Showing posts with label Rachael Blok. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rachael Blok. Show all posts

Friday, 29 October 2021

Books to Look Forward to From Head of Zeus

 

January 2022

Was it an accident or assassination? When the former head of Israeli intelligence is killed on a paragliding trip, it's the latest in a series of 'accidental' deaths befalling key members of the American and Israeli governments. Mossad bring in terrorist hunters Aaron and Shoshana to investigate - and they know just who to call. Taskforce operator Pike Logan has been out of action for too long, so he jumps at the chance to take on the mission. An Iranian-funded militia group, operating in Iraq, has recently claimed responsibility for the deaths. But something doesn't add up, and Logan is determined to uncover the truth. He'll have to wade deep into the complex religious and political currents of the Israeli-Palestinian region, and it's up to the Taskforce to determine who is pulling the strings. What they find could have disastrous consequences not only for the Middle East, but for the entire world...End of Days is by Brad Taylor.

Disappearance of a Scribe is by Dana Stabenow. Cleopatra - seventh of her name, avatar of the goddess Isis, ruler of the Kingdom of Egypt - watches over her city. The war is over, but Alexandria, that once great beacon of learning and commerce, has suffered in its wake. Caesar has returned to Rome, and the queen must restore her city and her kingdom to their former greatness. But now a body has been found floating upright at the bottom of the sea, anchored in place by a cement weight around its feet. It's the second corpse to be found this way in two years, and the queen is concerned. With a city to rebuild and a kingdom to keep in line, Cleopatra cannot allow any more murders to interfere. So she sets Tetisheri - her Eye, her closest confidant and personal investigator - to make things right. As she delves deeper into the mystery, Tetisheri will discover secrets, conspiracy and danger far beyond her ken...

The Runaway is by Nick Petrie. When Peter Ash rescues a stranded woman, he finds she's in far deeper trouble than he bargained for... Peter Ash came home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with only one souvenir: crippling claustrophobia due to PTSD. After years of living rough, he's trying hard to get back to a normal life - one where people aren't trying to kill him. And then he meets Helene, a young pregnant woman stranded on a remote Nebraska road. With no other rescuers in sight, Peter offers her a ride. But Helene's angry ex-cop husband is hot on her trail. It seems Helene has seen something she was never meant to see, and for Peter, protecting her will mean putting both their lives on the line..

February 2022

Betrayal is by David Gilman. Someone's going to start a war. And Raglan's just walked into the kill zone. It has been many years since Dan Raglan served in the French Foreign Legion, but the bonds forged in adversity are unbreakable and when one of his comrades calls for help, Raglan is duty-bound to answer. An ex-legionnaire, now an intelligence officer at the Pentagon, disappears. He leaves only this message: should he ever go missing, contact Raglan. But Raglan's not the only one looking for the missing man. From the backstreets of Marseilles, Raglan finds himself following a trail of death that will lead him to Florida, to the camaraderie of a Vietnam vet in Washington D.C., and into the heart of a bitter battle in the upper echelons of the US intelligence community. Pursued by both the CIA and a rogue female FBI agent, Raglan's search will place him in the cross hairs of an altogether more lethal organisation. Tracking his old comrade, he finds himself in the midst of deadly conspiracy, and on a journey to a fatal confrontation deep in the Honduran rainforest.

Sentinel Mesa is by Preston and Child. Forced to leave her post at the Santa Fe Archaeological Institute, Nora Kelly is left without a job and without any prospects. So when billionaire Lucas Tappan invites her to lead his excavation of the infamous Roswell landing site, she has no choice but to make a decision that could destroy her reputation. Armed with a healthy dose of scepticism, Nora reluctantly agrees to visit the site. When the preliminary scans of the area reveal a suspected Native American burial site, Nora takes a closer look. But this is no indigenous burial site. It's a crime scene, and a recent one at that. Nora uncovers two dead bodies, one with a bullet hole in its skull. Dead bodies mean this has become a case for the FBI, and Nora knows just the person to investigate - Special Agent Corrie Swanson. As Corrie and Nora dig deeper into the mystery, they will uncover more questions than answers. And the truth they seek will be even stranger than the conspiracy it hides behind.

