Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Beijing Conspiracy by Shamini Flint

The Beijing Conspiracy by Shamini Flint

#TheBeijingConspiracy #ShaminiFlint @blackthornbks @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, eveyone!

Today is my turn on the Damppebbles Blog Tour for an exciting new standalone international political thriller by a new to me author. I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE BEIJING CONSPIRACY by Shamini Flint.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

A LONG-LOST DAUGHTER. AN EXPLOSIVE SECRET. A LETHAL CONSPIRACY.

Ex-Delta Force soldier Jack Ford is trying to put the past behind him. But when he receives a letter from someone he hasn’t spoken to in thirty years, claiming he has a daughter, he can’t resist investigating for himself.

Soon he’s on a plane to China, a country he hasn’t returned to since witnessing the atrocities of the Tiananmen Square massacre. But on his search he stumbles upon a document which both the Chinese and American governments are desperately chasing. Now Jack is trapped in an impossible dilemma: save his daughter or prevent a new world war where thousands will lose their lives.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43983924-the-beijing-conspiracy

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE BEIJING CONSPIRACY by Shamini Flint is a high intensity international political thriller by a new to me author. This standalone has two fast-paced, high octane timeline plots intertwining around players from the Chinese government and the last American administration past and present.

Retired Delta Force Ranger Jack Ford receives a letter from China telling him he has a daughter he never knew he had. In 1989, Jack was a young idealistic spy attached to the Chinese embassy who fell in love with a Chinese student leader involved in the Tiananmen Square uprising. Why now, thirty years later has Xia revealed this news and asked him to return to Beijing?

This story is a thrill ride from start to finish with plenty of intrigue, back-stabbing, action and even some cutting humor at our past President’s expense. Jack is a stereotypical older, disillusioned soldier protagonist, but he was still different enough to have me rooting for his success. The secondary characters all have their own agendas and could never be taken at face value. I easily read this book in one sitting because I did not want to put it down.

I can recommend this thriller and I will definitely be looking for other books by this author.

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About the Author

Shamini Flint was born and brought up in Malaysia. Having studied law at Cambridge University, she travelled extensively throughout Asia for her work as a corporate lawyer, before becoming a writer, part-time lecturer and environmental activist. Shamini now lives in Singapore with her husband and two children. She is the author of the highly acclaimed Inspector Singh mystery series.

Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShaminiFlintAuthor

Website: http://shaminiflintbooks.com/v1/

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2O6RRN7

Waterstones: http://bit.ly/2ZSwVvM

Foyles: http://bit.ly/2O70wPk

Hive.co.uk: http://bit.ly/37UQdoJ

Publishing Information

Published in paperback format by Black Thorn Books on 4th March 2021

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Double Identity by Alison Morton

Double Identity by Alison Morton

#DoubleIdentity @alison_morton @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Damppebbles Blog Tour for an exciting new thriller – DOUBLE IDENTITY by Alison Morton.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

Deeply in love, a chic Parisian lifestyle before her. Now she’s facing prison for murder.

It’s three days since Mel des Pittones threw in her job as an intelligence analyst with the French special forces to marry financial trader Gérard Rohlbert. But her dream turns to nightmare when she wakes to find him dead in bed beside her.

Her horror deepens when she’s accused of his murder. Met Police detective Jeff McCracken wants to pin Gérard’s death on her. Mel must track down the real killer, even if that means being forced to work with the obnoxious McCracken.

But as she unpicks her fiancé’s past, she discovers his shocking secret life. To get to the truth, she has to go undercover—and finds almost everybody around her is hiding a second self.

Mel can trust nobody. Can she uncover the real killer before they stop her?

A stunning new thriller from the author of the award-winning Roma Nova series, fans of Daniel Silva, Stella Rimington or Chris Pavone will love Double Identity.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56581318-double-identity

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DOUBLE IDENTITY by Alison Morton is a completely engaging, fast-paced thriller that grabbed me from page one. This is a new to me author with an amazing new heroine who is a former French Intelligence Analyst Special Forces soldier with dual French and English citizenship.

Melisende “Mel” des Pittones has retired from the French Army to get married to Gerard Rohlbert who is a financial trader. As the story begins, they are in England and Mel wakes up with a clouded mind and a dead fiance next to her in bed. Even with her years of service in the army, Mel is accused of the murder and Met Police DI Jeff McCracken is determined to find proof of her guilt.

Mel and McCracken end up working together in a new EU investigative service to find out the truth about her fiance’s murder. Everyone seems to be hiding secrets and Mel is not sure who she can trust. Will she be able to uncover the killer before she becomes the next victim?

