The Gene Wizards By Clare Blanchard – Blog Tour

I received The Gene Wizards by Clare Blanchard to review as part of the Damp Pebbles Blog Tours.

The Gene Wizards By Clare Blanchard Book Cover

The Gene Wizards

It’s bad enough you’re from a family of rich bankers, without having to deal with secret genetic engineering factories in the Dakotas.

Especially when you wake up one morning after a tab of E and find you’re thinking in Hebrew.

Follow the adventures of the Vanpyre family as they wrestle with the Dark Side of money and power.

My Thoughts

The second book in the Wizards series – The Gene Wizards is a great read. I haven’t read the first book in the series but The Gene Wizards works well as a stand alone book.

You are instantly thrown into the the Vanpyre family history as told by Curfew the son. He quickly goes on to explain how that this is the story of how they saved the world from one of the worst crimes in human history. Curfew tells how this happens with the help of an Asian butler, multi-player computer games and the mind minders.

The story is quite intriguing although Curfews drug use makes you wonder if he is telling the truth or is actually insane.

Clare Blanchard

Originally from the North Yorkshire coast in England, Clare Blanchard spent half her lifetime in Czechia in Central Europe, where her books are mainly set. Inspired by noir fiction, her settings are often like another character in the plot. She writes crime mysteries and dark urban fantasy with a historical twist.

Clare loves beautiful landscapes and architecture, cross-country skiing, the wine of South Moravia, and of course Czech beer. When she’s not being literary she knits funky socks.

The Lagotti Family Series By Leopold Borstinski

I received The Lagotti Family Series by Leopald Bostinski to review thanks to Damp Pebbles Blog Tours. This noir crime/crime thriller includes 4 books; The Heist, The Getaway, Powder and Mama’s Gone.

The Lagotti Family Series Books 1-4 Complete Collection Including The Heist, The Getaway, Powder and Mama's Gone.

The Lagotti Family Series

Two generations and four decades in the lives of Frank, Mary Lou and the rest of the gang.

The Heist. Book 1 in The Lagotti Family Series by Leopold Borstinski

The Heist

After Leaving Baltimore Penitentiary, Frank’s get rich quick scheme to rob a bank requires his girlfriend, Mary Lou to sleep with an inside guy and for his gang to stay together long enough to take down the vault. Meanwhile Mary Lou falls for the inside man and can’t decide whether to go with him or Frank. If she chooses the wrong fella she’ll be penniless and wind up dead. How would you choose between a fool and a dreamer?

The Getaway. Book 2 of The Lagotti Family Series by Leopold Bostinski

The Getaway

After ex-con Frank and his girlfriend Mary Lou rob a Baltimore Bank, they must flee across the country before the Feds find them and the mob ices them for stealing from an organised crime boss. As they dash to California, trust becomes the most important currency as Frank and Mary Lou grapple to decide whether love is enough to keep them together. And by the time they reach their goal, they must fight to the death to survive hired guns and trained police shooters. If they don’t kill everyone in their way then they will die themselves. Would you risk everything for a sack of greenbacks?

Powder. Book 3 in The Lagotti Family Series by Leopold Borstinski

Powder

When Mary Lou takes the proceeds from a bank robbery to start her heroin dealing business, old enemies circle overhead and threaten the lives of her twins. How will she keep them safe in such a dangerous place and what is she prepared to do to secure her new venture?

Mama's Gone. Book 4 in The Lagotti Family Series by Leopold Bostinski

Mama’s Gone

When Mary Lou makes some bad decisions, her twins and her husband must decide whether she’s losing her mind. If they an get that cleared up then all they have to worry about is their feud with the Russian mob. And then someone goes and ices the old lady. Who would have the cajones to murder the head of the Lagotti family?

Leopold Borstinski

Leopold Borstinski

Leopold Bosrstinski is an independent author whose past careers have included financial software companies, consulting and product sales and marketing, as well as teaching.

There is nothing he likes better so he does as much nothing as he possibly can. He has travelled extensively in Europe and the US and has visited Asia on several occasions. Leopold holds a philosphy degree and tries not to drop it too often.

He lives near London and is married with one wife, one child and no pets.

My Thoughts

I was looking forward to the Lagotti Family Series, I love reading books like this. I felt there was a little too much sexual content that took over the main story line but outside of that this 4 book series is a great read. In the Heist, Mary Lou has to make some tough decisions regarding which man she truly wants to be with, or who has the most money. All four books are action-packed with car chases and violence which I really enjoyed. The characters are strong with a sense of humour and crudeness that will have you chuckling to yourself at times. Overall the series is great but a little too much sex for my liking. I quite enjoy romantic thrillers but this felt a little over the top.

The Scent Of Death By Simon Beckett

I received The Scent of Death by Simon Beckett to review by Damp Pebbles Blog Tours. This is the 6th book in the David Hunter, crime thriller series.

The Scent of Death By Simon Beckett

The Scent of Death

What began as a straightforward case is about to become a twisted nightmare…

Once a busy hospital, St Jude’s now stands derelict awaiting demolition. When a partially mummified corpse is found in the buildings cavernous loft, forensics expert Dr David Hunter is called in to take a look. He can’t say how long the body’s been there, but he is certain it’s that of a young woman. And that she was pregnant.

Then part of the attic floor collapses, revealing another of the hospital’s secrets: a bricked-up chamber with beds inside. And some of them are still occupied.

