BLOG TOUR: The Man Who Ran - Mark Stibbe

When he saw it, it was like a shotgun discharging in Jake’s face. His unbeatable hand had been beaten. 

When Jake Graystone becomes addicted to poker, he decides to abandon his family and indulge his new-found craving without restraint. Running away to a northern city on Christmas Eve, he discovers the Arcadia Casino and starts to play. With the help of a rare gift for reading his opponents, he quickly gains fame and fortune.

One year later, again on Christmas Eve, Jake is challenged to a heads-up match by a player called the Undertaker. When his adversary tilts him, Jake finds himself on the run again. With the help of a German Shepherd and a homeless friend, Jake outfoxes the gunman who pursues him - until one fateful night when they come face to face.

I didn’t want to put this down. A heartwarming story that would be great as a film. I hope this book reaches addicts and helps turn their lives around - Angela Lee

If you like Christmas, you’ll absolutely treasure this book - Jimbo Sun

A thoroughly gripping, enjoyable read that tugs on all the right emotions - Jules Loveland

Winner of the 2020 Page Turner Award for Fiction, Mark Stibbe is a full-time novelist specialising in exciting supernatural stories. The Man Who Ran is the new, expanded version of King of Hearts. 

What did I think?

Well this was an unexpectedly poignant tale.  The Man Who Ran is like a mixture of your favourite Christmas movies and festive books all rolled into one.  Think the ghosts of A Christmas Carol, the dire straits of It's a Wonderful Life and the charity of strangers in Home Alone, to name but a few.

Jake is a maths teacher who is at risk of redundancy when he finds he has the skills to play poker.  Seeing an easy way to make money, he becomes addicted to gambling but there's a cost to winning at the tables and it's a price his wife and sons must pay.  Jake doesn't seem to care though, all he can think about is the next game so he walks out on his family without a backwards glance.

Oh Jake, I was so disappointed in him as he headed off to the bright lights of Casino City that sounded remarkably like Newcastle with an angel statue standing guard on the outskirts.  As we know, the house never loses and I thought Jake deserved everything he got when things inevitably turned to sh*t so I was surprised to feel empathy towards him the further down he fell.  I think Mark Stibbe has sprinkled a bit of the magic of Christmas inside the book as I was wishing peace and goodwill to all men (apart from the Undertaker) towards the end.

Incredibly poignant and thought-provoking, The Man Who Ran is a modern-day festive fable that really makes you stop and think about your own life and the rest of humankind.  It is entertaining but also compassionate and it has a hint of the supernatural to add an extra touch of magic over the festive period.

I'm putting The Man Who Ran on my book shelf alongside A Christmas Carol so I will be reminded to read it every December.  A highly recommended read.

I received a gifted paperback to read and review for the Love Books Tours Bookstagram Tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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Underbelly (A Taryn Winter Crime Thriller Book 1) - Karen Crawford

A popular Las Vegas hotel and casino is undergoing a billion-dollar renovation, and a killer is operating in the construction zone. The Square is open for guests, but they are unaware that a predator is lurking below the facade of luxury. One woman’s death will draw attention to the murders and spark an investigation.

Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department retired detective Taryn Winter, her former partner, Daniel Brady and FBI Special Agent Jenae Shannon are on the trail, risking everything to bring a killer to justice. But their opponent has become obsessed with one of them and is on the hunt. Will they find the killer first or be the next victims?

What did I think?

This book does exactly what it says on the cover as Karen Crawford transports the reader to the dark and seedy underbelly of Las Vegas.  Although I've seen it on TV, I've never been to Las Vegas but, through Karen Crawford's descriptive and immersive prose, I actually felt like I was seeing the twinkly lights of the strip and hearing the jangle of coins in the slots whilst reading Underbelly.

Karen Crawford has created a flawed yet empathetic character in the protagonist of Taryn Winter.  Taryn is a very intriguing woman; she has retired from the police force but still works as a consultant so it's almost like she hasn't left at all.  I love the relationship she has with her ex-partner, Daniel and how she really cares about the community, especially the ladies of the night.  I could go on more about the amazing character of Taryn, and I have so many questions regarding her past, so I hope this series continues for a long time to come in order to answer them.  

Where there is prey, there are predators and that is so very true in Las Vegas.  Gamblers, drunks and prostitutes are there for the taking and a killer is using a luxury hotel as their personal kill room.  It should be an easy collar for the Las Vegas MPD with so many CCTV cameras around but this killer seems to be invisible.  The hunt for the killer reaches fever pitch after a wealthy patron's wife becomes one of the victims.  The increased media interest puts the police under more pressure to catch the killer and increased pressure leads to a higher risk of mistakes being made.  This is one very confident and arrogant murderer who always seems to be just out of reach of the long arm of the law.

The feel of the book reminds me of Michael Connelly's Bosch, both in the complexity of the main character and the outstanding quality of writing.  What Bosch does for Los Angeles, Winter does for Las Vegas and I can't wait to continue her story in Atone.  Karen Crawford is a breath of fresh air in the over-saturated crime genre.  I'm a huge fan of crime fiction but I'm finding it a little predictable these days; this fast-paced, gritty and outstanding debut kept me guessing from beginning to beyond the end.  Underbelly is simply extraordinary and I can't rate it highly enough; 5 stars just doesn't do it justice!  A very highly recommended read.

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

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