This is one of those perfect thrillers that you just cannot put down and you keep turning the pages until you get to the end. Mel is a wonderful new protagonist who is as intelligent and tough as any of the male protagonists out there in other thriller series. Her international background adds to my interest in her and makes the plot even more believable as she chases answers all over Europe. McCracken is an interesting character who goes from believing Mel is guilty of murder, to just being obnoxious, to actually being a viable believable partner for her.

I highly recommend this new international thriller heroine and this fast-paced read!

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About the Author

Alison Morton writes award-winning thrillers series featuring tough, but compassionate heroines. She blends her deep love of France with six years’ military service and a life of reading crime, historical, adventure and thriller fiction. On the way, she collected a BA in modern languages and an MA in history.

Grips like a vice – a writer to watch out for” says crime thriller writer Adrian Magson about Roma Nova series starter INCEPTIO. All six full-length Roma Nova thrillers have won the BRAG Medallion, the prestigious award for indie fiction. SUCCESSIO, AURELIA and INSURRECTIO were selected as Historical Novel Society’s Indie Editor’s Choices.  AURELIA was a finalist in the 2016 HNS Indie Award. The Bookseller selected SUCCESSIO as Editor’s Choice in its inaugural indie review.

Now Alison continues to write thrillers and drink wine in France with her husband.

Social Media Links

Connect with Alison on her Roma Nova site: https://alison-morton.com

Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/AlisonMortonAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/alison_morton @alison_morton

Alison’s writing blog: https://alisonmortonauthor.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alisonmortonauthor/

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5783095.Alison_Morton


Alison’s Amazon page: http://Author.to/AlisonMortonAmazon

Newsletter sign-up: http://eepurl.com/ckNeFL

Purchase Links

Kindle:  https://mybook.to/DoubleIdentity

Apple: https://books.apple.com/book/double-identity/id1542244030

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/fr/en/ebook/double-identity-11

B&N Nook: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/double-identity-alison-morton/1138382128?ean=2940162679202

Book2Read: https://books2read.com/DoubleIdentity

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital formats by Pulcheria Press on 7th January 2021

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Other works by Alison Morton

The Carina strand
INCEPTIO where New Yorker Karen Brown is thrown into a new life in mysterious Roma Nova and fights to stay alive with a killer hunting her
CARINA, a novella, Carina’s first mission abroad. What could go wrong?
PERFIDITAS, six years on, where betrayal and rebellion are in the air, threatening to topple Roma Nova and ruin Carina’s life.
SUCCESSIO, where a mistake from the past threatens to destroy the next generation.

The Aurelia strand
AURELIA, in late 1960s Roma Nova, Aurelia Mitela battles her life-long nemesis, silver smuggling and is forced to choose between her love, her child and her country
NEXUS Mid 1970s, London, where a simple favour for a friend becomes a chilling pursuit across Europe
INSURRECTIO, where Aurelia Mitela struggles against a manipulative tyrant grabbing power. But it may already be too late to save Roma Nova…
RETALIO, a classic tale of resistance and retribution – the endgame between Aurelia and Caius

Extras
ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories from AD 370 to the present

Contributions
‘A Roman Intervenes‘ in 1066 Turned Upside Down
How Galla Mitela, Roma Novan imperial councillor, attempts to stop the Norman invasion of England. One of a series of possible alternative outcomes of 1066.

‘The Mystery of Victory’ in Rubicon (HWA/Sharpe Books)
What did happen to the Altar of Victory in the dusk of the Roman Empire?

‘The Idealist’ in Betrayal (Historical Fictioneers, 2020)

Non Fiction
Military or civilians? The curious anomaly of the German Women’s Auxiliary Services during the Second World War.

The 500 Word Writing Buddy: 35 Inner Secrets for the New Writer

Book Review: Black Coral by Andrew Mayne

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

BLACK CORAL (Underwater Investigation Unit Book #2) by Andrew Mayne is an exciting second book in the UIU series. All the main characters are realistically imagined and Mr. Mayne hooks you with a story that is an intense, intricately plotted criminal investigation. I have added this series to my “must read immediately” list of books when published.

Sloan McPherson of the UIU is called in to retrieve a body from a submerged car. While avoiding one of Florida’s most infamous alligators, she discovers a van also in the pond. Many vehicles end up discarded in Florida’s waterways, but Sloan has a “feeling” about the van and wants to investigate it. Sealed inside are the remains of four teenagers, assumed runaways, thirty years previously. Law enforcement considers it a tragic accident, but Sloan is not satisfied.