The Last Commandment is by Scott Shepherd. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day holy. Thou shalt not kill. Christmastime in London: a period of joy and togetherness. Not for Metropolitan Police Commander Austin Grant, though. Three dead bodies have turned up on his patch, and the only thing they have in common is a number carved into their foreheads. A professor of ancient mythology, a sculptor of curious idols, frontman of The Blasphemers. It seems the killer is meting out their own justice, Biblically, punishing those who transgress the Ten Commandments. With seven commandments left, Grant sets the Met's best detectives to the case, scouring the capital before the zealot can strike again. But soon enough, a fourth victim turns up. In New York City. It appears Grant has a transatlantic manhunt on his hands. He's going to need all the help he can get from the NYPD if he's to stop the killer - before he reaches the last commandment.

A daredevil British agent goes behind enemy lines to search for a religious text that might hold the key to ending the Second World War. Basil St. Florian is an accomplished agent in the British Army, tasked with dozens of dangerous missions for crown and country across the globe. But his current mission, going undercover in Nazi-occupied France during World War II, might be his toughest assignment yet. He will be searching for an ecclesiastic manuscript that doesn't officially exist, one that genius professor Alan Turing believes may hold the key to a code that could prevent the death of millions and possibly even end the war. St. Florian isn't the classic British special agent with a stiff upper lip - he is a swashbuckling, whisky-drinking cynic and thrill-seeker who resents having to leave Vivien Leigh's bed to set out on his crucial mission. Despite these proclivities, though, Basil's Army superiors know he's the best man for the job, carrying out his espionage with enough charm and quick wit to make any of his subjects lower their guards. Basil's War is by Stephen Hunter.

One Bad Thing is by M K Hill. She thought she'd got away with it. She was wrong. Hannah Godley is an agony aunt on a London radio show Queen of Hearts. She's warm and empathetic; a good listener. Her catchphrase is: Be kind, always. But when a stranger phones in to tell a tragic story about her brother who killed himself after he was the victim of a terrible prank by two people, Hannah goes cold. Because she remembers Diane's brother well. In fact, all these years later, he still haunts her dreams. All because of that one bad thing she did when she was young... Is Diane just a sad, lonely woman looking for a friend, or does she know what Hannah did, and is looking for revenge? Because as Diane insinuates herself into her life and family, Hannah is going to discover that you can never truly escape that One Bad Thing you did - sooner or later, you're going to have to pay the price...

March 2022

Introducing your new crime thriller fix: Bristol detective DS George Cross, champion of the outsider, the voiceless and the dispossessed. DS George Cross can be rude, difficult, and awkward with people. But his unfailing logic and dogged pursuit of the truth means his conviction rate is the best on the force. An outsider himself, having been diagnosed with Autism spectrum disorder, DS Cross is especially drawn to cases concerning the voiceless and the dispossessed. Now, Cross is untangling the truth about a young woman who died three days ago. With no fingerprints, no weapon and no witnesses, the Bristol Crime Unit are ready to close the case. The coroner rules suicide: the woman had a long history of drug abuse. But her mother is convinced it was murder: her daughter has been clean and sober for over two years. DS Cross is determined to defy his bosses and re-open the case, even if it costs him his career. Soon he is mired in a labyrinth of potential suspects - but can he solve the case before his superiors shut it down for good? The Patient is by Tim Sullivan.

The Night Shift is by Alex Finlay. It's New Year's Eve of 1999 when four teenagers working late are attacked at a Blockbuster video store in New Jersey. Only one inexplicably survives. Police quickly identify a suspect, the boyfriend of one of the victims, who flees and is never seen again. Fifteen years later, four more teenagers are attacked at an ice cream store in the same town, and again only one makes it out alive. In the aftermath of the latest crime, three lives intersect: the lone survivor of the Blockbuster massacre who is forced to relive the horrors of her tragedy; the brother of the fugitive accused, who is convinced the police have the wrong suspect; and FBI agent Sarah Keller, who must delve into the secrets of both nights to uncover the truth about the night shift murders.

April  2022

The Fall is by Rachael Blok. The wind is cold this high up. The man shouts out, but nobody hears. The cathedral roof has caught his fall, but it will not hold him for long. The night is dark. And it is such a long way down... On Good Friday, the verger of St Albans cathedral was supposed to be preparing the Easter service. Instead he discovers a man lying dead, fallen from the famous fifty-foot-high spire. Did he jump, or was he pushed? For DCI Maarten Jansen, it's a simple case of suspected suicide. Until a stranger, Willow, who witnessed the jump, prompts a deeper investigation into a long-buried past, involving a mental hospital, a pregnant woman, and fifty years of silence. As Willow's own family history entwines with the case, Jansen starts to wonder how everything is connected.

