A.A. Abbott

GREAT CRIME STORY WRITER

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Book Review – A Brush with Death, by Jean Burnett

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Curl up with a cosy mystery

Jean Burnett's cosy mystery or cozy mystery crime novel A Brush with Death beside a cup of coffee

My last four psychological thrillers were set in Bristol, and I enjoy reading other stories about the city. While Jean Burnett doesn’t name Bristol University in her cosy mystery,‘A Brush with Death’, the references to local landmarks make it pretty clear. This hilarious tale, laced with Jean’s trademark humour, is an absorbing read. And what better way to while away a dim winter day than curling up with a cosy mystery and a coffee?

Novel murder methods

The year is 1987. A serial killer stalks the campus. His gloriously over-the-top murder methods include electrocution by a computer, and an ice pick through the brain. Yet it takes a while for the police to cotton on. They’re convinced the first death is accidental. It seems reasonable to them that Lynne, a secretary in the English department, would unwittingly touch a live keyboard.

Only Cass Crombie, Lynne’s best friend, is convinced there’s been foul play. However newfangled these computers, they shouldn’t be dangerous. Someone has set out to silence Lynne, and Cass is determined to discover the truth.

The amateur sleuth goes undercover

Cass, a fortyish divorcée whose only child has left home, has too much time and not enough money. The university offers a solution when it advertises for cleaners. More importantly, working as a so-called domestic operative gives Cass a licence to snoop around. In these pre-outsourcing days, there’s time to stop for a coffee and a chat. Cass picks up gossip from support staff, students and academics. “Money and kudos are the motivating forces in academia,” a lecturer crisply informs her. Cass finds evidence of dirty dealings in pursuit of both.

Steamy affair

Detective Sergeant Don Newton realises what Cass is up to. He warns her off. She ignores his advice, albeit not his manly charms. Attracted to the hunky cop on first sight, she begins a steamy affair with him. This continues even when she’s arrested on suspicion of murder. Yes, the killer has struck twice more, and Cass is in the vicinity on each occasion. But a friend finds Cass a good lawyer, and she’s released to dive back into bed with DS Newton.

Escape from danger

Having unmasked the culprit, Cass escapes death at his hands by a whisker. (Of course! This is the first book in a series after all). Dumping Don Newton, she jets off to sunnier climes. Will she be back to solve more crimes and over-share with the sergeant again? We wait with bated breath for Book 2.

Do you like books that take you back in time? Then you’ll love my psychological thriller, ‘Run For Your Lies’. In 1992, families are ripped apart by the discovery of a body in Bristol’s Floating Harbour. Over thirty years later, a former teacher returns to the city she left in a prison van. Juliet has lost everything. She’s exhausted and unable to run from her foes any longer. But if they find her now, the consequences will be fatal. Read ‘Run For Your Lies’ in ebook, Kindle Unlimited, hardback, paperback, large print and dyslexia-friendly print.

Book review – A Saintly Grave Disturbed by Nikki Copleston

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A deeply satisfying short read

A Saintly Grave Disturbed by Nikki Copleston is a short read set in the English West Country

Short reads are having a moment. This detective story is a stunning example, packing tons of twists and emotional development into two hours. It’s a deeply satisfying read. 

Fleeing his demons to fight crime

Detective Inspector Jeff Lincoln has fled a failing marriage and personal tragedy to fight crime in England’s West Country. The city of Barbury might seem sleepy, but a stabbing on the local council estate and thefts from the museum keep him busy.  Then there’s the archaeological dig near the abbey, where volunteers appear to be falling victim to a mysterious assailant, perhaps even to each other.

Intriguing characters

While Nikki Copleston focuses on Jeff’s point of view, she also gives us insights into the thoughts of his colleagues, and other leading characters. There’s Beth Tarrant, for example, leading the dig and hoping to solve a family mystery while she uncovers the remains. Meanwhile, Trish Whittington, local librarian and Jeff’s lover, isn’t too besotted to ignore a sexy archaeologist.

Twists layered upon twists

Twists multiply and build upon each other, as Jeff links the crimes together and then finds his theories unravelling. Despite the complexity of the plot, the flow of the story is smooth, its separate strands neatly woven together at the end.

Flawless writing

Nikki Copleston is a class act, writing flawlessly and covering an amazing amount of detail in this interesting novella. It is the second book in a series about DI Jeff Lincoln (the others are all longer), but can be read as a standalone. ‘A Saintly Grave Disturbed‘ is a great way to dip a toe in the water and see if you enjoy Jeff Lincoln’s world. I suspect you will be hooked!

Do you like short crime reads? Then you’ll love ‘A Hint of Crime’, an anthology of short crime stories by the Bristol Fiction Writers’ Group. I’ve contributed three tales, all with a tantalising hint of mystery.

