Review - First Date by Gemma Amor

First Date
Gemma Amor
Datura, 10 February 2026
Available as: PB, 400pp audio, e   
Source: Advance copy
ISBN(PB): 9781915523808

I'm grateful to the publisher for  giving me access to an advance e-copy of First Date to consider for review. Apologies that I'm a little tardy publishing my review.

Amandine and Connor’s first date doesn’t go quite as they expected.

At one level, it’s not a surprise to Amandine. She never had high expectations, and she nearly bailed on the whole thing. Amor paints Amandine sympathetically, showing her psychology, her expectations that things will go badly - based on bitter experience, including the man who wanted to throw her down the stairs because he would “get off” on that. Behind all that is her sense of loss, after the accident that killed her parents and a growing certainty that she doesn't see the world quite as others do: she has trouble with life and resorts to coping mechanisms such "miracle words" to focus and channel the world where she needs it to be.

Amor also shows us Amandine’s determination, courage and ability to cope with a world that views her as, in Connor’s words, “neurospicy”. Naturally she’s wary of Connor. She tries to read the runes of his messaging. Is he texting her too much, a potential stalker? What does he mean by his emojis? Amandine anxiously watches for “red flags”, signs that, “the Internet” warns her, will perhaps disclose a bad man. 

But there are so many signs, and so many bad men. 

For his part, Connor also lacks confidence. He's still in his 30s and living with his dad. How can he take a woman home, even if things do go well? Will he put his foot in it? How much interest in Amandine is too much? How will she see him?

There is a tender story to be written of the two, their tentative first date - which actually goes well, until it doesn't - their growing attraction to one another, and the happily ever after to which it leads.

This isn’t, though, that book. 

Instead, Amor introduces us to a third person, never named, referred to as the “Lone Diner”. We see him from both Amandine’s and Connor’s perspectives. (Lots of red flags, she thinks. An unpleasant slob, he thinks). That’s bad enough.

We also though see his first person persona. This is just gross. I have to stress that was one of the most unpleasant reading experiences I’ve had for a long time, perhaps ever. Gemma Amor is a brilliant writer with a wonderful ability to write personality, psychology and, well, character. She is - as she proves here - as brilliant at that where the character is sleazy, vile and evil as where they are good, or even, just middling.

The result is an almost active experience of taint, as though even by following the Diner’s thought processes, his obsessive Internet creeping, his scorn for his wife, for women in general - as though even reading these things will corrupt, infect, debase. It’s simply visceral, a brilliant emotional achievement, an experience that will shake you, as you follow the story of those ill-fated would-be lovers. 

That atmosphere of darkness and horror is the true heart of this story, intensified by the ordeal that the Diner inflicts on Amandine and Connor. We hope they'll avoid it, somehow, that they will turn the tables. Even though we saw the endpoint of the Lone Diner's hate in the opening of the story, how much worse is it to follow the process, the working out of the horror?

A grim book, for sure, and I’d certainly want to point at potential triggers here for abuse, stalking, kidnapping, torture even. This won’t be for everyone. But if it is something you can bear to read, I’d strongly recommend it both as a story of courage and resilience and as a simply enthralling, stunning read from an author who’s just a real star. This is the book that kept me up past my bedtime, the book I just had to finish. The book that lurked in dark corners of my mind afterwards.

It's safe to say, you won't find any happily-ever-afters here, or redemption, or triumph. But what there is, makes it a spellbinding read.

For more information about First Date, see the publisher's website here.

Cover Reveal - Under the Blazing Sun by Jenny Lund Madsen

Today I'm sharing the cover for Jenny Lund Madsen's new book, Under the Blazing Sun.

I so much loved Thirty Days of Darkness, and here's Jenny Lund Madsen with a followup - Hannah, the reluctant crime writer (who thought it would be SO EASY changing genre) is back. Here's what we've been told so far.

Hannah is miserable. Her love life is in ruins, her contract demands a sequel to her bestselling crime debut – and she's out of ideas. After a mortifying TV interview, her agent ships her off to a sun-drenched Sicilian villa with a simple order: finish the book. No distractions. No excuses.

But inspiration doesn't strike – murder does.

When a night out ends in murder, Hannah finds herself at the centre of a murder investigation … again. The police want her out of the way, and the only person who seems to believe her is a young but charming Italian police officer. That is, until she doesn't.