May 2022

Sally Robinson was obsessed with family tradition. That's why, on a scorching August day, she dragged her family out for a picnic on Dedman's Heath. Sally imagined her picturesque children posing against the purple heathers and flowering yellow gorse of the South Downs: an envy-inducing post for her facebook page. Instead, the perfect mother and her perfect family were murdered. By a man who had murdered before, and will do so again. DI Toni Kemp, of Sussex police, must unravel a case which has shocked the county to its core. What she discovers will lead her to Bedford Hall, a grand country mansion, long ago converted into flats. Here in the middle of nowhere, where statues dot the lawn and peacocks scream in the bushes, six long-term residents have seen more than they should. But this is a community who are good at keeping secrets... The Companion is by Lesley Thomson.

June 2022

Katastrophe is by Graham Hurley. January, 1945. Wherever you look on the map, the Thousand Year Reich is shrinking. Even Goebbels has run out of lies to sweeten the reckoning to come. An Allied victory is inevitable, but who will reap the spoils of war? Two years ago, Werner Nehmann's war came to an abrupt end in Stalingrad. With the city in ruins, the remains of General Paulus' Sixth Army surrendered to the Soviets and Nehmann was shipped to Russia's arctic gulags. But now he's riding on the back of one of Marshal Zhukov's T-35 tanks, heading home with a message for the man who consigned him to the Stalingrad Cauldron. With the Red Army about to fall on Berlin, Stalin fears his sometime allies are conspiring to deny him his prize. He needs to speak to Goebbels - and who better to broker the contact than Werner Nehmann, Goebbels' one-time confidante? Swapping the ruins of Stalingrad for the wreckage of Berlin, swapping Joseph Goebbels for Joseph Stalin, Nehmann's war has taken a turn for the worse. The Germans have a word for it.

A missing girl. Buried family secrets. An absent father. Is the truth worth searching for? Summer, 1993. In the aftermath of her mother's suicide attempt, 16-year-old Prue must spend the summer holidays on a remote island in the Shetlands with her favourite Aunt Ruth and Uncle Archie, a man she's barely met since her aunt married him. Prue hopes to re-establish the relationship, and that her aunt might help her understand some of the parts of the past she has been forbidden to discuss by her mother - including the identity of her father. Prue soon finds out that her uncle was the only suspect in the disappearance of a local girl some twenty years ago. As she grows closer to him, she learns there are differing views on how the beguiling Evelyn O'Hara disappeared, but is her uncle innocent? Truth is something Prue has always had a fractured relationship with. A single version of the truth seems impossible for her to lockdown.. The Gone and the Forgotten is by Clare Whitfield.









Saturday, 13 March 2021

Blok Party

 

Books, particularly Crime, Mystery and Thriller novels are a great refuge from the ubiquity of these days of COVID, as well as the long nights. The dark edge of literature is not only a cognitive escape for readers, but also writers. The problem is how to spread the word about new releases when the world is under lockdown, and gatherings restricted by Governmental Statute? 

We have Googlemeet, MS-TEAMS, Zoom, Loom, Facetime, WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Shots Mag Blog…..….and the plethora of online venues, where an internet connection can help gather people together – where once we met in bookstores and clubs in London to talk books, and to enjoy a social drink…..as opposed to what some of us do today.

 

So it was a pleasure to find myself together with fellow bibliophiles, journalists and hard drinkers - Deidre O Brien, Jake Kerridge, Zoe West, Lisa, Claire together with Rachael Blok, and her publishers Head of Zeus – all behind the safety of a PC Screen, to talk and learn about the upcoming INTO THE FIRE which is being released on April 1st 2021. So here’s what I garnered about this new name [to me] from Head of Zeus’ Blok Party -



Rachael Blok is the author of the Marten Jansen series, set in St Albans. We’re gathered at the Blok Party, to learn about her third novel - Into the Fire, and discover very briefly about Rachael’s publication journey so far.

Her first book, Under The Ice, was published at Christmas 2018 and prompted the Daily Mail to describe her as 'a truly special talent'.

 

Her next book, The Scorched Earth, which was reviewed in several broadsheets and tabloids, confirmed her as a rising star in crime writing.

 

And then of course the pandemic hit. Head of Zeus was hugely disrupted so decided to delay her third novel - Into the Fire by six-months. So, while she was waiting for editorial notes (delayed by over six-months) she got involved with an elegant crime short story project which became two collections - Afraid of the Light and Afraid of the Christmas Lights, with a selection of other established crime authors.

