REVIEW: The Secrets He Kept by Jackie Walsh (ARC)

The Secrets He Kept by Jackie Walsh

Genre: Psychological thriller, Domestic Thriller, Suspense

Read: 29 November 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 6th November 2019)

★★★★★ 5 stars

WOW! This was one intriguing read!

I didn't know what to expect from this book, but THE SECRETS HE KEPT by Jackie Walsh was so fast paced it had me gripped from the beginning till the very end. Believe me, this one will keep you guessing until very final page.

What if your husband had a secret so huge that when you discovered it, you questioned its validity as well as your husband at the same time? This is what happens to Sally Cooper while at work one day. She thought she had a good life, happily married to Tom with three wonderful children - 15 year old Amber and 3 year old twin boys, Cian and Aaron. But Tom has already let her down before...when he invested £16,000 of her hard earned money into a "sure-fire" scheme that not only lost the lot, but left them owing money to the debtor Tom also took loans out with. So Sally, who would rather have been at home with her twin boys, went back out to work as a hairdresser to pay the debts and make ends meet.

Sally is at work one morning when a walk-in requests a shampoo and style for her boyfriend's party that night. The teenager flicking through her phone as Sally works shows her a photo of her boyfriend Kenny. But Sally isn't looking at Kenny. She is staring at the man beside him with his arm around the teenage boy...her husband Tom. The girl tells her it is Kenny's dad. His dad?? But Tom doesn't have a teenage son...does he?

In shock, Sally collapses and wakes in the staffroom to her concerned colleagues. She assures them she's fine and that she must finish Charlie's hair. But Charlie, the teenage girl, has gone...and along with her any answers to Sally's questions.

Suddenly, Sally's life begins to shatter as she begins to question everything about her husband of 16 years and just how well she knows him. The words fall out of her mouth before she can stop them as she asks Tom if he has a son. His answer? Vague in many ways, but the inference was there - no. But then Sally starts to see her husband in a different light. She hears him on the phone in the middle of the night. And then he fails to show for their twin boys' 3rd birthday party, claiming the excuse of helping a friend out whose car broke down. But Sally isn't so sure. How many secrets is Tom keeping from her?

The next day the talk in the salon is about the murder in Sycamore Gardens, an estate close by. Sally pays little attention to it, too busy mulling over the secrets her husband could be keeping. Until one night Tom hits her with a bombshell. He has a son. His mother has just been murdered and as his only living relative and next of kin, Kenny is to come and live with them. That murder in the news...Kenny's mum. No, no, no...Sally screams. He is NOT living there! They know nothing about him and they have a 15 year old daughter to consider. On the one hand Tom agrees with her but then she discovers he also agrees with the social worker - Kenny is to come and live with them. Whose side is Tom on? And what else is he hiding?

As Sally's life begins to implode with the arrival of the polite but guarded Kenny, the moody outbursts from Amber and the realisation that one of her boys is not developing as well as his brother. Not to mention the fact that her husband is being more than economical with the truth. Her one place of solace is work. So when the girls at the salon are all talking about the murder with their thoughts that maybe the boy's father did it, Sally remains tight-lipped. All the while she continues to question Tom's actions, his lies and deceit, and wonders the possibility herself.

As the lies increase, so does the tension making this one intense and unputdownable book. There are surprises with nearly every page as the reader attempts to guess where everything might lead.

I didn't much like Tom, and his loose relationship with the truth, as I didn't see why all the big secrecy around something that could have been properly addressed at the time. And yet, he continued to tell only half-truths...even when caught out. I liked Sally, surprisingly, as female leads tend to annoy me despite my love of this genre. As the reader, you feel almost sorry for the predicament she finds herself in through no fault of her own...but her sorry excuse for a husband. I love how she isn't the strong storming heroine type, but just your regular woman next door, trying to keep her family together through an incredibly difficult situation. I was suitably impressed with Amber...for a 15 year old, she was just the right mix of moody and considerate. The twins? Everyone goes all gooey over children...but I don't. So I could well do without them. As for the many other characters? They were a great mix that added the perfect amount of friendship and tension where needed.

My favourite part of the book was the Epilogue. It was epic. It was so well done and so very clever, it was the best ending I have encountered. The progression of the story left you wondering where it was all going to end that the conclusion, when it came, was suitably shocking to say the least. But the best, by far.

