BLOG TOUR: Death of a Painter (Mark Poynter #1) - Matthew Ross

IN THE BUILDING GAME TIME IS MONEY AND MONEY IS EVERYTHING. UNFORTUNATELY FOR MARK POYNTER, HE’S RUN OUT OF MONEY AND HE’S FAST RUNNING OUT OF TIME.

When Mark Poynter discovers a murder on his worksite all of his financial problems suddenly seem a lot closer to home: was this a warning his debts are overdue?

Suspected of being the killer and worried at being the intended victim, the murder only makes Mark’s money problems worse, leading him to turn to the local villain, Hamlet, who has his own unique repayment plan in mind for Mark.

When two more deaths plunge him even further into debt, Mark finds himself faced with a choice – help the police and clear his name or help the villain and clear his debt.

Set in the Medway Towns on the grey margins of criminality, where no job’s too big, no dodge’s too small …

Death Of A Painter is the first in a new series of darkly comic crime fiction novels featuring the beleaguered builder Mark Poynter, aided and hindered in equal measure by his trusted crew of slackers, idlers and gossips, and the lengths they go to just to earn a living.

What did I think?

I don't think I have ever read a book that is set in the building trade and with this very unusual setting, Matthew Ross has written a cracking debut novel.  Death of a Painter is full of colourful characters and hilarious banter that meant my interest was held in a vice-like grip throughout.  The story is actually quite like a game of Cluedo and we must find out who killed the painter in the kitchen with the hammer.

Mark Poyner is the brilliant main character; always busy with jobs but struggling to make ends meet as he constantly robs Peter to pay Paul.  His money troubles continue when one of his team is murdered on the job, therefore delaying payment for the work and landing him in a whole heap of trouble with his creditors.  There are so many people after his blood that Mark even wonders if there has been a case of mistaken identity and he may have been the intended victim.  When Mark becomes the prime suspect in the murder he starts his own investigation to try to clear his name but unearths a lot more than he bargained for.

Being very character driven, Death of a Painter would make a fantastic sitcom as there are some fantastic characters and I can totally see Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer in starring roles.  We have only just scratched the surface of Mark in this first book and I can already see that there is a lot more of him to discover.  I loved the nicknames that people had and there are characters named Disco, Hamlet and even The Two Ronnies.  Although not always laugh out loud funny, the humour is quite dark and subtle so I'll probably spot a lot more when I read the book again.

Death of a Painter is a cracking debut from Matthew Ross; it's pacey, intriguing and hugely entertaining.  I'm a little torn with the rating as it's not quite a 5 star read but it's worth more than 4 stars so I'm giving it an extra half a star to make it a sparkly 4.5.  I'm going to add it to my read again list so that's definitely a recommendation from me!  

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon or Red Dog Press

About the author:

Matthew Ross was born and raised in the Medway Towns, England. He still lives in Kent with his Kiwi wife, his children and a very old cat.

He was immersed in the building industry from a very early age helping out on his father’s sites during school holidays before launching into his own career at 17. He’s worked on projects ranging from the smallest domestic repair to £billion+ infrastructure, and probably everything in between.

A lifelong comedy nerd, he ticked off a bucket-list ambition and tried his hand at stand-up comedy. Whilst being an experience probably best forgotten (for both him and audiences alike) it ignited a love for writing, leading to various commissions including for material broadcast on BBC Radio 4 comedy shows.

Matthew moved into the longer format of novel writing after graduating from the Faber Academy in London in 2017.

‘Death Of A Painter’ is his first novel and the first in a planned series of stories featuring Mark Poynter and his associates.

Matthew enjoys reading all manner of books - especially crime and mystery; 80s music; and travelling and can’t wait for the next trip to New Zealand to spend time with family and friends.  

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The Waiting Rooms - Eve Smith

Swinging from South Africa to England: one woman’s hunt for her birth mother in an all-too-believable near future in which an antibiotic crisis has decimated the population. A prescient, thrilling debut.