 


Her books are really a blend of police procedural and psychological thriller - and they are also complemented by extremely fine writing - lyrical, haunting, poetic.

 

And in her third book, her skill is evidenced further.

 

This time, her twist on the procedural is to add a locked room element.

 

Into The Fire takes place in a beautiful stately mansion outside St Albans, and stars a cast of glamorous celebrities, politicians and entrepreneurs. This house party is full of simmering secrets… and before long the characters realise there is a murderer in their midst.

 

So, if you’ve not uncovered the dark secrets trapped within Rachael Blok’s work, you have time to experience the vicarious thrills of her first two novels [now in paperback] and all from the comfort [and vantage point] of your armchair – cocktails or hard liquor are optional, but useful to steady ones’ nerves as you enter Blok’s dark imagination…….I have my copy…and also her first two - have you pre-ordered yours?

 

For more information about the work of Rachael Blok, click HERE

 

Shots Magazine, would like to thank Laura Palmer and Kate Appleton from Head of Zeus as well as the energetic Sophie Ransom from Midas, London for the invitation to Rachael Blok’s party, and the fine selection of cocktails mailed to us in readiness for the launch celebrations of INTO THE FIRE - or what I term ‘The Blok Party’.




Wednesday, 25 March 2020

Books to Look Forward to from Head of Zeus

July 2020

The Englishman is by David Gilman.  A clandestine war on the desert border of Mali and Algeria; murder and kidnap on the suburban streets of West London; a Moscow CID police inspector investigating the assassination of four of her fellow officers by the Russian mafia; a young MI6 officer facing the possibility that a long-running operation has been fatally compromised: connecting them all is the Englishman - Dan Raglan, outsider, exile, one-time member of the French Foreign Legion, fully trained killer. Raglan's quest for answers will become a quest for vengeance. It will lead him to the winter-ravaged wasteland of the Sverdlovskaya Oblast and Penal Code #74, a place that holds Russia's most brutal murderers. A place of death and retribution. How will he get in? More importantly, how will he get out?

Have you seen Lucia Blix? Lucia went home from school for a playdate with her new friend Josie. Later that evening, Lucia's mother Elisa dropped her overnight things round and kissed her little girl goodnight. That was the last time she saw daughter. The next morning, when Lucia's dad arrived to pick her up, the house was empty. No furniture, no family, no Lucia. Playdate by Alex Dahl puts a microscope on a seemingly average, seemingly happy family plunged into a life-altering situation. Who has taken their daughter, and why?

Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Evolution is by Brian Freeman.  After the death of his wife in a

mass shooting, secret agent Jason Bourne is convinced that there is more to her murder than it seems. Worse, he believes that the agency that trained him is behind the killing. Bourne goes rogue, leaving Treadstone behind and taking on a new mission to infiltrate and expose an anarchist group, Medusa. But when a congresswoman is assassinated in New York, Bourne is framed for the crime, and he finds himself alone and on the run. In his quest to stay one step ahead of his enemies, Bourne teams up with a journalist, Abbey Laurent, to figure out who was behind the frame-up, and to learn as much as he can about the ever-growing threat of the mysterious Medusa group. As more and more enemies begin to hunt Bourne, it's a race against the clock to discover who led him into a trap... and what their next move may be.

Hunter Killer is by Brad Taylor.  They're one step ahead. They're killing his team. He's coming for them. The Taskforce were once apex predators, an unrivalled hunting machine that decimated those out to harm the USA, but they may have met their match. While Pike is preparing to join the team on a counter-terrorist mission in South America, a friend is killed in South Carolina. The authorities believe it was an accident, but Pike suspects the attack was meant as a message to him.   When he loses contact with the team in South America, Pike becomes convinced the Taskforce is under attack. His men are the closest thing to family he has, which means he will do anything - even ignore direct orders to stand down - to find them.

August 2020

The Package is by Sebastien Fitzek.  All you've done is taken in a parcel for a neighbour. You have no idea what you've let into your home.  Emma's the one that got away. The only survivor of a killer known in the tabloids as 'the barber' - because of the trophies he takes from his victims. Or she thinks she was. The police aren't convinced. Nor is her husband. She never even saw her tormentor properly, but now she recognises him in every man. Questioning her sanity, she gives up her job as a doctor in the local hospital and retreats from the world. It is better to stay at home. Quiet. Anonymous. Safe. He won't find her here. And all she did was take a parcel for a neighbour. She has no idea what she's let into her home.

