Review: Running Scared by Bill Kitson

Running Scared by Bill Kitson, June 2018, 228 pages, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, ISBN: 719042292

Reviewed by Terry Halligan.
(Read more of Terry's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

With DI Mike Nash away on compassionate leave, DS Clara Mironova and the Helmsdale team are faced with a sudden and dramatic increase in crime. Minor offences ranging from theft, shoplifting, and poaching, pale into significance when a violent turf war breaks out between rival gangs of drugs suppliers. Within weeks the detectives have to cope with three murders, including the shooting of a police officer. As they struggle to investigate the killings, a batch of deliberately contaminated heroin hits the streets, resulting in the deaths of three addicts and causing panic in the media. The breathless speed of events puts the entire region on high alert. The detectives must capture the drug barons, break up their supply networks, solve the murders – and thwart the criminal mastermind before he can realize his ultimate ambition.

The plot of the book encompasses many different threads from murders, drug selling, animal theft to international migrant problems and it makes the very tight plot of the book twist and turn almost from paragraph to paragraph. But when all's said and done this book is a police procedural and part of the very charm of the story is the interaction of the various colourful detectives that we have learnt to know and appreciate in previous stories. Readers will need to concentrate to really enjoy the story but it is not always serious, there are incidents of wry humour to lift from the pathos of the sadder elements of the story.

As in previous books of his that I have reviewed, once you start a Bill Kitson book it is extremely difficult to put down and I had great trouble in closing this one also, until I reached the very exciting conclusion. The book may seem fairly compact but this author seems to put more storylines into 228 pages than many other rival authors can do in 400.

The author has published ten previous books in the DI Mike Nash series and five books in the Eden House Mystery series. I understand he also writes historical fiction and lighter romantic stories set in Greece under the pen-name 'William Gordon' and he has written six books in that series also. I will certainly look out for the Eden House Mysteries in the future. If you want to read a book that once started you won't want to put down then buy this one.

Very highly recommended.

Terry Halligan, June 2018.

Review: Picture of Innocence by Bill Kitson

Picture of Innocence by Bill Kitson, November 2017, 196 pages, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, ISBN: 1979492905

Reviewed by Terry Halligan.
(Read more of Terry's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

While visiting Madrid on a stag weekend, DI Mike Nash foils an attack on a young Spanish landscape painter. He returns home, puzzled by the fact there seems to be no motive behind the assault – unless it is connected to the recent murder of the girl’s father. After surviving two further attempts on her life the artist flees to England where she seeks shelter with Nash. As he attempts to uncover the truth behind the attacks and her mysterious past, Nash confronts a web of evil that is more potent now than in previous years – and as he unravels the mystery he is faced with a crime more sinister and horrible than he has ever encountered before.

Mike and his son Daniel get very close to the Spanish girl and bring her to stay at their isolated home in the North Yorkshire moors but unknown to them evil forces have them under surveillance and Mike and his son and the girl have several exciting adventures before the dramatic conclusion.

This book appears to be relatively short but don’t be deceived as Bill Kitson can pack more into a few pages than lesser writers can do in a few hundred.

As in previous books of his that I have reviewed namely DEPTH OF DESPAIR (2009), BACK-SLASH (2011), IDENTITY CRISIS (2012) and BURIED IN THE PAST (2014), once you start a Bill Kitson book they are extremely difficult to put down and I had great difficulty in closing this one also, until I reached the very exciting conclusion.

The author has published eight previous stories in the DI Mike Nash series but I understand he also writes historical fiction and lighter stories set in Greece under the pen-name 'William Gordon'. He has also many other books to his name, so you know that he brings a lot of experience to his writing. I will certainly look out for them in the future.

If you want to read a book that you should not read on public transport as you will be so absorbed that you will likely miss your stop then buy this one. I understand that he will be publishing another book in the Mike Nash series in the Spring and I look forward to reading it.

Very strongly recommended.

Terry Halligan, February 2018.

Reviews: Arlidge, Daly, Duke, Furst, Kitson, Kreslehner, Mann, Phillips, Wilkinson

Here are nine reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, three have appeared on the blog since last time, and six are completely new.

NB. You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page.

