BLOG BLITZ: The Edge of Sanity - Chris Thomas

In a derelict squat, the Smart Man watches as the new narcotic developed by his shadowy organisation wreaks havoc on it unsuspecting victims. The drug is now ready for sale on their exclusive darknet market place.

Elsewhere, DCI Robert Smith, the retired head of the Cyber Crimes Unit, seeks out crime boss Curtis Slater at his remote farm. He offers to provide Slater with information in exchange for money. But what information is he offering?

Meanwhile, former detective Pete Harris had started a new life, away from the Cyber Crimes Unit, with his daughter and begins to rekindle his relationship with old colleague Grace Brooks.

With his life seemingly complete, Pete’s world comes crashing down as he is drawn into Slater’s game with fatal consequences. He must join forces with his old enemies in a race against time. But can Pete save his daughter and Grace from the clutches of Slater, the Smart Man, and the sinister ring master, the Professor?

A dark psychological thriller.

What did I think?

Wow!  What an amazing follow up to Enter the Dark.  I didn't think it was possible, but The Edge of Sanity is even more gruesome in places and Chris Thomas made my stomach clench yet again.  You could definitely read The Edge of Sanity as a standalone but it's well worth reading Enter the Dark to understand the background of some of the characters and to fully experience 'The Red Room' that is touched upon in this book.

There is a lot going on in this book which really helped to hold my interest; from kidnapping to human guinea pigs and a huge dollop of revenge that really upped the ante in the anything-could-happen stakes.  Chris Thomas has an amazing ability to describe his scenes of torture and brutality in just the right level of detail to get my stomach heaving.  That sounds bad but it's a good thing; it shows how invested I was in the book that I felt every kick, punch, bite and cut.  If it was a film I would have closed my eyes in horror but I really couldn't tear my eyes away from this wonderfully dark book.

The Edge of Sanity is so realistic that I can totally imagine it happening in real life as junkies look for a bigger and better fix.  As they search for their next fix, they have no idea that someone has invented a drug that will rid humanity of drug users whilst at the same time giving these drug users not only the best, but the last, high of their life.  Complete the trials to enter the dark web and place your bid now to buy this genocidal wonder-drug.

Fast-paced, gruesome and very dark, The Edge of Sanity is so scarily realistic that it both sickens and thrills.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



About the author:

Chris Thomas was born near London in 1978 before moving to Buckinghamshire a few months later. He attended the University of Bristol, graduating with a degree in psychology in 1999. It was here that he developed his interest in criminal psychology and serial killers.

After a brief stint working at an investment bank in London, he left the City to work for his wife’s family business, a position he still holds.

Chris is an avid film fan, especially horror, thrillers and dark comedy- something that he tries to blend in his writing. He self-published his debut novel The Red Room in February 2017 before joining the Bloodhound Books stable and re-releasing the book as Enter The Dark.

The follow up, “The Edge of Sanity”, will be released by Bloodhound Books in August 2018.

In his spare time, Chris enjoys karate (holding a black belt) and spending time with his wife and two young daughters.

Links:

http://www.christhomas.com

http://www.facebook.com/christhomasauthor

@cthomasauthor1

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BLOG TOUR: The Visitors - Catherine Burns

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother, John, in a decaying Georgian townhouse on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to shut out the shocking secret that John keeps in the cellar. 

Until suddenly, John has a heart attack and Marion is forced to go down to the cellar herself and face the gruesome truth that her brother has kept hidden. 

As questions are asked and secrets unravel, maybe John isn't the only one with a dark side.

What did I think?

I loved this book; it's dark, skincrawlingly creepy and disturbing but so compelling that I couldn't tear my eyes away from the page.  Whilst gathering my thoughts after reading The Visitors, I began to realise how very cleverly written it is.  To stir such intense feelings in a reader is no mean feat but that is exactly what Catherine Burns has done with this, her outstanding debut novel.

It starts with a scream in the night that made all my hairs stand on end when Marion isn't alarmed but instead is worried that her neighbours might have heard it.  In just the second paragraph, Marion refers to 'them' as my stomach somersaulted at the thought of who could be trapped in the cellar.  My feelings for Marion then became confused as she remembered her childhood: a time of cruel name-calling and lacking any real friends.  Marion never seemed to fit in anywhere and my heart went out to this child-like woman in her fifties, whispering her dreams of falling in love to her toy teddies.