A well-written psychological drama, that is not really a thriller as such, THE SECRETS HE KEPT is filled with tension, suspense and plenty of secrets and lies to keep you guessing and turning the pages.

Prepare to stay up well into the night with this one as THE SECRETS HE KEPT will have your adrenaline going with every twist, every secret, every page, every chapter...that you will be riveted to the very end.

A masterful tale that is incredibly well-crafted, THE SECRETS HE KEPT is a fantastic compelling read that will have you suitably intrigued as every secret is slowly unveiled until that shocking conclusion. Highly recommend!!

I would like to thank #JackieWalsh, #NetGalley and #HeraBooks for an ARC of #TheSecretsHeKept in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Other Daughter by Shalini Boland (ARC)

The Other Daughter by Shalini Boland

Genre: Domestic thriller, psychological thriller

Read: 28th November 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 5th November 2019)

★★★★ 4 stars

Shalini Boland is always one of my go-to authors. I love her style, her brilliant imagination and no one quite writes domestic or psychological thrillers like she does. Except maybe Kim Slater...lol But Shalini is the queen of killer twists and this book was no different. All throughout I kept thinking "how is she going to throw us a twist in this?" and without fail, she still manages to do it and shock us all at once!

Nine years ago, Rachel's daughter Holly was abducted whilst in the children's play area of a busy shopping centre. Rachel was enjoying coffee with a friend with their two sleeping babies, whilst two and a half year old Holly played her imaginative games inside a pink playhouse. Distracted in her conversation and some adult time, Rachel doesn't notice the hooded figure leading her daughter away with a cookie and the promise petting a real live bunny rabbit. Rachel's husband blames her for Holly's abduction and as the cracks in their marriage begin to crumble, Andrew leaves her and their baby daughter and sets up home in Spain where he soon has a new family.

London held too many memories for Rachel and so she packs up and moves herself and baby Jess to Dorset, where she meets Matt. Nine years later, Rachel and Matt are living happily together with the now 10 year old Jess and 6 year old Charlie. Life is good for Rachel now.

Then she meets Kate Morris outside the school gates one afternoon, who also has two children - Amy and Keiran - the same ages as Jess and Charlie. It's their first day at the school but Rachel is quick to ease Kate's nerves as they await for their respective children. But it is Kate's eldest daughter that captures Rachel's interest. Tween-aged Bella leans nonchalantly against her mother's car, tapping at her phone and wondering what is taking her mother so long. As soon as Rachel sees her, she is sure that Bella is her missing daughter Holly. Her emotional reaction is so visceral that she has no doubt at all. She could not mistake those green eyes, that heart shaped face and those long dark locks. Added to that, she is also the same age as her missing daughter would be now. Bella IS Holly. And it is this that sets everything that follows in motion...

Rachel becomes obsessed as she endeavours to find out more about Bella and what lead Kate and her family to move from London to their sleepy corner of Dorset. She invites them to dinner on the pretext of seeing Bella again, but is dismayed when Bella goes to a friend's house instead. So Rachel begins to drunkenly quiz her new friends at the dinner table about why they moved here and why does Bella not resemble them at all. Needless to say, Kate and her husband Shaun felt incredibly uncomfortable at her probing and citing not feeling well, left early taking their two youngest children with them despite the promised sleepover. But Rachel will not be swayed. She vows to collect evidence - enough to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Bella is her missing daughter. There is just one problem...she has never told Matt about Holly...ever.

Rachel's obsession leads her to make some really REALLY stupid decisions. But she is on a mission to prove what she feels so deep within her soul...that Bella is Holly. And that Kate, or Shaun, stole her and have raised her as their own. Honestly, she borders on deranged. But then, having your child abducted when they were a toddler and never found is probably enough to make any mother a little unbalanced.

Told in two timelines - NOW and THEN - we also meet Catriona in the THEN chapters of nine years previous. It doesn't take long to discover how she fits into the story. And what a tale she tells! In fact, THE OTHER DAUGHTER opens, not with Rachel, but with Catriona...which I feel is a clever touch. Because as the reader we are drawn into Catriona's story and we feel her pain from the start that we almost identify with her and sympathise with her, that we don't even really blame her when she does the unthinkable. But as we watch her story unfold, our hearts breaks for Catriona. And all the while, in the NOW chapters, we are trying to work out what happened to Catriona and how she fits into the present day.