New Reviews

Michelle Peckham reviews M J Arlidge's second book featuring Southampton's DI Helen Grace, Pop Goes the Weasel;

Terry Halligan reviews Bill Daly's Black Mail the first in the DCI Charlie Anderson series set in Glasgow;

Susan White reviews Simon Duke's debut Out of Bounds which is set in the US;

Lynn Harvey reviews Alan Furst's Midnight in Europe set in the late 1930s;

Terry also reviews Bill Kitson's Buried in the Past, the eighth in the DI Mike Nash series;

Michelle also reviews Austrian author Gabi Kreslehner's Rain Girl tr. Lee Chadeayne;

Rich Westwood reviews George Mann's Sherlock Holmes - The Spirit Box;

Amanda Gillies reviews Last Kiss by Louise Phillips, the third in the Dr Kate Pearson set in and around Dublin

and Mark Bailey reviews Kerry Wilkinson's Crossing the Line, the eighth in the DI Jesica Daniel series set in Manchester.


Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

Review: Buried in the Past by Bill Kitson

Buried in the Past by Bill Kitson, March 2014, 224 pages, Robert Hale Ltd, ISBN: 0719812305

Reviewed by Terry Halligan.
(Read more of Terry's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

When a consignment of illicit diamonds en-route to London vanishes, together with the couriers. It isn't long before East End gangster Max Perry is found dead, having suffered some horrific torture. Accused of killing a rival, Max's nephew, Ray, is sentenced to life in prison. He is released twenty-five years later and is heading for Helmsdale when he is the victim of a terrible hit and run, but DI Mike Nash is convinced it was no accident. Following the murder of a garage mechanic, Nash discovers a link to an unidentified skeleton found years ago in the Helmsdale woodland.

How do crimes committed long ago in London connect to the current wave of violence in Helmsdale? As the body count rises, the detectives struggle to keep pace with those who would prefer the truth to remain dead and buried.

The very tight plotting of this excellent story provides the colourful conversations and banter between the various superb characters that the author peoples his books with and which make it so realistic and that one can identify with from whichever work experience one comes from. The storyline follows several different threads, which requires some concentration, but eventually they will all combine in the gripping conclusion to this fascinating book.

As in previous books of his that I have reviewed namely DEPTH OF DESPAIR (2009) and BACK-SLASH (2011) once you start a Bill Kitson book they are unbelievable difficult to put down and I had great difficulty in closing this one also, until I reached the exciting conclusion. The author has published six previous stories in the DI Mike Nash series and I understand he also writes historical fiction and lighter stories set in Greece under the pen-name 'William Gordon'. I will certainly look out for them in the future. If you want to read a book that once started you won't want to put down then buy this one. Recommended.

Terry Halligan, September 2014.

New Reviews: Douglas, Fowler, Hall, Holt, Jackson, Kitson, Knight, Ridpath, Villar

The British writers are getting about this week with settings ranging from Germany, Iceland, India and the US as well as closer to home: London, Yorkshire and Scotland. Mainland Europe writers are featured with Norway and Spain.

NB. The International Dagger winner will be announced next week so you only have a couple of days left to vote in the International Dagger Polls.

Here are the new 9 reviews:

Amanda Gillies reviews James Douglas's The Doomsday Testament;

I review the audio book version of Christopher Fowler's, Bryant & May Off the Rails narrated splendidly as ever by Tim Goodman;

Susan White reviews Tarquin Hall's third Vish Puri outing, The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken likening the author to P G Wodehouse;

Lynn Harvey reviews the paperback release of Anne Holt's Fear Not, tr. Marlaine Delargy the fourth (and best imho) in the Vik-Stubo series;

JF reviews David Jackson's second book set in New York, The Helper;

Terry Halligan reviews the sixth in Bill Kitson's Mike Nash series, Identity Crisis;

Terry also reviews Alanna Knight's The Seal King Murders set in 1861;

Maxine Clarke reviews Michael Ridpath's Meltwater the third in his Fire & Ice series set in Iceland

and Michelle Peckham reviews the paperback release of Domingo Villar's Death on a Galician Shore, tr. Sonia Soto which was shortlisted for last year's International Dagger.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

New Reviews: Goodwin, Harvey, James, Johnston, Kitson, Koppel, Marklund, Pastor, Price

As well as the 9 new reviews, don't forget to see which title, author and translator made the top spot for the Euro Crime reviewers' favourite book of 2011.

The competition's still open: win Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (no geographical restrictions).

