‘End Game’ by Anna Smith

Published by Quercus,
14 May 2020.
ISBN: 978-1-78747400-0 (PB)

Set in Glasgow, this is the third in a series featuring gritty Kerry Casey, who became gang boss after the brutal murder of a relative.  Now, crime iron lady Kerry, who is pregnant, is minded to turn legit although when a villainous friend of her father comes calling for help, she can’t resist becoming involved in the aftermath of a murky, notorious heist from a Hatton Garden safe deposit facility.  The underworld theft includes rare diamonds and precious jewelery plus highly incriminating evidence —photographs and DVDs— of prominent members of the government that if made public, would undoubtedly lead to their exposure, disgrace and incarceration.  Kerry is gleeful - it’s payback time.

Kerry isn’t the only tough, Corleone-type female character. Hannah, a younger, ex jailbird is another and she’s learning fast from mentor, Kerry.  Two formidable dames confront the male criminal fraternity, a world that is fraught with blood and bullets, Russian racketeers, hoodlums, Italian mafia, and incredible dimwits who mess with these women at their peril.

The story is an accomplished, action-packed shoot-out.  Violent and brutal incidents stack up leaving the reader breathless wondering what is next going to happen to whom.  Anna Smith is not an author  I have encountered before, but she has a sure touch, deftly stitching the plot and sub-plot together, possesses the rare ability to produce one dark, nail-biting page after another and has truly mastered the craft of writing a slick, gripping, high octane, never- a -dull moment thriller, not an easy thing to do.  

I read the book in one sitting and am full of admiration for the way the author has the reader on tenterhooks bang off from page one.  The end is such that it signals that there is a follow-up in the offing.  Can’t wait!  Highly recommended.

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Reviewer: Serena Fairfax

Anna Smith. After a lifetime as a tabloid journalist, wading through other people's misery on the frontline all over the world, she decided to put her experiences to good use. And so, the series of Rosie Gilmour novels were born, featuring a Glasgow journalist trying to tear down the world of corruption and injustice.  Her debut novel was The Dead Won't Sleep, the story of police corruption, prostitution and a child sex ring in a children's home. This was followed by To Tell the Truth, about a toddler stolen from a beach while on holiday with her parents in Spain.  Anna has now written six books in Rosie Gilmour series.  Her most recent series is set in Glasgow and features gang boss Kerry Casey. There are currently three books in the series.

www.annasmithscotland.com/

 

Serena Fairfax spent her childhood in India, qualified as a lawyer in England and practised in London for many years. She began writing by contributing feature articles to legal periodicals   then turned her hand to fiction. Having published nine novels all, bar one, hardwired with a romantic theme, she has also written short stories and accounts of her explorations off the beaten track that feature on her blog. A tenth, distinctly unromantic, novel is a work in progress. Thrillers, crime and mystery narratives, collecting old masks and singing are a few of her favourite things.

www.serenafairfax.com