A serial killer has been hunting and killing with impunity in southern Florida for over 30 years. Will Sloan be the next victim?

Absolutely fantastic read!

Sloan is a complex character and a strong protagonist. I liked that Mr. Mayne added Hughes to the UIU to add balance and a voice of reason/caution to some of Sloan’s more impulsive decisions, but he does not interfere with her determination and search for justice for the dead. All the characters, good and evil, add to the believability of the investigation and add depth to the overall story without detracting from the pace of the plot.

Mr. Mayne’s storytelling pulls you in from page one and continues to weave all the dialogue and investigations into a tale that keeps the reader intrigued and turning the pages until the ultimate resolution.

I highly recommend this addition to the series, the entire series and this author!

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About the Author

Andrew Mayne is a Wall Street Journal bestselling author whose books include The Naturalist, a Thriller Award finalist and Black Fall an Edgar Award finalist Black Fall. He’s the star of the Discovery Channel’s Shark Week special Andrew Mayne: Ghost Diver, where he swam alongside great white sharks using an underwater invisibility suit he designed and also was the star of A&E’s Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne.

Social Media Links

Website: https://andrewmayne.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewMayne

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Seven Days by Michelle Kidd

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh #2) by Michelle Kidd

#SevenDays #DIJackMacIntosh @AuthorKidd @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Damppebbles Blog Tour for SEVEN DAYS (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #2) by Michelle Kidd.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

One killer. One city. One week.

July 2012 and a serial killer is terrorising the streets of London. With the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games in just seven days time, Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh and his team at the Metropolitan Police have one week to find him. With the killer’s motives unknown, and a mysterious clue being left at each scene, the case takes on a menacing and personal twist. Distracted by his own demons, will DI Jack MacIntosh solve the case before it is too late?

The clock is ticking.
Tick.
Tock.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50619225-seven-days?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ahmwNJCcQp&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SEVEN DAYS (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #2) by Michelle Kidd is the exciting new book in the DI Jack MacIntosh series. Once again, Ms. Kidd has written a page turner that kept me guessing the identity of killer incorrectly well into the night. While this book’s plot is a complete investigation, to get all of the backstory on all the characters, I feel it is helpful to start with “The Phoenix Project” which is book #1 in this fast-paced thriller/British police procedural series.

It is July 2012 and DI Jack MacIntosh and his team are assigned the monumental case of capturing a serial killer in just seven days before the Opening Ceremonies for the London Summer Olympics. Women’s bodies are being discovered strangled and dumped in London parks. There appear to be no ties to connect the victims and all of them have been thoroughly cleaned of all forensic evidence.

As the days count down, Jack works to discover the killer while still fighting demons from his past that could cloud his judgement when it is most important. The killer has Isabel. Will Jack and his team be able to uncover the killer before it is too late?

It was great to be reunited with the characters from the first book and introduced to DS Carmichael in this one. One minor problem was I did feel Jack had too many flashbacks written into the story and at times they slowed the pace a bit, but I did realize they were included to show the extent of his PTSD which he has never dealt with in his adulthood. I love not only Ms. Kidd’s intricately written plot twists and surprises that comprise the individual book’s plotline, but also her ability to still leave small threads that arc over all the books in the series without making you feel cheated.

I recommend this second book in this series and I am anxiously waiting for the next!

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About the Author

Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.

Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.

In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.

Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order J

Bibliography

The Phoenix Project (DI Jack MacIntosh book 1)

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh book 2)

The Fifteen (DI Jack MacIntosh book 3)

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKidd

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michellekiddauthor

Website: https://www.michellekiddauthor.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michellekiddauthor/ 

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/3obLftd

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/3qNy2bM

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital format on 22nd January 2020

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Dark Truths by A.J. Cross

Dark Truths (Will Traynor #1) by A.J. Cross

#DarkTruths #AJCross @blackthornbks @canongatebooks @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn to share my Feature Post and Book Review on the Damppebbles Blog Tour for DARK TRUTHS (A Will Traynor Forensic Mystery Book #1) by A.J. Cross.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

A fresh case lays bare old bones for DI Watt’s team

When a young woman’s body is discovered on a popular jogging trail in Birmingham, Detective Inspector Bernard Watts and his team are plunged into a disturbing murder investigation. Not only has the woman been violently stabbed – her head is missing.

When a close examination of the crime scene results in a shocking discovery linking the present murder to a past crime, criminologist Will Traynor is brought in to assist the police. Aware of Traynor’s troubled past, Watts is sceptical that Will can contribute anything useful to the investigation.

He’s about to be proved very wrong . . .