Settings in Fiction – a guest blog by Victoria Goldman

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Places inspire plots

Settings in Fiction illustrated by an English map

A strong sense of setting is important to me when I read. I enjoy books in which the backdrop becomes a character in itself – a haunted English country mansion, frozen Icelandic terrain, or even bustling London streets. I love familiar settings, where I recognise place names and buildings, visualising myself there as the plot unfolds around me.

So when it comes to my own novels, setting is essential to me when I write, using words to paint pictures of tree-lined roads and rundown houses, and eerie grassy parks after dusk.

A murder mystery in a sleepy English town

When writing my murder mystery debut, The Redeemer, I always knew that I would set it in Hertfordshire, on the cusp of rural and suburban life. Firstly, that’s where I live so it’s familiar to me, but secondly, the Jewish community I feature in the book is based on those in Hertfordshire and North-West London (and specifically the one in my own town). To set the book anywhere else just wouldn’t have felt ‘right’.

The difficulty in writing about the place where I live is that it will be instantly recognisable to anyone who lives there, or nearby, especially if it’s a relatively small town with a strong sense of community. This always leads to inevitable questions, from family and friends, in particular – So, who am I in your book? Is [xxx] based on me? Why did you put a park in that location when it’s over there?

To avoid this, I created a fictional Hertfordshire town. Hillsbury has many features of my own real-life hometown – a crossroads with a synagogue and church opposite one another (which partly inspired the book’s plot), a large spacious park, a Jewish cemetery (with a small airfield nearby) and several schools. By writing about a town that doesn’t exist, it doesn’t matter if I’ve moved the secondary school, added a mosque or an extra café, or changed the layout of the roads.

The secret of Whomsoever Lane

I’ve enjoyed going on long walks at different times of the day, at different times of the year, to inspire me and fuel my imagination. I’ve explored roads that I’d never noticed before, taken photos of the finer details and created visual memories of dilapidated houses with rusty gates and rotting window frames, muddy footpaths shrouded by low-growing shrubs, and gravel driveways edged with pristine flowerbeds.

Streets in my book are based on actual streets, and many would probably be recognisable if you drove down them – roads lined with bungalows, terraced cottages or large houses with sweeping driveways. Only one road in The Redeemer is an actual place, simply because I love the name (Whomsoever Lane), although I have moved it to a different location to suit the plot.

In the acknowledgements at the back of my book, I clearly state:

‘Hillsbury is a fictional town loosely based on where I live in Hertfordshire. If you know the area, some of the locations in this book may seem familiar. But I’d like to reassure everyone who lives nearby that none of you have been immortalised as a character in this book!’

Victoria Goldman is a journalist and author whose first novel, The Redeemer, has won praise from Louise Voss, Adam Hamdy, Marnie Riches and many more.

As a British thriller writer, I too love to infuse my fiction with a sense of place. New murder mystery and suspense thriller Lies at Her Door is set in the swanky district of Clifton, Bristol. When a skeleton is found under Lucy Freeman’s garden, the shy young woman is the prime suspect. Yet when she tries to clear her name, she realises that uncovering long-buried wrongs can be lethal…

Book Review – Vampires of Avonmouth by Tim Kindberg

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A dystopian thriller.

A book review of Vampires of Avonmouth, Tim Kindberg's tense dystopian thriller full of twists

Despite its title, “Vampires of Avonmouth” is a dystopian thriller set in 2087. The villains of this pacy and exciting story are not traditional bloodsuckers. These vampires feed on brainwaves rather than blood.

In the best traditions of detective noir, our hero, David, is cynical and almost exhausted with life. He has good cause. One of the sinister mindsuckers, a vodu, was implanted in his skull when he was abducted by renegades in the African city of Accra. The vodu is neutralised by David’s willpower, but he knows it will escape in the presence of someone he loves. Fearful for his teenage daughter’s safety, David sends her away. He leaves his plum job in Westaf for a humdrum role as an ID cop in the British city of Avonmouth.

Polluted landscapes and polluted minds

The Avonmouth of 2087 is very different from the functional container port you may spy from the M5 in 2021. Built-up, bustling and polluted, it has eclipsed nearby Bristol in size and importance. Like all of the planet outside the free zone of Westaf, it is controlled by a murky multinational network, I&I. While David despises I&I, and in particular the network’s habit of streaming propaganda to the populace via psychic wrist beads, he is effectively tied to his employer for life. However, his boring, loveless existence is turned upside down when travellers from Westaf arrive illegally at the port of Avonmouth. What follows is a thrilling adventure that offers David hope of a better future, while also plunging his life into danger.

Tense, thrilling & full of twists

Tim Kindberg is a fine writer. He has crafted sympathetic characters, a seamlessly flowing story and a believable future world: a hot, polluted planet controlled by Big Data. In addition, he has described them well. Who can read “Above him, wind turbines whumped against the hot white sky,”  and not immediately be transported to David’s side?

I hope that “Vampires of Avonmouth” gains a wider readership than simply dystopian sci-fi fans. They should love it, but so will anyone who enjoys a tense, thrilling tale packed with twists. Author Tim Kindberg is also donating a huge slug of his royalties to foodbank charities, so you’ll be helping the needy when you buy a copy.

