Good morning, bookworm, let me take your coat and scarf. Goodness me, it’s chilly this morning as autumn wraps us in it’s embrace of change. I feel like I turned a little poetic there; it must be from dusting the poetry bookshelf this morning. They don’t get as much attention as the other books, so they like to scatter a little of themselves on those who come close, to remind us of them later. It’s quite fun at times but when I’m trying to tell a cold caller that I definitely, absolutely have not had a coming together of souls trapped in their metallic prisons (a car accident), it gets a little frustrating!

Cup of tea? Remind me, is it just milk? Here you go. Now then, from poetry books to something which couldn’t be further from them if I tried I feel! I’ve recently finished reading Missing For Good by Alex Coombs. Have you read it? Let me tell you more about it.

Here’s the blurb: Is she alive, or is she missing for good…?

When the estranged daughter of Scotland’s premier art dealer goes missing, Private Investigator Hanlon is hired to find out where Aurora is.
But what she thinks will be a relatively straightforward job, soon turns dangerous. The missing girl has a troubled past but what made Aurora suddenly pack her bags and disappear?

Hanlon has her work cut out for her. The stakes are rising and she needs to get to the bottom of the case before someone else is attacked.
And is Aurora still alive, or is she missing for good?

A gripping new case for feisty female Private Investigator, Hanlon. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza and Lisa Regan.

Now, here’s a little about the author: Alex Coombs studied Arabic at Oxford and Edinburgh Universities and went on to work in adult education and then retrained to be a chef. He has written four well reviewed crime novels as Alex Howard. You can learn more about the author and other books he’s written by clicking the button below.

And here’s my review: Well bookworm, I had to toughen up to read this book. I’m the adult who can’t watch 18 rated movies because I find them too violent. I’m also the adult who sits with fingers in ears and eyes screwed shut, making “lalalalala” noises until someone nudges me to tell me the violence is over, if a 15 rated movie sneaks a surprise attack in from left field. I can usually cope much better with violence in books, although I wouldn’t go out of my way to look for one specifically for this.

Missing For Good starts violently and keeps up the attacks all the way through as Hanlon tries to track down the missing Aurora. Set in Scotland, it takes the reader to a dark place of gangland violence, revenge attacks and fear. Imagine if Irvine Welsh, Lee Child and Martina Cole shared their authorial genes: this book would be the product of that gene pool.

I must hold my hands up and admit that I had to skim read the violent parts but that’s purely because my imagination insists on taking whatever is written on the page and turning it into a super HD reel for me. And I can’t screw my eyes shut as easily when I’m reading… That being said, I was wrapped up in the plot, followed the red herrings (dead, of course) until the story began to draw all the threads ( garottes) together in a totally unexpected way. I didn’t see what happened coming at all, and I love that about a book.

Hanlon wasn’t my favourite character surprisingly; instead, I was drawn to the anti-hero Jamie McDonald, a violent criminal who is trying to stay one step ahead of a psychopathic gang boss. I enjoyed the relationships between Hanlon and other characters in the book and the different dynamics with them.

So, dear bookworm, if you like your red herrings with a pinch of murder and a dash of revenge, look no further than this book! If you would like to buy a copy for yourself, you can click on the book image which will take you to Amazon (I don’t receive anything for this link, I’m just being a helpful bookworm).

And now, I must dally no more, bidding adieu for my….. seriously, I’m going to have to have a word with these poetry books about this, I can’t cope…