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45915480-dark-truths?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=uhJzti4bKN&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

DARK TRUTHS (A Will Traynor Forensic Mystery Book #1) by A.J. Cross is the first book in a new series with criminologist Will Traynor. This book is a police procedural/mystery/thriller mash-up that takes the reader through a step-by-step investigation of a horrific murder.

DI Bernard Watts is assigned the case of a female body found on a jogging trail stabbed several times in the chest without a head. As he walks the scene with the new rookie, PC Chloe Judd they discover a skull without a body which does not belong to the body on the trail. The body is recent, but the skull is at least a decade old.

With the possibility of a serial killer, Watt’s boss informs him that criminologist Will Traynor will be joining his team, but Watt knows of Traynor’s troubled past and is not happy with this decision.

Will Watt be able to keep his inexperienced and brash rookie in line and learn to trust Traynor’s theories to bring a successful conclusion to this present murder which seems to be tied to several missing persons from the past?

I really enjoyed all the characters introduced in this book: the experienced detective, the abrasive rookie, the intelligent and kind pathologist and the criminologist with a tragic past. They all worked together well in the story to bring the clues and plot twists to a satisfying conclusion in the past and present mysteries. My problem was that DI Bernard Watts was more of a lead character than Will Traynor, who the book and new series is supposed to feature. This fact does not detract from the story itself; it just does not lead where I thought it would. I am looking forward to a return of all these characters in the future.

Overall, a strong investigative story to begin the series, but I will be looking for more of a lead role from Will Traynor in future books.

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About the Author

A.J. Cross is a forensic psychologist with over twenty years’ experience in the field. She lives in Birmingham with her jazz-musician husband and is the author of five Kate Hanson mysteries.

Social Media Links

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2N5diNR

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/3oV6UXv

Waterstones: http://bit.ly/38UrQbR

Blackwells: http://bit.ly/38UNYCR

WHSmith: http://bit.ly/38VdZlC

Hive.co.uk: http://bit.ly/3oVvMhZ

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital formats by Black Thorn Books on 4th February 2021

Book Review: A Stranger at the Door by Jason Pinter

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

A STRANGER AT THE DOOR (Rachel Marin Thriller Book #2) by Jason Pinter is the second book in this intense thriller series featuring single mother Rachel Marin. She has turned her investigative skills and physical training into working as a freelance forensic investigator with the Ashby PD.

Rachel Marin is finally finding a measure of intimacy and peace in her life with her two children and boyfriend, Ashby Detective John Serrano when one of her son’s high school teachers is found dead in a house fire. The teacher was brutally tortured and murdered before his home was set on fire. No one can find a reason for this horrible crime, but just hours before his death he emailed Rachel and asked her for a meeting and her help.

As soon as the investigation begins, Rachel gets a visit from someone she never thought to see again and is warned to stay out of the investigation. At the same time, Rachel’s son, Eric is lured into a group that sets the two against each other and could be tied to not only to illegal activity, but murder.

Rachel refuses to stop investigating and will do anything to protect her son. Will she be able to put the puzzle pieces together in time to save her son and her own life?

I loved this book as much as the first! Rachel is such a strong female protagonist. She has remade herself to protect her children and will do anything for them. These are fast-paced violent thrillers are a cross between police procedural and vigilantism and therefore some belief must be suspended, but Mr. Pinter also adds moments of regular family life and laughter in the mix. This series has a strong push-pull continuing battle between Serrano’s legal justice and Rachel’s vigilante justice and the ramifications, but the two seem to need each other enough to work it out with Serrano pulling Rachel back from crossing that line (again).

I highly recommend this book, series and author!

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About the Author

Jason Pinter is the bestselling author of HIDE AWAY, the first Rachel Marin novel, as well as six other novels: the acclaimed Henry Parker series (The Mark, The Guilty, The Stolen, The Fury, and The Darkness), the stand-alone thriller The Castle, as well as the middle-grade adventure novel Zeke Bartholomew: SuperSpy, and the children’s book Miracle. His books have over one million copies in print worldwide and have been optioned for film. He has been nominated for numerous awards, including the Thriller Award, Strand Critics Award, Barry Award, and Shamus Award, and more

Pinter is the founder of Polis Books, an independent press, and was honored by Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch, which “recognizes young publishing professionals who have distinguished themselves as future leaders of the industry.” He has written for the New Republic, Entrepreneur, the Daily Beast, Esquire, and more. He lives in Hoboken, New Jersey, with his wife and their two daughters.

Visit him at www.JasonPinter.com, and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @JasonPinter.