Decades of spiralling drug resistance have unleashed a global antibiotic crisis. Ordinary infections are untreatable, and a scratch from a pet can kill. A sacrifice is required to keep the majority safe: no one over seventy is allowed new antibiotics. The elderly are sent to hospitals nicknamed ‘The Waiting Rooms’ … hospitals where no one ever gets well.

Twenty years after the crisis takes hold, Kate begins a search for her birth mother, armed only with her name and her age. As Kate unearths disturbing facts about her mother’s past, she puts her family in danger and risks losing everything. Because Kate is not the only secret that her mother is hiding. Someone else is looking for her, too.

Sweeping from an all-too-real modern Britain to a pre-crisis South Africa, The Waiting Rooms is epic in scope, richly populated with unforgettable characters, and a tense, haunting vision of a future that is only a few mutations away.

What did I think?

Maybe during a global pandemic wasn't the best time to read a book with a similar setting, as The Waiting Rooms scared the bejesus out of me!  Although I think even without the current crisis, The Waiting Rooms is so scarily realistic that you can easily imagine it happening.  

The Waiting Rooms is set in past and present and told from the viewpoints of Lily, Mary and Kate.  In the present day, Lily is living in a residential home and approaching her 70th birthday, however, 70 is not an age to be celebrated in this dystopian Britain as that is the age from which antibiotics are no longer given making even the smallest infection fatal.  Kate is a nurse and just beginning the search for her birth mother after the death of her adoptive mother.  The key to both Lily and Kate's lives is in the past as we read about Mary who is a research scientist looking at healing properties of plants in South Africa before becoming involved in a scandal that rocked the medical world.

Eve Smith has written such an exceptional novel that it left me completely gobsmacked.  I really shouldn't have been shocked but I was totally floored to discover how much of The Waiting Rooms is based on actual medical research.  It's so scarily believable that it's giving me goosebumps just thinking about it now.  This is a book that should have been way beyond its time but instead has been released at a time when it's as real as watching the news.

Hard-hitting, thought-provoking and scarily realistic, The Waiting Rooms should be on everyone's bookshelf.  This is absolutely outstanding writing from Eve Smith; it's almost as if her predictions have come true so I'm both fascinated and terrified to read what she writes next.  So highly recommended, The Waiting Rooms is a definite MUST read.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

Bound in Black - Steven De Luca

Galdor the Green, great and powerful leader of the Lifting Plateau dragons, finds himself magically incarcerated—without means of escape—deep within an underground cavern. Deceived by the dragon, Blaze, once friend and ally, a black scaled, black-hearted liar and master of deception.

A lot can happen to a dragon in a hundred years and the constant emotional turmoil, and starvation, weigh heavy on his heart.

Now, close to the brink of insanity, Galdor is plagued with nightmares over the havoc the deceitful Blaze will inflict upon his lost colony.

Yet, there is hope. The key to his return, lies in his past… with a human sorcerer. And another black dragon.

With his rival safely out of the way, Blaze the usurper is free to advance his coup unchecked. Dragons have become soft under Galdor’s complacent rule. It is up to him to restore his species to their rightful place, using his new found magic to strengthen his position and teach dragons how to really behave. As his magic grows, so does his ambition, and with it an unknown influence of unstoppable power, never before seen on his world.

Once fully ensconced as Galdor’s replacement, he will deal with the hateful humans, and by fang and flame, he will teach them the way of the dragon.

Skies will burn. Dragons will clash. Enemies, old and new, will die.

What did I think?

I rarely read fantasy but having read Steven De Luca's fantastic debut, Bound in Scales, I definitely became more open to reading novels in the fantasy genre and I was super-excited to read Steven De Luca's new novel, Bound in Black.  It certainly didn't hang around on my TBR list for very long!  Don't worry if you haven't read Bound in Scales, as Bound in Black reads very well as a standalone and it introduces us to a completely new colony of dragons.

