Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT THE DANCE OF DIMITRIOS by @PatrickBrigham #Crime #Thriller

Today’s team review is from Babus, she blogs here http://ajoobacatsblog.wordpress.com

Babus has been reading The Dance Of Dimitrios by Patrick Brigham

When a body of a woman is found in the river, local Greek police file it as the death of a Muslim refugee. No real investigation takes place as the body is considered of no consequence until it is suspected the body is of British National Marjorie Braithwaite. DCI Lambert working for Europol is despatched to investigate. He has been furnished with information about Marjorie Braithwaite that complicate the case further. Teaming up with an old colleague in Greece, Elektra Boulos, Lambert has his work cut out unravelling who Marjorie Braithwaite was in life and who could have wanted to and had opportunity to kill her.

This grown-up pan-European crime thriller laced with espionage and intrigue was compulsive reading with an edge of reality that set the story on fire. Whilst building out picture of the victim, we are presented with in-depth characterisations of both Lambert and Boulos, who are even at odds in this complex thriller whilst they try to make sense of the case they inherited. Lambert is very much his own man and a black sheep who picks his way through cases mostly singlehanded, as in his business it is default to trust no one. I felt no disadvantage from not having read any of the previous books in the DCI Lambert series.

There are suspects with motives ranging from getting bad book reviews to international espionage and human trafficking. If you like your police procedural crime thriller well written with that additional factor of plausibility and a huge dose of double dealing then you do not want to miss reading this one.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Good Deeds Challenge, Year 2 Week 30

Welcome to my second Year of Good Deeds, a challenge I set myself during April 2013. I decided to do at least one Good Deed a day for a whole year, now I am into my second year.

This week I’ve been doing the following;

November 9th – Day 9 on the Mystery Book tour and it was Mike Martin’s turn with his book The Body on the T http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5N9

Have finished reading 3 books this weekend and been writing reviews and drafting posts. Good deeds received: Have been sent an Amazon gift voucher, now what should I spend it on?

November 10th – My morning at school, then picking up bags of potatoes for myself and a friend from the farm I work for (yay, no more supermarket spuds for a few months) Day 10 on the Mystery Book Tour and it’s Marlin, Darlin’ from Margaret Langstaff http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Ts

November 11th – Day 11 on the Mystery book Tour and it the turn of Jan Ryder and her book Blood Pool http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Q0

November 12th – Had a new carpet fitted to one of our rooms today, made the fitters hot drinks. Day 12 of the tour and we met Jane Isaac and her book The Truth Will Out. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Rz

November 13th – A busy day today, I had coffee with fellow author Alison Williams and we had a long chat about all things bookish. Our November mystery writer today was Maria Savva and her book The Dream. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5QY

November 14th – Today we met Adrian Churchward and his book Moscow Bound on the mystery tour. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Oh

Picked up litter on my way back from the post box.

November 15th – It’s the turn of Patrick Brigham and his mystery Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-5Nd

Mystery Book Tour Day 15 #MysteryNovember Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini by Patrick Brigham

Please welcome Patrick Brigham to the Mystery November Tour with his book Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini

Where is your hometown?

I was borne on a small farm near Reading in Berkshire UK. My mother was a widow and she brought up her two unruly children single handed with the aid of a small market garden, loads of chicken, ducks and a nanny goat.

How long have you been writing?

I was given the unenviable task of editing my college magazine, which I discovered was quite compelling and from there onwards whenever anyone wanted me to write anything, I did so with relish. Although, it did not become a serious option until the late 80s, when unemployment reared its ugly head and I had more time on my hands.

What is your favorite sub-genre of mystery?

I like a little romance with my crime and in Abduction: An Angel over Rimini, DCI Mike Lambert, having experienced the indignities of an acrimonious divorce, he meets Countess Beatrix in Italy, who he believes might be a future companion. Whilst he is in Italy, he also finds out about his own father’s wartime exploits in Italy and a skeleton in the cupboard. What kind of sub-genre would you call that?

