Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT THE AMERICAN POLICEMAN by @BeardyJohn #WeekendBlogHop

Today’s team review comes from Georgia, she blogs at http://www.georgiarosebooks.com

Georgia has been reading The American Policeman by John Privilege

The opening paragraph of The American Policeman contains a sentence which starts off as one thing, ends as another and chills you as it progresses and whilst telling the reader everything, and immediately hooking you into the story, it gives nothing away. I love this about Privilege’s writing, his ability to slip in little snippets that hint at just what the character is feeling, like this.

‘Her dark eyes gleamed at him in the white light and he felt a familiar pressure on his chest. Her pleasure delighted him and he let himself enjoy her perfection for a moment too long.’

Timothy Conlan, Con for short, is our American Policeman, a District Inspector in London and Anna Gadek is his Detective Sergeant. A body has been found and murder suspected which wouldn’t seem that unusual for us but in this story that word hasn’t been uttered for over two years…and yet it is clear there has been a lot of death. There are mentions of Before, the Breakdown and the Restoration, no huge amounts of detail but enough to give you an idea as to the world they are living in now.

Con is unusual. A well-liked hero he struggles to understand the reactions of those around him as he feels nothing. However he fits in as he’s taught himself accepted behaviour and I very much liked him and the way he was written. He likes to have his team working around and with him, Doctor Schelling, Detective Danny Galvin and the Twins, Althea and Donna, as well as Harry Stopes.

Sandrine Burnett is the witness, a Beak, on her rounds. Interest is built quickly for the reader, little hints as to how people are living now after whatever it was that happened, the way things are being run and managed and the politics. For some reason interference by the politicians, initially in the form of Jenny McCann, comes early in this case which only adds intrigue as to who the victim really was.

The murder was brutal but nothing like as horrific as when a second body is found and Con and the team are on the trail of a serial killer, one with a grievance against those in authority, and the vengeance this killer exacts is ruthless.

There is so much that I want to tell you about this book but I know I can’t. I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it, I didn’t guess the twist but I wasn’t looking for it preferring instead to just enjoy the story as it unfolded. And the ending…oh, the ending was just what it needed to be and was done perfectly…I encourage you all to read it for yourself.

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

WINNER and Runner-Up of the Fantasy Sci-Fi 2015 Book Award #wwwblogs

The 2015 Fantasy Sci Fi Golden Rose award went to

Barb Taub and her Book One Way Fare

Meet Barb

In halcyon days BC (before children), Barb Taub wrote a humor column for several Midwest newspapers. With the arrival of Child #4, she veered toward the dark side and an HR career. Following a daring daytime escape to England, she’s lived in a medieval castle and a hobbit house with her prince-of-a-guy and the World’s Most Spoiled AussieDog. Now all her days are Saturdays, and she spends them consulting with her occasional co-author/daughter on Marvel heroes, Null City, and translating from British to American.

Catch Barb on Twitter @barbtaub or follow her blog for some brilliant posts.

One Way Fare published by Hartwood Publishing

Superpowers suck. If you just want to live a normal life, Null City is only a Metro ride away. After one day there, imps become baristas, and hellhounds become poodles. Demons settle down, become parents, join the PTA, and worry about their taxes.

Null City is the only sanctuary for Gaby Parker and Leila Rice, two young women confronting cataclysmic forces waging an unseen war between Heaven and Hell. Gaby and her younger brother and sister are already targets in the war that cost their parents’ lives. Should they forsake the powers that complete their souls and flee to Null City? Meanwhile, Leila has inherited a French chateau, a mysterious legacy, and a prophecy that she will end the world. Gaby and Leila become catalysts for the founding and survival of Null City.

It just would have been nice if someone told them the angels were all on the other side.