The story is told in three parts as Galdor, the moot leader of the Lifting Plateau, is tricked and imprisoned by fellow dragon, Blaze.  Part One is very much setting the scene and Galdor's imprisonment, with a cameo appearance by our favourite sorcerer, Alduce.  When he came into the story, albeit briefly, I felt like I was seeing an old friend who I hadn't seen for years!  Alduce helps Galdor to escape his stony prison but the world to which he returns in Part Two is nothing like the peaceful colony he once led.  Blaze has become new moot leader and has waged war against the humans, turning once peaceful dragons into fighting machines.

Parts One and Two already had me on the edge of my seat but the pacing and tension are ramped up to the max in Part Three: the inevitable showdown between Galdor and Blaze.  Galdor has a little help from his friends and I was absolutely delighted to see some much-loved dragons from Bound in Scales appear in the story.  The friendship between Nightstar and Sunburst is stronger than ever and I love how little character quirks of the other rub off on each of them.  They definitely steal the show and make me want to read so many more of their adventures.

Bound in Black is fantastic fantasy!  I am surprised how much I love these stories of dragons and magic but that's all down to the captivating writing of Steven De Luca.  Bound in Black is gripping, captivating and filled with fast and furious fiery fun!  I couldn't put it down and I'm already crying out for more!  Bound in Black is very highly recommended; I absolutely loved it and could read it all over again right now.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

BLOG TOUR: Ash Mountain - Helen Fitzgerald

Fran hates her hometown, and she thought she’d escaped. But her father is ill, and needs care. Her relationship is over, and she hates her dead-end job in the city, anyway.

She returns home to nurse her dying father, her distant teenage daughter in tow for the weekends. There, in the sleepy town of Ash Mountain, childhood memories prick at her fragile self-esteem, she falls in love for the first time, and her demanding dad tests her patience, all in the unbearable heat of an Australian summer. As past friendships and rivalries are renewed, and new ones forged, Fran’s tumultuous home life is the least of her worries, when old crimes rear their heads and a devastating bushfire ravages the town and all of its inhabitants…

Simultaneously a warm, darkly funny portrait of small-town life – and a woman and a land in crisis – and a shocking and truly distressing account of a catastrophic event that changes things forever, Ash Mountain is a heart-breaking slice of domestic noir, and a disturbing disaster thriller that you will never forget…

What did I think?

For such a short book, at only 210 pages long, there's an awful lot going on in Ash Mountain.  It just shows the quality of Helen Fitzgerald's writing that she can cram so much in over so few pages.  It is written so beautifully that it feels like every single word has been carefully chosen and crafted into this deeply disturbing and haunting story.  

The main character of Fran is very damaged, and it's not shown how damaged until much later in the story, but she gets on with her life thanks to her dark humour.  The way that Fran takes her Dad places had me absolutely howling with laughter at times and I have to applaud Helen Fitzgerald's genius for adding some humour to an otherwise sobering subject. 

I wasn't really sure in what direction the story was going to take me as we flick back and forth in time but when past and present collide I actually had to choke back a sob.  The writing is so vivid and filled with emotion that I felt completely drained at the end of the book; I felt as devastated as the scorched earth when past crimes were laid bare.  I feel so sad just thinking of it now; even though the characters are fictional it feels so very real to me.

Ash Mountain is a horrifying, beautiful and mesmeric story of a completely devastating event; I can't stop looking at the hypnotic photo on the cover, which is a real photo from the Australian bushfires of 2019 which brings terrifying authenticity to this already vivid story.  This haunting and evocative story is not one that I will easily forget.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon




About the author:

Helen FitzGerald is the bestselling author of ten adult and young adult thrillers, including The Donor (2011) and The Cry (2013), which was longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, and is now a major drama for BBC1. Her 2019 dark comedy thriller Worst Case Scenario was a Book of the Year in both The Guardian and Daily Telegraph. Helen worked as a criminal justice social worker for over fifteen years. She grew up in Victoria, Australia, and now lives in Glasgow with her husband.

