BLOG TOUR: Roses for the Dead (DI Erika Piper Book 3) - Chris McDonald

 

2013

Rockstar Johnny Mayhem sits on his bed, holding a bloody baseball bat. On the floor, clutching a lavender rose in her fist, is his wife, Amanda, who he has just beaten to death. Erika Piper knows this because she is one of the first on the scene. Mayhem is arrested and led away, screaming that they’ve got the wrong man. But the evidence is irrefutable and when Mayhem is sentenced to life in prison, no one is surprised.

Now

Thanks to new evidence, Johnny Mayhem is a now free man. During a television interview, he issues a thinly veiled threat to those involved in the original case before seemingly disappearing off the face of the Earth. When the body of Mayhem’s dealer is found, Erika Piper is pulled from the safety of her desk job and thrown into the hunt for the Rockstar. Can she find Mayhem before he can enact his revenge on everyone involved, including Erika? Or, has he been telling the truth all along? Did the police really get the wrong man?

What did I think?

When I read Whispers for the Dark I feared it was the end of the DI Erika Piper series as it rounded itself off so nicely but fear not, for there is one further instalment.  Roses for the Dead is book 3 (and sadly the final book) in what has been an AMAZING series. The whole DI Erika Piper series is absolutely brilliant and Roses for the Dead is definitely the cherry on top.  I really couldn't put it down, reading way past my bedtime as I raced through this fantastic book.

Everything is going well for Erika in her personal life but her career has taken a nosedive when she agrees to take a step back from the action and finds herself sitting behind a desk and bored out of her mind.  Erika grabs the opportunity to return to her old job when new evidence comes to light that releases a convicted murderer from jail.  Now that Johnny Mayhem (what a brilliant name) is free, he wants revenge for the lost seven years of his life and with Erika being instrumental in his downfall, she needs to find him before she becomes next on his list.

I think Chris McDonald has written the perfect crime novel in Roses for the Dead; everything about it is brilliant from the outstanding plot to the sublime writing, not forgetting the creation of three-dimensional characters who virtually leap out from the page.  I was initially sad to read that this is the final adventure for DI Erika Piper but in the vein of classic British TV shows, it's those with the fewer episodes that become classics.  This is definitely a series I will reread over and over again, which already makes it a classic in my book.

Gripping, so very addictive and completely unputdownable, Roses for the Dead is simply awesome.  Chris McDonald's writing was brilliant to start with but it's getting better and better and Roses for the Dead earns him nothing less than a well-deserved five shiny golden stars from me.

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

My rating:

Buy it from:

The Red Dog Shop

Amazon

About the author:

Originally hailing from the north coast of Northern Ireland and now residing in South Manchester, Chris McDonald has always been a reader. At primary school, The Hardy Boys inspired his love of adventure before his reading world was opened up by Chuck Palahniuk and the gritty world of crime. A Wash of Black is his first attempt at writing a book. He came up with the initial idea whilst feeding his baby in the middle of the night, which may not be the best thing to admit, considering the content. He is a fan of 5-a-side football, heavy metal and dogs. Whispers in the Dark is the second installment in the DI Erika Piper series, and Chris is currently working on his latest series, The Stonebridge Mysteries, to be published by Red Dog Press in 2021.

Follow the tour:

BLOG TOUR: Under the Rock - Benjamin Myers

Carved from the land above Mytholmroyd in West Yorkshire, Scout Rock is a steep crag overlooking wooded slopes and weed-tangled plateaus. To many it is unremarkable; to others it is a doomed place where 18th-century thieves hid out, where the town tip once sat, and where suicides leapt to their deaths. Its brooding form presided over the early years of Ted Hughes, who called Scout Rock ‘my spiritual midwife . . . both the curtain and backdrop to existence’.

Into this beautiful, dark and complex landscape steps Benjamin Myers, asking: are unremarkable places made remarkable by the minds that map them? Seeking a new life and ­finding solace in nature’s power of renewal, Myers excavates stories both human and elemental. The result is a lyrical and unflinching investigation into nature, literature, history, memory and the meaning of place in modern Britain.

UNDER THE ROCK is about badgers, balsam, history, nettles, mythology, moorlands, mosses, poetry, bats, wild swimming, slugs, recession, ­floods, logging, peacocks, community, apples, asbestos, quarries, geology, industrial music, owls, stone walls, farming, anxiety, relocation, the North, woodpiles, folklore, landslides, ruins, terriers, woodlands, ravens, dales, valleys, walking, animal skulls, trespassing, crows, factories, maps, rain – lots of rain – and a great big rock.

What did I think?

I love dipping into non-fiction now and again to broaden my horizons and increase my knowledge pool, so Under the Rock, encompassing a myriad subjects, sounded so unusual that I had to add it to my reading list.  I usually have a much slower reading pace when I read non-fiction but the writing in Under the Rock is so poetic, mesmerising and compelling that I read it almost as quickly as I would have read a book in the fiction genre.

Funnily enough, if you ask me what the book is about, I'd be hard pushed to tell you.  It's about so many things as Benjamin Myers leaves no stone unturned (no pun intended) in his writing about Yorkshire's Scout Rock.  I admit, when reading the first couple of chapters, that I wasn't really sure that this book would hold my attention but stick in the word 'claggy' which is one of my favourite words and BAM! confirm attention locked in indefinitely.  

I'm a huge tea drinker so I loved the many references to tea; the book is set in Yorkshire after all, which has as many lovers of tea as we have in the North East.  Not to be outdone, Yorkshire have created their very own tea style beverage, the Yorkshire Espresso or Yespresso, that I think even I would find difficult to imbibe.  It's made by twice brewing tea and leaving the teabag in for a couple of hours; it's drunk without milk or sugar and sounds unbelievably bitter.  I'd definitely try one though!

So many parts of the book stood out for me and it's one of those books that is so varied in subject that individual readers will find different parts that resonate with them.  One part that really stood out for me (and this may sound a bit odd) was a story about an old style dustbin.  It takes a very talented writer indeed to turn something so ordinary and mundane into prose so beautiful and engaging that it took my breath away.  I found it so memorable that I actually recounted this story to some friends who asked me what I was reading.

Written in four parts: Wood, Earth, Water and Rock it has field notes containing poems at the end of each part.  I'm not usually a fan of poetry but I found myself looking forward to Benjamin Myers' field notes at the end of each section.  This is another testament to the quality of Benjamin Myers' writing as I never thought I would see the day when I enjoyed reading poetry.

I also have to give a special mention to the amazing cover which looks like a piece of art and it's so eye-catching that it constantly invited me to pick up the book for just one more chapter, thereby smashing my non-fiction reading time record.  With the inimitable Yorkshire spirit woven throughout, coupled with a dash of humour, Under the Rock is as mesmerising as it is informative.  It is a book that is beautiful both inside and out.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon



Follow the tour: