EVER WINTER by Peter Hackshaw @HackshawPeter

4 out of 5 stars

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How I discovered this book: Amazon browse.

In a Nutshell: Post-apocalyptic survival/scifi/fantasy.

A hundred or so years after the big freeze fell over the earth, Henry and his family live on the now frozen Atlantic ocean.  They escaped from a community called the Favela (which I assumed to be in Brazil), and now live completely alone, seeing no one else.  Their trouble begins when, out hunting one day, Henry and his father find a man who has recently died in the snow.

This tale of survival under brutal circumstances had me totally absorbed at first, and I enjoyed the parts when Henry and his family find relics from the past, not knowing what they are.  The suspense builds in a slow, sinister fashion, as they begin to believe that they are not safe in their new home. 

Other reviews mention this being a book of two halves, and it is.  The first one is a post-apocalyptic tale of danger, survival, loss and the desire for revenge, and I loved it.  It's gritty and violent (warning: contains instances of cannibalism).  The second half introduces a robot medic from an abandoned ship - don't want to say any more because of spoilers, but I liked his scenes a lot, too; the interactions are great, and it's all well thought out and feasible.  As it goes on, though, the tone of the second half felt like more of a fantasy novel.

There were a couple of aspects I wasn't so keen on - the long dream sequences, which I've always found pointless in books and on TV.  Then, later on, Henry's younger sisters turn into Game of Thrones characters:  'I thank you, my husband, for bringing me to this place.  But Mister Lanner's presence upsets me.  I want his head.  Serve it on this table with the lobster, if you will'.  Where would they have learned to talk like this?  I also thought the editor could have lost some unnecessary dialogue tags (which dulled the impact of some lines of speech), and some sentences in which the author has told the reader how the character is feeling, though this has already been illustrated by his dialogue and actions.

To sum up: I liked it, and Mr Hackshaw certainly has talent; it's a most respectable debut novel and I'm sure he will go onto bigger and better.

HERE AFTER by Sean Costello

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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How I discovered this book: Amazon browse

In a Nutshell: Man whose son has just died goes on a mission to find the son of a friend who has been abducted.  Paranormal element.

I was attracted to this book because I'm a sucker for a cover with a road going into the distance, and I made the decision to buy because the reviews are so good.  I didn't realise until later that I'd read an earlier book by this author, Squall, that I thought only so-so; this book, though, is in a different class.

The early part, when main character Peter is dragging himself through his days after the death of his son, is so well done and believable.  I'm not usually much of a one for death-in-family dramas, but this is very readable.  At a group for parents who have lost children, he meets Roger, whose son was abducted.  Roger is a mess; aggressive, drinking too much.  Peter begins to see a connection with Roger's son and another boy abducted previously.

After the great start I felt my enthusiasm for this book ebb and flow; sometimes I was really enjoying it, other times I thought it needed a bit of editing down, as there is a fair bit of detail that I found too long-winded.  Then I'd start to enjoy it again, particularly in some terrific bits of dialogue with some people Peter meets on his search; small town types, and a great section in which some the policemen on watch outside another abducted child's house are killed.  You know when you read a few pages and find yourself sitting back, thinking, wow, that was good?

One thing I did like was that the paranormal element (only minor) is not over the top; it was just kind of touching.  And he never tried to explain it, which absolutely worked for me.

The last third of the book is the best, really gripping, and the plot unfolds in a way I would never have guessed; it would make a great TV series.  I definitely recommend!

NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU by Nikki Crutchley @NikkiCAuthor

4 out of 5 stars

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How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

Genre: Crime and abduction, set in New Zealand

The book opens with an excellent prologue about Faith, a teenage foster kid getting abducted, back in 2001.  It then goes back to the main story, about Zoe, a thirty-something, recently unemployed teacher whose life is all at sea, going back to small town Crawton because her mother has died.  Zoe's feelings about this can hardly even be called 'mixed' ~ her relationship with Lilian was cold and distant, and she hasn't seen her since she was eighteen.  When she arrives in Crawton, though, she is left wondering what really happened to her mother.

Meanwhile, meth-head Megan has been abducted, and is kept prisoner in a storage cupboard.

Despite the themes of abduction, murder and the sleazy underworld of drugs, I'd describe this as a low-key thriller; much of the novel concerns Zoe's relationship with her mother and the other issues she is working through, and there is quite a lot of domestic and day-to-day conversational detail, which, together with the writing style, lends itself more to a dark drama with gradually unfolding sinister developments than edge-of-your-seat suspense.  It's nicely written and the characterisation is good, particularly Faith, with whom the book opens.  One of the characters has Alzheimer's, and I thought this was most realistic.

I had a feeling who the baddie(s) might be about half way through, but that's probably because I watch a lot of TV of this genre; it's not at all obvious.  The plot is convincing and cleverly structured, I thought the descriptions of what the abducted girls went through was particularly well done, and the ending was good ~ I do appreciate a well-thought out ending.  I can imagine this being the sort of book you might get into reading on holiday.

QUICK FIX by J Gregory Smith

4 out of 5 stars

On Amazon UK
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How I discovered this book: it was submitted to Rosie's Book Review Team, of which I am a member.

Genre: Crime, heist, kidnapping.

This book has a great opening.  Military contractor Kyle Logan messes up his already messed up life by assaulting his wife's divorce lawyer, who also happens to be her lover.  He's then offered a role in the theft of some pieces of valuable artwork, by his friend Ryan.  Kyle is also suffering from injuries caused by an IED when he was in Iraq.  

I warmed to the characters and the writing style straight away.  There's plenty of dark stuff going on, but lots of humour, too - I liked the observations about characters, and often just the way stuff was phrased ('I hated losing her to a puke like Fenster').  The guy-on-his-uppers-with-wife-who-has-moved-on-to-a-more-straight-and-successful-new-man thing is an oft-used scenario in this genre in both books and on screen (I'm currently watching the TV series Get Shorty - there it is again!), but it works every time, and J Gregory Smith has painted all participants most colourfully.

When Kyle realises that involvement in Ryan's criminal schemes means re-acquaintance with childhood chum-turned-gangster Danny 'Iceballs' Sheehan, he knows his life is not going to be easy.  Smith has portrayed the atmosphere of the criminal underworld of Philadelphia so well; this book is fast-paced and flows very well, with a convincing plot, and is, basically, a good, solid novel.  I haven't got anything negative to say about it.  Nice one.