Blue Wolf Reviews

Tag: thriller

  • Bad Neighbours

    Bad Neighbours

    There are many aspects of a novel which need to be covered to meet the standards of a “Murder mystery genre.” Joanna Jenkins has done this elegantly in Bad Neighbours, and the result is an immensely interesting and complex story. However, the reader never gets lost in the plot. Chapters are narrated by the main characters, so there is never confusion, and multiple factors are discussed to clarify back stories of the people who live in the apartment.

    Bad Neighbours is set in Sydney and the descriptions of that city and harbour are a good backdrop to this tale. Ruth is the main character. She has been given an opportunity (by a work colleague) to purchase an apartment near Potts point, a wealthy location. Being a litigation lawyer, she has a curiosity about her new residence, and the people who own the other apartments.

    She gradually meets these people, and they have their own stories to tell. In the lightwell in the basement of the building lives Ben. His father owned an apartment but sold it. Ben is waiting for the money since his father died and has been let in by one of the residents. His swag stays there and he sits in the garden for a while during the day. Most people avoid him and many want him gone from the building.

    We learn about Ruth’s work and her friends. She is investigating a bank’s attempt to give misleading information for a housing development. One of the culprits is living in Ruth’s apartment building, which causes concern over conflict of interest.

    Then one day, while Ben is lying in his swag, a woman comes by who helped his father sell his apartment. The following day, Ben is found dead. Forensics show he was poisoned, and a bottle is found in Ruth’s garage which matches the poison.

    The building of tension which is reflected in Ruth’s workplace, her home and neighbours begin to mount up. As she starts to investigate, with the help of two friends, a huge deception is uncovered. This is a truly clever read!

  • Codename: 61

    Codename: 61

    Alex Shaw has delivered another riveting read with his new, at this time, stand alone, Codename:61 with two unlikely heroes in Jack Tate and Adrian Snow. Thrown together during the War they became friends as well as operatives, moving on once Germany signed the Armistice.

    It is now 1961, the War is long over but to some, it never ended. Railwayman Jack Tate is now working in Kenya and Adrian Snow, still with the secretive ‘6’ meet up again, as a third member of their once active Unit has been gunned down on a quiet, sleepy, steamy street of Nairobi.

    Julian Jones-Smyth managed to pass over his leather attaché-case to Snow seconds before his death. When Snow sees the contents, he is at once returned to a tragic and horrific time when a traitor within the close Special Operations Executive destroyed a team of Agents in Sangatte, France, in 1942.

    Snow seeks out Tate to help him deal with what he perceives as a threat, also to right a terrible wrong. They find themselves under attack at Chemelil, a small out of the way railway station in Kenya, Tate’s two engineers held hostage.

    This volent and once again unprovoked attack, cause the pair to rethink what it is they are prepared to do and decide that this time the traitor in their ranks, so very long ago, will be held to account; one way or the other.

    Up against some powerful men, they find they must return to the days of subterfuge, resurrect long forgotten skills and ruthlessness to meet the enemy on his home ground, but they both discover the past has not finished with them either, as they return to Sangatte to pick up what should have been a cold, cold trail, but find it is not!

    Using a dual timeline very effectively, Shaw builds a powerful plot that see two aging operatives returning to a skill base honed as operatives and agents during the Second World War, both haunted by times past, both out to make amends long overdue.

    Highly recommended for lovers of a good read and fans of political spy fiction.

  • Nautilus

    Nautilus

    The second explosive book in The Nautilus Series from Nick Croydon Nautilus, has it all, as captures every nuance of the human psyche in a futurist, or maybe not so futuristic, look at the politics of the world which can be controlled by a complex and sophisticated machine that has the capability to change history.

    Created by Alan Turing during World War II, Nautilus has been carefully hidden a in a vault, accessible only to his daughter Annabel, who has been given the custodianship of the machine on the death of her father.

    Married to Edward, and now a Cabinet Minister, she is aware of the capabilities of the machine and the damage that can be caused should it fall into the wrong hands. Only she can access the vault, through a series of complex protocols established by her father.

    But there are factors in the political and monetary world that are aware of the machine and its capabilities and will do any at all to access what they consider great wealth, great power and world dominance.

