A.A. Abbott

GREAT CRIME STORY WRITER

twists

Book Review – The Lodger by Valerie Keogh

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Angels of Mercy dealing with death

Valerie Keogh's latest book psychological thriller The Lodger next to a pot plant

Nurses are useful people for a thriller writer to know. The Angels of Mercy save patients’ lives, but in doing so, they learn a lot about death. Valerie Keogh, a former nurse turned author, says she’s never committed murder. The Irish crime writer does enjoy finding creative ways to kill in her psychological thrillers, however.

Missing, presumed dead

Valerie’s latest book, The Lodger, features two characters who are missing, presumed dead. At least that is Leigh Simon’s fear, when both her creepy boss and hip young lodger disappear without trace.

Leigh is a go-getting young woman who has secured a high-flying job in the City of London. The City is notorious for paying handsome salaries to smart people and giving them boring work to do. This is true in the case of Leigh, a Cambridge maths graduate, whose skills are under-utilised in her role as a trader. The job is dull, its pressures exacerbated by her middle-aged boss’s lechery. Leigh fights back, only to find to her horror that he has vanished, pleading stress. Has she sent him over the edge? Another event unsettles Leigh even more. In an act of kindness, she has rented her spare room to Gina, a girl she hardly knows. Then Gina moves out suddenly, leaving a cryptic note behind. Yet someone is visiting the house, eating Leigh’s food and drinking her wine.  Leigh decides it’s time to track Gina down…

Suspense, twists and murder

Valerie Keogh writes convincingly of a fearful woman, gradually falling apart, doubting herself and others. The pages crackle with suspense. Of course, there is a murder – a suitably colourful one – but there are plenty of twists before we discover who, and why, and what has happened to the lodger.

If you enjoy a mystery amplified by twists and cliffhangers, you’ll love my latest suspense thriller, Lies at Her Door. Shy Lucy has spent her life in her brother’s shadow. When the spotlight of accusation shines down on her, can she clear her name? Or will the hunt for chilling secrets send her to her doom?

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 – The Babysitter, by Phoebe Morgan

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The Babysitter by Phoebe Morgan is a gripping psychological thriller. When a celeb's lover is murdered, where is the baby she was caring for?

A murder mystery packed with twists

Wine, sunshine and good company – the ingredients for a perfect holiday. Siobhan jets off with high hopes to join her sister, Maria, in a French villa. Family life has been stressful for Siobhan. Perhaps now she can rebuild her relationships with her cheating husband, Calum, and teenage daughter, Emma.

Siobhan is starting to relax when the French police bring news that Calum’s lover has been murdered back home in Suffolk. Even more horrifying, the little girl she was babysitting has disappeared.

For Siobhan, it’s the beginning of a nightmare. TV celeb Calum is the prime suspect. He’s shipped back to England for questioning by the local police. Meanwhile, the women hide out from the media circus in the family home.

Suffolk police are under pressure to solve the murder mystery and find Baby Eve, but progress is slow. Phoebe Morgan cleverly uses flashbacks and switches point of view so that the reader – and indeed the police – are never quite sure who did it. The final revelation is a satisfying twist.

Domestic noir

If the story has a central message, it’s that you can’t truly know and trust those closest to you. Siobhan has comes to (uneasy) terms with Calum’s philandering, but is he capable of murder? Is Maria more than a supportive sister and aunt? Are there cracks in Baby Eve’s parents’ perfect marriage? Did Calum’s lover steal the baby for herself before her untimely death? This searing slice of domestic noir peels away the happy façade of each household to reveal raw pain beneath. As in real life, the end of the story is all about moving on rather than living happily ever after.

The Babysitter is available on Amazon and in all good bookshops.

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Do you love a gripping psychological thriller? Subscribe for my short and interesting monthly newsletter to hear about my next book. It’s out in November 2020 and it has tension and twists to die for.

