Urbane Publications – nigeladamsbookworm

The Mosul Legacy. Christopher Lowery

A more timely book I have never read.

Karl is an ISL leader fighting in the City of Mosul. Realising that defeat is inevitable he sends two jihadists into Europe to wreak havoc.

Meanwhile the Christian Al-Douri family, who have been struggling to survive in the bombed out, war-torn City, are trying to escape to Europe

Another bomber adopts the identity of his dead brother after he is killed accidentally setting of a bomb intended for a busy German City.

Hot on the trail of the terrorists is Police Senior Commissioner Major Max Kellerman.

The contradictions between the ease with which the terrorists move around their elaborate network of helpers, compared to the frantic attempts the Al-Duri’s make to find an illicit path to freedom could not be more stark.

Kellerman’s attempts to find the bombers before they can carry out an attack are frustrating, as he is always several steps behind in the maze of trails organised by their sympathisers.

Will he find them before all hell breaks loose.? You’ll have to read the book.

This story is so topical its frightening.

As with previous stories by Cristopher Lowery the devil is in the detail. Every page paints a picture which can only be the result of hours of research.

Everybody who watches the news will recognise this story for its reality.

What a great read.

Pages: 441

Publisher: Urbane

Publishing Date: 27^th September 2018

Corrupted. Simon Michael

This is the 4^th Book in the brilliant series set in the Ganglands and Courts of London in the 1960’s

Charlie Holborne is a local man made good, but the journey to good has brought him into contact with some of London’s most notorious criminals.

As one of London’s star Criminal Barristers he is now in high demand following some recent high profile court wins, but that hasn’t necessarily ingratiated him with his peers in the Courts and his Chambers.

Neither has the fact that he has had dealing with people like the Kray Brothers; but no matter what his peers think it’s not a good relationship, and the Krays are at war with Charles.

The death of one of the Krays gang leads to multiple investigations of a series of Gay Sex and Drugs parties held in one of the Krays flats. With politicians involved the press are trying to expose the truth whilst the Police are trying to gather evidence on the Krays. Meanwhile both the press and the Police are corrupt up to the highest levels and both investigations are hamstrung from the start.

When Charles is asked to represent the young lad charged with the murder of The Krays gang member he is determined to get to the truth, no matter what the cost.

In this story, as with the previous three, Simon Michael has woven actual events with some fictional characters and has delivered a story that is more than believable.

He brings the 60’s to life on the page like watching a HD Colour documentary on the TV.

Somebody has to take the rights to these books and turn them into a decent TV series soon.

Pages: 368

Publishers: Urbane

Songs of Innocence Anne Coates

Hannah Waybridge is back in this great series set in the 1990’s

The London based investigative journalist has had some success with recent investigations, but when she stumbles across the Police recovering a body from a local pond she doesn’t realise she is about to be thrown into another.

The body is of a young Asian girl. Although the Police originally think the death is an act of suicide her family are convinced it is anything but that.

They attempt to hire Hannah to investigate the death but as a journalist she insist on doing it as research for an article, and refuses payment.

From then on she is thrown into the murky world of “honour killings” within the Indian community. The story looks at the expectations and limitations placed on some Asian girls, and their families. She identifies the fact that girls in their early teens are sometimes sent to India to marry much older men, often under false pretences.

But what happened to the girls that refused, or who were married but failed to meet the in-laws expectations of a wife.

As Hannah begins her investigation more bodies are found. Young girls start to come forward with their own accounts and worries.

As Hannah digs deeper problems start to surface in her private life. The father of her child is in prison having been arrested as part of a people smuggling ring Hannah helped uncover in a previous investigation. As he tries to contact her it becomes apparent that she is being followed.

Is it something to do with her current investigation, or something to do with the pervious one. Is this why her ex is trying to reach out to her?

The story has plenty of twists and turns, both in the investigation into the deaths of the Asian Girls, and in Hannah’s private life. As the book races to an end the Hannah is in increasing danger. The end is brilliant.

This book highlighted problems within some sections of the Indian community in the 1990’s. These problems didn’t go away, and throughout the of the 2000’s I have worked on numerous investigations involving Honour Killings, arson attacks, and Suicides linked to the problem. Anne Coates has painted a very realistic picture of the issues faced by some of the girls, and young women, in that community. She has captured the terror felt by some girls, and their families, and the very real dangers they faced from within the community and their own extended families.