Where is Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini set?

In Italy on the Adriatic coast. Most of my stories involve travelling, and this is no exception and DCI Lambert – recently appointed to Europol the pan European police force – goes to Rimini to reopen a case involving the kidnapping of a little English girl called Penelope Scratchford.

Who has been abducted?

Penelope has disappeared from a smart Italian campsite, under the noses of her parents, who left to the whims of the Italian Civil Police – who point the finger of blame at her parents – are accused of murder.

Introduce us to Detective Chief Inspector Mike Lambert

DCI Mike Lambert is a thoughtful old school detective who previously was a senior British Army officer. On retirement from the army, he has worked his way up through the ranks of the London Metropolitan Police force and is a senior detective with Thames Valley Police in Reading. Having become disenchanted with his job in Reading – mainly due to to his divorce – he is seconded to Europol. They are established in the Hague of Holland.

Where else in Europe does the mystery trail lead our Chief Inspector?

The trail leads him into Greece, where he discovers organized people trafficking and illegal immigration across the River Evros from Turkey to Greece and also Bulgaria. With the help of certain members of the Orthodox Church in Greece and the Greek border police in Orestiada he finds new clues, which lead him to a crooked lawyer in Sofia.

Tell us about Europol and its differences from other agencies.

Europol is the unsung hero of the EU, serves all the national, European police forces, pays for and provides additional policemen to fight international crime and rarely takes any credit for it.

Tell us what you are working on at the moment.

I am working very hard at promoting the three books which I have written during the last eighteen months. My first book was about useless diplomats plus a murder, the second was about arms dealing, plus a murder and my third book is about child abduction and a murder. I thought it was about time that someone tried to murder DCI Mike Lambert himself – for a change – but I wonder why, and who it might be?

Where can readers find out more about you?

All my information is on my website www.patrickbrigham.co.uk in which you can also find information about my Twitter, Facebook and Blog accounts

Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini, find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Karen reviews Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini

Today’s book review comes from Karen, she blogs at http://mytrainofthoughtson.wordpress.com/

Karen chose to read and review Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini by Patrick Brigham

My Opinion

The book introduces you to Michael Lambert, a fifty-something English Chief Inspector working for Europol. His first case with Europol is tricky: Two years before, Penelope Scratchford has been abducted from a camp-site near Rimini. The Italian State Police soon believes in the parents’ guilt, and stops searching. Europol is not convinced and send their new DCI Michael Lambert to Italy – to find clues and at least closure. I will not tell you more about the story than shown in the Goodreads plot description. This would spoil the fun of reading this book yourself.

With Abduction – An Angel Over Rimini, Patrick Brigham has created a compelling story of a Europol DCI utilising his long-time Reading experience to solve a crime, and uncover neglect in local police procedures. Abduction – An Angel Over Rimini is an entertaining, gripping, and also astonishing Europol procedural read, making you want to read more. I was drawn into the story right away. I felt close to Michael Lambert and his way of analysing and detecting. All relevant characters became pretty real. Abduction – An Angel Over Rimini is a good read for mystery fans, readers who like surprises, and apparent coincidences.

This is a book to read again.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Rosie’s Book Review Team #RBRT Leiah reviews Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini

Today’s book review comes from Leiah, she blogs at http://www.soireadthisbooktoday.com

Leiah chose to read and review Abduction: An Angel Over Rimini by Patrick Brigham

Here is her review;

I need to find a reason to go on with my life; to like what I do, to like who I am and to quietly pass the days until I can finally accept that I am doing the right thing; both for myself and – he supposed – my immortal soul. – DCI Michael Lambert – Abduction: Angel Over Rimini

I truly enjoy European and British novels, especially police procedurals. The turns of phrase, characterizations and procedures are just enough different from American stories that I normally find myself dropping into the story and losing myself. While that is the norm, there are certain books that I simply can’t make myself like, not because the story isn’t good, but because it simply isn’t well written. In this case, though Mr. Brigham may have been a journalist, he is in great need of an editor.

