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One Day and Forever by Shari Low #Review

  One Day and Forever by Shari Low was published by Boldwood Books on January 25th.  As dawn breaks, four people are planning journeys that could change their lives forever… Kara McIntyre is supposed to be jetting off to her destination wedding in Hawaii. However, a last-minute hitch appears to have left her without a job, home and, more importantly, a fiancĂ©. TV sensation Ollie Chiles and Kara always have each other’s backs. But when his wife goes viral in a compromising clinch with another man, Ollie must choose between supporting his best friend in her hour of need or going home to save his marriage. Alice Brookes is flying away to a new life after surviving a horrendous marriage and a very public scandal... until a stranger brings a letter from the past that could change everything. After saying goodbye to someone he loves, Zac Conlan should be heading back to Dublin. Now a shocking discovery is threatening to change his plans and his future. When weather del...

Needle Song by Russell Day ** Blog Tour Review**

Today we are featuring Russell Day's Needle Song on the blog. If you enjoy crime fiction, this could be one for you!


Spending the night with a beautiful woman would be a good alibi, if the body in the next room wasn't her husband.

Doc Slidesmith has a habit of knowing things he shouldn’t. He knows the woman Chris Rudjer meets online is married. He knows the adult fun she’s looking for is likely to be short lived. And when her husband’s killed, he knows Chris Rudjer didn’t do it.

Only trouble is the police disagree and no one wants to waste time investigating an open and shut case.

No one except Doc.

Using lies, blackmail and a loaded pack of Tarot cards, Doc sets about looking for the truth - but the more truth he finds, the less he thinks his friend is going to like it.

My Thoughts

This is a crime novel with a distinctive tone. It feels relevant and up to date, partly because of the central figure of Doc Slidesmith who is not your everyday crime investigator. With a background in psychology, a tattoo shop and a pack of tarot cards, you come to see that his approach is going to catch people off balance. I particularly enjoyed it when he mapped out his thoughts and observations and talked his assistant, Yakky through them. You can see his line of logic and it is a reference back to the crime genre. He even has what he terms an 'Agatha Christie fetish' - wanting to know 'Why?' something happened as the key into solving a case.

    Told from Yakky's perspective, you get to observe Doc Slidesmith in action and to listen in as they talk through the evidence and tease out the clues. Yakky is more interested in the 'How?' rather than the 'Why?' but is a good foil. There are several classic crime memes within the story, echoing Agatha Christie herself, none more so than the exposition towards the end. It is an interestingly put together story and well worth a read.

In short: Crime with an edge. 

     
About the Author


Russell Day was born in 1966 and grew up in Harlesden, NW10 – a geographic region searching for an alibi. From an early age it was clear the only things he cared about were motorcycles, tattoos and writing. At a later stage he added family life to his list of interests and now lives with his wife and two children. He’s still in London, but has moved south of the river for the milder climate.

Although he only writes crime fiction Russ doesn’t consider his work restricted. ‘As long as there have been people there has been crime, as long as there are people there will be crime.’ That attitude leaves a lot of scope for settings and characters. One of the first short stories he had published, The Second Rat and the Automatic Nun, was a double-cross story set in a world where the church had taken over policing. In his first novel, Needle Song, an amateur detective employs logic, psychology and a loaded pack of tarot cards to investigate a death.

Russ often tells people he seldom smiles due to nerve damage, sustained when his jaw was broken. In fact, this is a total fabrication and his family will tell you he’s has always been a miserable bastard. 

You can follow Russell here: Twitter | Website 


Thanks to Russell Day, Fahrenheit Press and Emma of Damppebbles Blog Tours for a copy of the book and a place on the tour. 

Check out the rest of the tour!

   

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