Book Tour! Wild Life by Liam Brown

I'm excited to be the last spot on the Blog Tour for this exceptional tale of survival. Thank you to the author and the publisher, Legend Press, for a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

When a troubled advertising salesman loses his job, the fragile wall between his public and private personas comes tumbling down. Fleeing his debtors, Adam abandons his family and takes to sleeping rough in a local park, where a fraternity of homeless men befriend him.

As the months pass, Adam gradually learns to appreciate the tough new regime, until winter arrives early, threatening to turn his paradise into a nightmare.

Starving, exhausted and sick of the constant infighting, Adam decides to return to his family. The men, however, have other plans for him. With time running out, and the stakes raised unbearably high, Adam is forced to question whether any of us can truly escape the wildness within.

Thank you to the author and the publisher, Legend Press, for a proof copy in exchange for an honest review.

Have you ever wanted to escape the rat-race? Ever had that feeling that life would be so much simpler if we could just walk away from everyone and everything? That's just what Adam does. At the end of his tether, feeling worthless and bereft of any self-control, self-worth or hope, he walks away from his family and multitude of problems.

He is saved by Rusty, who introduces him to a hidden paradise, a band of brothers who survive (barely) off the land and their own hard work. Their simple lifestyle is brutal, as they fight against nature to survive.

I loved Rusty, who is determined that no one should disrupt their way of life; I was scared stiff of their yoga-loving leader Marshall (I envisaged him as Negan from The Walking Dead), and felt both sympathy and irritation for Adam, who had destroyed his own life.

I found Wildlife to be compelling reading. I devoured it in a couple of sittings. From the premise it should be a bleak, depressing tale, but it is nothing like that. It's fast-paced, with a sense of menace and unease that had me turning the pages with trepidation. My heart was in my throat as the story progressed, as the men's basic instincts threaten to over rule their humanity, culminating in  terrifying scenes which left me shaken long after I finished reading the book.

You can buy Wildlife here (other retailers are obviously available!). And you should!

Book Review: The Teacher by Katerina Diamond

You think you know who to trust?You think you know the difference between good and evil? You’re wrong … 

A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.

Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.

As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.

But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.

And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

I received a copy of this novel thanks to Netgalley and the publisher, Avon, in return for an honest review.

Sexual fetishes, gruesome torture devices, nothing is left to the imagination in this gory tale of a string of murders and corruption. We are warned of the nature of the violence, and it doesn't disappoint - which I find quite sad  because it should be shocking. Nothing is particularly shocking these days.

I initially found The Teacher quite difficult to get to grips with as there were a lot of characters introduced in a lot of different scenes, I got quite confused and almost gave up trying to work out who was who.

The two DSs on the case, Miles and Grey, are among the many in the story trying to escape their past. Grey in particular is well-drawn, but it takes a while to warm to Miles, who has been left quite numb by previous events.

Once I got to grips with what was going on, I mostly enjoyed the story. There is tenderness, in amongst the violence, and there are couple of sex scenes which are surprisingly gentle and provide a stark contrast to the rest of the book. 

I was disappointed as I guessed the identity of the murderer early on, and despite the reasoning behind their behaviour, I found the ending of the story rather unbelievable.