I Read, Therefore I Blog

The Blurb On The Back:

A group of Chinese scientists arrive at the American research base in Antarctica in search of help. In their truck is a horrifying sight - a mysteriously murdered teammate. With no clear jurisdiction, the Americans don’t know what to do. But they soon realise the Chinese scientists have brought far more with them than just a body …

Within seventy-two hours, thirteen more lie dead in the snow.

An extremophile parasite, triggered by severe cold, is spreading by touch. Learning from them. Evolving. It triggers violent tendencies in the winter crew, and, more insidiously, the beginnings of a strange symbiotic telepathy.

The survivors cannot let anyone infected make it to the summer season or the parasite will be taken back home with them, and be free to take over civilisation.

You can order SYMBIOTE: A NOVEL by Michael Nayak from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK. I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers):”> It’s 18 June 2028. Dr Rajan “Raj )

The Blurb On The Back:

A troubled genius who vanishes in a mysterious car crash.

A disillusioned cop sensing conspiracy in the corridors of power.

A ruthless team of mercenaries operating in the shadows.

A billion-dollar business that wants the world in its grip.

One link connects them all.

A champion fighter. Betrayed and searching for the truth.

Cameron King is The Hunter.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Andrew Reid’s debut action thriller is an assured affair with solid pacing and interesting main characters in the form of Cameron King and Ray Perada (who I was pleased did not succumb to a predictable romance). However the storyline between Cameron and Nate falls apart in the final quarter with revelations that suspend credulity, which is a shame because there’s some solid writing here and the premise is perfect beach reading.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Solving murders.
It’s a family business.

Steve Wheeler likes retired life. He still does some investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits: the pub quiz, a favourite bench, his cat waiting for him at home. HIs days of adventure are over. Adrenaline is daughter-in-law Amy’s job now.

Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul. Working in private security is dangerous. She’s currently on a remote island protecting infamous author Rosie D’Antonio, until a dead body and a bag of money mean trouble in paradise …

As a thrilling race around the world begins, can Amy and Steve outrun and outsmart a killer?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Richard Osman’s thriller (the first in a new series) couples jet-setting action, wry observations - particularly about ageing and dealing with grief - sharp one-liners and an interesting trio of central characters. However for me, neither Rosie nor Amy quite rang true in terms of their characters and the plot - though entertaining - was too easy to guess. That said there’s a lot of potential here and I will definitely read the sequel.

The Blurb On The Back:

Siberia, 1939. Pregnant Lena Orlova plans a daring escape from a brutal Soviet prison camp to the one place she knows is safe: a cave containing the legendary Altar of Bones, hidden behind a frozen waterfall deep in the icy wilderness.

San Francisco, Present Day. Zoe Dmitroff discovers that she is the last in a line of women who have been entrusted with a secret so great many have died preserving it. Now Zoe is being hunted by a vicious killer determined to uncover the truth, and she’s about to learn the hard way that no-one can outrun their destiny.

From the frozen wastelands of Siberia to the bustling backstreets of Paris, Altar of Bones is a gripping international adventure that spans the generations and unearths the dark secret behind one of the biggest conspiracies of all time.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Philip Carter’s conspiracy thriller is a pacy read that keeps the action coming with plenty of chases, fights and double crosses plus some screaming orgasms for good measure. However while Carter does well at balancing the different plot strands, the fates of the antagonists was underwhelming and I found the central conspiracies a little tasteless and disrespectful. It’s a decent beach read if you’re looking for something to hold your attention.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Let the games begin.

Every inhabitant in the Quadrant knows about The Pinnacle, a reality TV contest set on a remote planet with a five million cash prize. For three desperate entrants, winning would mean the world.

Right girl BEX can finally leave her broken family behind.

For politician’s son ZANE, it’s his only opportunity to save his mother.

And it’s outcast RAYA’S last chance at a better life.

But as the competition starts, the contestants are quick to discover that this year’s game has unscripted and DEADLY consequences.

And the only thing they’re truly competing for, is SURVIVAL.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Wendy Cross’s debut YA SF crime novel mixes AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by Agatha Christie with SURVIVOR but while the pacing is fast, it cannot make up for very thin characterisation (including of the 3 POV characters), equally thin world building (with Cross heavily dependent on mentioning an aspect of this universe when she needs to explain a twist) and some heavily foreshadowed twists so that as a result the novel just didn’t work for me.

THEN THERE WAS ONE was released in the United Kingdom on 1st February 2024. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Here in Slough House, the intelligence service’s home for inept spies, it’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.

Roddy Ho is used to being the one the slow horses turn to when they need miracles performed, and he’s always been Jackson Lamb’s Number Two. So when Lamb has a photograph that needs doctoring, it’s Ho he entrusts with the task. Christmas is a time for memories, but Lamb doesn’t do memories - or so he says. But what is it about the photo that makes him want to alter it? How would the slow horses cope if Roddy Ho did not exist? And most importantly of all, are the team having Christmas drinks, and if so, where?

