Category: Book Tour Page 40 of 56

by Desmond P. Ryan
Series: Mike O’Shea, #2

Kindle Edition, 245 pg.
Copper Press Publishing, 2019
Read: April 9 – 10, 2019

Detective Mike O’Shea is a detective with a couple of reputations — many know him as a cop’s cop, one who gets the job done right. Everyone knows him as one of two detectives who were on the hunt for a prostitution ring (that specialized in underage girls) and one particular runaway teen that came thiiis close to breaking the ring before his partner was killed and he almost was, too. The killer got away and O’Shea was left with a cloud over him. No matter what he’s done since, all his achievements are colored by that failure.

We join O’Shea as he’s transferred to a new platoon, with a new partner (Ron Roberts, who can’t seem to cope with the idea that he’s not in traffic anymore – he’s the only cop that I can remember in Crime Fiction who seems to think that’s a good place to work). Before they can really get a feel for each other (beyond previous knowledge and inherent prejudice), they’re called to the scene of a homicide. A one-legged man was beaten to death and dumped in a residential area.

The uniform on scene is not the shiniest star that the Academy has produced, but O’Shea and Roberts get things started enough that when the Homicide team shows up the investigation is well under-way. DS Amanda Black is tough, smart and driven and directs this investigation like her career depends on it.

We follow — O’Shea and Roberts through the preliminary stages of the investigation, through some hiccups caused by overzealous colleagues up to the hunt for their prime suspect. We also get a few scenes with just Black. Those are insightful, but feel pretty weird — there are so few scenes without O’Shea involved that anytime he’s not “on screen” it feels strange.

Along with this hunt, O’Shea continues to deal with the investigation that made his reputation — as much as he can while staying off the radar of his superiors — a suicidal retired cop, and his family. His marriage is all but over, but his siblings, son and mother are a very present realities for him. We could’ve gotten more time with his son for my taste (and probably O’Shea’s, now that I think of it). This all takes place over the course of a few days and O’Shea seems almost as in need of a good night’s sleep and a good cup of coffee as he is in getting resolution to any of his cases.

The novel is well-paced and it takes no time at all to get sucked into the story. This has all the hallmarks of a solid crime novel and police procedural. O’Shea is the kind of old school detective that readers love, Roberts has a lot of potential as a character and Black could easily dethrone O’Shea as the series’ focus (I’m not suggesting she will, but she’s written in a way that it could happen without anyone complaining).

I do have a few issues with the book, naturally. Things that detracted from my enjoyment, things that kept me from being over the moon with is (and it had that potential), but nothing that ultimately was that problematic.

This is the second of a intended six-book series and really reads that way. Can it be read as a stand-alone? Yes, but it’d be far more satisfying as part of a series (well, I expect it would be, anyway). There are some aspects of the timeline that I’m not convinced I can buy, but maybe with some context I could. Similarly, while this book and the main plotline do have definite conclusions, it feels like Ryan just presses “Pause” on so many other things it’s a little annoying. I’m not talking cliffhangers (minor or otherwise), it’s more of a “well, we’re done talking about this for a bit” kind of feel. Whether it pushes you to the next book is irritating, probably depends on the reader.

That last idea probably ties in to the realism vibe Ryan is going for. Which is great — to a point. We all like the idea of something realistic, no matter the genre, really At least we all say we do — but aren’t so much of us really looking for types of satisfaction that reality can’t provide? Especially in crime fiction — we want the kind of resolution not available in our lives. Ryan’s depiction of himself as a realistic writer works against him as much as it works for him. He has a little note to the reader before the novel assuring the reader “I’m an ex-cop, I’ve done this stuff, this is how it is.” Pretty much insulating himself from criticism of a lot that goes on in the book unless you’re prepared to bring an armload of research to bear. That note actually prejudiced me against the book, it reeked of someone who “doth protest too much,” and just set my teeth on edge. Show me your realism, show me your authenticity and convince me of it — don’t boast about it. It took me a long time to shake that bad first impression, but I do think I was able to push past it — but I’d have liked O’Shea and the rest a lot more if I hadn’t had to.