Marion lives with her brother, John, in the family home.  As children, John was the high-achiever whilst Marion was the disappointment, but appearances can be deceptive and it is clear that John has a very dark side.  How much of this dark side of John was nurtured by his father is unclear, but 'like father like son' springs to mind as their mother blocked it all out with her little white pills.  Now that John and Marion are older and their parents have died, it's quite scary to see how complicit Marion is in John's crimes.  The big question is: does she know what she is doing or is John taking advantage of her?  When John is taken into hospital, Marion is forced to go down into the cellar to tend to 'The Visitors' and, finally free from her brother's watchful gaze, that's when we see Marion's true colours.

The Visitors is so very thought-provoking as I think we have become a bit lapse over the years with regards to the internet.  When we first started to go online, it was new and exciting but we quickly discovered that the internet could be used to hide anybody's identity.  I remember being very wary of internet 'friends' and being frightened that they weren't who they said they were.  Despite many stories of child grooming, I think we, myself included, have become more careless and neglectful over the years by taking those online at face value; but just whose face are they using?  I would be very loathe to arrange to meet somebody I met online these days as I think more than ever that the internet is a hunting ground for sexual predators luring lonely, vulnerable and innocent people into their trap.  I've really scared myself now but I love it when a book makes me think about things long after I've turned the final page.

The Visitors is an extraordinary debut novel; it is impeccably written with an enviable ability to stir a myriad of emotions in the reader.  I have never switched my emotions back and forth so often over a character.  Very highly recommended but prepare for your skin to crawl as you encounter The Visitors in the cellar.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



About the author:

Residing in Manchester, Catherine Burns is a graduate of Trinity College Cambridge. She worked as a bond trader in London before studying at the Moscow Institute of Film, and teaching film theory at Salford University. 

The Visitors is her debut novel 

Follow Catherine on Twitter @C_Burnzi

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BLOG TOUR: My Little Eye - Stephanie Marland

Can a group of true crime addicts take on the police to catch a serial killer?

A young woman is found dead in her bedroom surrounded by rose petals - the latest victim of 'The Lover'. Struggling under the weight of an internal investigation, DI Dominic Bell is no closer to discovering the identity of the killer and time is running out.

As the murders escalate, Clementine Starke joins an online true crime group determined to take justice in to their own hands - to catch the killer before the police. Hiding a dark secret, she takes greater risks to find new evidence and infiltrate the group.

As Starke and Bell get closer to cracking the case neither of them realise they're being watched. The killer is closer to them than they think, and he has his next victim - Clementine - firmly in his sights.

What did I think?

I consider myself a fan of Steph Broadribb's Lori Anderson series, so I was really excited to see Steph releasing her latest book, My Little Eye, in the name of Stephanie Marland.  I don't want to get drawn into comparisons with Broadribb and Marland or Anderson with Starke but I'm rather glad that Steph has written them under different names as both characters are strong individuals in their own right.

I really liked the character of Clementine Starke.  Aside from having such a cool name, she seems very vulnerable and damaged at first but blinking heck she's one tough cookie.  I loved delving into her background as we get to know her as 'The Watcher' in an online crime group.  Clementine is writing her thesis and wants to prove that an online group of super sleuths can solve a murder case quicker than the police, led by DI Dominic Bell.  Dom has his own demons to deal with as he's being investigated by the IPCC after Operation Atlantis didn't go to plan.  He's being pulled in different directions as he attempts to catch a serial killer whilst dealing with bureaucracy.

Clementine is accepted into a select group within True Crime London who attempt to catch a serial killer known as 'The Lover'.  Clementine is studying the people in the group as much as she is trying to catch the killer.  It is quite scary that anyone can create an online persona that is completely different to who they really are.  Anyone can spin a web of lies on the internet to hide their true self so my heart was racing as the building of danger and suspense made me believe that Clementine could be in danger at every turn.  Will she catch the killer before the killer finds her?  Eeeek!