Though there are those who seem to admire his writing style, I find that Mr. Brigham’s over-descriptive, ad nauseum style had me wanting to pound my head against a wall. A good third of the book could have been tossed out and tightened down in order to make the book more readable. For example, I really didn’t need to know which rail lines Lambert took from St Lazar to Gare du Nord, then to Charles de Gaulle, and how he bought socks and ties at the airport. Why not just bring them from home, anyway? And knowing that he bought ten eggs, a jar of honey, a packet of spaghetti, etc. – ugh. Instead of giving us your marketing list, as the book does focus on food in places, I would much rather know what he cooked for himself and let it go at that. It would be much more interesting than a market list! The whole book is weighed down with these types of descriptions – filler material at best – which slows the story and allows the mind to wander until you suddenly realize that you have totally lost track of the narrative.

That is not to say that the book is totally boring or uninteresting. There are sections of the book, focusing on the countries Lambert visits, which are jewels of writing. And yes, there are some “foodie” scenes that are well done. For example, sitting outside a café in Alexandroupolis, Greece, eating baklava and drinking a little sweet Greek coffee reminds me of my own experiences with the same. Moreover, the descriptions of the countryside Lambert visits are often well done.

As for the actual cold case, that Lambert is working for Europol? The story itself is heartrending, pointing out just how “inhuman” humans can actually be. The treatment of migrants, lives lived in squalor, child trafficking, guns, murder and death – all come sharply into focus.

As for the secondary story, of Lambert’s father’s extramarital relationship during the war in Europe and the outcome so many years later when Lambert meets the Duchess of Malfi, well, it rather strains credulity – not in the history, but rather in the extreme level of coincidence inherent in the plotline.

Overall, this isn’t a bad book in-and-of itself, just not one that makes me want to go back and read the first two in the series.

Find a copy here from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com

Guest Author Patrick Brigham

Today our guest is Patrick Brigham, author of yesterday’s book Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery. Here is a link to the post if you missed it. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4YB

Let’s find out more about Patrick.

1)  Where is your home town?

I was born in a village just outside the town of Reading in Berkshire England.

2) How long have you been writing books?       

I started to write seriously in the late 80’s at a time when the UK was enjoying one of its many economic crashes and I had to put my day job on the back burner, along with the many others who got hammered alongside me. A friend suggested that I joined a writers club in Wimbledon where I was encouraged to write. It was where I met two quite well known authors, who obviously hadn’t joined in order to learn how to write, but went there because they said that they enjoyed the company of other writers and the inspiration this promoted. Writing is a lonely profession.

3) What was the key idea which started the storyline for you of Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery?       

Because I was the editor of a news magazine in Bulgaria, I was fascinated by the prospect of murdering myself as a fictional character, which is what seems to happening to Liam Side in Judas Goat. So I bumped myself off on a Narrow Boat, after which the story started to develop. I had always been very anti arms trade, seeing it as a scourge  which causes so many unnecessary deaths and so that became one of the main themes of this book. It underlined the fact that for someone to pull a trigger, first there has to be a trigger to pull!

4) I believe you’ve lived and worked in Bulgaria, how long were you there for?       

I lived there for nearly twenty years although I’d been there regularly, before the so called political changes in 1989, and met many of the Communist players.

5)  Can you tell the readers what led to Liam Side having business dealings with Bulgaria.

In the book it is made clear that most of his business dealings are on behalf of South Africa where he is from originally. This means that he travels a lot around the world including the Soviet Union, its satellite countries and client states. For this reason he is sucked into a shady arms deal mainly because his daughter’s  life has been threatened if he does not cooperate. However, because he is a cool character, he manages to turn this threat into an invitation for his co-conspirators to            ultimately meet either justice or their ultimate doom –hence the title Judas Goat!

