you or I may see as ordinary being shown as completely alien to Gabriel.  It's powerful and fascinating to see that, as human beings, we're all capable of feeling the same emotions but for some more than others they're buried so much deeper.

Having previously read The Mirror World of Melody Black, I find Gavin Extence to be a completely unique author.  His writing is so thought-provoking, engaging and witty that his books are impossible to put down.  I read The Empathy Problem in less than 24 hours but the story within will stay with me for a lot longer than that.  

I received this book from the publisher, Hodder & Stoughton, in exchange for an honest review.

My rating:

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About the Author:

Gavin Extence lives in Sheffield with his wife, children and cat. 


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