    During a routine check on Nautilus, Annabel has discovered a series of code which translated delivers some very disturbing intelligence. She makes the decision to alert “C” the head of MI6, and by doing so sets in train a series of events which not only make her doubt those closest to her, but could if allowed to continue, change the world forever.

    Fast moving and full of intrigue wrapped around the world in which we live, should a machine with the capabilities of Nautilus, which can be used for good or evil, fall into the wrong hands, the results would be catastrophic.

    Not only are there ruthless global entities who will stop at nothing to get the machine, but closer to home and in the most devasting manner, there is someone who do anything at all to save himself and gain untold wealth.

    Poised on the edge of futuristic fiction, Nautilus is entrenched in the time old tale of greed, lies and treachery, common addictions to the past, the present and maybe even the future as an intriguing, carefully crafted and researched world comes into being through the skill of Nick Croydon.

    Nautilus; an absolute must read thriller based on fact, fiction and a world of maybe tomorrow.

  • A Dangerous Justice

    A Dangerous Justice

    Please note that A Dangerous Justice from John Pilkington is breath of fresh air in the Historic Fiction Crime genre which will prove to be addictive, so thankfully, this is book one in the new series ‘A Justice Belstrang Mystery’.

    Set in 1616, Robert Belstrang, a recently retired Magistrate finds he is bored, the daily life of a retired and affluent man in the country can be one that has little change or excitement involved.

    When a neighbour comes to him to beg a favour, that of trying to find his estranged son Thomas Jessop, who went to London, sending a message that his family would be proud of him and then appeared to vanish, he is reluctant to get involved.

     The family are Catholic, suffering for their religion, which as a stout Protestant causes Belstrang some serious conflict, but he reluctantly agrees to see what he can do once he reaches London.

    He finds his return to the City is both interesting and enlightening, but once he begins to try and find out what happened to Thomas, he realises that whatever the headstrong young man had become embroiled in was very dangerous indeed.

    Bribery gets him into see Thomas, now mute and residing in Bedlam, a meal with an occasional friend finds him locked up in a holding cell wondering exactly what is happening, why and who is behind his so-called arrest.

    With his recent investigations appearing to have faint links to the recent attempt to overthrow the Government through the Gunpowder Plot; an event which was a catastrophic failure, Belstrang is drawn into a side of London life that is both dangerous and informative. It is the underbelly of London!

     Belstrang seeks refuge with an old and trusted friend and is now determined to find out exactly what it was that has seen Thomas incarcerated in Bedlam, which then becomes a very dangerous undertaking.

    Being the stubborn man he is, Belstrang refuses to give in or succumb to the pressure a certain clandestine sector of Government bring to bear, and with the help of a man, an ex-soldier he is not sure he can fully trust, sets out to right a serious and dangerous wrong.

    A Dangerous Justice captures the intense and dangerous environment prevalent in London of 1616, when to be Catholic was dangerous, JamesI was ruling England and Parliament was rife with fractions, plots and danger. A refreshing and engrossing read from John Pilkington.

    This title was previously published as Legacy.

  • The Children

    The Children

    Melissa Albert has written an extraordinary, imaginative and complex story in The Children. Her descriptions are beautiful and rich, adding so much to the passion and heart of this tale. She veers from the saga of the main character’s childhood to the world of adult reality in which Guin and her brother, inseparable as children, are now bitter enemies.

    Guinevere and Ennis have an amazing childhood. Their father is a Welsh actor who has come to live in the country with the young wife who wished to write in peace. He has given up his career to help her fulfill her dream.

    The children have a huge amount of freedom to roam the woods and surrounds and to share experiences with each other. Their mother is seldom seen except for one evening when she comes down the stairs and in a faint voice says, “I have cut my finger off.” The children are sent to try and find the missing finger but to no avail.

    As adults, Guin and Ennis have moved apart and lead separate lives. Their mother did produce a series of books which were immensely popular called the Ninth City Series, with the children in the book based on her children. Guin has been pressed by an editor to write a memoir of their childhood; desperate for money she does so but the fantasy world is never far away.

