A.A. Abbott

GREAT CRIME STORY WRITER

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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 – Death on the Suez, by David Wake

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Agatha Christie meets Terry Pratchettsphinx-like murderers and magic carpets in this agatha christie meets terry pratchett mystery

Agatha Christie’s “Death on the Nile” is splendidly parodied by David Wake in this locked room murder mystery set aboard the Victorian paddle steamer SS Karnak. Yes, folks, the protagonists appear to travel on the very boat Hercule Poirot chose for his rather too exciting holiday in Egypt. This time, the ship sails down the Suez Canal with an assorted cast of characters including a libidinous Frenchman, an Indian mystic, two archaeologists and a couple of stiff upper lip British army men. They are accompanied by the Derring-Do Club, three plucky young women whose parents have forbidden them to do any adventuring, ever. A murder investigation doesn’t count as an adventure, however, so middle sister Georgina is roped in as investigating officer when one of the archaeologists takes a fatal bullet. With humour worthy of Terry Pratchett, David Wake leads Georgina and her sisters on a merry dance through the desert, in which they nearly (but of course, not quite) die before the case is cracked.

Locked room murder mystery

There are at least nine suspects, all with alibis and no apparent means of shooting a man whose corpse has been found in a room locked from the inside. The method, when Georgina finally deduces it, is a twist worthy of the Queen of the Crime herself.

Magic carpets, romance & adventure

“Death on the Suez” is so much more than a murder mystery, however. It’s a rip-roaring adventure  featuring mummies, guns, magic carpets, a marvellous calculating machine, ancient gods and temples. There’s also dash of romance, running like a thread throughout the narrative and beautifully tied at the end. Throughout, David Wake writes well, his gentle British humour lampooning Victorian mores. He never puts a foot wrong, and the pages just keep turning.

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Like David Wake, I’m a British writer, and my stories are fast-paced page turners. The Trail series of crime thrillers begins with a mystery when fake bride Kat White goes missing. Take a look at The Bride’s Trail here.

Book Review – Blood Red Rabbit, by Tom Bryson

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Tense psychological thriller about the Troublesblood red rabbit tense psychological thriller northern ireland troubles

British writer Tom Bryson is uniquely qualified to write a psychological thriller about the Troubles in Northern Ireland – he’s a Derry boy who lived through them. “Blood Red Rabbit” begins in the aftermath of a terrible crime: a bomb blast in a busy town centre. Neither side of the sectarian divide claims responsibility, possibly because both are affected by it. Protestants and Catholics alike have lost loved ones, and the survivors are hurting. Guilt gnaws at Tony, who saw a fellow football supporter lose a hand. Teenage student Neil should have a bright future, but is overwhelmed by grief for his dead sister. John wishes he’d died instead of the colleague who swapped shifts as a favour.

Deadly ripples

Deadly ripples spread. Alcoholism, mental illness and revenge stalk the town. There will be further deaths before green shoots of reconciliation emerge. Slowly, they do. From the mourning family who laugh as they speculate whose bomb it was, to the hate crime victim who just wants to move on, to an accidental romance that bridges the divide – hope springs in unexpected places. Ultimately, the greatest gulf is between those who stay damaged by the past, and those who put it behind them.

Should be a bestseller

The characters in this tense thriller are well-drawn: distinct, interesting, not always lovable, but wholly believable. Through them, the historic differences and present-day experiences of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland are explained and contrasted. The plot is sad, mad and finally, inspiring. Tom Bryson writes with a sure hand equal to any book in the bestseller charts.

“Blood Red Rabbit” is 99p  as an ebook (paperback also available) – an absolute bargain for writing of this quality.

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If you like a tense thriller with its roots in the past, try “The Vodka Trail”. Birmingham businessman Marty Bridges made a fortune when the Soviet Union imploded, but Kat White, daughter of his dead business partner, is convinced he has blood on his hands…

Thriller of the Month – Dark Fragments, by Rob Sinclair

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An unreliable narrator isn’t often used in a thriller, perhaps because it requires a great deal of skill to keep a reader engaged once it’s clear the “hero” is anything but. John Grisham did it well in “The Racketeer”. Now British writer Rob Sinclair joins him with “Dark Fragments”.