6)  Can you explain the political relationship between South Africa and Bulgaria which led to Thomas Biko being in Sophia.       

Thomas Biko is the new South African Ambassador. A supporter of the ANC, he has been placed there by supporters of Nelson Mandela after the political changes within South Africa. Liam Side tries to help him to purchase necessary plant and equipment, missing from SA due to the past embargo.

7) Why is Antony Kwong based in the UK? And how would you describe his type of business?

 Antony Kwong is a very typical shady businessman who enjoys the thriving commerce of London and the fact that it has so many banks and historical connections with international trade. We must never forget that trading is a major part of the many activities in the City of London, as is commodity trading and maritime insurance. Unfortunately, arms trading also becomes a part of this business – officially and unofficially – as many tyrannical third world dictators try to stay in control of their countries and to exploit their own population.

8) Yuri Vassilev turned out to be very helpful to Lambert, tell us about his career path.       

He would be a career policeman attached to the Ministry of The Interior. He is an exception to the rule and as a civilized man, wishing to distance himself from the  corruption which Communism breeds. Forget Karl Marx and Lenin, Communism is about power and money and he just wants to be a good policeman. He is also useful and appears in my forthcoming novel too.

9) Tell us about your other book, Herodotus.

Herodotus – The Gnome of Sofia is a light hearted look at the bumbling antics of a largely inward looking and mediocre diplomatic corps, whose mantra is ‘If you do nothing, you do nothing wrong.’ Imbued with elitism and totally self serving, in this book we can see their world gradually falling apart when you the reader,            discover that the British Ambassador’s wife is in fact the daughter of Britain’s most notorious spy, Jim Kilbey. Not a particularly nice woman and rather like her natural father in many ways, she turns out to be treacherous, selfish and – showing all the signs of being a sociopath – not far distant from her father Jim Kilbey’s            disreputable character.

10)  What are you working on at the moment, do you have an expected publishing date?

In an Angel over Rimini, once more come across Detective Chief Inspector Michael Lambert, this time working for Europol. This is also a story which has two prongs – one past and one present – when he is sent by Europol to help investigate the abduction of a little English girl from Rimini in Italy. A part of the obnoxious trade in human beings and misery, Lambert discovers that the Italian police have practically given up trying to trace her. A problem of perception, Vice Inspector Bosola of the State Police is convinced that she was murdered by her parents and buried somewhere locally, despite the fact that there is evidence which shows that she has been kidnapped and transported into Europe. Lambert pursues the evidence which leads him to Greece, into Eastern Europe and back to Germany.

The second prong of this mystery is an historical one which involves his late father Billy. He served as an RAF officer in a Pathfinder Squadron, during the allied invasion of Southern Europe and what has become known as ‘The Dirty War.’ It seems that he may have had an affair with a beautiful Italian aristocrat whilst serving in Bari and that Michael Lambert might have a secret Italian half brother . But who is Billy Lambert really and why did he always carry a pistol?  There appears to be a mystery side to Billy Lambert which his son knows nothing about and possibly a murder as well! When DCI Lambert finally reaches through the smoke and mirrors he discovers the true story.

 Find a copy here from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

Thank you Patrick and Good Luck with the next book.

Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery by Patrick Brigham

Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery by Patrick Brigham

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery. This is a murder mystery revolving around the British Police Force and Chief Inspector Mike Lambert. The book opens with the discovery of a body on a canal boat moored on the Kennet and Avon Canal just outside Reading in Berkshire.

With suspicious circumstances, the police try to piece together the little evidence they have. They believe the body could be Liam Side and Lambert finds himself on a trail which leads to Sophia in Bulgaria. Liam Side has led a colourful life and has had in fingers in many business pies as Lambert finds out when he slowly peals back the layers on the case.

He discovers that politics and money have driven others from across the world to interact with Liam Side and it seems that more than one person would like to find out more about his business dealings. Lambert’s methods of police work, diligently prove their worth as he finally gets to the bottom of his search.