September 2020

The Night of the Flood is by Zoe Somerville.  An atmospheric literary thriller set in north Norfolk in the shadow of the Cold War, in which a love triangle turns murderous. Summer, 1952. Verity Frost, stranded on her family farm on the Norfolk coast, is caught between two worlds: the devotion of her childhood friend Arthur, just returned from National Service, and a strange new desire to escape it all. Arthur longs to escape too, but only with Verity by his side. Into their world steps Jack, a charismatic American pilot flying secret reconnaissance missions off the North Sea coast. But where Verity sees adventure and glamour, Arthur sees only deception. As the water levels rise to breaking point, this tangled web of secrets, lies and passion will bring about a crime that will change all their lives.

'Danny ‘Abs’ Cruikshank was the biggest reality star in the UK – the lovable star of hit reality show Laid In Essex! But during a weekend break, Abs and his friends were questioned by police after they were the last people to see a missing girl alive. Three years later, the man who captured the hearts of millions of TV viewers is reduced to opening a Quid Store on the high street. And when one of Abs’s mates is murdered, it’s clear someone is targeting him and his friends. DI Sasha Dawson and her team must race against the clock to find the killer before they strike again, and discover what happened to Rhiannon Jenkins on the night she vanished… The truth may save Abs - or bury him. The Woman in the Wood is by M.K. Hill.'

Fate: Death Notice 2 is by Zhou Haohui.  After the death of 'Eumenides', a former police student who was sending 'death notices' to unpunished criminals before brutally murdering them, the Chengdu Police Department assumed that the killing spree would stop. But the murders continue, leading the 4/18 task force to the terrifying truth: Eumenides had a protege. Captain Pei Tao and his task force redouble their efforts to catch this new opponent, but relationships become fraught. Can they trust each other?

October 2020

Marry in haste... Murder at leisure? London, 1888: Susannah rushes into marriage to a young and wealthy surgeon. After a passionate honeymoon, she returns home with her new husband wrapped around her little finger. But then everything changes. Thomas's behaviour becomes increasingly volatile and violent. He stays out all night, returning home bloodied and full of secrets. The gentle caresses she enjoyed on her wedding night are now just a honeyed memory. When the first woman is murdered in Whitechapel, Susannah's interest is piqued. But as she follows the reports of the ongoing hunt for the killer, her mind takes her down the darkest path imaginable. Every time Thomas stays out late, another victim is found dead. Is it coincidence? Or is her husband the man they call Jack the Ripper?  People of Abandoned Character is by Clare Whitfield.

November 2020
Passenger 23 is by Sebastien Fitzek.  On average 23 people a year disappear from the world's cruise ships. They are written off as accidents or suicides. But what if they're not?   Five years ago Martin Schwarz, a police psychologist, lost his wife and son. They were holidaying on a cruise ship when they simply vanished. A lacklustre investigation was unable to shed any light on what happened - murder-suicide being the coroner's verdict. It is a verdict that has haunted Martin ever since, blighting his life. But then he is contacted by an elderly woman, a writer, who claims to have information regarding their fate and wants him to come on board The Sultan of the Seas immediately.   She explains that his wife and son are not the only mother and child pair to have disappeared. Only a few months ago another mother and daughter also vanished. She believes there may be a serial killer on board.   But when the missing daughter reappears - carrying the teddy bear of Martin's missing son - it becomes apparent that the truth could be much, much worse...

A Galway Epiphany is by Ken Bruen.  Jack Taylor. He's the world's worst detective. Cases get solved not because of him, but despite him. He's an alcoholic, an addict, rude, obnoxious. And in very bad shape. And yet... He gets the job done... somehow, and he desperately wants to connect even though he'd never admit it. But now, He's getting old. Losing his hearing. Has a limp. You ask, Jesus, how much longer can he go on? Indeed.

Eleven guests. Three nights. One murderer...In a crumbling old mansion in the English countryside, eleven people gather, each one famous in their field. They have been invited for a three-day house party, to celebrate the launch of a ground breaking virtual reality game that promises to unite the worlds of technology, politics and the environment. DCI Marten Jansen has been summoned to join the house party. His instructions are to offer police protection in case of an outside attack. Instead, he finds simmering tensions, long-buried secrets - and a murderer in their midst...  Into the Fire is by Rachael Blok