Review: Burning Angels by Bear Grylls

Title: Burning Angels
Author: Bear Grylls
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: 2nd June 2016
Pages: 416
Source: Library
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

A prehistoric corpse entombed within an Arctic glacier, crying tears of blood.

A jungle island overrun by rabid primates - escapees from a research laboratory's Hot Zone.

A massive seaplane hidden beneath a mountain, packed with a Nazi cargo of mind-blowing evil.

A penniless orphan kidnapped from an African slum, holding the key to the world's survival.

Four terrifying journeys. One impossible path. Only one man to attempt it.

Will Jaeger. The Hunter.

Review: Dexter Is Dead by Jeff Lindsay

Title: Dexter Is Dead
Author: Jeff Lindsay
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: 30th July 2015
Pages: 306
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4/5
Purchase: Amazon

Dexter has finally been caught and brought to justice - for three murders he didn't commit. Proving his innocence is made quite difficult by the fact that the true killer, Robert Chase, is one of the 'victims' he's accused of murdering.

To make matters worse, Dexter's once loyal sister Deborah disowns him and adamantly refuses to help with his investigation. Furious but undeterred, Dexter connects Chase to a resort with a dark underbelly. When the resort becomes aware of his discoveries, children of the police force begin disappearing. Deborah is made lead investigating officer and still refuses to return to Dexter.

However, when the kidnappers take both Dexter's and her own children, she has no option but to beg for his help. Dexter triumphantly agrees, and the hunt begins...

Review: Ghost Flight by Bear Grylls

Title: Ghost Flight
Author: Bear Grylls
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: 4th June 2015
Pages: 464
ISBN: 9781409156819
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

A mother and child savagely abducted from a snow-swept mountainside.

A loyal soldier tortured and executed on a remote Scottish moor.

A lost warplane discovered in the heart of the Amazon jungle, harbouring a secret of earth-shattering evil.

A desperate race to defeat a terrifying conspiracy emanating from the darkest days of Nazi Germany.

One thread unites them all. Only one man can unravel it. Will Jaeger. The Hunter.

Author Interview: Mason Cross

I'm excited to be sharing a Q&A today with another one of my new favourite authors, Mason Cross, who is the author of the Carter Blake series. The Killing Season is book one and my review can be found here, and I posted my review for The Samaritan earlier today and the book itself is released in eBook on Thursday. I hope you enjoy reading the Q&A and I have a lot more to come in the near future.

1. Can you introduce Carter Blake for those readers who are yet to meet him?

Carter Blake is a free agent who specialises in finding people who don't want to be found. He has a shadowy background in intelligence and special operations which has furnished him with the skills and experience to make him the best at what he does. As we read more about him, we start to get a bit more detail about his past.

2. The Carter Blake series is set in the US. Why do you think so many UK authors choose to set their thrillers outside of the UK?

Good question, and I think there are a few reasons. One of the most important for me was the fact that I've always loved American books and films, and it's always a good idea to write the kind of thing that you enjoy. I also think there is an advantage for UK authors writing about America because we share a language and many of the same cultural touchstones, but we bring an outsider's perspective as well. That's a good thing for writing any fiction, but particularly crime.

Review: The Samaritan by Mason Cross

Title: The Samaritan (Carter Blake, #2)
Author: Mason Cross
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: 21st May 2015
Pages: 416
ISBN: 9781409146162
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5/5
Purchase: Amazon

When the mutilated body of a young woman is discovered in the Santa Monica Mountains, LAPD Detective Jessica Allen knows she's seen this MO before - two and a half years ago on the other side of the country.

A sadistic serial killer has been operating undetected for a decade, preying on lone female drivers who have broken down. The press dub the killer 'the Samaritan', but with no leads and a killer who leaves no traces, the police investigation quickly grinds to a halt.

That's when Carter Blake shows up to volunteer his services. He's a skilled manhunter with an uncanny ability to predict the Samaritan's next moves. At first, Allen and her colleagues are suspicious. After all, their new ally shares some uncomfortable similarities to the man they're tracking. But as the Samaritan takes his slaughter to the next level, Blake must find a way to stop him ... even if it means bringing his own past crashing down on top of him.

Hall of Fame Review: The Defence by Steve Cavanagh

Title: The Defence
Author: Steve Cavanagh
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: 12th March 2015
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9781409152309
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Eddie Flynn used to be a con artist. Then he became a lawyer. Turned out the two weren't that different.

It's been over a year since Eddie vowed never to set foot in a courtroom again. But now he doesn't have a choice. Olek Volchek, the infamous head of the Russian mafia in New York, has strapped a bomb to Eddie's back and kidnapped his ten-year-old daughter Amy.

Eddie only has 48 hours to defend Volchek in an impossible murder trial - and win - if wants to save his daughter.

Under the scrutiny of the media and the FBI, Eddie must use his razor-sharp wit and every con-artist trick in the book to defend his 'client' and ensure Amy's safety. With the timer on his back ticking away, can Eddie convince the jury of the impossible?

Lose this case and he loses everything.

Review: The Killing Season by Mason Cross

Title: The Killing Season (Carter Blake, #1)
Author: Mason Cross
Publisher: Orion
Publication Date: 9th April 2015
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9781409145691
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 4.5/5
Purchase: Amazon

When Caleb Wardell, the infamous 'Chicago Sniper', escapes from death row two weeks before his execution, the FBI calls on the services of Carter Blake, a man with certain specialised talents whose skills lie in finding those who don't want to be found. A man to whom Wardell is no stranger.

Along with Elaine Banner, an ambitious special agent juggling life as a single mother with her increasingly high-flying career, Blake must track Wardell down as he cuts a swathe across America, apparently killing at random.

But Blake and Banner soon find themselves sidelined from the case. And as they try desperately to second guess a man who kills purely for the thrill of it, they uncover a hornets' nest of lies and corruption. Now Blake must break the rules and go head to head with the FBI if he is to stop Wardell and expose a deadly conspiracy that will rock the country.