Standing By The Wall offers a glimpse into the kind of seasonal merriment you might expect at Slough House, where the boss generally marks the festive season with an increase in hostilities. But them, this is the secret service, not Secret Santa. And the slow horses aren’t here to enjoy themselves.

Roddy Roddy Roddy? Ho Ho Ho!

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Mick Herron’s short story set in the SLOUGH HOUSE universe is a pithy, fun affair. There are hints here as to a link with forthcoming book THE SECRET HOURS (notably a mention of Operation Monochrome), I always enjoy the self-delusional Roddy Ho and it’s good to see River Cartwright make a return, albeit not in peak health. If, like me, you devour anything SLOUGH HOUSE related, then it’s worth a look but occasional readers could probably skip it.

The Blurb On The Back:

At Whisper Cove,
what the sea wants,
the sea will have

When Avril was a child, her mother drowned at Whisper Cove. Local legend claims that the women in the waves called her into the ocean with their whispering.

Now Avril is seventeen and as she investigates what happened all those years ago, Whisper Cove reveals itself to her. Distances shift in the strange fog. Echoes of the past rebound from the ocean. And Avril is sure she’s met Cole - the gorgeous but disturbed boy she can’t seem to keep away from - late at night at the edge of the ocean.

The truth Avril seeks is ready to be discovered. But will come at a terrible cost.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Ginny Myers Sain’s paranormal YA thriller is a slow-paced affair populated with generic characters (with the exception of Avril) structured around a central play that simply didn’t convince me as being something so extraordinary as to be Tony Award winning. Worse, the twists (with one exception) are telegraphed too early and the paranormal elements too wishy-washy. It isn’t a bad book, but it did struggle to hold my attention.

SECRETS SO DEEP was released in the United Kingdom on 29th September 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

You can’t see me but I can see you. If you try to run, I will shoot.

Red Kenny is on a road trip for spring break with five friends: Red’s best friend, her older brother, his perfect girlfriend and a classmate.

When their RV breaks down in the middle of nowhere, they soon realise that this is no accident. They have been trapped by someone out there in the dark, someone who clearly wants one of them dead.

With eight hours until dawn, the six friends must escape, or work out which one of them is the target. Buried secrets will be forced to light and tensions inside the RV will reach deadly levels.

Now all of them will survive the night …

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Holly Jackson’s standalone YA thriller is a disappointing misfire. I get what Jackson was going for - an external threat becoming less dangerous than the internal threat that emerges within the group. Unfortunately the characterisation is poor, especially Red whose guilt comes across as flakiness while Oliver’s mummy issues never convinced me while the plot points and motivations don’t make a whole lot of sense when you think about them.

FIVE SURVIVE was released in the United Kingdom on 8th December 2022. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

In MI5 a scandal is brewing and there are bad actors everywhere.

A key member of a Downing Street think tank has disappeared without trace. Claude Wheelan, one-time First Desk of MI5’s Regent’s Park, is tasked with tracking her down. But the trail leads straight back to Regent’s Park HQ itself, with its chief, Diana Taverner, as prime suspect. Meanwhile her Russian counterpart has unexpectedly shown up in London but has slipped under MI5’s radar.

Over at Slough House, the home for demoted and embittered spies, the slow horses are doing what they do best: adding a little bit of chaos to an already unstable situation.

In a world where lying, cheating and back-stabbing are the norm, bad actors are bending the rules for their own gain. If the slow horses want to change the script, they’ll need to get their own act together before the final curtain.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The 8th in Mick Herron’s SLOUGH HOUSE SERIES uses a missing person case to incorporate a savage commentary on UK politics. Like SLOUGH HOUSE there’s a strong set-up feel with Herron manoeuvring characters and motivation for Book 9 but Wheelan’s return, Taverner’s tribulations and Shirley’s rage issues are all a lot of fun, I enjoyed seeing John Bachelor from the novellas and there are some hilarious lines such that I can’t wait for Book 9.

The Blurb On The Back:

Someone is missing. Nobody’s talking. But this time EVERYONE is listening …

Pip Fitz-Amobi is not a detective any more. Her true crime podcast about the murder case she solved last year has gone viral. Yet Pip insists her investigating days are behind her.

But she will have to go back on her word when someone close to her goes missing and the police can’t do anything about it. If they won’t investigate, then Pip will, uncovering more of her town’s dark secrets along the way. But will she find the answers before time runs out?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Holly Jackson’s YA thriller sequel accomplishes that rare feat of being an even better read. Jackson sensitively deals with the fall out from the first novel (for Pip and her friends and family) and then creates a new mystery that significantly overlaps with the first. I have some nitpicks (mainly around the rape trial but also some about Cara) but it is a genuinely gripping read and I am looking forward to the concluding book in this trilogy.