The story is stunningly realistic.

Pages: 320

Publishers: Urbane Publications Ltd

Publishing Date: 24^th May 2018. Available to pre-order now on Amazon

Nemesister Sophie Jonas-Hill

A deeply complex book, with many twists and turns, this book will never be described as bubblegum for the brain. Dark and sinister from the start to the end it kept me engrossed from page 1.

It starts with a woman with no memory stumbling into a shack in deepest Louisiana. Barely conscious she holds the male occupier at gunpoint, he sees she’s hurt.

From that point on the story gets dark. Not unlike the Bourne Identity the main protagonist starts to regain her memory and the story of what leads to her appearing in the shack starts to unfold.

As the title suggests the girl has a sister. The mystery woman starts to remember the sister, or is it implanted memories of someone else’s life, or maybe even memories of her own life.

The story moves rapidly and switches, in some places confusingly, between the present and the memories. But this is good, this is very good; because for the first time, for a long time, I read a book that kept me on my toes. It kept me hooked like no other book has for years.

The man in the shack takes care of the girl. But who is he, and why is he helping her. A couple of Freudian slips, when he is talking to her, puts the girl on her guard. Is he spinning her a false story, or is her memory loss causing her to be forgetful or misunderstanding.

As her paranoia grows his activities seem become more intimidating in their innocence. Why would a complete stranger help somebody with no memory who has stumbled into his remote shack.

When the shack is attacked it seals the woman’s faith in her helper. She is after all free to leave if she wants to, then he locks the doors and puts the key in his pocket.

Exploring the house when he’s asleep the woman makes a discovery and starts to piece things together in her mind. Should she escape, or is she safer where she is, does she have a choice.

I loved this book. It finishes on a cliff hanger, and I was pleased to see that Sophie Jonas-Hill is working on the sequal.

Hurry up Sophie I can’t wait for Broken Ponies

Pages: 304

Publisher: Urbane Publications

Publication Date: 6^th July 2017.

Available to pre-order from Amazon

Dancers in the Wind Anne Coates

Dancers in the Wind Anne Cates

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When I requested this book from Urbane Publications I did not realise what a treat I was in for.

I had never heard of Ann Coates before, but I don’t think I’ll forget her. In fact, I think we’re going to be hearing a lot from her. This book is great.

The main protagonist for this story is the single mom, and freelance journalist Hannah Weybridge.

Hannah is struggling to make a living since the birth of her daughter, but is given a job interviewing one of the street walking prostitutes of London, and one of the police officers tasked with sorting out the prostitution problems of the capital city.

The prostitute she interviews is “Princes” the second protagonist of the story. A young girl who has run away from home and ended up on the streets of London.

The Police Officer, and third protagonist, is Detective Inspector Tom Jordan. What Hannah doesn’t know about DCI Jordan is that he is leading an enquiry into the disappearance, and possible murder, of at least three young prostitutes, all from the same area that Princess works in.

Anne Coates has given this story an extra sense of threat and realism by setting it in the mid 1990’s. An era when old school policing was still in the minds of the public, and when there was still a few “old-school coppers” running things how they wanted to, and not necessarily within the bounds of the law.

When Princess turns up at Hannah’s house having suffered a severe assault, she begs Hannah not to get the police involved.

The story the takes a path that finds Hannah getting conflicted by her own moral compass. Does she allow Princess to stay with her and her infant daughter; does she involve DCI Jordan, and it doesn’t help that she is beginning to find him more interesting than she expected but is still unsure of whether he can be trusted.

From her own aspect Princess is not sure how much to trust Hannah. She has to stay off the streets but she also has to make money. What she doesn’t want is to bump into any of her old clients. What she does do is keep journals in notebooks.

The more the story goes on the more intriguing it becomes.

I don’t want to give anything away, so no more about the storyline, but I can say I enjoyed every page from beginning to end. The pace never stops.

Anne Coates has picked a great era to set this story in. It is given more credibility being set in the 90’s than if it was set in the modern day.

Not only that, but when you finish the book you will understand what I mean when I say the storyline is given even more credence by what we now know happened in those times, and who was involved.

An absolute treat of a book. The last few pages are a preview her next book. God it’s going to be a long wait.