Ryan has a strong voice and uses it to give the right details to provide a very compelling read — it’s fast, gritty and with characters that’ll stick with you after you’ve moved on to your next read. Was it as good as it could have been? No, but not because of an inherent weakness, just because Ryan didn’t do enough with his strengths — but he’s got four more books in this series to fulfill the promise. I had a good time reading Death Before Coffee and I bet you will, too.

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided — including the book, which did not influnce my opinion.

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3 Stars

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Death Before Coffee by Desmond P. Ryan

By HCNewton

On April 11, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Today I welcome the Book Tour for the second entry in the Mike O’Shea Crime Fiction Series, Death Before Coffee by Desmond P. Ryan. Along with this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit.

Book Details:

Book Title: Death Before Coffee by Desmond P. Ryan
Publisher: Copper Press Publishing
Release date: February 8, 2019
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 245 pages

Book Blurb:

By 2:27 on a Thursday afternoon, the one-legged man from Room 8 at 147 Loxitor Avenue has been beaten to death with a lead pipe. Twenty-eight minutes later, Detective Mike O’Shea is testifying in a stuffy courtroom, unaware that, within an hour, he will be standing in an alleyway littered with beer cans and condoms while his new partner—the man who saved his life thirteen years ago—flicks bugs off of a battered corpse with a ballpoint pen. When a rogue undercover copper prematurely hauls in the prime suspect, Mike blows a fuse, resulting in an unlikely rapport developing between him and the lead homicide detective sergeant, a woman known for her stilettos and razor sharp investigative skills. At the end of his seventy-two-hour shift, three men are dead and Mike O’Shea is floating in and out of consciousness in an emergency room hallway, two women by his side.

Death Before Coffee, the second book in the Mike O’Shea Crime Fiction Series, weaves a homicide investigation through the life of an inner-city police detective intent on balancing his responsibilities as a son, brother, and newly single father with his sworn oath of duty. When faced with death, Mike is forced to make decisions that stir up old memories, compelling him to confront his demons while fighting the good fight.

About Desmond P. Ryan:

For almost thirty years, Desmond P. Ryan worked as a cop in the back alleys, poorly-lit laneways, and forgotten neighbourhoods in Toronto, the city where he grew up. Murder often most unkind, assaults on a level that defied humanity, and sexual violations intended to demean, shame, and haunt the victims were all in a day’s work. Days, evenings, midnights–all the same. Crime knows no time.

Whether as a beat cop or a plainclothes detective, Desmond dealt with good people who did bad things and bad people who followed their instincts. And now, as a retired detective, he writes crime fiction.

Real Detective. Real Crime. Fiction.

Desmond P. Ryan’s Social Media:

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Amazon Author Page

Purchase Links for Death Before Coffee:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Kobo

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Crossline by Russ Colchamiro: Out along the edges, Always where they burn to be

By HCNewton

On March 29, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction

Crossline

by Russ Colchamiro

Kindle Edition, 336 pg.
Crazy 8 Press, 2013
Read: March 18 – 19, 2019

Marcus Powell is a test pilot — not something you think about much anymore, but SF and adventure tales have started with them long enough to strike a classic chord. You’re instantly put into a certain frame of mind — and then when you see he’s on the launching pad, well, it almost guarantees a good time. Since he hits space very early on in the book, you know things are going to get interesting right away.

Because the next thing you know, he’s zipping around the outer parts of our solar system and then he finds himself in a parallel universe on a world that’s remarkably like our own — yet is very different. Thankfully the language — and slang — is largely interchangeable so Powell can get along just fine. But the differences are very striking and could get him in serious trouble/danger.

Back on Earth — as Powell is bouncing around that other planet, we get to meet a pilot from the parallel world that came to Earth. As much as this is Powell’s book, I found this guy a lot more interesting — but we get his story told mostly in summary form, while Powell’s is told to us in much more detail. So you’d expect that he’d be the one that readers get into. Now, I do — Powell’s a great character, and if we didn’t get the other pilot’s story, I’d have been very content to read about him.