Soon Hannah is chasing suspects, fleeing crime scenes, and doing whatever it takes to avoid becoming the next victim. She came to write a crime novel. Now she's trapped inside one.

Dark, sly and deliciously atmospheric, Under the Blazing Sun is the second novel in the award-winning series featuring accidental sleuth and disgruntled literary author Hannah, whose pursuit of plot twists keeps turning dangerously real.

Translated by Paul Russell Garrett, Under the Blazing Sun is out from Orenda Books on 21 May in hardback and e-book. Get your preorders in now. You can buy from your local highstreet bookshops, via the Orenda site  (with more info about the books) or from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith, Waterstones or Amazon.

Now, that cover...

I like that! It also echoes the cover of Thirty Days of Darkness.

I'm going to enjoy reading this one, I can tell already.

Blogtour Review - The Murder Pool by Stella Blómkvist

The Murder Pool
Stella Blómkvist (trans Quentin Bates)
Corylus Books, 5 March 2026 
Available as: PB, 296pp, e   
Source: Advance copy
ISBN(PB): 9781917586252

I'm grateful to Ewa for sending me a copy of The Murder Pool to consider for review, and for inviting me to join the book's blogtour.

In this latest instalment of the adventures of Stella Blómkvist - Icelandic lawyer and detective - written by Stella Blómkvist - mysterious Icelandic author - the cases come think and fast for Stella.

She’s asked to defend a young man accused of the murder of renowned painter “The Splasher” Kristinn Ófeigsson. Gunnar had been sitting for Ófeigsson who was known for his risqué works depicting scantily dressed young Viking hunks. Now Gunnar is accused of setting about The Splasher with an axe.

In addition to that, Stella is helping out her partner Rannveig, a documentary producer. One of Rannveig's colleagues is putting together an exposé of an abuser with high political connections - and some one seems to be leaning on the broadcaster to squash the story

Then there’s a senior policeman accused of corruption by a colleague with whom Stella’s crossed swords in the past. 

And more besides.

These books are always rapidfire with multiple threads, twists and plenty of plot, but this time, Blómkvist - the author - has, I think, surpassed herself. The result is a busy, even hectic story where nothing stands still for long. All through, it's regularly punctuated by Stella herself with an "Ooof!" when she encounters a setback, discovers something surprising or has an insight. The effect is rather like a series of punches, drumming home an insistent, dramatic rhythm in this enthralling and fast-paced book.

That’s a reflection I think of Stella (the character) herself who has always had many plates juggling. But in this book she not only has crime to address but some chewy personal issues besides, and I began to wonder if it would all be too much. I’ve always felt that the tough talking, wisecracking Stella of the novels might be something of a front for a woman who has things at the back of her mind she’d rather not examine too closely. Overloading herself with work might just be another way to avoid that. Are we seeing Stella on the edge of crisis? 

Maybe. If so, it doesn’t hinder her from tackling her multiple cases. She draws on all the resources she has - her forensic skills, dismantling opponents in the courtroom, her press contacts and her sheer nerve. (Stella even, in one scene, marches into the Prime Minister's office to threaten consequences - a reminder that Iceland is a smaller country where everyone knows everyone, or at least their cousin).

It’s an engaging, dense story that leads back to the prisons of Bangkok and to the Reykjavik underworld, building on events and characters of previous books - nothing in Stella’s world is ever totally done with - to build a picture of rackets and dodgy dealing. Stella B is a brilliant person to have in her corner, and she comes through for her clients. By the end of the book though I thought I saw  change coming for her. As I said, in these books nothing is ever done done.

As with the previous books in the series, Quentin Bates' translation is sharp and pacy, creating excellent readable English while preserving some lumps and bumps in the language (those nicknames?) that show the story's origin in a different language. Great fun to read.

Recommended. I’m eager to see what the next book brings... 

For more information about The Murder Pool, see the publisher's website here - and of course the other stops on the blogtour which you can see listed on the poster below. 

You can buy The Murder Pool from your local high street bookshop or online from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith or Waterstones.

