A gripping tale of intrigue set in WWII Europe

A gripping tale of intrigue.

Robert Craven’s Get Lenin is the kind of novel that pulls you in the minute you pick it up and won’t let you leave until you’ve finished, it, sit back and say “Wow, what an adventure!” The title comes from a very intriguing and very mad idea: Seeking for a way to assure his place in Hitler’s inner circle, Dr. Joseph Goebbels hatches a plan so secret it is even kept from Hitler. The plan? To sneak into the Soviet Union ahead of Hitler’s armies, steal Lenin’s sarcophagus, and spirit it into Germany. What a trophy, and what a propaganda coup if it succeeds! Does it? You have to read the book to find out.

The book opens in Munich in1938 when a young Polish spy named Eva Molenaar stumbles onto the plot and reports it to her handlers. From there the story picked up speed and pulled me into it in a way that made me feel that I was a participant in the action. Robert Craven has created a story and cast of characters that are wholly real and believable in a setting that is so well-researched that reading Get Lenin was like watching a newsreel.

I’m glad I bought this book; I’ve been recommending it to everyone, and It’s certainly on my “read-it-again” list.

A solid ***** for this one.

Available in both paperback and Kindle

"Pinpoint" -- an extraordinary novel by an a remarkable new writer

Strangeways Prison, Manchester, England (September 1994). “I’ve represented many murderers and am often surprised at how normal they appear. But this one is different. As he walks into the interview room he stops dead. His mouth drops open.  His eyes bulge. His elbows clamp to his sides as though a knife has plunged into his back. And he looks straight at me unlike most who bow their heads until I say something to make them feel at east, and who look past me when they tell me their stories. Not this one.”

Sam Smith is the name of this psychopathic killer, or is it? Could he be …? “There’s an almost imperceptible smile on his face. That smile. And those eyes. I grip the desk. I can’t breathe. My skin turns cold, clammy. My fingers tingle. A fragment of long forgotten memory skitters through my head then vanishes …” Who is he? No, it can’t be … but can it? Is he?

So begins this haunting, magnificently written tale of murder, intrigue, mystery, childhood sexual abuse, loss, survival and love. Solicitor Julia Grant’s job is to defend this psychopathic killer of young women. And she must find out who he really is because she is haunted. A widow with a six year old daughter, she has a busy, complicated life. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Moxon is there to help her. But she has to go it alone.

Pinpoint is one wonderful book, Julia Grant is one of the most memorable characters I’ve encountered, and Sheila Mary Taylor is one fine writer. I’m sure we'll be enjoying her books for many years to come. She has the kind of story-telling talent that not only has wide appeal; it lasts, like a good Agatha Christie tale. Even the title “Pinpoint” is shrouded in mystery.

This one is a clear five star book.
*****

A truly sensational crime thriller

Daniel Birch, “Get Some”: Night Publishing, available in paperback and Kindle on amazon.com and amazon.co.uk.

If you like Ian Rankin or Stieg Larrson, you will love "Get Some", the new crime thriller by Daniel Birch. Set in the mean streets of Hull, England, it is the story of two friends, one a lawyer the other a wounded veteran of the Iraq war, and the Hull underworld. It is a page-turner. One of the protagonists, Tommy, reminds me of Lisbeth Salander, the young woman in Larrson's "Millennium" trilogy: smart, focused, a troubled childhood, trauma and absolutely not one to be trifled with when wronged. And Tommy has definitely been badly wronged by two of his British Army buddies in Iraq who sold him to insurgents for heroin.

One indication of how good a writer Daniel Birch is: "Get Some" was a runaway best seller at this spring's well-attended Hull Book Exposition in Hull, England.

Once you pick this up, you will not want to put it down until you've finished it. I can't wait to see what new stories he's got in the pipeline.