While Powell runs around that other planet, trying to figure out how to get home we get to see the societal turmoil that covers the North America-ish place. We meet a wise man who has visions, some dedicated warrior women (and men), an incredibly creative baker, and a disturbed killer. You know, the usual. As Powell aligns himself with one warring faction, he finds himself in a different kind of danger than he’s used to as he tries to find his way home. On Earth, the danger is largely off-screen and the battles take place in the boardroom and the weapons are money and influence. While Powell has to deal with explosives, bullets and knives. Both types of warfare can result in fatalities

On Earth, we also see what goes on with Powell’s wife and daughter as they deal with Powell’s absence. His wife was less than supportive before he launched, and that’s haunting her. His daughter, who shares something in common with the wiseman on that other world, never loses hope. It’s hard to know if that’s because she’s young and naive (5 or so) or if it’s because she knows more than you’d expect. I had more fun reading about Powell’s daughter than I have with pretty much any character this month, she’s simply a delight. The granddaughter of a Native American seer (of sorts), this little girl knows things she shouldn’t anf has a certainty about things she has no business knowing about. She’s the embodiment of precocious, basically. Her mother is a caring and very outspoken teacher, the two of them together make a formidable team.

Everywhere you turn, the motivation driving the characters is family — protecting, avenging, trying ot live a life worthy of them, trying to hold on to, trying to get back to, trying to provide for . . . This is at once an incredibly believable driving force for a character, and incredibly relatable one. It’s a great way to get your reader on the side of every major character. It’s easy to forget the human element in a SF adventure — the advanced science, the fantastic technology, the wormhole creation, etc. can easily become the focus. But Colchamiro doesn’t let that happen, what keeps his characters moving, what keeps them going on — it’s all realatably human.

I’ll admit, I don’t think I got all of the mystical/spiritual/supernatural aspects that Colchamiro brought to the table. I think that’s largely on me, and there are going to be readers who love that part (and I thought it an interesting approach to take_. Similarly, there’s a little plot element makes no sense to me at all. It’s brought up early on when Powell launches that is returned to a couple of times, and then comes back in a pretty serious fashion in the closing pages, and drives the last action scene. It could be cut entirely and make no difference to anything (except the aforementioned action scene would have no justification and would have to be cut — which would be an improvement). There’s no reason for it, it doesn’t help the characters or the plot at all. Maybe it played a decent role in an earlier draft, but not now. Here’s the nice thing about it — it’s so extraneous that you can just ignore it and the story doesn’t suffer at all. I’m being vague here, I know. My point is (or it was supposed to be) is that there are some problematic parts of the book — but there’s enough right going on here that it doesn’t matter.

That aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I had plenty of fun with it. Colchamiro kept things moving well, he surprised me a couple of times and got me grinning and cheering. I found myself very invested in what happened with both pilots and wanted them to find what they’re looking for. Strong action, strong characters, a compelling take on the multiple worlds idea — and a whole lotta fun throughout. I can’t point to every part of this book that makes it appealing — most of it is in the intangibles. As frustrating as that might be when writing about a book, while reading it? It’s hard to ask for more.

—
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author and Lola’s Book Tours, which I appreciate. The opinions expressed are my own — especially the seventh paragraph.

—–

3.5 Stars

My thanks to Lola’s Blog Tours for the opportunity to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

GUEST POST: My Favorite Space Operas (TV shows and Movies) by Russ Colchamiro

By HCNewton

On March 29, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction

Since my novel CROSSLINE falls under the category of ‘space opera,’ the Irresponsible Reader has asked me to rank my top 10 favorite space opera TV shows and movies (I went to 15 – hey! My list!).

Before I dive in, I recognize that some of my entries may not be entirely space ‘opera,’ but, again, it’s my list, and this is how I’m doing it. Second, as expected, there’s a bunch of Star Wars and Star Trek on here.

And finally, my list is about the movies and TV shows I enjoyed the most, regardless of whether they were the technically the ‘best.’

Anyway… here goes*:

THE HOLY GRAILS
For me, the conversation begins and ends with these two movies, which to my space opera-loving eyes, hold up great after all these years. In fact, last summer I got to see Wrath of Kahn on the big screen (my first time seeing it this way since it first came out!), followed by a live Q&A with Captain Kirk himself, William Shatner. Absolutely awesome.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn
The Empire Strikes Back

CINEMATIC DELIGHTS
Where I’d rank any of these solely depends on how I’m feeling at the moment, and the mood I’m in (and there are other good movies out there, too), but if I had to pick, these are the ones I go back to time and again. Including the re-releases, I think I saw Star Wars on the big screen at least a dozen times. And Aliens? Whoa. I haven’t seen it in a while, but it’ll forever go down as one of my favorite blow-me-away movies ever.