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If you like a well-written story packed with twists, tension and characters you’ll love and hate, read psychological thriller “Bright Lies”.  Set in Bristol, Bath and Birmingham, it crackles with “compelling drama”, according to respected American website Readers’ Favorite. Simply click on the cover to start reading.

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Book Review – Killing The Girl, by Elizabeth Hill

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Desire, Secrets and DeathKilling The Girl is a page turner suspense thriller about secrets desire and death

An explosive tale of desire, secrets and hard-nosed commerce, “Killing The Girl” is a psychological thriller like no other. It begins with a coming-of-age story. Fifteen-year-old Carol Cage lives in a council house on the edge of Bristol. A tomboy whose older brothers have taught her to drive, she loves nothing better than taking the wheel of a car or scrumping apples with her best friend. Local farmer’s son, Perry, his crush on Carol painfully obvious, holds no attraction for her. Childhood mischief comes to an end, however, when Carol falls under Frankie’s spell. Nineteen-year-old Frankie is visiting a relative whose posh house nearby is a mirage of unattainable wealth to the council kids. He seems impossibly handsome and sophisticated.

It doesn’t take long for the reader, or indeed many of the adult characters in the book, to realise that Frankie is just using Carol. However, Carol is besotted and ignores all the well-intentioned warnings until she finds out the hard way. Then, nightmarishly, she attacks Frankie when he pushes her too far.

Love or Money?

Perry is Carol’s saviour, helping her cover up Frankie’s death. He claims it is because his father’s farm would face impossibly steep outgoings if land that Carol has inherited falls into new hands. Although undeniably true, it is also clear that Perry still carries a torch for Carol – a torch that burns for nearly five decades while they co-exist as neighbours. Then the council announces it will build a ring road through the land where Frankie is buried. Can Carol continue to escape justice?

The Corpse Count Rises

Once the bulldozers move in, more secrets are revealed. There are heart-stopping moments as Carol unravels the hidden agendas of those she has loved and trusted. The story, written from Carol’s point of view, portrays her as a mild-mannered woman buffeted by the whims of others. However, the corpse count keeps rising…

Page Turner

Although this is Carol’s story, the supporting characters are sharply observed and interesting, too. Even the gloriously-named socialite Izzy Dewberry-Newberry is well-described in a couple of lines. Likewise, the social mores of the 1970s – the acceptance of drink-driving, the Bristol tobacco factory jobs handed down from one generation to the next – leap from the page. Exquisitely written, full of surprises as layers of secrets and lies are peeled back, “Killing The Girl” is a page turner par excellence. Elizabeth Hill is definitely a writer to watch.

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Like Elizabeth Hill, I’m a British thriller writer. If you love a suspense-filled story uncovering secrets of the past, try “The Vodka Trail”. Vodka salesman Marty Bridges couldn’t save his business partner’s life. Blamed by the dead man’s daughter for his death, Marty finds new evidence – but dare he tell her?

Book Review – The Locksmith, by Jo Ullah

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A good read in the gothic tradition

Book Review of The Locksmith Suspense Thriller by Jo Ullah a good read and a page turnerThe Locksmith is a good read for the summer holidays – not just because it’s about a mother taking her children to stay on a farm during the long vacation, but because the light evenings are less conducive to book-induced nightmares. While the book is written in a deceptively simple style, it’s a suspense thriller in the gothic tradition. An air of menace pervades the pages, mounting as twists unfold. Like the boobytraps placed around the farm, it’s evident that tragedy will strike, but it’s only at the last minute that we find out how and when.

Scars of the past

Artist Jude has escaped a violent marriage and found contentment with a new lover, Spider. Together, they have a young baby as well as Jude’s two children from her first marriage. Family life in Bristol’s Bohemian Montpelier district seems idyllic, but cracks are beginning to show. Middle child Immy displays unsettling signs of a sixth sense. Adolescent Ben chafes at the restrictions imposed on him and resents his stepfather’s authority. Spider bears the scars of an unhappy childhood, but refuses to talk about it. Jude decides the answer for her is more physical and mental space. When Spider’s mother invites her to bring the children to stay on the family farm for the summer, the offer is too tempting to ignore.

Page turner awash with surprises

Despite deepening unease, the story abounds with gentle humour, especially in the clash of urban and rural mores. The children discover that nature is red in tooth and claw. There is also a priceless trip to a snobby town near the farm. Jo Ullah strikes the perfect balance between entertainment and edge-of-the-seat fear, creating a page turner awash with surprises to keep you guessing.

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Read it and sleep – if you dare…

Do you like sinister stories with a Bristol edge? If so, try “A Dark Imagined Bristol”, a collection of short tales that are just that. Although I’m a crime thriller writer, I turned my hand to a disturbing supernatural story, “First Blood”, especially for a “A Dark Imagined Bristol”. Read it, and sleep – if you dare…