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

The Silver Award went to John Privilege and his book The American Policeman

Meet John

Not one to shout about himself, John hails from just out side Belfast, there’s very little to be found about John, but you can find him chatting on Twitter as @BeardyJohn

The American Policeman

After everything, there is peace. The Collective took London away from the gangs that terrorised the city after the plague and the slow terror of the Breakdown. The blood on the streets has dried. There is food, water and good housing. Everyone has work. But the meek have not inherited the earth. On a bitterly cold night a woman is brutalised and murdered, shattering the fragile calm of the city. The investigation of London’s first murder in two years falls to Inspector Timothy Conlan and the District team of the New Metropolitan Police. Tim ‘Con’ Conlan serenely navigates the harsh new London. He is dedicated, conscientious and smiling. Around him society is broken. People are traumatised, fearful and wracked with guilt. Now the dark, empty spaces of the city are being stalked by a monster. Con must find and catch a killer who seems to know his every move. At the same time, there is something rotten at the core of the new government. In the very heart of the Collective, massive lies are being spun. There are rumours of war, whispers of betrayal. The Collective is harsh, relentless and utterly unforgiving. The problem for Con is simple: find the killer; stay alive.

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

Final Congratulations to all our nominees in this category

Dylan J Morgan with THE SICKNESS

C.S Boyack with WILL O’ THE WISP

Rewan Tremethick with FALLEN ON GOODTIMES

Celine Jeanjean with THE VIPER AND THE URCHIN

ANNOUNCING winners and runners-up in the 2015 Rosie Amber Golden Rose Book Awards #TuesdayBookBlog

Welcome to the Official Awards Ceremony of the 2015 Rosie Amber #RBRT Book Awards. We had almost one thousand votes. A Huge thank you to all the nominees and their supporters.

Here Are The Results

 

Congratulations!

2015 Rosie Amber Book Award

Fantasy and Sci-Fi

Winner of the Golden Rose is

Barb Taub with One Way Fare

 

  

Runner-up and receiver of the Silver Rose is

John Privilege with The American Policeman

 

 

 

 

Congratulations!

2015 Rosie Amber Book Award

Mystery and Thriller

Winner of the Golden Rose is

Rose Edmunds with Concealment

 

Runner-up and receiver of the Silver Rose is

Robert Leigh with Any Man Joe

 

Congratulations!

2015 Rosie Amber Book Award

Contemporary

Winner of the Golden Rose is

Mark Barry with The Night Porter

 

Runner-up and receiver of the Silver Rose is

Terry Tyler with Last Child

 

 

Congratulations!

2015 Rosie Amber Book Award

Romance

Winner of the Golden Rose is

Lynne Shelby with French Kissing

 

Runner-up and receiver of the Silver Rose is

Patricia Sands with The Promise Of Provence

 

Congratulations!

2015 Rosie Amber Book Award

Historical Fiction

Winner of the Golden Rose is

Zoe Saadia with Two Rivers

 

Runner-up and receiver of the Silver Rose is

Frances Evesham with Danger At Thatcham Hall

A round of applause please for all our finalists;

Dylan J Morgan

C.S Boyack

Rewan Tremethick

Celine Jeanjean

Geoffrey West

Noelle Granger

Rob Sinclair

Faith Mortimer

Sue Hewitt

Laura Wilkinson

Tonia Parronchi

Dena Haggerty

Helen Pollard

Heather Hill

Donna Brown

Emily Arden

Alison Williams

William Savage

Tony Riches

Vanessa Matthews

I will be posting feature posts on the Winners and Runners-Up authors over the next few days.

 

Rosie’s #Bookreview Team #RBRT THE AMERICAN POLICEMAN by John Privilege @BeardyJohn

Today’s team review is from Cathy, she blogs at http://betweenthelinesbookblog.wordpress.com

Cathy chose to read and review The American Policeman by John Privilege

Set in London a few years after the pandemic which swept the globe (The Turning of the World) District Inspector Timothy Conlan, or Con as he prefers, is woken with the news that a body has been found. He is part of the District team of the New Metropolitan Police formed in the aftermath, along with a new government widely known as the Collective. In post apocalyptic London, and the south of the country, things have been running pretty smoothly since the Restoration, houses and areas of the devastated city have been made habitable and are under the Collective’s protection. The lawlessness and gang culture prevalent during the fallout has been contained, or so they thought.

The murder is baffling for Con and his team. The dead woman is in a residence assigned to someone else, they have no record of her and there is no apparent motive. Usually the city is a peaceful place with everyone abiding by the rules, Con’s normal workload consisting of spies and infiltrators. Punishments are severe, death is the worst case scenario, and dissuades most from serious criminal activity. Areas in the rest of the country are not as free from disturbance as the city though, where violence and gangs are rule and are commonplace.