Star Wars
Rogue One
Star Trek: First Contact
Aliens

TV TALES
As far as TV space opera goes, the BSG remake and The Expanse have a lot in common, in that both have a hardcore military slant. They’re both great, with one my caveat that the final eps of BSG fell far short of its otherwise brilliant run. And The Expanse is still going, so only time will tell if the quality keeps up. The three Star Treks I have here are all great to me, in slightly different ways, accept that the original took a little bit to find its footing, and Next Gen was a semi disaster the first two seasons. And then, of course, Deep Space Nine is basically a carbon copy of Babylon 5 with more seasons and a bigger budget. Still, give me any of these shows, and I’m happy as a clam. And I’m proud to say that my 8-year twins—my ninjas—are starting to watch them, too!

Battlestar Galactica (remake)
The Expanse
Babylon 5
Star Trek: Next Generation
Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

PURE FUN
These three movies to me all belong in the same general sub-category. They’re all fun (and sometimes darn cheesy!), but ultimately leave me with a smile on my face. Get the popcorn out and let’s have a blast!

Flash Gordon
Galaxy Quest
The Last Starfighter

*Note: I did not include Doctor Who on my list because I haven’t seen enough of it to form an opinion, nor did I include Firefly, only because it didn’t last long enough. And while I recognize that Guardians of the Galaxy is a quality movie, it just isn’t one of my favorites.

—

Read the novel that was inspired (in part) by this list, Crossline by Russ Colchamiro.

My thanks to Lola’s Blog Tours for the opportunity to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

EXCERPT from Crossline by Russ Colchamiro: There’s work to be done

By HCNewton

On March 29, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction, Quotations

An open-air man, Powell had been to cities. To Houston, and Denver, and San Francisco that one time for his cousin’s bachelor party. But there was something about the city ahead that made him shudder. It reminded him of his few trips to New York, that city that never sleeps. If you could make it there, the saying went, you could make it anywhere, and maybe even if that was true, Powell never understood why anyone would want to make it there, even if they could.

Powell had that rush he would get on the road to the launch pad. The pre-flight butterflies that caused his chest to tighten, his face to go flush, and the taste of adrenaline to coat his mouth, down to his teeth and gums. The difference between now and then was just so very small, but even if for just a few seconds, that intense queasiness would make him question in a shameful, shaky handed way if he knew what the hell he was doing, and consider that maybe he’d be better off hauling ass in the opposite direction and skipping out on the whole damn thing.

But then the intensity of the panic subsided—the urgency of the present snapping him back from his fears of a worst possible future, one that would require him to confront the demon at the gates. He steadied himself, because like his father told him: Nerves only mean you ain’t completely stupid. Get over it, boy. There’s work to be done. The clarity and confidence of his father’s voice resonated more than ever.

—

Read the rest in Crossline by Russ Colchamiro.

My thanks to Lola’s Blog Tours for the opportunity to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

EXCERPT from Crossline by Russ Colchamiro: It was another ship

By HCNewton

On March 29, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction, Quotations

The warp engines were ready for the first of six return blasts it would take to get him back to Earth, when a blip came across the screen. Powell shifted toward the incoming message, but his short-range sensor interrupted him. Something in the Saturn rings. Video amplification revealed that among a cluster of particles was an odd-shaped fragment, with sharper, more reflective edges than he would expect. But he supposed that after debris crashed around over millions if not billions of years, who knew what was really out there? He looked again. Probably nothing of consequence. Just some lagging hallucination from the multiple warps.

As suspected. Just ice particles swirling around the planet. Billions of frozen blue ice particles floating in space that—

Powell focused his monitor on the third ring layer. Studying it more carefully, his sensors revealed that the particle cluster wasn’t in the Saturn ring, but among it. The fragment wasn’t random, a collection of dust, or some anomalous asteroid fragment.

It was another ship. Looking just like Crossline. And headed his way.

—

Read the rest in Crossline by Russ Colchamiro.