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Imposter (The Alexander Gregory Thrillers Book 1) - LJ Ross

***SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH BOOK AWARDS 2020 – CRIME THRILLER OF THE YEAR***

FROM THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE DCI RYAN MYSTERIES

There’s a killer inside all of us…

After an elite criminal profiling unit is shut down amidst a storm of scandal and mismanagement, only one person emerges unscathed. Forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory has a reputation for being able to step inside the darkest minds to uncover whatever secrets lie hidden there and, soon enough, he finds himself drawn into the murky world of murder investigation.

In the beautiful hills of County Mayo, Ireland, a killer is on the loose. Panic has a stranglehold on its rural community and the Garda are running out of time. Gregory has sworn to follow a quiet life but, when the call comes, can he refuse to help their desperate search for justice?

Murder and mystery are peppered with dark humour in this fast-paced thriller set amidst the spectacular Irish landscape.

What did I think?

LJ Ross seems to write books quicker than I can read them but I finally managed to squeeze in the first book in the Alexander Gregory series, Imposter.  I'm a huge fan of the bestselling DCI Ryan series by LJ Ross so I was interested to see how a new series would fare without the charisma of Ryan and the wit of Phillips.  

The story is set mainly in Ireland and LJ Ross sets the scene so beautifully that I could easily imagine being there.  After a young mother is murdered, the local Garda don't believe that someone in their quiet close-knit community could do such a thing.  They need a fresh, impartial pair of eyes in the form of forensic psychologist Doctor Alexander Gregory, especially when the body count starts to rise.  Gregory has the ability to get inside the mind of the killer, but at great cost to his own mental health, however, it is a price that he is willing to pay to bring the killer to justice.  The hunt is on!

Once I picked up Imposter I couldn't put it down and read it cover to cover in the same day, so make sure you're sitting comfortably when you start this one!  Although I did miss Ryan and the team initially, Alexander Gregory is a very intriguing character and I loved how DCI Ryan gets a nod from him towards the end of the book.

LJ Ross has the magic touch; everything she writes is outstanding.  I love how some characters or passages seem completely unrelated to the story, then they all come together at the end in what I can only describe as absolute genius from LJ Ross.  The Alexander Gregory series is definitely going to give the DCI Ryan series a run for its money!

Imposter is absolutely brilliant; it's gripping, addictive and very twisty.  I didn't know who to suspect so I was kept on my toes from start to finish.  It's a book that demands to be read in one sitting so clear your schedule, sit in your most comfortable chair and take a virtual trip to the fictional Irish town of Ballyfinny.  A well deserved 5 stars and a very highly recommended read.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

The Cornish Connection - Amanda James

Where extraordinary things happen...you'll find Nancy Cornish

Nancy and Charlie Cornish are happily married and live in Padstow, Cornwall. Nancy works in the Whistling Kettle Cafe and Charlie is a DS in the Truro police. Charlie's a down to earth Cornishman, while Nancy, seemingly an ordinary member of her community, has an extraordinary gift. She is able to make psychic connections with those who have passed, and objects belonging to those still living.

Charlie mostly tries to ignore that aspect of his wife's personality, he can’t abide all that ‘mumbo jumbo’ as he calls it. Then, out of the blue, Nancy leaves her job and decides her mission in life is to use her gift to help others. This is not what Charlie signed up for, and he lets Nancy know about his feelings in no uncertain terms. That is, until he realises she might be a very useful detective...

Helping Charlie find a missing teenager boost Nancy’s confidence, and makes her determined to continue her work. People come to see her because they want her to find a long-lost friend or relative, an object that is dear to them, or a pet who’s gone missing. Helping people find happiness is Nancy’s main aim. Charlie, however, wants her to help him solve crimes.

Will the couple find some common ground? Or will their connection be broken?

The Cornish Connection - a beautifully told, thought-provoking and uplifting story. The perfect feel-good summer read!

What did I think?

I love Amanda James' books and I have read some absolutely brilliant ones over the years but she has really outdone herself with her latest novel and start of a new series, The Cornish Connection.  This book is really something special; it's completely different from anything I've read before and I think it really spices up the crime and mystery genre.

