Tag: NetGalley

#BookReview The Late Train to Gipsy Hill by Alan Johnson @Wildfirebks

whatcathyreadnext

The Late Train to Gipsy HillAbout the Book

Gary Nelson has a routine for the commute to his rather dull job in the city. Each day, he watches as a woman on the train applies her make up in a ritual he now knows by heart. He’s never dared to strike up a conversation…but maybe one day.

Then one evening, on the late train to Gipsy Hill, the woman invites him to take the empty seat beside her. Fiddling with her mascara, she holds up her mirror and Gary reads the words ‘HELP ME’ scrawled in sticky black letters on the glass.

From that moment, Gary’s life is turned on its head. He finds himself on the run from the Russian mafia, the FSB and even the Metropolitan Police – all because of what this mysterious young woman may have witnessed. In the race to find out the truth, Gary discovers that there is a lot more to her than meets the eye . . .

Format: eARC (352 pages)                     Publisher: Wildfire Books
Publication date: 2nd September 2021 Genre: Thriller

Find The Late Train to Gipsy Hill on Goodreads

Pre-order/Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

I’m a great fan of Alan Johnson, both as a former politician and as an author of a fabulous series of memoirs – This Boy, Please, Mr Postman, and The Long and Winding Road. For those who don’t know or haven’t guessed from the titles, he’s a lifelong fan of The Beatles. When I heard him speak at Henley Literary Festival in 2018 about his then recently published book, In My Life: A Music Memoir, he mentioned that his next book was likely to be fiction, probably historical fiction. He obviously decided to switch genre because The Late Train to Gipsy Hill fulfils all the requirements of a crime thriller with its intricate plot, cast of shady characters and frequent action scenes.

The storyline couldn’t be more up-to-date either, set in a London in which football clubs are owned by rich Russians while their fellow countrymen use the buying and selling of property as a way of laundering dirty money. As the author notes, ‘Amongst the Russian criminal fraternity, London had become known as the world’s laundromat, washing billions of pounds of dirty cash every year‘.

Through a chivalrous act of kindness towards a damsel in distress, poor Gary, the book’s hero, finds himself plunged into a world in which Russian secret service agents, with or without the knowledge of the Russian President, may be carrying out killings in a particularly dangerous way (echoes of the real life murder of Alexander Litvinenko). At the same time, rival gangs of criminals engaged in prostitution, drug and people smuggling, fight for precedence.

If, like Gary, you’re in danger of becoming confused by the twists and turns of the plot – of which there are many – as well as the many Russian characters with difficult to pronounce names, the author thoughtfully provides periodic recaps of the events that have taken place. However, also like Gary, you’ll have to wait until the very end to get the whole picture.

The book contains convincing detail about the structure and operations of the intelligence services and the Metropolitan Police no doubt gleaned from the author’s time as Home Secretary. I just hope that some of what Gary discovers doesn’t hold true in real life. There’s also an impressive knowledge of the London Underground and bus network on display, and even a fleeting role for a vehicle linked to one of the author’s former occupations.

At the Henley Literary Festival event I mentioned earlier, Alan said one of the reasons he wanted to turn to fiction was because he relished the idea of being able to control plot and characters, something not possible in non-fiction. In The Late Train to Gipsy Hill he has certainly demonstrated the ability to craft an intricate plot. During his talk, Alan also paid tribute to the English teacher who first encouraged him to write so it was lovely to see the dedication to, I assume, the same teacher at the beginning of the book.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Late Train to Gipsy Hill and thought it was an impressive debut. Alan is just one of the fantastic selection of authors appearing at this year’s Henley Literary Festival. His event, like many others, will also be live-streamed so if you can’t get there in person you can still listen to Alan talk about the book. At the time of writing, tickets are still available and can be booked via the Henley Literary Festival website.

In three words: Ingenious, convincing, assured

Try something similar: Killing State by Judith O’Reilly

Follow this blog via Bloglovin

alan johnsonAbout the Author

Alan Johnson’s childhood memoir This Boy was published in 2013. It won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize, and the Orwell Prize, Britain’s top political writing award. His second volume of memoirs, Please, Mr Postman (2014) won the National Book Club award for Best Biography. The final book in his memoir trilogy, The Long And Winding Road (2016), won the Parliamentary Book Award for Best Memoir.

Alan was a Labour MP for 20 years before retiring ahead of the 2017 general election. He served in five cabinet positions in the Governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown including Education Secretary, Health Secretary and Home Secretary. He and his wife Carolyn live in East Yorkshire. (Photo/bio credit: Publisher author page)

Connect with Alan
Website | Goodreads

Top Ten Tuesday About A Boy Please Mr Postman The Long and Winding Road

#BookReview Wolf at the Door (A Bradecote and Catchpoll Investigation 9) by Sarah Hawkswood @AllisonandBusby

whatcathyreadnext3 Comments

I’m delighted to be joining other book bloggers in celebrating publication today of Wolf at the Door, the ninth in Sarah Hawkswood historical mystery series.