    The complex relationship between the siblings unfolds gradually allowing the reader to tie ends together and to understand the reasons for their enmity. But it is Guin, who takes the step which blurs fantasy and reality. What will come to the surface to confront both the siblings will be both powerful and undeniable.

  • The Last Summer at Feather River

    The Last Summer at Feather River

    Secrets, tragedy and reality come together in this equestrian based thriller The Last Summer at Feather River from Karen Nelson as she explores coming of age, adolescence and devastation through the life of Brooke as she returns to a place she once loved, Feather River Ranch.

    Its ten years since Brooke left Feather River Ranch after a night of complete devastation. She was her beloved grandfather Charlie’s only grandchild and had spent her time between City and country for as long as she could remember.

    She looked forward to the summer holiday program which bought teens to the Ranch to work, ride the horses, enjoy country life and experience a different lifestyle, as well as inject much needed cash into Charlie’s business, that of breeding horses for the turf racing world.

    This summer, the summer of her 13th year, it bought Tommy; young, eager, challenging and edgy. He was a magnet for the girls, attractive, enticing and out to prove himself.

    Tragedy strikes which had long reaching effects, effects that Brooke is coping with, convinced even ten years later her actions were the catalyst for what followed: the ranch closing its holiday programme, Brooke refusing to return and Charlie facing hardship as he managed the ranch on his own

    Asked to return to look after Charlie while his broken leg mends, she reluctantly agrees, which makes her begin to understand that perhaps her memories of that last night may not be correct, that there is far more which has been hidden from her for a very long time. Secrets, lies and deception begin to surface that need to be viewed in the clear light of time.

    The Last Summer at Feather River is a slow burn spread over ten years, revolving around the life at Feather River Ranch, the emotional toll of tragedy and what could be considered as redemption, as Brooke slowly faces her demons and begins to work with Charlie once again to save the Ranch from ruin.

  • Hunting Ground

    Hunting Ground

    Once you move past the very graphic violence in the first chapter of Hunting Ground from Andrew Warren accepting that this is the norm, there is an excellent story of a white supremist cult obsession, power and tragedy to be discovered.

    Thomas Caine is recovering from a Mission that saw him decide that he had been lucky probably for the last time and he needed to reassess his future, particularly where it involved Rebecca Freeling, a woman who somehow saw the best in him.

    But his freshly created plans are put to the ultimate test when a protest march turns violent, and at the same time a terrorist attack occurs on the G. H.  Fallon Building in Baltimore; the building where his beloved Rebecca works.

    This is followed by a series of tragic circumstances, the death of his friend Tom’s son Sean, a person he had vowed to protect, and the discovery that his long-time mentor and friend Frank Balwin was dead.

    Tom is deeply challenged by the events that have occurred. When he makes the decision to risk everything for an answer he finds he is once again having to dig deep, far deeper than ever before as he is facing something so destructive it could see America facing a civil war.

    Working clandestinely alongside AJ Zavala, an FBI Special Agent who becomes accidently involve, having unexpectedly inherited the property of Frank Baldwin, along with a series of cryptic letters, they realise that whatever is occurring in the San Bernadino Mountains it nothing but bad with tentacles that reach into the highest levels of Government.

    Has he risked all for a lost cause or can they seek out the ruthless killers and see them bought to justice.  Will Rebecca forgive him this time or not is also on his mind as he and AJ face incredible odds against well trained men, in a battle that could see them both dead.

    Fast paced, vivid in description and a cliff hanger right to the end, Andrew Warren leaves the future of Thomas Caine hanging by a thread as he makes the toughest decision of his very challenging career.

  • The Shark 

    The Shark 

    True Crime readers will no doubt remember the Claremont Killings of 1996-7, which resulted in a 24-year investigation; the longest and most expensive investigation in Australian history and the ultimate conviction of the murder in 2020. Award winning author Emma Styles, latest crime thriller “The Shark” was inspired by this event.

    In the Cottesloe area of Perth, Western Australia a serial killer is targeting young swimmers, who go missing, only to be found horribly mutilated some time later. When Rachel’s close friend, Piper goes missing, she not only suffers from survivor’s guilt but also from a desire to do something to solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance.