Here are this week's reviews:

Susan White reviews the latest in the Yashim the Eunuch series by Jason Goodwin, An Evil Eye (and Susan has even tried some of the recipes featured in this series);

John Harvey's Good Bait features a new protagonist plus a couple of characters from earlier books including DCI Karen Shields from the heart-breaking Cold in Hand and is reviewed here by Maxine Clarke;

Michelle Peckham thinks Peter James's Dead Man's Grip signals that the series could be running out of steam;

The Silver Stain is a belated but welcome return for Paul Johnston's PI Alex Mavros, set in Greece, reviewed here by Geoff Jones;

Terry Halligan found Bill Kitson's latest DI Mike Nash, Back-Slash hard to put down;

I review Hans Koppel's She's Never Coming Back tr. Kari Dickson which I didn't enjoy very much;

Fortunately Lynn Harvey had a better experience with Liza Marklund's The Bomber which has been retranslated by Neil Smith;

Norman calls Ben Pastor's Liar Moon "grown-up crime fiction"

and Lizzie Hayes reviews Joanna Price's debut A Means of Escape set in the Glastonbury area (and incidentally is very cheap on Kindle at the moment).

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by Mark Billingham, Kevin Brophy and Hakan Ostlundh have been added to these pages this week.

New Reviews: Cooper, Cottam, Dahl, Duns, Griffiths, Hayder, Kitson, Lewis, Seymour

Here are this week's reviews, a bumper bundle of 9:

Michelle Peckham reviews Glenn Cooper's The Tenth Chamber set in France and revolving around a secret method of longevity;

Amanda Gillies reviews F G Cottam's ghostly The Magdalena Curse;

Maxine Clarke reviews The Man in the Window by K O Dahl, tr. Don Bartlett (we're anticipating a new Dahl in translation in 2011);

Laura Root reviews Jeremy Duns's 1960s set spy thriller Free Country;

Rik Shepherd reviews the paperback edition of Elly Griffiths's The Janus Stone;

Amanda Brown reviews the paperback edition of Mo Hayder's Ritual;

Paul Blackburn reviews Minds that Hate by Bill Kitson, the latest in his DI Mike Nash series;

Geoff Jones reviews Kevin Lewis's Scent of a Killer which is the second outing for DI Stacey Collins;

and Terry Halligan reviews EV Seymour's latest Paul Tallis thriller: Land of Ghosts in which he's sent to Russia.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

New Reviews: Cregan, Desai, Kitson, Nesser, Pears, Staincliffe

Two competitions for August and one is open internationally closes 31st:
Win one of three sets of Lockdown and Deadlock by Sean Black (Worldwide)
Win one of five copies of Inspector Cataldo's Criminal Summer by Luigi Guicciardi, tr Iain Halliday (UK & Europe)

Here are this week's reviews, which include several novels which, though crime-related you may have to hunt in the fiction section for...:

Paul Blackburn reviews the urban gothic thriller, The Levels by Sean Cregan, which is set on the East Coast of America;

Maxine Clarke goes to India in Kishwar Desai's Witness the Night writing that "Although the book does not hold up too well as a crime novel, it is excellent";

Amanda Brown reviews Bill Kitson's second DI Mike Nash book, Chosen concluding that it's "a good addition to the rich wealth of British crime fiction";

Geoff Jones review the latest paperback release in Hakan Nesser's "absorbing series" - Woman With Birthmark, tr. Laurie Thompson;

Terry Halligan reviews the lengthy Stone's Fall by Iain Pears writing "this is historical fiction par excellence"

and I review Cath Staincliffe's The Kindest Thing which technically has a crime in it but is more about love and loss (hankies may be required).

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

New Reviews: Edwards, Grimsdale, Guthrie, Kitson, Maclean, Mankell

Many thanks for the kind comments about my back/health. Fortunately I'm ok now and I hope to do a bit more blogging next week compared to this previous one.

Here are this week's new reviews:

Maxine Clarke reviews The Serpent Pool by Martin Edwards, fourth in his Lakeland series which Maxine believes is "is one of the very best crime-fiction series being written today";

Terry Halligan reviews Peter Grimsdale debut novel, Perfect Night;

Amanda Gillies is very enthusiastic about Allan Guthrie's Slammer;

Paul Blackburn reviews Bill Kitson's debut Depth of Despair set in Yorkshire;

Rik Shepherd reviews the paperback edition of The Redemption of Alexander Seaton by Shona Maclean and

Michelle Peckham reviews Henning Mankell's The Man Who Smiled, tr. Laurie Thompson and compares it to the tv show.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found here.