Blogtour review - Reaper by Vanda Symon

Reaper (The City of Shadows, 2)
Vanda Simon
Orenda Books, 12 March 2026
Available as: PB, 300pp, audio, e   
Source: Free advance copy
ISBN(PB): 9781917764100

I'm grateful to Karen at Orenda for sending me a free copy of Reaper to consider for review, and to Anne for inviting me to join the book's blogtour.

Reaper sees a welcome return for Max Grimes, Symon’s homeless ex-detective who lives on the streets of Auckland. 

This book and its predecessor, Faceless, take a different and distinctly less comic (I'd even say, more gritty) approach than Symon's beloved Sam Shepherd series. In part (but only in part) that reflects the situation of the main protagonist. I’m sure that - as with other art - the best writing can come from working within constraints, and a detective story where the detective lacks not only any formal formal status but is at the margins of society, with few everyday resources, certainly qualifies on that score. It’s literally the opposite of the aristocratic, money Golden Age detective to whom everybody, police included, defers. And I was interested to see how Symon solves the problems that creates I'm not though going to spill the beans, you need to read the book!)

Reaper is not though merely a technical exercise in writing an outsider detective, it’s a book with heart and soul as we see Grimes caring for and suffering with his community. Indeed, he may be the only one who is caring for them, as the police miss the murders until he shouts about it and the Mayor then uses the deaths as a pretext to clear away the embarrassing street people.

Above and beyond that, though, Reaper is also a tautly written, complex and fast-paced mystery with plenty of tension and a distinct sense of menace. Has Max’s desire to learn the truth about his daughter’s death led him into a trap? Will it distract him to risks he may be running? Grimes is a strangely relatable central character, Symon makes him sympathetic though perhaps not likeable (which is a brilliant combination if you can make it work, as here). His relationship with police detective Meredith is well drawn, with her often frustrated and, rightfully, mistrustful - both feel like people who’ve been hurt and built barriers - but wanting to be of help.

Which brings me to a final point where I think this book, and the series so far (this is only the second so it’s early days) succeeds (and where it could have gone very wrong). You have to ask of a book like this, which sets out to portray a marginalised community, whether it isn’t indulging in a kind of misery tourism. That must always I think be a particular risk for crime fiction, shown for example in its proclivity for female victims, especially for attractive young female victims. (Not in this book). 

It’s a danger, however, that Symon avoids. She’s clear eyed about the people she portrays, sympathetic without romanticising, demonstrating how prejudice and exploitation affect them, but without trying to construct a “rescue” narrative or minimising the problems that have brought them to their current state. Here, of course, Max is the exemplar, suffering after the tragic death of his daughter. Meredith wants to help him, but recognises - and articulates to us - that it’s not her place to reshape his life.

As to Max, what does he want? He's not, I think, sure. Perhaps we'll find out in future books (may there PLEASE be future books!)

So all in all an intelligent and engaging bit of crime fiction which I greatly enjoyed. 

And - MINOR SPOILER - the dog is OK at the end, so you can rest easy if, like me, you worry about that. 

For more information about Reaper, see the publisher's website here - and of course the other stops on the blogtour which you can see listed on the poster below. 

You can buy Reaper from your local high street bookshop or online from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith (TG Jones if you must), or Waterstones.

Blogtour review - Sharks by Simone Buchholz

Sharks (Chastity Riley)

Simone Buchholz (trans Rachel Ward)
Orenda Books, 26 February 2026 
Available as: PB, 210pp audio, e   
Source: Advance copy
ISBN(PB): 9781917764087

I'm grateful to the publisher for sending me a copy of Sharks  to consider for review and to Anne for inviting me to join the blogtour.

Simone Buchholz's sequence of books about Chastity Riley, public prosecutor in Hamburg, is one of my favourite crime series. Starting with Blue Night and running through five stories up to River Clyde, we delve into Riley's troubled, deeply noir-tinged world. In the final book, we see her get some relief, perhaps.

But there is backstory! When Blue Night opens, Riley has already been through a lot, and Buchholz is now telling these stories which I think we previously published in German but are now being reworked, and then translated (again by the brilliant Rachel Ward). 

Sharks is I think the third part of Buchholz's reworking of the earlier Chastity Riley books, described as "Chastity reloaded" (a phrase which I feel could constitute an... interesting... proposition in ontological terms, but let's not go down that rabbit hole). We can therefore see the setting, and the circle of friends and lovers, forming that constitute the background for the later books, beginning at Blue Night. So inSharks, we see the origin of the Blue Night café itself, which features as a central location in the stories. We also see a fracture in Riley's relationship with her lover Klatsche.