    Carmen, having found the first body appears to have a mysterious connection with the murderer. Both are impatient and angry about the lack of progress by the police to solve this case. On the anniversary of Piper’s disappearance and wanting answers to their questions, these vulnerable young women, having met briefly in a psychiatric unit, reluctantly form an uncomfortable alliance and take matters into their own hands.  Convinced that Neil Lock, known as ‘The Shark’ is the perpetrator of these horrific crimes, they kidnap him; but is he really the serial killer?

    Many readers will find this ‘serial killer’ fiction intriguing despite the unreliability of the unlikeable narrators Rachel and Carmen. The complex storyline is at times a little disjointed and disturbingly graphic.  Although not and easy read, it picks up in the last third of the book with its twists and turns; it is an interesting fictional take on a similar event.

  • The Brief

    The Brief

    Simon Michael introduces a new legal thriller series The Brief, with protagonist Charles Holborne, a lawyer who is married to Henrietta, daughter of a Viscount, practices Criminal Law at the Temple and simply does not fit into what is considered an elitist Practice.

    He is Jewish by birth, had a ‘good war’ as a Spitfire pilot and was State Educated! He is good, very good at what he does which has caused resentment in the close-knit ranks of Barristers. He is a Londoner, a ‘Cockney’, through and through. In moving away from his Jewish background, he has also lost his London accent.

    Life is good in the Courts but not so much at home as he and Henrietta are drifting apart – he works long hours, she loves to socialise, which sees them facing the issue of Divorce. Things go badly. When Charles is charged with Murder he finds he is on the run and needs to tap into the Criminal element of men he has successfully defended over the years, to find out who set him up.

    Set in 1960’s London, a time of corruption within the Metropolitan Police Force, the notorious Kray Brothers ruled the world of Gangs and the Underworld, The Brief is slow to begin as Michael sets up the storyline character by character, delivering a sense of time and place that is authentic.

    Based on his life as a Lawyer working in Criminal Law the story follows to some degree his life, and the people who passed through his practice over the years, many of whom are now represented in the pages of this impressive Crime Thriller series.

    The Brief is an excellent read, slow: steady and immersive concluding in an unexpected manner.

    Book Two in the Charles Holborne Legal Thrillers, An Honest Man is available now.

  • The Golden Sphinx

    The Golden Sphinx

    More than a hint of Clive Cussler with a dash of Indiana Jones is evident in The Golden Sphinx, a fast paced and intriguing mystery set in Egypt, as an ancient aspect of Egyptian history comes into contention when noted Egyptologist Professor Tobias Goodwin is murdered.

    Ethan Frost, the reluctant heir to the Frost Consortium is at a crossroads in his life. Recently discharged from Delta Force and grieving the death of his parents in a helicopter crash, he is astounded when he hears the news that his old lecturer and friend Tobias Goodwin is dead and for no clear reason.

    He makes the decision to go to New Haven to find out more, to see if there is anything he can do to help find the perpetrator. By doing so he discovers an entirely different aspect of Egyptian history, one that is only slowly beginning to emerge, with evidence recently uncovered to a prior and far more sophisticated civilization having been in existence long before the Pyramids were constructed.

    Ethan, with the help of Sophia Lockwood, a research assistant working with Goodwin, begins to understand that whatever Goodwin was working on in his retirement was extremely sensitive, which has been based on the diaries and hand drawn maps of an American explorer and Egyptologist in 1906.

    As they dig deeper into the information in Templeton’s diaries and Goodwins research notes on the ancient past of Egypt, they also realise there is a modern-day terrorist cell active, which is responsible for the death of Goodwin and a Shopping Complex bombing in Egypt.

    But why sees Ethan forming a team of old friends and new, before heading to Egypt to follow the evidence they have and see where the pathway leads.

    How these aspects are based firmly in a well-researched modern and ancient Egyptian historic background forms the basis of a very good thriller, as although Ethan and the team are equipped with the very latest and then some technology, it will come down to who survives the brutality of the dessert at its most challenging.

    The Golden Sphinx from Lex Faulkner is book one in a two part series and recommended for a thriller of a read on a lazy afternoon