Whoop! Absolutely over the friggin’ moon to be sharing my review of Michael J Malone’s A TASTE OF MALICE! I read this book pre-blog days and now that it’s had a new cover, I thought I would get it up on CrimeBookJunkie. More about Mr Malone, this book and my review below!
About the Author
Michael Malone was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country, just a stone’s throw from the great man’s cottage in Ayr. Well, a stone thrown by a catapult, maybe.
He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. His career as a poet has also included a (very) brief stint as the Poet-In-Residence for an adult gift shop. Don’t ask.
BLOOD TEARS, his debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize (judge:Alex Gray) from the Scottish Association of Writers and when it was published he added a “J” to his name to differentiate it from the work of his talented U.S. namesake.
He is a regular reviewer for the hugely popular crime fiction website www.crimesquad.com and his blog, May Contain Nuts can be found at http://mickmal1.blogspot.com/
He can be found on twitter – @michaelJmalone1
About the Book
Disgraced cop, DI Ray McBain is back at work and in the professional dog-house. Desperate for something meaningful to do, he hones in on two old cases, where a woman has inveigled her way into a family and found ways to manipulate and torture the children. Only his colleague, DC Alessandra Rossi, is prepared to assist him as he attempts to dig deeper into the abuse cases, and he goes on a search for the woman, re-interviewing the children involved and following a cold and disturbing trail.
Meanwhile, in Ayrshire, another young family gratefully accepts help from a stranger who enters their lives. However, the mother’s loss of memory following a car crash is masking deeper problems within the family that are ripe for exploitation.
Can McBain track down this woman before her acts of violence escalate, and a child is murdered?
Oh my giddy aunt – the tension is mounting as we return to Glasgow for the second novel in the McBain/O’Neill series!
Set in Glasgow, the reader is faced with some disturbing scenes of loss, abuse, guilt, a desperate need for justice, the truth, accountability, questioning morality; pain, loss of innocence, anguish – oh my- all the sadness and grief. It is one highly emotive read and certainly not for those who cannot read about real, yet uncomfortable topics.
What a #killerhook to open with, and what a book to read! BOOM! I love the dual narrative and various threads which make the plot interesting as it is told from two POV’s. This is such an intense read. I raced through the pages at breakneck speed, unable to put the book down to do all those other things I should have been doing! The story development is absolutely FAN-BLOODY-TASTIC and once again, I was so invested in McBain, I feel like I know this guy! Like really…know him! (Ok, I may get to heavily involved in my reading, but do I care….NOPE!) In comparison to Blood Tears (book 1 in the series) I definitely found this one more riveting, twisted and spine-tinglingly chilling -almost having a sort of psych-thriller feel to the usual procedural feel we get in this genre – LOVED IT!
Poor, Poor McBain! Will he ever be rid of the demons of his past? I adore the simplicity of him, though he is quite a complex character. I love DC Rossi as well in the book – I was really drawn to her and the torn feelings left-over from Blood Tears. I feel like I am being ever -so-vague- and I don’t want to be, but I think you really need to read this book to get the true relationship of all the characters as we watch them develop magnificently throughout this series!
Would I recommend this book! Oh HELL YEAH, I would – #alltheEeks for the McBain series. Intense, complex, compelling with some jaw-dropping OMFG moments, I think everyone should meet McBain!! Grab your copy today!
ps: Blood Tears is currently 99p, if you want to check out the first in the series… #justsaying ?