#BlogTour #TheDavesNextDoor by will_carver published by @OrendaBooks 21st July 2022 #WillBlowUpThisTrain

A disillusioned nurse suddenly learns how to care.

An injured young sportsman wakes up find that he can see only in black and white.

A desperate old widower takes too many pills and believes that two angels have arrived to usher him through purgatory.

Two agoraphobic men called Dave share the symptoms of a brain tumour, and frequently waken their neighbour with their ongoing rows.

Separate lives, running in parallel, destined to collide and then explode.

Like the suicide bomber, riding the Circle Line, day after day, waiting for the right time to detonate, waiting for answers to his questions: Am I God? Am I dead? Will I blow up this train?

Shocking, intensely emotive and wildly original, Will Carver’s The Daves Next Door is an explosive existential thriller and a piercing examination of what it means to be human … or not.

Firstly thank you to Anne @RandomThingsTours and Orenda Books for my copy of The Dave’s Next Door.

This is my second novel that I’ve read by Will Carver, I loved Psychopaths Anonymous so was excited to get my teeth in The Dave’s Next Door.

I don’t normally read books set in the future so that was a surprise to start with, but the storyline starts there and takes us back in time to an event.

Will Carvers writing can be challenging and in your face, so The Dave’s Next Door is not an easy read, it’s a hard hitting thought provoking read but then in The Dave’s Next Door so is the subject matter!

The plot was a fascinating slow build and the characters are all richly well written and observed, for some reason Wills writing style in this novel really reminded me of Martin Amis whose books I loved in the 1980’s….but none else can write novels like Will Carver, he is able to throw things at the reader and make you face your prejudices in the most astonishing and shocking way. Will Carvers books are not for the easily offended or faint hearted but that’s what makes them uepic in my opinion! And The Dave’s Next Door is so dark but also the characters lives are mundane in some respect, which makes it even more apt when there’s a curveball to you think and question your own opinions!

As always I’m not going to give any of the storyline away….BUT you seriously need to read The Dave’s Next Door, it’s going to be a classic novel that people will be talking about for years to come. I would love to know how Mr Carver’s mind works, and how he even comes up with these out of the box ideas for novels….but then again that would take some of the magic away!

A superbly well written, tense and thought provoking novel that deserves a definite 5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ in my opinion!

Will Carver is the bestselling author of the January Series – Girl 4 (2011), The Two (2012), The Killer Inside (2013), Dead Set (2013) – and the critically acclaimed Detective Pace series, which includes Good Samaritans (2018), Nothing Important Happened Today (2019) and Hinton Hollow Death Trip (2020), all of which were selected as books of the year in mainstream international press. The books in this series have also been longlisted/shortlisted for the Amazon Readers Independent Voice Award, Goldsboro Books Glass Bell Award, Not The Booker Prize and the Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Novel of the Year Award. Will spent his early years living in Germany, but returned at age eleven. He studied theatre and television at King Alfred’s Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition business and lives in Reading with his children.

You can follow Will Carver on TWITTER INSTAGRAM

And on Will Carver’s own WEBSITE

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My turn on the #FatalHate by #BrianPrice @crimewritersci #BlogTour published by @HobeckBooks OUT NOW!

DC Mel Cotton is back with a new case to solve, the murder of Duncan Bennett, an unassuming worker at a local confectionary warehouse.

As Mel’s team investigate, one key question remains… who would want ‘boring’ Duncan dead? And the case soon becomes far more complex and dangerous than expected, threatening to overwhelm Mexton’s small police force.

With terrorists, a paedophile network and a hitman in town, Mel and her colleagues face their greatest challenge yet. Mel’s own courage will be tested to the limits and no-one is safe. Who is stirring up hatred and violence in the area?

And can Mel prevent herself from becoming too involved and putting her life in severe jeopardy?

Thank you to Hobeck Books for inviting me on to the #FatalHate #BlogTour and sending me both books Fatal Trade and Fatal Hate.

I read Fatal Trade in a few days so I was looking forward to getting started on DC Mel Cotton’s next case, Fatal Hate by author Brian Price.

I was not disappointed at all, Brian Price is a talented writer of Police Procedural/Thrilling Crime Fiction books. We follow DC Mel Cotton and her team whilst they try to solve a murder of a somewhat unliked and dull victim, the twists and turns are excellent, and I didn’t see them coming which is always fabulous! I love the way Brian injects humour ( Cops always have dark humour, it helps cope ) into Fatal Hate and considering the themes involved, it really works and makes for a gritty and gripping read.

I love the cast of characters and how each event interacts with them and leads us through the twisty turning plot to its thrilling conclusion. And Mel Cotton is like a cat with 9 lives, getting into situations and luckily coming out safely!

A really solid read, and with each book you feel the author is really getting into his stride with the characters and DC Mel Cotton. I look forward to book 3 in the series!

A 4 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star read.

Brian Price is a writer living in the South West of England. A scientist by training, he worked for the Environment Agency for twelve years and has also worked as an environmental consultant, a pharmacy technician and, for 26 years, as an Open University tutor.

Fatal Trade is his first full-length novel but he has contributed a number of short stories to a local writing group’s anthology, called Cuckoo. He is the author of Crime Writing: How to write the science, a guide for authors on the scientific aspects of crime. He has a website on this topic (www.crimewriterscience.co.uk) and advises crime writers on how to avoid scientific mistakes in their books. Brian also has a website about his writing (www.brianpriceauthor.com).

