The Book Plank

Made to Kill by Adam Christopher, The LA Trilogy #1 Raymond Electromatic is good at his job, as good as he ever was at being a true Private Investigator, the lone employee of the Electromatic Detective Agency--except for Ada, office gal and super-computer, the constant voice in Ray's inner ear. Ray might have taken up a new line of work, but money is money, after all, and he was programmed to make a profit. Besides, with his twenty-four-hour memory-tape limits, he sure can keep a secret. When a familiar-looking woman arrives at the agency wanting to hire Ray to find a missing movie star, he's inclined to tell her to take a hike. But she had the cold hard cash, a demand for total anonymity, and tendency to vanish on her own. Plunged into a glittering world of fame, fortune, and secrecy, Ray uncovers a sinister plot that goes much deeper than the silver screen--and this robot is at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I still remember my first book by Adam Christopher. Hang...

Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse Fresh out of Cambridge University, the young Mycroft Holmes is already making a name​ ​for himself in government, working for the Secretary of State for War. Yet this most British of civil servants has strong ties to the faraway island of Trinidad, the birthplace of his best friend, Cyrus Douglas, a man of African descent, and where his fiancée Georgiana Sutton was raised. Mycroft’s comfortable existence is overturned when Douglas receives troubling reports​ from home. There are rumors of mysterious disappearances, strange footprints in the sand, and spirits enticing children to their deaths, their bodies found drained of blood. Upon hearing the news, Georgiana abruptly departs for Trinidad. Near panic, Mycroft convinces Douglas that they should follow her, drawing the two men into a web of dark secrets that grows more treacherous with each step they take... So far Titan Books has been publishing a lot of Sherl...

Media Alert: Solaris acquires Sherlock Holmes and the Servants Of Hell The world’s greatest detective crashes into Clive Barker’s infamous realm of horror in the crossover event of 2016 Solaris is excited to reveal the acquisition of Sherlock Holmes and the Servants Of Hell , an horrific adventure from bestselling author Paul Kane that pits the Great Detective against the Cenobites of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser mythos. About as far away from Benedict Cumberbatch as you can get, Kane’s story – which has remained shrouded in secrecy up to now – is undoubtedly Holmes’ most outlandish adventure to date, launching Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s finest creation headlong into Clive Barker’s famous Hellraising universe Solaris Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Oliver commented on the signing: “The world’s greatest detective meets horror’s greatest icons, what more could you want? Paul has been a significant voice on the horror scene for a while now and he’s steeped in Clive Barker’s hell-...

Redzone by William C. Dietz, The Mutant Files #2 The year is 2065, almost thirty years since a bioterrorist attack decimated the population. The world has been divided, and new nations have formed. Those mutated from exposure inhabit the red zones, while “norms” live in the green zones. In the nation of Pacifica, Los Angeles detective Cassandra Lee is in charge of investigating a disturbing case, tracking a cop killer dubbed the Bonebreaker. But strange new murders have occurred, falling outside the normal pattern and leaving Lee and her team wondering if the serial killer has become unpredictable—or if he’s no longer acting alone… To make matters worse, Lee’s attention is diverted after she receives a letter from her long-lost mother. Now she must venture into the red zone, a lawless land where might makes right—and where the biggest danger may be her own family. Just a few months ago I listened to the first book in William C. Dietz' The Mutant Files: Deadeye. I ha...

Death Descends on Saturn Villa by MRC Kasasian, The Gower Street Detective #3 London: 1883  125 Gower Street was once a house of justice, truth and perspicacity. Now madness, murder and scandal lurk in its empty halls. It is rumoured that its owner Sidney Grice - London's foremost personal detective - has been driven to the brink of despair.  But, as will all good stories, we must begin at the beginning. With Sidney Grice journeying to Yorkshire to solve a mysterious death. And with March Middleton, his ward, left to her own devices in a London swarming with danger and vice.  Curiosity, as we know, has a dark edge. So when an intriguing letter leads March to the gates of the palatial Saturn Villa, and into the nightmarish world of her long-lost uncle, it could be the beginning of an end, for all...  If you haven't heard about the enigmatic, quirky and rather peculiar detective duo Grice and Middleton you must have been living under a rock. Just a...

The Devil's Detective by Simon Kurt Unsworth Welcome to hell... ...where skinless demons patrol the lakes and the waves of Limbo wash against the outer walls, while the souls of the Damned float on their surface, waiting to be collected. When an unidentified, brutalised body is discovered, the case is assigned to Thomas Fool, one of Hell's detectives, known as 'Information Men’. But how do you investigate a murder where death is commonplace and everyone is guilty of something? When I Del Rey asked if I wanted to review The Devil's Detective I just couldn't resist saying no. In the last year I read many different kind of detective stories, taking place in the Ice Age somewhat, or your average contemporary setting, imaginative Urban Fantasy setting or a mash up of different themes like ancient Rome etcetera. But a setting that hadn't passed the review yet was a story based solely in Hell. After reading the synopsis of this book I directly knew that The ...