Then...just when you think you know where this is going...BAM! Shalini throws in one of her killer twists to turn everything on its head - and you are left wondering "what the...??" I honestly was trying to work out how this was going to play out as it really didn't seem to have anywhere else to go. But no, this is Shalini we're talking about. She does nothing normal that does not border on irrational or illogical. She takes a normal family...and throws them under, not just a bus, but a roaring train! She uproots everything you know and twists it beyond recognition. That by the end you are left breathless...

I have to say, I enjoyed the THEN chapters the most. I love finding out the who and the why of events leading up to the NOW. I found myself feeling for Catriona more than I did for Rachel, probably because Rachel did some incredibly dumb things that really seemed totally irrational. Her thought process annoyed me at times and I found myself thinking "you cannot be serious, woman?" Whereas with Catriona, she made one mistake - albeit a big one - but out of the best intentions...and spent the rest of her life making it up.

As my fourth thriller I've read by Shalini, I would have to be honest and say THE OTHER DAUGHTER is not her best but it is still one hell of a ride all the same! It will keep you guessing throughout and no matter how much you try and puzzle it together, you will never make the pieces fit. Shalini will have you twisted trying...believe me. And that's what makes her thrillers sooooo damn good! While the bounds of believability might need to be stretched just a tad with this one, it's still a compelling read that will have you up all night trying to figure it out.

You know that when you pick up a Shalini book, you are going to get one hell of a thrill ride and THE OTHER DAUGHTER was no different. And although I personally didn't think it was her best, I still enjoyed it just the same. I just felt the chapter after the "big reveal" was a little rushed with tying up loose ends. I wondered if a little more depth could have been put into them, considering how much we had invested into the whole story. The Epilogue was a fitting conclusion to the whole "debacle" though I'm not sure I even liked the narrator of that chapter as she didn't feel "real", if that makes any sense.

Either way, THE OTHER DAUGHTER is an intriguing, compelling, unputdownable tale that will have you reading long into the night until the finish.

I have no hesitation in recommending this book because as with any Shalini book, without a doubt, you will be in for thrill ride like no other!

I would like to thank #ShaliniBoland, #NetGalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheOtherDaughter in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: These Little Lies by Gretta Mulrooney (ARC)

These Little Lies (DI Siv Drummond #1) by Gretta Mulrooney

Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural

Read: 26th November 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 5th November 2019)

★★ 2.5 stars

In THESE LITTLE LIES we are introduced to DI Siv Drummond who has left the Met after the death of her husband and moved to the slower pace of the seaside town of Berminster. Siv and her sister grew up here, having been raised by their father after their mother ran out on them to take up with another lover, so it's with mixed emotions that Siv returns to her old home town.

But she has no time to ponder on the past as she is thrust deep into a murder investigation on her first day on the job with the discovery of two bodies found by the River Bere. The first is of Lauren Visser, a nursery worker who had a fascination for "wild swimming", while the second turns out to be a young Lithuanian, Matis Rimas who was fishing illegally and got a little more than he bargained for. Both have been stabbed viciously with a photo of a young girl left on one of the bodies.

Having identified the victims, Siv and her team struggle to find a link between the two who appear to be of very different backgrounds. Any witnesses are being less than truthful it appears so the team have to dig deeper to find any hidden skeletons.

It doesn't take long before the detectives begin to find a few secrets hidden beneath the surface. But are they enough reason for murder? The deeper they dig, the more they probe, the more it seems that many people are harbouring secrets and being somewhat economical with the truth.

Can Siv and her team sift out the lies and eliminate the suspects down to uncover the truth before it's too late?

THESE LITTLE LIES is a slow moving procedural that I felt almost glacial at times, but once you get into the story it does begin to move at a more even pace. I'm not sure about Siv just yet...I guess we have to learn more about her to get to know her better. But this does have all the makings of a promising new series.

Recommended to those who love their crime fiction and police procedurals.

