Tag: Reviews

#6Degrees of Separation: From Sorrow and Bliss to Diamonds Are Forever

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It’s the first Saturday of the month which means it’s time for 6 Degrees of Separation!

Here’s how it works: a book is chosen as a starting point by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best and linked to six other books to form a chain. Readers and bloggers are invited to join in by creating their own ‘chain’ leading from the selected book.

Kate says: Books can be linked in obvious ways – for example, books by the same authors, from the same era or genre, or books with similar themes or settings. Or, you may choose to link them in more personal or esoteric ways: books you read on the same holiday, books given to you by a particular friend, books that remind you of a particular time in your life, or books you read for an online challenge. Join in by posting your own six degrees chain on your blog and adding the link in the comments section of each month’s post.   You can also check out links to posts on Twitter using the hashtag #6Degrees.

Sorrow and BlissThis month’s starting book is Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason, a book I haven’t read but which is in my TBR pile.

Meg Mason is a journalist, an occupation she shares with Katherine Faulkner, the author of Greenwich Park.  Greenwich Park features a protagonist who is befriended by a woman who may have other motives besides friendship.

The same is true of Young Women by Jessica Moor in which Tamsin, a glamorous young actress, befriends Emily, a young lawyer who works for a women’s advocacy charity.

The Murder Rule by Dervla McTiernan features Hannah, a young woman studying to become a lawyer, who becomes part of a project aimed at proving the innocence of those convicted of murder.

A notorious real life miscarriage of justice features in To Encourage the Others by David Yallop which concerns the case of Derek Bentley who was hanged for the killing of a police officer that was perpetrated by another young man, 16-year-old Christopher Craig. (Craig was too young to be given the death penalty.) Bentley was finally granted a posthumous pardon in July 1993.

Staying with miscarriages of justice, The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed tells the real life story of Mahmood Mattan who was hanged for the murder of a shopkeeper in 1952 on the basis of dubious evidence and despite professing his innocence.

The Fortune Men is set in Cardiff’s Tiger Bay, the birthplace of the singer Shirley Bassey who is well known for singing the theme songs to several James Bond films, including Diamonds Are Forever by Ian Fleming.

My chain has featured toxic friendships and miscarriages of justice but ends with a sparkle. Where did your chain take you?

#BlogTour #BookReview The Fire Killer (DI Barton #5) by Ross Greenwood @rararesources

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The Fire KillerWelcome to today’s stop on the blog tour for The Fire Killer (DI Barton #5) by Ross Greenwood. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me to take part in the tour and to Boldwood Books for my digital review copy via NetGalley.  Do check out the posts by my tour buddies for today, Amanda at Ginger Book Geek and Stacey Hammond.

The Fire KillerAbout the Book

When DI Barton is asked to investigate a seemingly innocuous fire that kills, he believes it’s either children fooling around or a worrying racially motivated crime.

As he delves deeper into the case, he soon realises that there is a history of similar blazes spread out over many years, all within a close area. And after an idea is suggested by pathologist Mortis, Barton suspects he has the arsonist’s motives wrong.

When a night worker comes forward with a tip, Barton narrows down the suspects. Yet all of them act suspiciously and he knows for sure that one or more of them are lying. And when a huge house blaze shocks everyone, Barton fears the killer has lost all control.

Who is The Fire Killer? What will be next to burn?

Format: Ebook (365 pages)          Publisher: Boldwood Books
Publication date: 30th May 2022 Genre: Crime

Find The Fire Killer (DI Barton #5) on Goodreads

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My Review

The Fire Killer is the first book I’ve read by Ross Greenwood and although it is the fifth in his DI Barton series I was immediately drawn into the story and quickly got to know the members of Barton’s team. Therefore I can reassure readers like myself who are new to the series that The Fire Killer can definitely be read as a standalone.

I liked the book’s structure. There’s an exciting opening scene that describe the events leading up to the culmination of the case before a shift back in time to a pivotal incident from ‘many years ago’. From that point on the story switches between Barton’s painstaking investigation into a series of cases of arson and the first person narrative of The Fire Killer. We know their background, witness their actions and the impulses that drive them but don’t know their identity. I had plenty of ideas but, thanks to the skill of the author, it wasn’t until near the end of the book that I finally twigged.

I really liked the relationship between Barton and Detective Sergeant Zander. They have a nice line in banter and bounce ideas off each other, contributing their different views of the investigation. It’s an investigation which, as Zander ruefully observes, turns out to be ‘an onion case’ with many layers each more bizarre than the last. In fact, as events unfold and they are left with more questions than answers, they wonder if they are investigating one case or two.

The investigation takes place against the backdrop of the Covid-19 lockdown. The empty streets and closed up shops create a real sense of atmosphere.  And, as Barton observes, ‘Mankind didn’t need a virus to behave deplorably’. The book includes a number of damaged characters – there is one in particular who stands out – as well as individuals only too willing to feed off the vulnerabilities of others.

Barton comes across as an ‘old school’ policeman who’s grudgingly accepted that technology now plays a significant part in the detection of crime but regrets it takes some of the challenge out of it. The author gives us a neat in-joke when he has Barton despair at the difference between ‘real’ policing and what you see in TV dramas (or some crime fiction perhaps?). ‘A detective was sitting in a van, typing away at a computer, pulling up a variety of individuals’ call histories and credit-card statements. It was pure bullshit.’

I enjoyed the glimpses of Barton’s home life. The book sees him pondering his future given the toll his work has taken on him: the long hours, the missed family events. Equally, the dreadful things he has witnessed. Indeed, he will witness more in the course of this case.  ‘He was proud to be a policeman, but he also knew he couldn’t do it forever, because each death left a mark.’ On the other hand, he recognises that his family’s love and support has provided a vital counterbalance. ‘When death surrounds you, life took on new meaning.’

The Fire Killer is an ingenious, well-crafted crime novel that kept me absorbed until the very last page.

In three words: Tense, gripping, suspenseful

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Ross GreenwoodAbout the Author

Ross Greenwood is the bestselling author of ten crime thrillers. Before becoming a full-time writer he was most recently a prison officer and so worked every day with murderers, rapists and thieves for four years. He lives in Peterborough.

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