We also, of course, see Riley, public prosecutor in Hamburg, grappling with a crime, the brutal double murder of two Americans in a squalid, run-down apartment building, leading into a world of double dealing and corruption in a district subject to gentrification. It's a well thought out plot strand that demonstrates Buchholtz's familiarity with the pulse (as it were) of Hamburg. It also shows the start of her involvement with Inceman - perhaps the beginning of a Chastity spiralling out of control as we see in the later books.

A feature of these stories is that Chastity's world, and that of her colleagues in the police and the prosecutors' office, is a distinctly menacing, unfriendly place. Often the best friends, the warmest comradeship, is with the petty crooks of Sankt Pauli, the people with whom Riley will gladly drink a night away. The higher up the ranks of officialdom we go, the further into wealth and power, the worse people get and the more dangerous the journey. That's doubly true in Sharks, and Riley faces additional danger as our girl is suffering from a chest infection. She may even have to give up smoking, that's how bad it is!

As ever though this feeds into a tangible sense that Chastity's not taking care of herself and she certainly won't allow anyone else to take care of her, so she makes a point of only quitting for a day or two. After that there's the business of self-punishment to resume. The only respite she allows herself is when she's supporting her friends, as she does when Carla is in crisis - which paints more background to the development of the group, as do manoeuvres to establish the Blue Night café which we see in operation in the later books.

Told in taut chapters, Sharks is classic noir, a book with an atmosphere so strong that one almost inhales, rather than reads, this story of late nights, insomnia, coffee, and cigarettes - a world that seems nocturnal even when the watery sun is in the sky. Buchholz layers on the mean streets, the meaner people, the need to release through drink and sex. But the book also provides some relief in the small joys of friendship - Riley supporting Carla for example, or making time to watch her favourite (failing) football team. 

It's less about the crime (though that is a satisfying mystery, taking us to some grim places physically and morally) than the little group of friends weathering the storm, trying to make something worthwhile and to endure.

Another lovely novel, one that contributes to the achievement this evolving series is. Chastity's always great to be around, and I really enjoyed this.

As ever Rachel Ward's translation is atmospheric, fun and nimble. The partnership of Buchholz and  Ward as delivers a sharp, bracing story with language that seems laconic and plain at first sight but where deep and treacherous subcurrents run. 

Strongly recommended.

For more information about Sharks, see the publisher's website here - and of course the other stops on the blogtour which you can see listed on the poster below. 

You can buy Sharks from your local high street bookshop or online from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith, Waterstones or Amazon.

Review - The Essence by Dave Hutchinson

The Essence

Dave Hutchinson
Newcon Press, 9 December 2025
Available as: HB, 274pp, PB, 274pp, e   
Source: Bought
ISBN(PB): 9781917735148

It's always exciting to see a new book from Dave Hutchinson and The Essence is one of his best. 

This was part of my Christmas present to myself for 2025 and I enjoyed it loads.

Michael is an economist, working for a covert branch of the UK Treasury. After he suffers a breakdown in the office, he's placed in a private hospital to recover. A spooks' hospital, you might call it.

Hutchinson's good on institutional shabbiness - the atmosphere of the hospital, a place with decent treatment, if uninspiring food, but a definite atmosphere of have been left behind in the late 20th century, is nicely evoked. So, on his discharge, is that of his office, on a shabby cut-through behind Oxford Street. 

He's also good when portraying Michael's struggle to retain normality and his measured steps back to independence, with the help of a social worker, Jo. The book leads the reader to understanding something of Michael's past, of what's missing in the cold little house to which he returns from hospital, without over-labouring its point. It's a nice, low key exploration of (part of) a life, taking drama and interest from everyday events and routines. 

Even without major incident, this part of the story was a joy to read. Major incident is coming, however, when Michael is unexpectedly sent to Amsterdam to investigate an issue with his office's Dutch counterparts. This is where the story slips, seamlessly, into what one might call "spook mode" although it's important to understand that Michael sees himself as an economist, not a spy. Nevertheless, he's forced to think differently once it emerges that he's sought after by various factions of an international conspiracy. They all believe that he has knowledge of something called "The Essence", a mysterious and contradictory supernatural phenomenon of which he's never heard. 

