Monty's Book Reviews

  The Last Train Detective Hiroshi Book #1 Michael Pronko 4 Stars Pages: 349 Published: 31 May 2017 Publisher: Raked Gravel Press Publisher’s Blurb THE LAST TRAIN is the gripping new Tokyo-based mystery by multi-award-winning author Michael Pronko Detective Hiroshi Shimizu investigates white collar crime in Tokyo. He's lost his girlfriend and still dreams of his time studying in America, but with a stable job, his own office and a half-empty apartment, he's settled in. When an American businessman turns up dead, his mentor Takamatsu calls him out to the site of a grisly murder. A glimpse from a security camera video suggests the killer was a woman, but in Japan, that seems unlikely. Hiroshi quickly learns how close homicide and suicide can appear in a city full of high-speed trains just a step--or a push--away. Takamatsu drags Hiroshi out to the hostess clubs and skyscraper offices of Tokyo in search of the killer. She's trying to escape Japan for a ne

  Perilous Gambit Mike Stoneman Thriller #5 Kevin G Chapman Pages: 331 Published: 24 Nov 2021 Publisher’s Blurb A Las Vegas drag queen and a South Dakota Senator– both murdered. How are they related? NYPD Homicide detectives Mike Stoneman and Jason Dickson wouldn’t be involved, except they’re in Vegas for Jason’s wedding . . . and the bride’s brother, Jackie, is the prime suspect. Mike and Jason try to intercede with the local cops, but when somebody tries to kill Jackie, being arrested is the least of his troubles. The harrowing events threaten to ruin the vacation, the wedding, and Jackie’s career. Is there yet another murder in the casino cards? When the heat is on in Las Vegas, Mike may need to take a huge gamble that could cost them everything. Their only way out may be a PERILOUS GAMBIT. Review This is my first experience of a Mike Stoneman Thriller and I was impressed with the writing style and the pace of the book. The book deals with the dark criminal un

  Gunman’s Song Ralph Cotton 3 Stars Genre: Western Pages:  399 Published: 6 Oct 2004,    Publisher’s Blurb Lawrence Shaw once got a boost out of being the quickest gun alive. Now he’s partial to telling gunfighter stories rather than living them. But that doesn’t stop every ornery shootist with an itchy trigger finger from trying to pull iron on Fast Larry Shaw…or a group of gamblers from wagering five grand on who will kill him…or a gang of cutthroat saddle tramps from slaying his wife while in search of him. Racked with guilt for not saving his beloved, Shaw vows to shorten the life expectancy of her murderers—and any other hardcase who even thinks of sending hot lead his way. Review 'Fast Larry' Shaw's wife is gunned down while he is away from home and when he learns who is to blame he sets out to avenge her death. Well it's taken me 50 years but I finally got around to read a Western and perhaps I picked the wrong one or maybe the genre is just

  Killer Shadow Thieves Detective Tom Blake Book #1 J F Burgess 5 Stars Pages: 419 Published: 16 Nov 2018 Publisher: Gripping Crime Publisher’s Blurb Could you commit murder to save your daughter's life? DI Tom Blake may have to if he wants to see his alive again. When he foils a deadly heroin deal, widowed detective DI Tom Blake sets off a chain of events that change his life forever. Things become even more perilous when seemingly unconnected links between a shocking murder, unwittingly disrupt an international gang’s daring plans to steal the world-famous Staffordshire Hoard. In a cruel twist of fate, Blake’s only living child, his teenage daughter Isabel, is abducted, propelling the bereft detective on a dangerous journey to bring her home safely. Operating outside the law, he’s racing against the clock, following a murderous trail that leads him into the shady world of stolen artefacts, chasing a shadowy killer driven by greed and revenge. As the body c

  Longhowls Author SN Dijk Illustrations by   Toktam Faramarzifar 3 Stars Pages: 191 Published: 1 Nov 2021 Publisher ‏ : ‎   PublishNation   Publisher’s Blurb Charlie and Sally, two ten-year-olds, live on adjacent farms on land that belongs to Longhowls, an ancient manor house that is home to exotic wild animals. They have long wished to be accepted into the summer holiday programme created by the owners of the manor house to give children the chance to get up close to the wild animals, and to learn about the history of Longhowls itself. Finally accepted into the programme and jumping with excitement, Charlie and Sally get ready for adventures with the wild animals, and the much wilder occupants of Longhowls. When they find ancient Roman treasure, it becomes clear that some of people around them have hidden agendas, and they get drawn into the dangerous and murky world of antiquities smuggling. Review When Charlie and Sally win a competition to spend the su

  Gavin and the Bodysnatchers Michael A. Duffy 5 Stars Genre: Comedy Thriller Pages: 398 Published: 23 Sept 2021 Publisher’s Blurb Time to cheer yourself up with this dark comedic page-turner! When Gavin’s retro joke shop fails and his wife, Marie, leaves him, he finds himself at a crossroads in his life. Seeking a fresh start in employment, his existence is then blighted by tyrannical boss, Bryce Brimstone - a man who seems to bestow misery on everyone he meets. Eventually wishing the dreadful guy dead, it seems that Gavin is not the only one who shares that daydream. But how might a monster be nobbled? With rat poison, a meat cleaver maybe, or even by the imaginative use of cling film? Or how about by using an app on your phone, one that makes sorting assassinations as easy as ordering a pizza? Then again, who would want to enter a traumatising world of murder investigations, kidnap, cannibalism, organised crime and ice cream van drama? Surely best to stay well cl