My Week in Books #32

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My Week in Books #25

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Author Interview: Anya Lipska

I am having an unofficial Anya Lipska week on the blog at the moment with reviews for all three of her Kiszka and Kershaw books having been posted on the blog recently. I thought then it would be nice to round things off with a short Q&A with the author herself, who happily obliged! If you've missed the reviews you can see them here, otherwise I hope you enjoy reading the Q&A.

Anya's latest novel is A Devil Under the Skin and my review can be found here. The book itself is out now!

A Devil Under the Skin is a little different to your previous books two books. Can I assume you are an author that will continue to mix things up with each book that you write? 

I hope so. It’s important to keep the plots and content fresh – and constantly to challenge myself – but I’m also aware that readers view returning characters almost as old friends (I’m the same, when re-encountering iconic characters like Ian Rankin’s Rebus), so it’s crucial to keep them true to their essentials, whatever curveball fate might throw at them.

Review: A Devil Under the Skin by Anya Lipska

Title: A Devil Under the Skin
Author: Anya Lipska
Publisher: The Friday Project
Publication Date: 18th June 2015
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780008100353
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Things are looking up for Janusz Kiszka, big-hearted 'fixer' to London's Poles. His girlfriend/the love of his life, Kasia, is finally leaving her no-good husband to make a new life with him, and he’s on the brink of a deal to ensure their financial security for years to come.

Then Kasia vanishes – and the big Pole’s world is torn apart. Convinced she’s been abducted, he must swallow his pride and seek the help of an old contact – maverick cop Natalie Kershaw, who’s been suspended following a fatal shooting. But the search swiftly takes an even darker turn… What connects Kasia’s disappearance and a string of brutal East End murders? And who is the mysterious and murderous enforcer stalking the streets of London?

Meanwhile, time is running out for Kasia. To reach her, Kiszka must confront a gut-wrenching dilemma that will shape the rest of his life.

Review: Death Can't Take a Joke by Anya Lipska

Title: Death Can't Take a Joke
Author: Anya Lipska
Publisher: 27th March 2014
Publication Date: The Friday Project
Pages: 400
ISBN: 9780007524402
Source: Purchased
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon

When masked men brutally stab one of his closest friends to death, Janusz Kiszka – fixer to East London’s Poles – must dig deep into London’s criminal underbelly to track down the killers and deliver justice.

Shadowing a beautiful Ukrainian girl he believes could solve the mystery, Kiszka soon finds himself skating dangerously close to her ruthless ‘businessman’ boyfriend. Meanwhile, his old nemesis, rookie police detective Natalie Kershaw is struggling to identify a mystery suicide, a Pole who jumped off the top of Canary Wharf Tower. But all is not what it seems…

Sparks fly as Kiszka and Kershaw’s paths cross for a second time, but they must call a truce when their separate investigations call for a journey to Poland’s wintry eastern borders...

My Week in Books #24

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Review: Where the Devil Can't Go by Anya Lipska

Title: Where the Devil Can't Go
Author: Anya Lipska
Publisher: The Friday Project
Publication Date: 7th February 2013
Format: Paperback
Pages: 423
ISBN: 9780007504589
Source: Library
Rating: 4.5/5
Purchase: Amazon

A naked girl has washed up on the banks of the River Thames. The only clue to her identity is a heart-shaped tattoo encircling two foreign names. Who is she – and why did she die?

Life’s already complicated enough for Janusz Kiszka, unofficial 'fixer' for East London’s Polish community: his priest has asked him to track down a young waitress who has gone missing; a builder on the Olympics site owes him a pile of money; and he’s falling for married Kasia, Soho’s most strait-laced stripper. But when Janusz finds himself accused of murder by an ambitious young detective, Natalie Kershaw, and pursued by drug dealing gang members, he is forced to take an unscheduled trip back to Poland to find the real killer.

In the mist-wreathed streets of his hometown of Gdansk, Janusz must confront painful memories from the Soviet past if he is to uncover the conspiracy – and with it, a decades-old betrayal.