Wolf at the DoorAbout the Book

All Hallow’s Eve, 1144. The savaged body of Durand Wuduweard, the solitary and unpopular keeper of the King’s Forest of Feckenham, is discovered beside his hearth, his corpse rendered barely identifiable by sharp teeth.

Whispers of a wolf on the prowl grow louder and Sheriff William de Beauchamp’s men, Hugh Bradecote and Serjeant Catchpoll, are tasked with cutting through the clamour. They must uncover who killed Durand and why while beset by superstitious villagers, raids upon manors and further grim deaths. Out of the shadows of the forest, where will the wolf’s fangs strike next?

Format: eARC (288 pages)                Publisher: Allison & Busby
Publication date: 19th August 2021 Genre: Historical Fiction, Crime, Mystery

Find Wolf at the Door (A Bradecote and Catchpoll Investigation, #9) on Goodreads

Purchase links
Bookshop.org
Disclosure: If you buy a book via the above link, I may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops

Hive | Amazon UK
Links provided for convenience only, not as part of an affiliate programme

My Review

I’ve become a big fan of Sarah Hawkswood’s historical mystery series set in medieval Worcestershire and featuring Hugh Bradecote, Undersheriff of Worcestershire, his assistant Serjeant Catchpoll, and Catchpoll’s protege, Walkelin. Luckily new books in the series are coming thick and fast with River of Sins published in November 2020 and Blood Runs Thicker in March this year.

Although the ninth in the series, I can reassure readers that Wolf at the Door can definitely be enjoyed without having read any of the previous books. The references to earlier events and to the back stories of the leading characters will help to bring new readers up-to-date.

As with previous books, Wolf at the Door has all the features of a police procedural but transported to medieval times: examining crime scenes (rather gruesome ones in this case), gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses and identifying possible suspects. Walkelin even tries his hand at the odd spot of surveillance.

Bradecote and Catchpoll make a great team. Catchpoll has an in-depth knowledge of their patch, the ne’er do wells who reside in it and possesses the keen eye of a detective. He also has a reputation for taking no nonsense. For example, when Catchpoll states his intention to have ‘interesting words’ the following morning with a suspect taken into custody, the thought of it makes several observers shudder and thank their lucky stars it’s not them. And we shouldn’t forget Walkelin, Catchpoll’s apprentice, who adds youthful enthusiasm and some keen observational skills to the mix.

Bradecote may not have the detective nous of his sergeant but he has the ability to use his status to gain access to people and places that would otherwise be denied, or to intimidate others. In fact, he and Catchpoll often use not so much a ‘good cop, bad cop’ strategy as a ‘toff cop, common cop’ approach with advantageous results. As Catchpoll grudgingly concedes, Bradecote’s ‘high-and-mighty arrogance laid on thick, works a treat’.

This time Bradecote and Catchpoll don’t just face the challenge of investigating a murder seemingly without motive but doing so within a community terrified by talk of wolves or, even worse, werewolves. Furthermore, Bradecote has a particular reason for wanting to solve the case quickly.

As the investigation progresses, there are tantalizing clues and false trails many of which seem to lead to nearby Feckenham Forest. The author keeps the tension building with some dramatic scenes as Bradecote and Catchpoll close in on the culprits and the reader discovers just what lengths they are prepared to go to.

Wolf at the Door is another skillfully crafted mystery that moves at pace and has plenty of period detail. I’m already looking forward to the next investigation for Bradecote and Catchpoll due to be published next year.

I received an advance review copy courtesy of Allison & Busby via NetGalley.

In three words: Intriguing, atmospheric, assured

Try something similar: The Monastery Murders by E. M. Powell

Follow this blog via Bloglovin

Sarah HawkswoodAbout the Author

Sarah Hawkswood describes herself as a ‘wordsmith’ who is only really happy when writing. She read Modern History at Oxford and her factual book on the Royal Marines in the First World War, From Trench and Turret, was published in 2006. The Bradecote and Catchpoll series are her first novels.

She takes her pen name from one of her eighteenth century ancestors who lived in Worcestershire, and selected it because the initials match those of her maiden name. She is married, with two grown up children, and now lives in Worcestershire.

She is a member of the Crime Writers’ Association, the Historical Writers’ Association, and the Historical Novel Society.

Connect with Sarah
Website | Goodreads | Twitter