My thanks to Lola’s Blog Tours for the opportunity to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Crossline by Russ Colchamiro

By HCNewton

On March 29, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction

I’m happy to welcome the Book Tour for the exciting and otherwordly Crossline by Russ Colchamiro. We’ve got a lot going on today — after this spotlight post, I’ll be posting an excerpt or two, a Guest Post about Colchamiro’s favorite Space Operas, and then I’ll be giving my take on the novel. Phew! That’s a lot of ground to cover over the next couple of hours, but let’s start by taking a look at the book itself — don’t forget to scroll to the bottom for the Giveaway.

Book Details:

Book Title: Crossline by Russ Colchamiro
Publisher: Crazy 8 Press
Genre: Science Fiction/Space Opera
Release date: March 1, 2013
Format: Paperback/ebook
Length: 336 pages

Book Blurb:

Perfect for fans of Firefly, Flash Gordon, Stargate, and Escape from New York…

Hotdog pilot Marcus Powell has been selected to test Taurus Enterprises’ Crossline prototype craft and its newly developed warp thrusters, which, if successful, will revolutionize space travel as we know it.

But during his jaunt across the stars, Powell is forced into a parallel universe — including a parallel Earth — where he finds himself at the center of an epic battle he may have been destined for all along.

Meanwhile, back home, reclusive oil tycoon and Taurus CEO Buddy Rheams Jr. — who sent Powell on that very mission — has a mysterious past and a secret agenda, one that could prevent Powell from ever making it back to his wife and little girl.

From author Russ Colchamiro, Crossline is a psychedelic, action-packed romp across time, space, and dimension that asks the question: once you cross the line, can you ever really go back?

Trailer for Crossline:

About Russ Colchamiro:

Russ Colchamiro is the author of the rollicking space adventure, Crossline, the zany SF/F backpacking comedy series Finders Keepers: The Definitive Edition, Genius de Milo, and Astropalooza, and is editor of the new SF anthology Love, Murder & Mayhem, all with Crazy 8 Press.

Russ lives in New Jersey with his wife, two ninjas, and crazy dog Simon, who may in fact be an alien himself. Russ has also contributed to several other anthologies, including Tales of the Crimson Keep, Pangaea, Altered States of the Union, TV Gods 2 They Keep Killing Glenn, Camelot 13, and Brave New Girls.

He is now working on the first novel in a new series featuring his hardboiled private eye Angela Hardwicke, and the first of three collaborative novella projects.

Russ is repped by The Zack Compnay.

For more on and Russ’s books, you can visit www.russcolchamiro.com, follow him on Twitter @AuthorDudeRuss, and ‘like’ his Facebook author page: www.facebook.com/RussColchamiroAuthor.

Russ Colchamiro’s Social Media:

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Amazon

GIVEAWAY

There is a tour wide giveaway for the blog tour of Crossline. These are the prizes you can win:
– one physical copy of Crossline by Russ Colchamiro (US Only)
– three e-copies of Crossline by Russ Colchamiro (INT)

For a chance to win, enter the rafflecopter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway
https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

(or click this link: )
—

My thanks to Lola’s Blog Tours for the opportunity to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Mama’s Gone by Leopold Borstinski

By HCNewton

On March 19, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Today I welcome the Book Tour for the latest entry of the Lagotti Family saga, Mama’s Gone by Leopold Borstinski. Along with this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit.

Book Details:

Book Title: Mama’s Gone by Leopold Borstinski
Publisher: Sobriety Press
Release date: March 18, 2019
Format: Ebook
Length: 301 pages

Book Blurb:

When children grow up, the parents must die.

California gang leader Mary Lou has built a criminal empire while her adult children are desperate for their mother’s attention and love.

As her mental faculties wane, Alice and Frank Jr must acknowledge their mother is not the woman she once was and that they need to step up and take the helm, despite the stark differences between them.

But their sibling rivalry blinds both of them to their weaknesses which threatens the family when the Russian mob moves into the state. How can they fend off those attacks while fighting to decide who will lead the family now their dear Mama’s gone?

About Leopold Borstinski:

Leopold Borstinski is an independent author whose past careers have included financial journalism, business management of financial software companies, consulting and product sales and marketing, as well as teaching.