Book Review – Broken Windows, by Janet Pywell

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A glamorous female sleuth

Broken Windows Female Sleuth Thriller Book Review
Broken Windows features mystery, action and adventure…

The glamorous Mikky dos Santos is a poacher turned gamekeeper.  She’s been a forger and an art thief, but now she’s turned from the dark side to work for Europol. “Broken Windows”, published on 30th June 2020, is the latest thriller to feature the colourful female sleuth. Mikky’s latest task is to spy on a London drugs gang, who use cultish practices to draw in deprived children longing for love and money. The cult’s talisman is an ancient and valuable dagger, and Mikky is charged with finding it.

Action in Morocco and London

At first, the assignment is fun. Mikky and her sidekick, ex-SAS serviceman Peter, go undercover in Morocco. Saintly charity worker Matt has rescued several teenagers from the cult and kept others from its temptations by training them in parkour. They’re so skilled in the extreme sport that they’re employed to act in a film being shot in Morocco. Mikky and Peter join them there, pretending to be photographers making a documentary.

Mikky learns enough to satisfy her boss, suave Spaniard Joachin, but by now she’s in too deep. Having bonded with the teenagers, she can’t just walk away when she realises the cult threatens their lives. Staying in touch with the youths when they return to their sink estate in London, she risks death to save them.

Everything a great thriller should be

The story not only fizzes with action (and, it has to be said, a touch of jetsetting), but offers interesting insights into both parkour and the high-end art world. There’s also a political angle, with an election looming and politicians desperate to smash the drugs ring and bring the public some good news. With adventure, twists and a happy ending, “Broken Windows” is everything a great thriller should be.

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Do you like thrillers showcasing female sleuths? British mystery thriller “The Bride’s Trail” is one of the best in the genre – click on the cover to start reading.

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…

Thriller of the Month – 99 Red Balloons, by Libby Carpenter

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99 Red Balloons – named after, and featuring the 1980s song by the enviably beautiful Nena – is Libby Carpenter’s first novel. It’s a twisting crime thriller, and although it was only released a few days ago, it’s already creating a buzz.

A huge emotional punch

So what’s the fuss about? First and foremost, 99 Red Balloons packs a huge emotional punch for any parent, as it’s the story of two little girls who go out to buy sweets and don’t come back. With particular piquancy, the children are stolen three decades apart, leaving two families fractured.

The tale is told in the first person from different points of view – a child, an aunt, a grandmother, and chillingly, an abductor. This offers insights, often painful, into the characters’ lives and feelings. I would defy anyone to read the book from cover to cover without crying at least once. There are, however,  heartwarming aspects too, for example when grandmother Maggie realises her estranged son-in-law has never stopped searching for his lost daughter.

Not for your maiden aunt

Was there anything I didn’t like? No – it’s well-written, credible and flows beautifully – but I wouldn’t buy it as a present for a maiden aunt who hated swearing. Some of the characters are (believably) potty-mouthed. I also found it difficult to follow the switches between 1980s flashbacks and the present day, but I suspect that was a deliberate ploy by the writer to maintain tension. It certainly worked, with a couple of breathtaking twists towards the end of the story.

Crimetastic

I chose to buy the book because I met author Libby Carpenter at Crimefest earlier this year, and her short description of the plot gripped my attention straight away. In case you didn’t know, Crimefest is a crazy weekend in Bristol in May. Held at the Marriott Royal Hotel, home to many a corporate convention. it’s just like a business conference except that the subject matter is crime fiction. Avid readers and writers rub shoulders with the greats, there are panels and prizes, and publishers pay for unlimited wine for all. There are free books too. It’s a crimetastic bash and highly recommended – as is 99 Red Balloons.

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As well as reading crime thrillers, I also like to write a great crime story full of twists. The Grass Trail is my latest – a tense crime thriller similar in style to Robert Galbraith, Ruth Rendell and John Grisham. Shaun Halloran wouldn’t be in prison if Kat White hadn’t taken his gun. As soon as he can escape, she’s dead. But with his criminal empire crumbling, who can he trust? Find out more about this cracking crime story and download a free sample from Amazon (this is the UK link, but you can find the book on all other Amazon sites too).