A Matter Of Blood by Sarah Pinborough

The Blurb On The Back:

The recession that grips the world has left it exhausted. Crime is rising in every major city. Financial institutions across the world have collapsed, and most governments are now in debt to The Bank, a company created by the world’s wealthiest men.

But Detective Inspector Cass Jones has enough on his plate without worrying about the world at large. His marriage is crumbling, he’s haunted by the deed of his past, and he’s got the high-profile shooting of two schoolboys to solve – not to mention tracking down a serial killer who calls himself the Man of Flies.

Then Cass Jones’ personal world is thrown into disarray when his brother shoots his own wife and child before committing suicide – leaving Cass implicated in their deaths. And when he starts seeing silent visions of his dead brother, it’s time for the suspended DI to go on the hunt himself – only to discover that all three cases are linked ...

As Jones is forced to examine his own family history, three questions keep reappearing: what disturbed his brother so badly in his final few weeks? Who are the shadowy people behind the Bank? And, most importantly, what do they want with DI Cass Jones?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

A dark and compelling fusion of urban fantasy, horror and police procedural, this is a very promising start to a trilogy that has an interesting over-riding mystery to carry it through. I greatly look forward to reading the sequel.

A MATTER OF BLOOD was released in the UK on 25th March. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC.

I am giving away a copy of both the ARC for A MATTER OF BLOOD by Sarah Pinborough and UNHOLY GHOSTS by Stacia Kane on my RL LJ here.

The Demon’s Covenant by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Blurb On The Back:

Mae’s life has spun out of control.

She’s just learned that her brother Jamie is a magician and Nick, the boy she’d set her heart on, has an even darker secret.

Jamie has been meeting with the new leader of the Obsidian Circle, who is hell-bent on persuading Jamie to join the magicians. When Mae calls on Nick and Alan to save her brother, the Circle sets in motion a plot to bring Nick down – by convincing his own brother to spring a deadly trap.

With brother set against brother and everyone’s loyalties divided, Mae sees a chance to save them all – but it means approaching the mysterious and dangerous Goblin Market alone ...

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

A disappointing sequel to the promise of THE DEMON’S LEXICON, this sees Mae become much more of a stereotypical love interest rather than the strong independent character she was in the first book. Told through her eyes, there’s a curious passivity to the story, with the most interesting events happening off-page. There are some clever lines and good moments, but it’s not enough to turn it around and while I’ll read the concluding volume, this just didn’t meet my expectations.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster for the free copy of this book.