I would like to thank #GrettaMulrooney, #NetGalley and #JoffeBooks for an ARC of #TheseLittleLies in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Great Divide by L.J.M. Owen (ARC)

The Great Divide by L.J.M. Owen

Genre: Crime Fiction, Noir

Read: 24th November 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 4th November 2019)

★★★★★ 5 stars

What a jewel this read turned out to be!

When I read a friend's review of this book I just knew I had to read it. I mean, it's not often I come across an Australian crime thriller - new or old - but when I do, I am eager to check it out. And boy, am I glad I did! I certainly hope that THE GREAT DIVIDE is the beginning of what promises to be fantastic new series.

When Detective Jake Hunter transferred from the hustle and bustle of Melbourne to the remote town of Dunton in rural Tasmania, he expects it to be a quiet secondment for his duration. After all, not much happens in a small town, does it? But within the week, what begins as a missing boy ends up being a full blown murder investigation.

It is early morning when 10 year old Jamie Taylor quietly unzips the family tent and deftly makes his way through the bush and the fog to an old vineyard, where he can run and run and run. But all of a sudden he sees something big and black looming in front of him, growling. In blind panic, he tries to escape the "monster" chasing him but he can't find his way back through the fog. And then he trips. When he turns for a closer look at the obstruction that caused him to fall, he sees a bloodied hand...and he screams.

When Jake finds Jamie huddled beneath the bushes on the outskirts of the derelict vineyard, the boy is so frightened Jake wonders why. It isn't long before he is standing over a mutilated body amidst the gnarled old grape vines. The victim is Ava O'Brien who ran a local "bad" girls' home for several years before it shut down a decade earlier.

Jake and his constable, Murphy, begin to dig into the secrets that surround the home as well as those of Ava O'Brien herself. The only family Ava had was her brother Liam who also lived in the town, both of whom had moved from the mainland some thirty years ago. Liam is a quiet man who keeps himself to himself, but is there a more sinister reason why?

And what of the home? What happened to the girls that lived there? Apparently wards of the state, the children were to be cared for until adoption, but Jake can find no records of the children or their adoptions. So what happened to them? Two of the girls were adopted locally but the others are proving difficult to track down. The deeper Jake digs, the more he suspects that something strange and disturbing had been at play within the home. Secrets long since buried that were only now hovering beneath the surface.

And then there is his Senior Sergeant - Aiden Kelly - who seems more intent on keeping the locals happy by indulging their sensitivities than actually solving the crime. After watching Jake and his interview techniques, he decides to sit in on most of the other interviews, cutting them short before Jake could ask the hard questions. And what about Constable Patrick Murphy? His reports indicate he is barely literate, that Jake seems to spend more time re-doing than Murphy spends on writing them, not to mention his loose interpretation of the law. How did he even pass training to become a police officer in the beginning? And why, if he has such a blatant disregard for the law? Then there is the added complication of Evelyn Kelly, his boss' daughter and local Victims of Crime services counsellor, who appears to show up at every crime scene and every interview to sit in on. And yet Jake is shocked by her unprofessional behaviour on more than one occasion that he finds himself questioning her qualifications. What is it that Ms Kelly is hiding?

Despite the haphazardness of the police in Dunton, Jake is grateful to find at least one ally in forensic pathologist, Dr Meena Gill. She too is what the locals call "a blow-in" and isn't swayed by the sensitivities of the local's proclivities.

Over the days that follow, Jake continues to dig deeper with the investigation leading him back to Melbourne. And with it, some shocking revelations. As the secrets surrounding the home and Ava's murder come to light, the horror of what really went on within those walls are ultimately exposed as the suspects and bodycount rises. Who is behind these abhorrent atrocities? And how far will they go to keep the enormity of their barbaric actions secret?

The twist is the gruesome trophy that Jake uncovers at the end has to be one of the most sinister and twisted things I have come across throughout this genre. But it is well-played.

THE GREAT DIVIDE is a complex tale of secrets, duplicity and murder offering a sense of bleak and dismal foreboding that is so claustrophobic it is almost chilling. It is hard not to use the word "atmospheric" when writing about it because that is exactly what it is - in both plot and setting.

An exciting addition to the genre of crime fiction noir, THE GREAT DIVIDE is well-paced and intriguing that I devoured it within one evening. I loved everything about it, even those I loved to hate, in this remote town shrouded in fog and lies. I hope it is just the beginning and would love to see a sequel as Jake finds his feet in the small isolated town.