All is not as it seems within the new government and while Con is tasked with, and focused entirely on, finding a killer who always seems to be one step ahead, there is corruption at the highest levels and infiltrators in Con’s team.

Con is a compelling character, calm, contained and with a lack of the normal human emotions we all experience. ‘She looked into the utter blankness of his face and her eyes went wide’. He’s an enigma, totally focused and dedicated to his job. His back story, and that of other relevant characters, what they were and did before the pandemic, is introduced cleverly and seamlessly throughout the narrative. The dialogue is used to great effect within the structure of the story, too, which I like a lot. Learning how people coped during the Breakdown is a good inclusion and does its bit in bringing the story together, along with the large cast of characters who all add to the plot and storyline.

Post apocalyptic London, with it’s inhabitants, zones and dwellings, is imagined convincingly and described really well with an evocative turn of phrase, ‘Blackened shells of once beautiful buildings loomed over dark, empty spaces’, which give such vivid imagery. I love John Privilege’s writing style and enjoyed this story very much. Looking forward to the next book.

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

The #MysteryNovember Book Tour Day 15 John Privilege @BeardyJohn #SundayBlogShare

Welcome to Day 15 of the #MysteryNovember book tour.

Today our guest is John Privilege and his book The American Policeman

The American Policeman

After everything, there is peace. The Collective took London away from the gangs that terrorised the city after the plague and the slow terror of the Breakdown. The blood on the streets has dried. There is food, water and good housing. Everyone has work. But the meek have not inherited the earth. On a bitterly cold night a woman is brutalised and murdered, shattering the fragile calm of the city. The investigation of London’s first murder in two years falls to Inspector Timothy Conlan and the District team of the New Metropolitan Police. Tim ‘Con’ Conlan serenely navigates the harsh new London. He is dedicated, conscientious and smiling. Around him society is broken. People are traumatised, fearful and wracked with guilt. Now the dark, empty spaces of the city are being stalked by a monster. Con must find and catch a killer who seems to know his every move. At the same time, there is something rotten at the core of the new government. In the very heart of the Collective, massive lies are being spun. There are rumours of war, whispers of betrayal. The Collective is harsh, relentless and utterly unforgiving. The problem for Con is simple: find the killer; stay alive.

Where is your home town? 

I grew up on the outskirts of Belfast.

What do you like about writing in the mystery genre?

Mystery fiction is a terrific medium in which to construct characters. There are always two worlds – the police/detective and the criminal – and you can play around in either. I especially enjoy reading and, it turns out, writing moral ambiguity. I like my detectives rumpled, desperate and dishevelled; and my killers human, venal and mean.

What sub-genre of mystery does your book fit?

The American Policeman is set in the aftermath of a devastating pandemic, so post-apocalyptical fiction? Is that a genre? Can you even get a post apocalypse? Maybe it’s a dystopian mystery.

Where is your book set?

The story takes place in London. I wanted a large, dark and empty backdrop to the story; a giant cemetery. The new government is rigid, authoritarian and not a little vicious. I imagined it to be almost like London in World War Two – lots of military personnel, uniforms, rationing. I don’t really know London at all. But I love the city and most of the locations used in the story are real.

Can you introduce us to the main characters?

The main character is Inspector Timothty ‘Con’ Conlan – the eponymous American Policeman. He is outwardly well adjusted, loyal, conscientious and unflinchingly honest. His team in the District Division of the New Metropolitan Police is a collection of survivors: Anna Gadek, detective sergeant and the object of Con’s odd affections; Danny Galvin, another detective sergeant, broken and damaged; the mysterious Twins – Althea and Donna. Their investigation is complicated by the arrival of Jenny McCann, deputy in the London Assembly and the team’s new political officer. Other characters are revealed in flashbacks to the plague and the Breakdown. Oh, there’s also a dead little walking around the empty darkness of a mouldy hotel.

Where can readers find out more about you and your writing?

I’m a compulsive tweeter and will bend your ear on any subject over on Twitter – @BeardyJohn.

I’m in the process of constructing a Facebook page. I have a couple of entries on Amazon.

