Book Review: Too Close to Breathe by Olivia Kiernan

Too soon to see. Too late to hide. Too close to breathe.

Find the killer who likes to play dead.

I had the pleasure of meeting the lovely Olivia Kiernan at a Waterstones event in Oxford. I grabbed a signed copy of Too Close to Breathe and then hid it away for Christmas. When I finally caught up on my reading, I zipped through this twisty little number in two days!

I'm a massive fan of Jane Casey's Maeve Kerrigan series, and recently discovered Mari Hannah's Kate Daniels series, so I was thrilled to stumble upon another brilliant female detective series I can get thoroughly stuck in to.

When Eleanor Costello is found hanging in her Dublin home, all signs point to suicide. A straightforward and simple case... right? Enter DCS Frankie Sheehan, a detective with a sharp eye, a potty mouth and an innate ability to climb inside the heads of the victims. Suffering from PTSD driven by a vicious attack during a previous investigation, Frankie soon learns that the lines between killer and victim are becoming increasingly blurred. It's a race against time to catch the culprit before they strike again, earning themselves the title of a serial killer. 

Prepare to dive into the disturbing world of BDSM and the dark web with this atmospheric, immersive and skillfully-plotted police procedural that will blow you away. Olivia's writing style is compelling, absorbing, and really quite impressive, with a strong sense of setting that will make you feel as if you're really there, and characters you'll never forget. 

Too Close to Breathe is the first in the DCS Frankie Sheehan series, and the third installment, If Looks Could Kill, is out now in ebook and hardback.

Catch Olivia tonight at Virtual Noir at the Bar where she'll be reading live alongside nine other fantastic authors. Not to be missed!

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

Lockdown: a blessing and a curse

It's been a while since I whipped up a generic, writing-related blog post. And what better time to do the honours than at 2am when, as usual, I'm painfully awake with thoughts ricocheting around my head like someone tipped a shitload of bouncy balls in there?

I have had mixed emotions lately. I've been shielding with my immunocompromised wife since the beginning of the UK lockdown, and I'm not going to lie, I miss hugs... yep, even awkward ones. I miss dragging my wife around bookshops. I miss geeking out at writing-related events. I was so looking forward to losing my Harrogate festival virginity. And there's a gaping hole in my big gay heart for Pride celebrations. But I've realised I do have a lot to be thankful for. 

I've got to know my neighbours a bit better. And more importantly, experienced their kindness when we needed them. I've learned to appreciate my home and my garden and understood how lucky I am to have them. I've started paying attention to wildlife that I didn't even know visited my garden. I probably phone my friends and family more often than I ever saw them in pre-Covid life.

Were it not for everything going digital, I wouldn't have stumbled upon awesome online events such as Virtual Noir at the Bar. Not only for doing my own reading, but sitting back each Wednesday and watching some truly fantastic authors doing their thing (and I live for the afterparty banter).

I've relied heavily on Twitter for a large chunk of my social life, and as sad as that sounds, it's been a bit of a lifeline. And, as a socially awkward person through and through, I don't miss the pressure of social events. You know, the 'I-should-really-show-my-face-but-quite-frankly-I-would-rather-be-in-my-PJs' kind of events. You know the ones.

I've had the opportunity to read several of my friends' novels, all of which were so great in their own special ways, I felt honoured to be given them to read and critique. I had a few 'pinch-me' moments, firstly when I was shortlisted for Penguin WriteNow, and then again when I was signed by David Higham Associates. I have read SO. MANY. BOOKS from my TBR pile. I finished the first draft of my second book.

I don't know what's yet to come; no one does. But I desperately hope the good stuff born out of the shitstorm that is Covid-19 doesn't eventually fizzle away into nothing, leaving me bereft of the things I'm loving right now.

But for now, if someone could just bottle that book-shop scent and drench me in it, I'd be a very happy woman. 

Roxie 

@RoxieAdelleKey

Book Review: Without a Trace by Mari Hannah

"People don't just disappear..."

I think we all know by now how much I love a gripping detective story, and Mari Hannah does not disappoint with her latest thriller, Without A Trace. I'm so excited to have found another detective to fall in love with, and another gripping series to get stuck into.

This cracking read gets off to a super-speedy start with DCI Kate Daniels and DS Hank Gormley hurtling towards London after the news that a transatlantic flight has dropped out of the sky... and the love of Kate's life, Jo Soulsby, was on that flight. To the anger of her Chief Superintendent, heartbroken Kate blags her way onto the investigation and embarks upon a one-woman mission to disprove that Jo was on that flight... because she couldn't have been... could she? What ensues is an unimaginable rollercoaster of twists and turns that I couldn't have predicted, transforming me into a page-turning maniac. 

The characters in Without A Trace stroll right off the page and into your life, but none more so than Kate. I fell hard for her from the very start. A smart, brave and feisty detective who insists on breaking the rules to get what she needs, and also happens to be a lesbian? I am all for that. 

It's clear this book is meticulously plotted and researched but at the same time, there's no laborious detail; the balance is perfect. It felt so believable, and I was genuinely right there with those characters... often forgetting to breathe. I even cried at parts, because the pain the characters feel is so real, so intense. 

The eBook and hardback are available now, and you can pre-order the paperback which comes out in January. Without A Trace is part of a series, but you don't need to have read all the books to be able to enjoy this (although you'll be desperate to, as soon as you've turned the final page).

It's tense. It's dramatic. It's emotional. Without A Trace is a perfectly-executed and riveting piece of crime fiction that any thriller fan should be getting their hands on. 

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

Virtual Noir at the Bar

I did a rather fun thing this week. Something that is not like me at all. Anyone who knows me will know I'm not a fan of public speaking in any way, shape or form. But for some reason, unbeknown to me, I applied to read at Virtual Noir at the Bar. And they said... yes. 

If you don't know what VNATB is (where have you been?) it's an online weekly event run by the fabulous Vic Watson and Simon Bewick, where crime and mystery authors read something they've written via live video. This was originally a physical event in Newcastle, in a bar (remember those?). The hope is that these events recreate a slice of what that experience was like. 

I've been dipping in and out of VNATB since the launch on the 1st of April, and what I love most is that it's a glorious mix of authors we know and love, and authors who are yet to be discovered. Some of the highlights for me have been readings from Ruth Ware, Christie Newport, Gillian McAllister, Amer Anwar, Phoebe Morgan, C L Taylor, Susi Holliday, and Suzy Aspley but honestly, you should see some of the line ups. 

This week I had the pleasure of reading alongside Adam Hamdy, Elizabeth Haynes, Anna Mazzola, Cara Hunter, Kate Hamer, Louise Candlish, Nikki Smith, Elly Griffiths and Amanda Robson. As many said on Twitter this week, what a lineup! Watch episode 14 here.

I really enjoyed doing my reading. I'm not great at pushing myself out of my comfort zone, but the comments in the chatbox after my reading left me with a little glow inside that I hope will keep me going. And to the person who commented on my eyebrows... THANK YOU. 

If you're yet to check out VNATB, sign up for next week's session here. The lineup will be announced on Saturday and I can't wait to see what Vic and Simon have in store for us.

These events are totally FREE but if you can spare a small donation to help keep the bar running, there's a whole bunch of people who'll really appreciate it.

See you at the bar!

Roxie Key

@RoxieAdelleKey

PS. Vic, Simon and a whole host of VNATB readers have released Noir From The Bar, an anthology of crime fiction that's raising a tonne of money for the NHS. Available in paperback and on Kindle, you'd be mad not to. I repeat, mad. 

PPS. My mother's cats were NOT arsed about my big moment.