I had to do my own bit of investigation with the title and I found out that a Judas Goat can be described as a false friend and one who betrays another. By the end of the book there are more than one acts of betrayal, did Liam Side turn out to be a winner? I’m not sure. Did Lambert solve the case? I’ll leave that for you to read.

Find a copy here from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk

View all my reviews on Goodreads

Patrick will be joining us on the blog tomorrow for a guest author interview, do pop back and find out more about his writing.

Good Deeds Week 23rd February – 1st March

Welcome to my weekly roundup of my year long challenge to do one Good deed a day for a year. This challenge began back in April 2013 and is still going strong. My inspiration came from reading “A Year of Doing Good” by Judith O’Reilly. Here is what I’ve been up to this week.

February 23rd – Finished reading a Flawed Perfection by Cassandra Giovanni today and wrote a review ready to coincide with the book release on March 7th. Happily agreed to read and review another book, Sarah’s Survival Guide by author Cynthia Harrison, I have previously enjoyed reading several of her books.

February 24th – The children are back at school today, so my Good Deed is ticked off with a morning helping out at school. Good Deed received; Mac Black’s book Derek’s In trouble arrived in the post today, can’t wait to get started on it.

February 25th – Have had a great 2 days on the blog giving and receiving Good Deeds. It started on Monday when I posted my review of Red Clay and Roses by S.K.Nicholls http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4Ge and went on to today with her taking part as our guest author. http://wp.me/p2Eu3u-4Hp I have had so much positive feedback about the review and the interview it has been lovely. On top of that I’ve helped spread the word about the book far and wide and I know it has lead to some readers buying the book. Finished another book today, this one was part of the new HarlequinE box set Shivers books, Legacy of Darkness by Jane Godman. My review and author interview will be posted here on the blog at the end of March.

February 26th – Have just written a book review for Sarah’s Survival Guide, it will appear on the blog later in March, started my next book Saving Our Pennys by Roy Dimond and Jeff Leitch. Just 5 letters to fill in my A to Z challenge, 2 of which I have authors interested in, but just need their confirmation.

February 27th – Having just finished reading Saving Our Pennys by Roy Dimond and Jeff Leitch. I needed to get out in to the sunshine and spend some time reflecting on the lessons I had learnt from the book. Do you ever read something that really makes to stop and think? So off I went for a walk, I like to leave all technology behind when I go out like this and just be at peace. Picked up litter along my route. Good Deeds received: Had virtual coffee with a blogging friend and she helped me out on a few technical issues.

February 28th – Am reading  Mac Black’s book Derek’s In trouble and having a good chuckle along the way. Left a big tip for my hairdresser today who worked wonders with an unruly mop of hair. Accepted 3 more books for review; Judas Goat – The Kennet Narrow Boat Mystery by Patrick Brigham, and two from Roy Dimond; The singing Bowl and The Rubicon effect.

March 1st – Have been feeling guilty, guilt is bad! I have contacted several authors about taking part in my A to Z challenge, lots of them have been wonderful and sent me back information quickly and efficiently. I had an author I had contacted by Twitter back in January who said yes, then when I sent out more messages they just got re-tweeted instead of read and replied. I’ve since let another author have the slot and the first one RT’s many of my daily tweets, but lost his chance. Today I sent him an apology by tweet. What else can I do?

Finished and reviewed Mac Black’s book Derek’s In trouble and the lovely Mac has offered to send me the third book in the series. There were so many great characters continuing the mayhem in Derek’s life, I’m still chuckling now remembering Granny Wisdom in her wheelie bin and 4 drunken men trying to climb over a high wired fence in the middle of the night. The afternoon was lovely and sunny and I spent it in the garden, a small good deed involved weeding the shared garden pathway.

Filled another letter on my A to Z challenge. Just letters Q and X to find books for, am hoping authors of the letters U and Y will send me the details I need this week. It’s been a good week.