“Dark Fragments” is a departure for Sinclair, who has previously written tense third person spy thrillers about secret agent Carl Logan. This, his first book for crime publisher Bloodhound, is told in the first person by Ben Stephens. At first, management consultant Ben seems a nice, ordinary guy. He adores his children and his wife. Yes, he’s down in the dumps, but who wouldn’t be in his situation? After all, he’s being threatened by gangsters over a soured business deal, he’s haunted by the unsolved murder of his first wife, and his career has plateaued. We can all imagine struggling with that kind of baggage.

This is where Rob Sinclair is very clever. Having made us sympathise with the man, perhaps even identify with him, alarm bells ring as Ben takes extreme actions to solve his problems. Rash and impulsive, he resorts to infidelity and violence, all the while seeing himself as a victim. The level of self-justification is such that the dramatic finale of the book is easy to believe, although it still comes as a surprise.

Sinclair’s style is pacy, energetic and liberally punctuated with cliff hangers. In consequence, “Dark Fragments” is a quick read, which leaves the lingering feeling that the ordinary people you meet every day may not be quite what they seem.

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“Dark Fragments” is set in Birmingham, England. I also write crime thrillers that are (at least partly) set in the city and I very much enjoyed Rob Sinclair’s descriptions of its swanky and seedy areas. Do you like to read about places you know? Email me at aaabbottstories[at]gmail.com.

Thriller of the Month – Trouble with Product X, by Joan Aiken

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The late British writer Joan Aiken is best known as an author of supernatural children’s stories, but her adult tales are worth seeking out too. This thriller is like a Formula 1 car, racing along at breakneck speed with many twists on the way. It’s a period piece, written about fifty years ago and set in a world my parents would recognise, when a train from London to Penzance took nine hours and you could avoid rush hour traffic jams in London.

Just as TV’s Mad Men showcased the US advertising industry in 1960s Manhattan, “Trouble with Product X” sheds light on their counterparts in London. Product X is a wonderful new perfume, expected to take the market by storm. Certainly, manufacturers Gay* Gal think so, and ad agency Salmon and Bucknell is delighted to win the account. It’s all hands to the pumps and Martha, a young copywriter, is despatched to Cornwall to produce ads for TV. She’s accompanied by colleagues, cameramen and assorted hangers-on, including a creepy client and his unpleasant chums. The trouble with Product X, as she rapidly discovers, is that the formula has been lost – or has it?

Tension rapidly mounts as the rich and beautiful are revealed to be feckless kidnappers and murderers. Luckily, Martha finds some good eggs on whom she can rely, including stalwart colleague Tom and a community of brusque monks with hearts of gold.

The book is a fun, quick read, and could almost be approached as historical fiction given that the events take place five decades ago. Joan Aiken worked as an advertising copywriter herself, and writes amusingly of the flattery employed to sell unprepossessing products. There too many twists and turns in the plot to describe, but all are believable (just!), and the book is well-written. Hats off to The Murder Room for republishing it for the Kindle. Note that old paperbacks are available for pennies on Amazon under another title, “Beware of the Bouquet”.

 

*The word “gay” is used a lot in the book in a very old-fashioned sense, basically describing a desire to go drinking and dancing.

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I’m also a writer of fun, fast thrillers – read The Gap, a “5 minute crime thriller” set in modern London, FREE, here.

Missing A Writer…

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There are many compelling reasons why new and established authors should join a writing group (look out for a blog about this soon!). A quite unexpected, but delightful, benefit is the new friends who enter your world. Eileen Elsey, proud redhead, gin connoisseur and writer of deliciously quirky stories, was one of them. She turned up at the same writing group five years ago and sprinkled fairydust in my life ever since. Her solstice parties were a legend, her friends were fun, and the improvements she suggested to my stories were fabulous.

I miss her, and I’m not the only one. Friends say there’s an Eileen-shaped hole in their lives. Her funeral last week captured her spirit perfectly – a stylish ceremony in a woodland chapel (see the picture above), with jazz, wine, food and interesting friends. Best of all was the greatest gift a writer can give: her latest short crime story, Handbagged, was published in a limited edition by her family and handed to everyone on the day. 

Three of Eileen’s wondrous stories have been published in an anthology under her pen name, DA Allen. You can see actor Alun Robins read one of them here (warning: there are four letter words) – it’s wickedly funny.

A beautiful spirit, much missed. I’m dedicating my next crime thriller to her.

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I’m a British writer. As well as three full-length crime thrillers, I’ve written many short stories – you can read some here.