And it soon becomes clear that St Jude’s hasn’t claimed it’s last victim…

Simon Beckett - Author of The Scent of Death/

Simon Beckett

Simon Beckett is the No.1 international bestselling author of the David Hunter series. These include:

  • The Chemistry of Death
  • Written in Bone
  • Whispers of the Dead
  • The Calling of the Gave
  • The Restless Dead
  • The Scent of Death

His books have been translated into 29 languages, appeared in the Sunday Times top 10 bestseller lists and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. A former freelance journalist, he has written for The Times, Daily Telegraph, Independent on Sunday and Observer. The inspiration for the first David Hunter noel came after a visit to the world-renowned Body Farm in Tennessee introduced him to the work of forensic anthropologists.

Join-winner (with Arne Dahl) of Europe’s largest crime fiction prize – The Ripper Award 2018/19 – he has also won the Raymond Chandler Society’s Marlowe Award and been short-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger, CWA Dagger in the Library and Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year awards. He is also the author of several stand-alone novels including Stone Bruises and Where There’s Smoke. Simon Beckett Lives in Sheffield.

My Thoughts

I was instantly hooked with The Scent of Death, it reminds me of Patricia Cornwall’s Kay Scarpetta novels which I love. You just know St Jude’s is going to open up a can of worms and it does just that! The detail when it comes to David Hunter doing the autopsies is incredibly impressive and had me totally sucked in. Beckett covers police procedures perfectly making this a fully believable piece of fiction. I genuinely need to read the other 5 books in this series asap, Simon Beckett is an amazing writer filling the story with macabre details and twists and turns everywhere, interesting characters, and dark secrets, keeping you hanging on to every word.

Justice Gone By N. Lombardi Jr. Blog Tour

I received Justice Gone By N. Lombardi Jr. to review thanks to Damp Pebbles Book Tours.

Justice Gone by N. Lombardi Jr.

Justice Gone is a legal thriller and the winner of three awards including:

  • 2019 American Fiction Award
  • National Indie Excellency Award – Best Legal Thriller of 2019
  • Silver Medal Winner 2019 Reader’s Favourites Awards

The book was also chosen by Wiki.ezvid.com among their list of 10 Gripping and Intelligent Legal Thrillers.

***Trigger Warning – This book touches on subjects that may be triggering for some. ***

Justice Gone

When a homeless war veteran is beaten to death by the police, stormy protests ensue, engulfing a small New Jersey town. Soon after, three cops are gunned down.

A multi-state manhunt is underway for a cop killer on the loose. And Dr. Tessa Thorpe, a veteran’s counsellor, is caught up in the chase.

Donald Darfield, an African-American Iraqi war vet, war-time buddy of the beaten man, and one of Tessa’s patients, is holed up in a mountain cabin. Tessa, acting on instinct, sets of to find him, but the swarm of law enforcement officers gets there first, leading to Darfield’s dramatic capture.

Now, the only people separating him from the lethal needle of state justice are Tessa and ageing blind lawyer, Nathaniel Bodine. Can they untangle the web tightening around Darfield in time, when the press and the justice system are baying for revenge?

N. Lombardi Jr.

N. Lombardi Jr.

N. Lombardi Jr, the N for Nichola, has spent over half his life in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, working as a groundwater geologist. Nick can speak five languages: Swahili, Thai, Lao, Chinese and Khmer (Cambodian).

In 1997, while visitibg Lao People’s Democratic Republic, he witnessed the remnants of a secret war that had been waged for nine years, among which were children wounded from leftover cluster bombs. Driven by what he saw, he worked on the The Plain of Jars for the next eight years.

Nick maintains a website with content that spans most aspects of the novel: The Secret War, Laotion culture, Buddhism etc. http://plainofjars.net.

His second novel, Journey Towards a Falling Sun, is set in the wild frontier of northern Kenya.

His latest novel, Justice Gone as inspired by the fatal beating of a homeless man by police. Nick now lives in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

My Thoughts

Justice Gone is everything you want in a legal thriller. It is filled with so much courtroom detail it is honestly astounding! Starting off with a gruesome beating of an innocent war veteran by cops. Lombardi pulls you into a complex story line full of twists and turns.

Lombardi explores the plight of war veterans from homelessness, police brutality, political cover ups and PTSD through Justice Gone. These are very real and serious issues making this novel extremely believable. My favourite character was the rather flamboyant and wise lawyer. Nathaniel Bodine uses his blindness in such a clever way without overdoing it to make his plans work. But can he help Donald escape the lethal injection?

Damp Pebbles Blog Tours

Hire Idiots by Professor I.M. Nemo – Blog Tour

I received Hire Idiots by Professor I.M. Nemo to review as part of the Damp Pebbles blog tour. Hire Idiots is a murder mystery published by Fox Spirit Books.

Hire Idiots Book Cover

Hire Idiots

Academia can be murder…

Prominent professor stabbed to death on the Kingsley College campus.

Untimely death strikes the comfortable college community. Unfortunately, the esteemed academic’s demise may get lost in the confusion of vice presidents, marketers, focus groups, assessors and protesters as the new administration tries to ‘modernise’ the campus. There’s no time for mystery!

Professor Clarence Van Dyke finds himself bewildered by the changes to the institution but determined to get to the bottom of things. He wants his friend rest in peace—or perhaps he just wants to spend more time with the attractive Detective Riordan. But isn’t he the prime suspect?

My Thoughts

Hire Idiots is a great read if you love a murder mystery mixed in with a bit of politics. With a lot of changes, a murder and the campus theatre being occupied by someone with a private security firm standing guard, and a budding romance, this book has a little bit of everything.

Usually a murder mysteries main focus would of course be on the murder however Professor I.M Nemo really shakes this up. With a good chunk of the book focused on the university politics it’s a fantastic but different style of murder mystery.

I really enjoyed Professor Professor Clarence Van-Dyke’s sense of humour, it is quite dark and rather satirical throughout the book.

If you love a murder mystery with a difference, then this is definitely the book for you!