The story then takes Michael across Europe, both feeling and negotiating with the different flavours of "Essencehead" while trying to understand just what he's involved in - and why. For man who's recently been hospitalised with mental health issues, the sheer preposterousness of what's stumbled on seems a real danger to his grip on reality. But evidence mounts that the Essence is a real thing, and then Michael has to question why everyone things he knows something about it.

The Essence is a combination of thriller, horror and espionage that will transition in a heartbeat from the bizarre (such as the scenes with a certain dog) to the violent to the intense, all overlaid on a kind of fantastical road trip using the breath of Europe and engagement with its history to give solidity and heft to the incredible storyline.

And behind it all, there's something else going on...

This is a glorious book, great fun, gripping and satisfying. Recommended.

For more information about The Essence, see the publisher's website here.

Blogtour review - Catherine by Essie Fox

Catherine
Essie Fox
Orenda Books, 12 February 2016
Available as: HB, 287, audio, e   
Source: Advance copy
ISBN(HB/ PB): 9781917764421

I'm grateful to Orenda for sending me a copy of Catherine to consider for review, and to Anne for inviting me to join the book's blogtour.

It is, I think, 40 odd years since I read Wuthering Heights, in the early 80s when I was doing O level English lit. This wasn't one of our set books, but our teacher was keen to make sure we read much more widely. I remember that the introduction to the edition we read made much of the Brontës' father's "Celtic" ancestry as a factor in their romantic temperament - you don't get criticism like that today.

I tend not to re-read, so my memory of the events in the novel was hazy - ideal, really, for this retelling since it meant I wasn't looking forward for what I knew would come next.  It also meant my sympathies and appreciation of the characters could shift, uninfluenced by the later story, the perfect frame of mind to enjoy this version.

I think it's important to recognise that in the Wuthering Heights universe there are no absolute heroes and villains, and no "likeable" characters. Everyone behaves badly, everyone is worthy of sympathy. In that respect, and others, Catherine isn't a new story, it is proper Wuthering Heights but - and here's the difference - told by Cathy, rather than narrated, in hindsight, by Nelly Dean. Essie Fox uses a rather clever device to make this possible, one consonant I think with the subtext of the original novel and which handily telescopes the 20 or so years period that the story takes to unroll, and gives a real sense of immediacy and, well, jeopardy to the events - in contrast with the hindsight-tinted perspective of the original. (And we're spared Mr Lockwood, who isn't event mentioned by name, just - in one or two places - as "the tenant").

Fox also takes the opportunity of this being Cathy's own story to enlarge on parts that Dean is only passing on from Catherine herself - who Fox makes unreliable, or at least incomplete, in what she tells her maid. This gives some space to develop aspects about which the original book is silent. For example, Heathcliff learns the truth of his background and relates this to Cathy - something that is then a significant motivation for Cathy - but Cathy never tells Nell the details. In that respect, Catherine is therefore a retelling, not the retelling - other authors could make other choices. I do think though that Fox's choices are deeply true to the novel, and in taking over the book's characters, she captures something genuine in their relationships and history that makes this more than simply a glossing of the original. The people you'll meet here are vital, human, and true to Brontë's original.

All this makes Catherine more than simply a retelling, it's a rich story in its own right. There is tragedy here, and room for pity and empathy even with the apparent villains: like Wuthering Heights itself, Catherine is something of a gale of emotion and feeling - longing, lust, hatred, regret, jealousy - and if you're going to enjoy this book you need to be on board for that. It won't suit everyone! In my view, the power of Emily Brontë's original is here in Catherine, undiminished, but this retelling addresses matters which the climate of the mid-19th century could not allow, as well as revisiting aspects where modern sensibilities raise issues, or ask questions, which the original didn't.

Catherine is a grand, sweeping read which takes nothing away from the original novel - it is, as I said, only a retelling, not the retelling, I can imagine alternatives that take different paths, but what a retelling! 

I would recommend.

For more information about Catherine, see the publisher's website here - and of course the other stops on the blogtour which you can see listed on the poster below. 

You can buy Catherine from your local high street bookshop or online from Bookshop UK, Hive Books, Blackwell's, Foyle's, WH Smith, or Waterstones.