Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie

The Blurb On The Back:

How do you defend a city surrounded by enemies and riddled with traitors, when your allies can by no means be trusted, and your predecessor vanished without trace? It’s enough to make a torturer want to run – if he could even walk without a stick – and Inquisitor Glotka needs answers before the Gurkish army comes knocking at the gates.

Northmen have spilled over the Angland border and are spreading fire and death across the frozen country. Crown Prince Ladisla is poised to drive them back and win undying glory. There is only one problem: he commands the worst armed, worst-trained and worst-led army in the world.

And Bayaz, the First of the Magi, is leading a party of bold adventurers on a mission through the ruins of the past. The most hated woman in the South, the most feared man in the North, and most selfish boy in the Union make strange companions, but, if only they didn’t hate each other so much, potentially deadly ones.

Ancient secrets will be uncovered. Bloody battles will be won and lost. Bitter enemies will be forgiven – but not before they are hanged.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

The second in Joe Abercrombie’s FIRST LAW TRILOGY is a gripping, action-packed novel that builds on Bayaz’s backstory, develops the conspiracy elements and subverts the traditional fantasy tropes (I particularly like the growing humanisation of torturer Glokta) but I am disappointed by the lack of rounded female characters and diversity.

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac

The Blurb On The Back:

It begins with someone else’s story. The story of a woman who leaves a busy restaurant on a chilly spring night in Washington, DC, walks out into the night and disappears completely.

Evelyn Carney is missing. For brilliant TV news producer Virginia Knightly, that’s a story worth investigating. But as she traces Evelyn’s last movements, she finds herself stumbling on secrets that powerful people want kept out of the news. Soon, it’s clear that before she uncovers what really happened that night, she’ll need to fight for her career, her sanity –and even her life.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Christina Kovac’s debut thriller is a solid affair that utilises her own experience in news media to provide a compelling account of newsroom politics, economics and competing egos but neither the romance element nor Virginia’s troubled history interested me enough and the mystery element itself didn’t feature the victim enough to care about the outcome and is hampered by a limited list of suspects, which makes the result predictable.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

101 Ways To Win An Election by Mark Pack and Edward Maxfield

The Blurb On The Back:

In politics there are no prizes for second place.

Packed with advice and practical examples, this guide reveals the insider secrets and skills you need to make sure you’re a winner on election day. In easily digestible bite-sized chapters, seasoned campaign professionals Mark Pack and Edward Maxfield share successful tactics from around the globe to help steer you on the course to power.

Learn to hate trees, always have more people than chairs and never, ever, forget the law of the left nostril – head those lessons and win that election.

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Mark Pack ran the Liberal Democrats’ internet campaigns in the 2001 and 2005 general elections and Edward Maxfield has worked on political campaigns for over 30 years (both local and national) and in this interesting and informative book, they set out 101 practical tips in 101 short chapters for running an election campaign, divided into 5 sections: message; team; resources; communicating the message and leadership.