Brian reads a wide range of crime fiction himself and also enjoys Terry Pratchett, Genevieve Cogman and Philip Pullman. He may sometimes be found listening to rock, folk and 1960s psychedelic music. He is married and has four grown-up children.

You can BUY Fatal Hate HERE

You can follow Brian Price on TWITTER

#BlogTour #TheChemist by Lewis Hastings @istheauthor @HobeckBooks Release Date UK 22.02.22

“Then, with his wrist trembling under the pressure, he carved the names of two men into the paper, ripping the surface…

Jack…

The Seventh Wave organised crime gang is long defeated, its members dead or jailed. Their London-wide campaign of terror a fading memory.

Jason…

Or is it? An old foe is released from his maximum-security prison cell, with dreams of revenge and a score to settle.

…You. Just. Watch.”

He calls himself ‘The Chemist’, and he’s determined to make anyone who’s crossed him pay. To him, death is just a game of chance, and he’s stacked the odds in his favour. Can Jack Cade save those closest to him from the twisted plans of The Chemist?

Firstly I must say thank you so much to Hobeck Books for letting me join in The Chemist Blog Tour and supplying me with the paperback.

Secondly, although this is part of a series, this is the first time I’ve read a Lewis Hastings book, however it did not detract from the storyline.

Where to start! Well this is a fabulous crime fiction thriller and I urge everyone to buy a copy and read it, you won’t be at all disappointed. It is gritty, dark, fucked-up and totally brilliant! I was sold from the first chapter. I love the way Lewis Hastings writes, it is extremely raw and dirty, but it’s exactly what The Chemist is! If you like edge of your seat thrillers with a host of fabulous characters and quite possibly THE most EVIL and fucked-up criminal of all time (Worse than Hannibal Lecter!!) in a book that I’ve read, and I’ve read a LOT of crime books!

Remember the name Constantin Nicolescu because Lewis Hastings has invented a mammoth of a criminal here, the research that has gone into how The Chemists psychopathic mind works and the games he plays with his victims (of which there are many) is breathtaking and at times had me reaching for the sick bucket! Think Chris Carters style of writing only better! The plot revolves around Nicolescu and the chain of awful events that he wrecks on an elite team of Metropolitan Police Officers, dubbed The Orion Squad. Every chapter just draws you in further and makes you gasp!

I really don’t want to give any of the plot away but I must also mention the attention to detail that Lewis has taken in writing the Police characters in The Chemist. As an ex Police Civvy from the 1990’s, I always find a book hard to read if the language and black humour of Police Officers and Detectives in books is wrong, no fear of that here, the writing is super realistic and for me spot on, I think that’s also part of the reason why I loved The Chemist so much. You can tell when an author has been a Police Officer, it makes for realistic writing!

And finally I must draw attention to all the research that must have gone into writing The Chemist, from the effects of drugs and poisons on humans, to the settings in London and also to homeless people and especially ex-Forces homeless, it is absolutely solid gold and I commend Lewis Hastings on this!

This is a big book 500+ pages and it kept me entertained all the way through, the story was complicated but I was able to follow it easily, I was gripped by the darkness that is in The Chemist, and there’s car chases, and edge of your seat moments! The Chemist has it all!

This is one of those books that would very easily lend itself to television or film, and I for one would love to see that happen! And if not then at the very least it needs to become a bestseller or prize-winning novel!

An absolute book banger and a definite 5 ⭐️ read from me!

Lewis Hastings is a pseudonym. His real name is far more, real.

Born as a product of the long, harsh and miserable winter of the early nineteen sixties in southern England he soon shot to fame for his child acting, embellishment and love of justice and propensity for injury. His catalogue of injuries and their research has actually proven to be of use, particularly when describing some of the medical events within the book. The sensation of pain, often clinically described, is based upon real-world events and countless hours in Accident and Emergency Wards. His relationships with the many nurses, doctors and specialists is acknowledged.

Above all Lewis is a passionate and caring soul who always puts the needs of others before his own, a career in law enforcement was therefore a logical path, having drifted helplessly on a sinking rudderless ship that saw him involved in many diverse occupations, including but not limited to selling, border security, exotic dancing, prostitution and people trafficking*.

He joined the British Police in April 1990 and was posted to an upmarket suburb of Nottingham where he learned the art of policing; investigation, intelligence and communication. Along the way he dabbled in many varied branches of policing and worked for seven years in one of the toughest inner-city areas in Britain. Some of the key events and people are brought back to life in the early segments of the story that are set in Nottingham, again, to protect those still serving their names have been changed.

Having spent his formative years both living and working in the United Kingdom he was offered what for many would be the chance of a lifetime. Clutching his worldly goods, his family and his reputation he took the leap of faith and now lives on the other side of the world in a house, with the same wife and a lake-loving Labrador.

Having headed across the world, his law enforcement career – not unlike Jack Cade’s – would take an unexpected turn and soon he found himself building a capable and worthy team at an international border. The thirteen years that followed saw him carve out a reputation as a subject matter expert in port security, document fraud and international border intelligence, particularly the influence of travelling European criminals. He now acts as a government liaison officer – connecting law enforcement units throughout the Five Eyes community. He hopes for the chance to meet another “Theodora” – tired, afraid but agenda-driven and with her own unique story to tell to someone prepared to listen.

He has two amazing children, one adorable granddaughter, an equally adorable grandson and a long-suffering, incredibly patient wife who meets all of the cliched aspects of a redhead.

* The author was never involved in selling.

You can purchase The Chemist HERE

You can follow Lewis Hastings on Twitter Instagram

Lewis Hastings Website HERE