I would like to thank #LJMOwen, #NetGalley and #BonnierBooksUK for an ARC of #TheGreatDivide in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood (ARC)

The Man on the Street by Trevor Wood

Genre: Crime fiction

Read: November 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 31st October 2019)

★★★ 3 stars

If you like gritty crime fiction, in the vein of Val McDermid, Stuart MacBride and Ian Rankin, then you will love this Newcastle-set debut by Trevor Wood.

Jimmy Mullen is a veteran of the Falkland's War suffering with untreated PTSD and is homeless. His time in the war saw him see some of the most terrible atrocities that have haunted him ever since. Now he drinks to escape, unable to cope with his life at home, but in reality it has become a life sentence. His wife could no longer cope with his moods, concerned for her own safety and that of their little daughter. His escalating erratic behaviour saw him land in prison.

Now he's on parole and hoping to sort his life out. But life on the streets in is tough, and while suffering PTSD he is still in denial. He hooks up with some other homeless lads and together they become their own dysfunctional family of sorts, looking out for each other.

Then late one night Jimmy witnesses something untoward - raised voices in argument, followed by a splash and then silence. Not wanting to draw attention to himself being on parole, Jimmy resolves to let it go - it's not his fight. But in the weeks following, he sees an appeal for a missing person...and his conscience intervenes. But Jimmy doesn't want to get involved; it isn't his fight. But the missing man's daughter, Carrie, needs the truth. And so Jimmy steps up and resolves to stop hiding from his past in order to help Carrie. While police fail to take the word of a "vagrant", Jimmy puts himself at risk and soon finds himself swept away by dangerous events. Has he bitten off more than he can chew?

Narrated in the past and present, THE MAN ON THE STREET is a crime novel with a difference. It's about a crime but it is also about Jimmy and his daily struggle with PTSD, a debilitating condition resulting in nightmares, flashbacks, erratic behaviour, uncontrollable rages and more.

While somewhat implausible to think that a homeless veteran suffering severe untreated PTSD could investigate the disappearance of someone he may or may not have witnessed fall into the Tyne late one night, THE MAN ON THE STREET is a gritty addictive read none-the-less.

I would like to thank #TrevorWood, #NetGalley and #Quercus for an ARC of #TheManOnTheStreet in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: The Verdict by Olivia Isaac-Henry (ARC)

The Verdict by Olivia Isaac-Henry

Genre: Psychological thriller, Crime fiction

Read: November 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 31st October 2019)

★★★ 3 stars

When I read the premise for THE VERDICT, it sounded so intriguing I couldn't wait to sink my teeth into it. But the characters and the slow burn story did nothing to engage me that I felt as if I was just flipping pages to reach the end. While there was a surprising twist, I'm not sure if it was enough to save the story as a whole.

A body is found on the North Downs and Julia Winter is living her somewhat average life oblivious to the discovery...until she receives a text with a link to a news report warning her. Who is it from? Who knows her secret? Suddenly, Julia is awash with the knowledge that somebody must know the secret she's kept buried for so long. When the body is soon identified as one of the housemates she had shared a house with over 20 years ago, Julia realises she is caught in a web of lies and deception from which she can find no escape.

Julia was 23 when she fled London to quiet Guildford after her long-time boyfriend passed her over for another woman. Devastated, distraught and looking for an escape, she ends up sharing a grand house with the owner, Genevieve, and four other tenants - Lucy, Gideon, Brandon and Alan. Tensions ran high in the household and not everyone got along. When their house-sharing comes to and end, they all go their separate ways. Or do they?

Twenty three years later and Julia and two of her former housemates are on trial for murder.

Now 48, Julia is living in a bedsit after an affair resulted in the collapse of her marriage. She is insecure and at times rather irritating. And now she finds her character is under scrutiny after cheating on her husband and being estranged with her son. But is she a killer? Will this paint a darker picture of her and cloud the jury's judgement? There is such overwhelming evidence against her, will they believe her story?