There is nothing he likes better so he does as much nothing as he possibly can. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the US and has visited Asia on several occasions. Leopold holds a Philosophy degree and tries not to drop it too often.

He lives near London and is married with one wife, one child and no pets.

Leopold Borstinski’s Social Media:

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Amazon Author Page

Purchase Links for Mama’s Gone:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Goodreads

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials they provided.

Killing State by Judith O’Reilly: I Can’t Suitably Encapsulate this Gripping Thriller

By HCNewton

On March 8, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Killing State

by Judith O’Reilly
Series: Michael North, #1

Kindle Edition, 496 pg.
Head of Zeus, 2019

Read: March 5 – 7, 2019

“You should come with me.”

He turned over the offer in his mind.

Why would he?

Because she was stop-your-heart beautiful.

Then again, the world teemed with beautiful women. Because he wanted to know how it ended.

Badly, he predicted.

What happens when an assassin doesn’t get the expected reaction from his target? Honor Jones, MP, tells him to let her finish her cigarette and asks him a question, “Where’s Peggy?” The assassin in question, Michael North, doesn’t know who Peggy is, much less where she is. What he does know is that he can’t kill this woman — maybe it’s because (unlike the rest of his targets) he wasn’t given a reason for her execution, maybe it’s her attitude, maybe he’s just getting tired of killing (not to be confused with Martin Q. Blank’s newfound respect for life) — certainly her beauty doesn’t hurt.

His refusal to kill her doesn’t go down well with his employer — an extra-governmental body dedicated to the preservation of the British government. That morning, he’s contacted in person with strict instructions to get the job done or face the (fatal) consequences. Instead, North tried to get her out of the country and ends up saving her from a different assassin. Not very shockingly, North also finds instructions to kill him on this assassin’s corpse. By this point, North is smitten with Honor and is committed (whether either of them consciously realize it) to helping her survive and find her friend Peggy.

At the moment, it’s clear that Honor’s search for her dear friend is tied to the kill order. Peggy’s an astronomer, largely apolitical, and not tied to any endeavor that would normally put her on the radar of anyone outside of astronomical/academic circles. Nevertheless, she’s somehow set these dominoes falling, and now Honor and North are running from killers across the country as they seek to learn why Peggy has disappeared.

This hunt for Peggy will push North and Honor to — and past — their limits. It will see them both injured. Both under threat of grave bodily harm (and death) through violence — and both will have to take steps to defend themselves. Around them, the culture and government face shifts and challenges from within that threaten to change everything that Britons know about themselves. On top of all that — there are some great character moments, real growth and change that happen ways that you can believe — not just the clear result of authorial fiat, but because that’s what happens when people face what they did.

Plots involving large-scale conspiracies frequently leave me cold — O’Reilly not only convinces me that her conspiracy is worth reading, but she’s effective enough with it to make me enjoy it. I struggle to accept plots involving psychiatric professionals and loved ones trying to convince a character that the reality they know (and the audience knows) isn’t real, but is the result of delusion brought on by some psychological condition. Now this one isn’t as involved as say, “Normal Again” from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but it’s there — and O’Reilly sticks with it long enough to accomplish what she needs to for her story, but she doesn’t milk drama out of it. There are a few other things like this — tricks, plotlines, tropes — that I typically avoid or get annoyed by, but I accepted and enjoyed here.

My notes are filled with “O’Reilly isn’t going to try ___, is she?” entries, followed by “Yeah, she is — and it works.” She squeezes in so many of these things that I’m tempted to doubt my memory about them — and I’m writing this less than a day after I read it! For reasons of space, time, and readability I’ve limited myself in what I’ve addressed in this post. I had a lot of other things I wanted to say, and even had drafts talking about. But I ended up restricting myself — not just because of spoilers (though, as always, that’s part of it) — but because O’Reilly stuffs this novel with so many ideas, plot points and details that I can’t talk about it all without the post becoming unreadable. I don’t know how she manages to put it all in while maintaining the pounding pace. It’s truly noteworthy and laudable that she pulls it off. I can’t even express this without producing an ungainly paragraph.