Deadeye by William C. Dietz , The Mutant Files #1 In the year 2038, an act of bioengineered terrorism decimated humanity. Those who survived were either completely unaffected or developed horrible mutations. Across the globe, nations are now divided between areas populated by “norms” and lands run by “mutants”… Detective Cassandra Lee of Los Angeles’s Special Investigative Section has built a fierce reputation taking down some of the city’s most notorious criminals. But the serial cop killer known as Bonebreaker—who murdered Lee’s father—is still at large. Officially, she’s too personally involved to work on the Bonebreaker case. Unofficially, she’s going to hunt him to the ends of the earth. In the meantime, duty calls when the daughter of Bishop Screed, head of the Church of Human Purity, is kidnapped by mutants and taken into the red zone to be used for breeding. Assigned to rescue her, Lee must trust her new partner—mutant lawman Deputy Ras Omo—to guide her not ...

The Severed Streets by Paul Cornell, Shadow Police #2 Detective Inspector James Quill and his wily squad of supernatural crime-busters are coming to terms with their new-found second sight. They have a handle on the ghosts and ghouls, but the rest of London's supernatural underworld is still unknown. When a seemingly invisible murderer kills a top cabinet minister in unusual circumstances, the team knows this is a case for them.   Attempts to learn more about this mysterious figure are hampered when their chief detective goes missing, and a core member of their team becomes more focussed on bringing her father back to life than finding their missing detective. Soon the team seems to be falling apart as each member pursues their own interests. Throw in an ancient and vengeful spirit and a Rat King, and their mission soon becomes a trip to Hell - literally. Last year around this time as well I was firstly introduced to the writing of Paul Cornell and he first in the...

Retribution by Mark Charan Newton, Lucan Drakenfeld #2  WHEN JUSTICE FAILS, REVENGE FOLLOWS... Having just solved a difficult case in his home city of Tryum, Sun Chamber Officer Lucan Drakenfeld and his associate Leana are ordered to journey to the exotic city of Kuvash in Koton, where a revered priest has gone missing. When they arrive, they discover the priest has already been found - or at least parts of him have. But investigating the unusual death isn't a priority for the legislature of Kuvash; there's a kingdom to run, a census to create and a dictatorial Queen to placate. Soon Drakenfeld finds that he is suddenly in charge of an investigation in a strange city, whose customs and politics are as complex as they are dangerous. Kuvash is a city of contradictions; wealth and poverty exist uneasily side-by-side and behind the rich façades of gilded streets and buildings, all levels of depravity and decadence are practised. When several more bodies are discove...

The Messenger by Mark Charan Newton, Drakenfeld #? As an Officer of the Sun Chamber, Lucan Drakenfeld must uphold the two-hundred-year-old laws of the Vispasian Royal Union, whatever the cost. While stationed in the ancient city of Venyn, a metropolis notorious for its lawless nature, Drakenfeld receives a series of mysterious letters, written in blood, that warn of an imminent assassination attempt on the life of the city's young Prince Bassim. Supported by his fiery colleague Leana, Drakenfeld's investigation leads him down the city's corridors of power. But nothing is as it seems. Who is behind the conspiracy that threatens the young prince, and will the duo be able to unearth the perpetrator before the prince's time is up? Last year I read my first book of Mark Charan Newton, Drakenfeld , which was also the kick off of his latest series, "Lucan Drakenfeld". Prior to reading Drakenfeld, I read some detective type of books but never in the sett...

Author interview with Michael Wreford Author bio: A true double agent, Michael Wreford is two authors writing as one. The pair hold master's degrees in Chinese and International Relations, and for ten years have worked for leading multinational corporations, including in the investment banking, healthcare, and oil and gas sectors. They have lived in Beijing, The Hague, Hong Kong, and New York, and currently split their time between the United Kingdom and Switzerland.   ------------------------------------------------------------------- BP: First off, could you give us a short introduction as to who Michael Wreford is? What are your hobbies, likes and dislikes? MW: Michael Wreford is a double agent – two people with a love of espionage fiction, writing as one. We have a shared interest in Asia, and Hong Kong and China in particular, so that’s a theme you’ll see flowing through our work. BP: KILL WITH A BORROWED KNIFE is your debut, when did you decide...