None of the characters are particularly likable but they were interesting. Genevieve claimed to be a classically trained actress but rumoured to have been a "hostess". Mourning the loss of her son she refuses to acknowledge his death and latches onto Brandon, making him a sort of pet. She's mysterious, inventing dramas for the sole purpose of attracting attention. Of all of them, she was the most entertaining. Brandon is thoroughly unlikable who uses people for his own gain, Alan is a nasty backstabber, jealous of everyone else while Gideon is one of those slimy people who fit in anywhere, anytime...blending in and making friends. But is that just an act? Is he just a wolf in sheep's clothing?  And Julia? She's a woman with a loose relationship with the truth, cheating on her husband more concerned with her climbing the corporate ladder than caring for her husband and son, in my opinion. But has she just been swept along by a course of events through which she has had no control? Or is she more calculated?

Set across three timelines, THE VERDICT got a little confusing at times trying to place the sequence of events in order but once you do, it's fairly straight-forward to follow. Though it would have been better had the story been told in a simpler timeline rather than all over the place. It was refreshing to note that events from all three timelines made sense in the end, as there is nothing worse than a confusing conclusion that leaves you up in the air with loose ends.

I found THE VERDICT to be slow moving and difficult to be enthralled by anyone or anything. It completely lacked excitement that by the time it began to get interesting it was too little too late, in my opinion. By that time I didn't really care what happened to Julia - whether she was guilty or not. And for this reason, I hate slow-burns. I like books to keep you engaged from the first page...and unfortunately THE VERDICT failed to do that.

A reasonably good read, if you like slow burns. Just not for me.

I would like to thank #OlivaIsaacHenry, #NetGalley and #HarperImpulse, #KillerReads and #OneMoreChapter for an ARC of #TheVerdict in exchange for an honest review.

REVIEW: Shamus Dust by Janet Roger (ARC)

Shamus Dust by Janet Roger

Genre: Crime fiction

Read: November 2019

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

(publication date: 28th October 2019)

★★★ 3 stars

I've not read a book quite like SHAMUS DUST. It is unique and yet it is very alluring. It is classic noir of the the 1940s murder mysteries once seen on the big screen.

It begins on Christmas Day in the post-war era of London in 1947. It's a cold and bleak morning when a man is found dead at a church, shot twice, causing shockwaves throughout the community. It seems though, that the victim, identified as Raymond Jarrett, was a local pimp and almost certainly up to no good. A search of his flat reveal pictures of young boys in compromising positions with which he used for blackmail. So it wasn't at all surprising that no one seems all that disappointed with his demise.

Jarrett's flat is owned by a local councillor who takes it upon himself to hire private eye, Newman aka "Shamus", to investigate what happened and to hush up any possibly scandal. Suspicions are aroused surrounding the nurse who discovered the body but are soon overshadowed by a missing university professor and his assistant, a male sex worker, an abusive father and his daughter along with plenty of other complications like corruption and greed soon have Newman digging deep into a very sordid aspect of London society.

It seems though that Councillor Drake has underestimated Newman's intelligence and abilities as he uncovers a homosexual ring, blackmail, greed, corruption and bent coppers. He is assisted along the way with a young female doctor who seems somewhat elusive and mysterious.

There are more murders and shocking twists along the way as the more Newman investigates and the deeper he digs, the higher the bodycount. Then throw in an archaeological find below London's Square Mile and you have an even bigger mystery at hand.

But somebody knows more than they're letting on. The question is - who?

SHAMUS DUST is most definitely a classic crime mystery in true noir-style. It's dark, it's sophisticated and it's atmospheric. My biggest flaw with with it would be the long and overt descriptions, some of which I felt could have been cut down but then at the same time does it add to that classic noir style?

I also wasn't fond of the lead being an American in London. I felt this was a classic British mystery needing a British protagonist. The added use of Americanised English only served to irritate me further, as there is nothing I hate more than American English in British books. I prefer spelling, language and terms appropriate to the period and place in which the book is set. To me, it felt out of character with the whole scene and didn't belong. But that is just my personal opinion - others may feel differently.

I note others have compared the writing style to that of Raymond Chandler. But as I've not read any I can't compare it myself. However, if you love dark, atmospheric writing then you are bound to enjoy SHAMUS DUST. This book has a little bit of everything - murder, blackmail, mystery, greed, corruption, lies and suspense.

I would like to thank #JanetRoger, #NetGalley and #Matador for an ARC of #ShamusDust in exchange for an honest review.