Michael North is a larger-than-life character, but honestly more grounded in reality than many assassin/lone warrior types in Thriller fiction. Part of that comes from O’Reilly’s restraint in describing him — he’s never depicted as anything superlative. He’s simply a skilled and surprisingly dedicated combat veteran in a series of tight situations that even he is shocked that he survives as long as he does.

Similarly, Honor is one of many beautiful women in the world (as North himself notes above) — she’s one of many dedicated elected public servants, she’s one of many people who’ve overcome difficult pasts thanks to the help of a friend/loved one. She also isn’t depicted as a superlative anything — just the right person in the right place at the right time. Even if that right place is in front of Michael North’s knife. And yes, the name Honor is ripe with possibilities and symbolism — O’Reilly takes advantage of it. Not as much as some authors would’ve, but she gets her money’s worth out of the name.

There is an plausibility-stretching character — a young computer whiz (actually, she’s something beyond whiz, but I can’t think of a term that fits her), who North allies himself with temporarily. But between her attitude and role in the overall story, I can’t see any reader not suspending disbelief enough to embrace her.

Most of this book takes place in moral gray areas (as it almost has to given North’s profession), but that doesn’t stop O’Reilly’s villains from clearly being villains and her heroes clearly being heroic. Killing State doesn’t try to go for some sort of situational ethics or a “yes, but” approach to the morality of te characters — which may or may not have been successful.

The plot moves like the proverbial roller coaster — ups, downs, rushes, and loops all at a pace that you just hope to keep up with. Fair warning — once the hook is set (and it’ll be early on), you won’t want to put the book down and you’ll likely get in trouble with deadlines and schedules. Things won’t really end the way you expect them to — I had a handful of expected conclusions that I had to discard along the way (although some I didn’t have to discard until the last moments) — but when you’re finished with the book, you’ll likely realize that there’s no other way for things to have fallen out.

There’s a sequel expected later this year — I honestly can’t imagine that it’ll be able to live up to this. But I wouldn’t put it past O’Reilly to confound my expectations again. I had a lot of fun with this novel and was regularly impressed with O’Reilly (and North and Honor). I expect that I’m not alone, and soon I’ll see a lot of very positive buzz surrounding this book.

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My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.

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4 Stars

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Killing State by Judith O’Reilly

By HCNewton

On March 8, 2019

In Book Tour, Fiction, Mystery/Detective Fiction/Crime Fiction/Thriller

Today I welcome the Book Tour for the gripping Killing State by Judith O’Reilly. Along with this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit.

Book Details:

Book Title: Killing State by Judith O’Reilly
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Release date: March 7, 2019
Format: Hardcover/ebook
Length: 496 pages

Book Blurb:

WHAT IF THE PERSON YOU’RE ORDERED TO KILL IS THE WOMAN YOU WANT TO PROTECT?

Michael North, assassin and spy-for-hire, is very good at killing bad guys. But what happens when his shadowy bosses at the dark heart of the post-Brexit British government, order him to kill an innocent woman and North can’t bring himself to do it?

The woman is rising political star, Honor Jones, MP. She has started asking dangerous questions about the powerful men running her country. The trouble is, Honour doesn’t know when to stop. And, now that he’s met her, neither does North…

Praise for Killing State:

“A terrific future-shock thriller.” Lee Child
“Fast-paced and packed with action.” Mick Herron
“A gritty, action-packed page-turner.” Andy McNab
“New thriller writers come and go. I suspect this lady will stick around.” Frederick Forsyth
“Thought-provoking, pacy and thrilling.” Sunday Mirror
“Gripping and twisty” India Knight
“Grabs you from page one and won’t let you go… Action-packed from start to finish – but with tenderness and great characterisation too. Fast, sharply-written, clever and intense.” Jeremy Vine, BBC2
“A high-octane plot that centres around the dark heart of British political power. A great debut.” Sunday Times

About Judith O’Reilly:

Judith O’Reilly is the author of Wife in the North, a top-three Sunday Times bestseller and BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. Judith is a former political producer with BBC 2’s Newsnight and ITN’s Channel 4 News, and, when she isn’t writing novels, she writes for The Sunday Times. Judith lives in Durham.

Judith O’Reilly’s Social Media:

Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook

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My thanks to Love Books Group for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including the book) they provided.