Nancy Cornish is such a warm and charming character; not only does she bake amazing cakes but she has the special gift of psychic ability.  She really does see dead people!  You'd think this would be something her husband Charlie would be used to but he constantly pooh-pooh's Nancy's gift.  That is until it becomes useful to him in his latest police investigation, but even then he won't acknowledge Nancy's input in case his colleagues laugh at him.  I thought Charlie's blatant disregard of Nancy's abilities would make me dislike him but he certainly grew on me.

When Nancy finds she is helping more and more people to reconnect with their loved ones, both alive and dead, she decides to leave her job in the local cafe and set up as a PI: Psychic Investigator.  Her office is the summerhouse at the bottom of her garden and when word spreads about her abilities she sees a growing number of clients asking for her help.

Each case that Nancy works on is like a little story within The Cornish Connection, making the whole novel so vibrant and varied.  Some stories are shocking and disturbing whilst others are heartwarming, beautiful and sometimes amusing.  I loved the mix of characters that Nancy comes across, with each one of them having a special story to tell.  

I'm so glad that The Cornish Connection is the first in a new series as I can't get enough of Nancy Cornish.  I enjoyed it so much that I didn't want it to finish but at the same time I couldn't read it fast enough either.  I'll definitely be keeping my eyes peeled for the next book in the series.

The Cornish Connection is a quirky, unique and mystical novel filled with a myriad colourful characters.  It's crime and mystery with a supernatural edge and it's absolutely outstanding.  Amanda James has hit the jackpot with Nancy Cornish and scoops a full house of five stars for The Cornish Connection.

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon

Q - Christina Dalcher

IN THIS WORLD, PERFECTION IS EVERYTHING.

Elena Fairchild is a teacher at one of the state’s new elite schools. Her daughters are exactly like her: beautiful, ambitious, and perfect. A good thing, since the recent mandate that’s swept the country is all about perfection.

Now everyone must undergo routine tests for their quotient, Q, and any children who don’t measure up are placed into new government schools. Instead, teachers can focus on the gifted.

Elena tells herself it’s not about eugenics, not really, but when one of her daughters scores lower than expected and is taken away, she intentionally fails her own test to go with her.

But what Elena discovers is far more terrifying than she ever imagined…

What did I think?

I enjoyed Christina Dalcher's debut, Vox, but WOW she has completely outdone herself with her second dystopian thriller, Q.  Q is so addictive that I found it impossible to put down and only ended up reading it in two sittings because I had to sleep in between.  If I'd timed it right, I definitely would have read it in one sitting.

I started reading Q and thought it was going to be a story about motherhood and Elena's fight to keep her daughters safe, which it is to a degree but oh my word it is so much more than that.  Everyone in this dystopian future is continually tested and given a Q rating; the pressure to perform has never been more intense, especially when under-performance has such drastic consequences.  

Elena has two daughters: Anne who seems to glide through school effortlessly and wears her Q number with pride and Freddie who struggles with the pressure of tests and sees her Q number dropping like a stone.  Elena loves both her daughters but her husband Malcolm doesn't have any time for Freddie and is only interested in his perfect daughter Anne.  Malcolm is an absolutely vile character; it's like he's a robot with no feelings for his family unless they are performing to the perfect standards that he was instrumental in implementing.  Elena deserves extra points just for putting up with him!

Q completely floored me; it's shocking, horrifying, disturbing and completely believable, especially as the novel is inspired by real historical events.  Events that we don't learn in history class as they are far too horrific and disturbing.  Although I'd never heard of the American Eugenics Movement, I was aware of the Nazi eugenics program where Hitler planned to produce a pure Aryan race.  Never has a book been more thought-provoking and actively demanding of further research; you simply can't read Q and be unaffected by the subject matter.  I just hope I haven't set off an alarm in MI5 with all of my googling of eugenics.

Q is absolutely brilliant; it's a novel that has remained in my thoughts long after I finished reading.  It's a shocking, stunning and compelling book that I want to read again and I can't recommend it highly enough.  

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

My rating:

Buy it from Amazon




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