Category: Blog Tour

Book Review – Kane by Graham Hurley #Kane @seasidepicture @soph_ransompr

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Welcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for Kane by Graham Hurley. To make it even more special, today is publication day! My thanks to Sophie and Ellie at Ransom PR for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Head of Zeus for my review copy via NetGalley

About the Book

Washington DC, 1941. Quincy Kane, hero of the Boston Police Department and scourge of organised crime, is now a Secret Service agent. His meteoric rise means he’s trusted to guard the most important man in the country: President Roosevelt.

Then Imperial Japan attacks the US naval base at Pearl Harbor.

For Kane, American entry to World War II means the most crucial mission of his career: a complex scheme of bribery and subterfuge that will see him cross the Atlantic. He could change the course of the conflict and save thousands of Allied lives.

First, though, he will have to survive a return to the world of organised crime via the City of Angels itself: Los Angeles, where every gangster has Quincy Kane in their crosshairs.

Format: Hardcover (432 pages) Publisher: Aries Fiction
Publication date: 19th June 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction

Find Kane on Goodreads

Purchase Kane from Bookshop.org [Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops]

My Review

I’ve become a great fan of Graham’s books which combine the drama of real historical events – often revolving around key turning points in 20th century history – with the excitement of a thriller. (If you don’t believe me check out my reviews of three of his most recent books: Dead Ground, The Blood of Others and Katastrophe.) Although all the books are part of the ‘Spoils of War’ collection, the great thing is they are non-chronological so can be read in any order or as standalones.

In this case the historical starting point is the Japanese bombing of the US naval base at Pearl Harbour in December 1941, described by US President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the time as “a date which will live in infamy”, and which triggered the US’s entry into WW2.

Quincy Kane’s position in the Secret Service, charged with protecting the President, places him close to the heart of things. He can see the difficult decisions the President must grapple with as well as Roosevelt’s day-to-day struggles with the physical consequences of the polio he contracted as a young man. The author creates a neat personal connection between the two men and, much later, another character.

Kane also witnesses first-hand the difficult relationship between Roosevelt, who favours order and routine, and the mercurial Winston Churchill who seems to thrive on chaos. However, what Roosevelt and Churchill do agree on is the need to stop French ships falling into German hands. A plan is hatched which requires Kane to revisit the organized crime case he solved years before which made him the toast of the Boston Police Department. The only trouble is the people involved are still serving prison time.

From this point on we’re into full-on thriller territory with Kane reunited with a former colleague with a love of reptiles and the music of Wagner. Soon however Kane comes up against a human reptile with an ego the size of a planet, a penchant for violence and a dangerous fascination with the woman in Kane’s life, LA Times journalist Lou Mahoney. Mahoney is surely every red-blooded heterosexual man’s dream: smart, attractive and skilled in the bedroom. It’s a distraction from the mission Kane has been assigned and things become even more difficult when anti-Japanese sentiment scuppers an essential part of the plan.

It’s fair to say Kane doesn’t get through unscathed. Actually, let’s be honest, he’s pretty battered and bruised by the end of the book and makes some death-defying escapes of which James Bond would be proud. The end of the book finds Kane in a different part of the world, possibly leaving things open for a future reunion.

In three words: Compelling, action-packed, dramatic
Try something similar: Betrayal by David Gilman

About the Author

Graham Hurley is a documentary maker and a novelist. For the last two decades he’s written full-time, penning nearly fifty books. Two made the short list for the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year, while Finisterre – the first in the Spoils of War collection – was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award. Graham lives in East Devon with his lovely wife, Lin.

Connect with Graham
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Book Review – Viper in the Nest by Georgina Clarke @clarkegeorgina1 @Verve_Books

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Welcome to the final day of the blog tour for Viper in the Nest by Georgina Clarke, the third book in the Lizzie Hardwicke historical crime series. My thanks to Lisa at VERVE Books for inviting me to take part in the tour and for my review copy. Head over to Instagram, X or Bluesky to read the thoughts of the other readers taking part in the tour.

About the Book

London, June 1759. When a charmless civil servant takes his own life, few are interested in his death. But Lizzie Hardwicke, who plies her trade in the brothels of London whilst also working as an undercover sleuth for the magistrate, can see no reason why a man who had everything to look forward to would wish to end his life.

Lizzie’s search for answers takes her from the smoke-filled rooms of fashionable gambling houses, where politicians mix ambition with pleasure, to the violent streets of Soho, ready to erupt with riots in the sultry summer heat. All the while, she is navigating her complicated feelings for the magistrate’s trusted assistant, Will Davenport, and a disturbing situation at home.

Then a gambling house owner is brutally murdered, and Lizzie finds herself tangled in a chaos that she cannot control. The darkest of secrets threatens to turn Davenport against her forever; its exposure will send her to the gallows.

Format: Paperback (320 pages) Publisher: VERVE Books
Publication date: 24th April 2025 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime

Find Viper in the Nest on Goodreads

Purchase Viper in the Nest from Bookshop.org [Disclosure: If you buy books linked to our site, we may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops]

My Review

I haven’t read either of the previous books in the series – Death and the Harlot and The Corpse Played Dead – which puts me in the perfect position to assure you Viper in the Nest can definitely be read as a standalone.

You can’t help but become engaged in the story from the start with the sudden and seemingly inexplicable suicide of a man who seemed to have everything. But was it all built on sand? Just how did a clerk working in a government office acquire the wealth to afford a large house and a mistress? As Lizzie observes, ‘Mr Merrick, the dullest man in London, was beginning to intrigue me.’

At one point a character says to Lizzie, ‘I think you’re like a terrier with a bone, agitating people until you find answers’ and there was never a truer word said because Lizzie can’t stop herself trying to find out the truth. She’s a brilliant character: resourceful, clever, witty and a loyal friend. She’s used to dissembling, pretending attraction where there is none. But her insatiable curiosity brings her dangerous enemies.

Always at the back of Lizzie’s mind are the circumstances that brought about such a change in her life and social status. She’s determined that will change one day but a new arrival at the Berwick Street brothel threatens her plans.

I liked the way the story demonstrated the divisions in society with many citizens of London living in abject poverty whilst the rich (mostly men) while away the hours gambling, whoring and seeking preferment in whatever way they can. The epitome of this excess is the bizarre personal bets, often involving thousands of pounds, placed on events such as what the weather will be on a particular day.

I enjoyed the simmering relationship between Lizzie and magistrate’s assistant, William Davenport. Despite signs of mutual attraction, Lizzie’s mindful that a harlot doesn’t make an ideal wife for a man in William’s position.

Viper in the Nest is a really entertaining historical mystery with a skilfully crafted plot and great period atmosphere. I hope there will be more adventures to come for Lizzie.

In three words: Engaging, suspenseful, colourful
Try something similar: Daughters of Night by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

About the Author

Georgina Clarke has a degree in theology and a PhD in history part-time, while working as a parish priest. Her love of the past is at the heart of her fiction: her Lizzie Hardwicke crime series is set in the mid-eighteenth century, and her standalone novel – The Dazzle of the Light – unfolds in 1920s London and is inspired by the real-life activities of the women-led Forty Elephants crime syndicate. Georgina is currently a tutor at the Queen’s Foundation in Birmingham. When she’s not working she enjoys dressmaking, running and mooching around old houses. She lives in Worcester with her husband, son and son, and two lively cats.

Connect with Georgina
Website | X/Twitter | Instagram | Bluesky