What a fast-paced page-turner this is.  It's something so completely different from a police procedural serial killer hunt with an unlikely group of true crime aficionados examining the evidence and looking for clues.  My Little Eye is so fresh and current; a brilliant whodunnit for the digital age.  I loved it and can't wait for more Starke and Bell.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon


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BLOG TOUR: Enter the Dark - Chris Thomas

An anonymous website, a few clicks, and Joe Henderson’s life is changed forever.

‘The Red Room’ is the only place where the failings of a weak justice system are righted and where the line between good and evil becomes blurred. When the lights go up, viewers bid, criminals are punished, and the Brotherhood of the Righteous broadcasts a show like no other.

The room has remained hidden until now, when a video arrives in the inbox of the Metropolitan Police Cyber Crime Unit. But outclassed, outplayed, and torn apart by corruption, is there anything Detective Pete Harris andhis team can do except watch?

Their only lead may be the room’s latest bidder, Joe Henderson. Because when Joe found the Red Room, it found him too, and now the Brotherhood are watching through the wires, willing to do wrong for a righteous cause.

As they pull Joe deeper into the dark web, will he find any mercy or a way out? And could he be the Red Room’s next volunteer?

What did I think?

I'm seeing references to the dark web creeping into novels these days but there's no such creeping in Enter the Dark as we hurtle full speed into the eye-opening world of the deep/dark web.  I'm so pleased that I was resting my kindle on my lap as I could have easily dropped it during some episodes of 'The Red Room' as I instinctively threw my hands up in horror.  So what's Enter the Dark all about? Read on...if you dare.

Joe is just a normal guy, spending time with his friends, running his family business and looking forward to marrying his girlfriend, Ellie. On a night out with the guys, Billy, one of Joe's friends introduces him to the dark web.  It was only meant to be a bit of fun but once Joe has tasted the forbidden fruit he wants more.  Intrigued by an anonymous site that costs well over £600, being 1 Bitcoin, just to enter it, Joe convinces Billy to show him how Bitcoins work.  Once the guys are in, they find a holding page from The Brotherhood inviting them to an event which costs 2 Bitcoins to view.  Billy walks away but Joe is caught in the web of temptation and is soon drawn deeper into The Red Room until he can't help himself playing a more active role in proceedings.  Joe thinks he's safe behind his screen and he has no idea what has he got himself tangled up in.

The Brotherhood of the Righteous is an online group of vigilantes who dole out punishment to criminals who, in their eyes, have not been punished enough.  They search out convicted criminals with new identities, living their life when their victims are unable to do so and the viewers of the show compete to be the highest bidder who can select their punishment.  The police get involved when one such criminal, living under a new identity complete with an electronic tag, goes missing leaving her tag behind.  As the police race to discover the location of The Red Room, Joe's virtual world and real world collide as the Brotherhood come to collect his debt.

Stomach clenchingly gruesome, Enter the Dark is a modern chiller thriller that will turn even the most cast-iron of stomachs.  I gritted my teeth and clenched my stomach on each episode of The Red Room as the various methods of punishment were described in bone crunching detail.  The punishments reminded me a bit of the film, Saw, in the way that you don't want to watch but you can't help it. Like Joe, I thought what harm can it do, it's not real, right?

It's an absolutely superb debut from Chris Thomas and I was powerless to tear my eyes away from the page, even though sometimes I wanted to hide behind the sofa.  Dark by name and dark by nature, Enter the Dark is a recommended read for all thriller fans who like something a little bit darker.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

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About the author

Chris Thomas was born near London in 1978 before moving to Buckinghamshire a few months later. He attended the University of Bristol, graduating with a degree in psychology in 1999. It was here that he developed his interest in criminal psychology and serial killers.

After a brief stint working at an investment bank in London, he left the City to work for his wife’s family business, a position he still holds.

Chris is an avid film fan, especially horror, thrillers and dark comedy- something that he tries to blend in his writing. After attending a creative writing course, he gained the confidence to pursue his dream of writing a novel. He self-published his debut novel The Red Room in February 2017 before joining the Bloodhound Books stable and re-releasing the book as Enter The Dark.

Further works are already in the planning, including a sequel to Enter The Dark, which is intended to be even more dark and disturbing!

In his spare time, Chris enjoys karate (holding a black belt) and spending time with his wife and two young daughters.