Where can readers find your book?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Policeman-John-Privilege-ebook/dp/B0156WSSVO/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446022271&sr=1-1&keywords=John+Privilege

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT The American Policeman by John Privilege @BeardyJohn

Today’s team review is from Bev, she blogs at http://baspicer.blogspot.fr/

Bev chose to read and review The American Policeman by John Privilege.

The American Policeman Review

 

I was given this book via Rosie’s Review Team in return for an honest review. I’d downloaded a sample, and wanted more.

 

The title intrigued me, as I love character-driven writing. Con, the American policeman, is convincingly drawn, foibles and all. His task – to capture a violent psychopath in a cleverly constructed post-apocalyptic London.

 

Privilege has a fluid style of writing, using dialogue effectively to fill out his characters. When we do get back story, this is slickly delivered for the most part.

 

If you enjoy a certain rawness, a certain intimacy of expression, this book will satisfy. These are real people, who are not afraid to say exactly what they think! I should add that there are a lot of them. I found it hard to keep track of who was who, and wondered whether so many characters were necessary, or whether my addled brain was just not keeping up!

 

I did find the middle part of the book a little slow. This was mainly due to a tendency to repetition. As the story unfolded, the action stalled, with too much attention given to recapping and planning for the eventual denouement. I didn’t skip ahead, but I did think about it. I certainly hoped that it wasn’t going to be an action thriller that was going to fizzle out and leave me stranded.

 

It absolutely didn’t.

 

When the pace picked up I was riveted. I’d guessed the twist, but that didn’t matter. The writing carried me along at a furious pace and the ending – well, it chilled me to the bone.

 

Another independent writer to add to my list.

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

 

 

Rosie’s #BookReview Team #RBRT The American Policeman by @John Privilege @BeardyJohn

Today’s team review is from Terry,  she blogs at http://terrytylerbookreviews.blogspot.co.uk/

Terry chose to read and review The American policeman by John Privilege

The American Policeman by John Privilege

5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed by me as part of Rosie Amber’s Book Review Team

I adored John Privilege’s first novel, The Turning of the World, so leapt on this when it came out.   I started to read it almost immediately, but couldn’t get into it. Has that ever happened to you? You start to read a book you think you’re going to love and it just doesn’t ‘speak’ to you at all?

I left it. I started it again yesterday, two weeks later—and, from the first sentence, I found it unputdownable. Weird; I think I must have just been tired or in the wrong mood the first time! Then, I thought there were too many characters, and I couldn’t work out what was going on. The second time, I could visualise it all straight away. I’m only saying this because there ARE a lot of characters introduced in the first 5%, and it leaps straight into the action, so if you get confused, too, put it down and try it again later!

This is really, really, really good, I loved it, even sneaking five chapters in at 4.30 in the morning when I woke up to go to the loo! The basics: It’s set in London, a fair amount of years after a pandemic which destroyed the world as we know it. Enter The Collective, formed by (amongst others) relics of the old government, who transform London and the South from a dangerous world of terrorising gangs into a supportive and safe society. Detective Timothy ‘Con’ Conlan is charged with solving a gruesome murder, the first in the capital for two years. But this is no ordinary murder….

Con is a terrific character, so much more than your average American cop with a personality disorder. I loved the structure of the book, in particular. I’m a great fan of well-placed back story, and this has plenty of it—gradually, we are shown what each major character did ‘Before’ (ie, before the pandemic), and, most importantly, during the ‘Breakdown’ (when the world went to pot afterwards). We also, later on, learn more about Con’s upbringing. I love stories about the breakdown of society, so found these parts fascinating, and they brought the whole thing together—that’s the art of good back story writing, I think, to not only stick it in the right place, but also write it so well that the reader finds it as absorbing as the main plot line. And this book is certainly written well.

The Kindle formatting is a little random in places, I’ve mentioned that for those who are bothered by such things, but it didn’t matter one jot, I would have loved reading this if it had been typed on a manual typewriter and presented to me on tatty bits of paper. John Privilege has a fabulous imagination, and has dreamt up the state of the post-pandemic world so well. The suspense is just right, and the end ‘twist’ not only worked but surprised me.

It’s great. Get it!

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