‘Twisted’ by Maggie Giles

Published by Rising Action Publishing,
19 September 2023.
ISBN: 978-1-99025370-6

Blaine and Melanie run a not very legal high class escort service. Some of the girls also lodge with them. Jackie is one of them,  and as she and Melanie are out one night they find a young woman asleep in a back alleyway, covered in cuts and bruises. Waking her, she tells them her name is Candy. They take her back home and find in the bag she is carrying a strange bottle of pills, but the label is made out to someone else.

Meanwhile Detective Ryan Boone attends a robbery at a jeweller’s shop. The owner tells them that the most precious object taken was a diamond bracelet. A strange pill is found lying on the shop floor.

We then learn of a Brielle Jeffries who wakes up in Jackie’s apartment and can remember nothing. She is a recovering drug addict and is worried she may have strayed back to her old habits. She often has flash backs to when she was six years old, kidnapped, and held to ransom. This led to her seeing a psychiatrist and becoming hooked on the drugs she was given.

One day Melanie has to provide ten girls for a party given by sleazy lawyer Paul Dorian at which there is more evidence of the same drug. No one seems to know what it is.

Detective Boone is becoming concerned about the jewellery robbery, strangely most of it was recovered in an alleyway but the bracelet is still missing. The more he and his team look into it, the more they discover it may have to do with recent murders, previously seeming to be unconnected. There is also the mystery of the unknown drug. Then to the team’s surprise the bracelet is found in a very unexpected place.

As the story unfolds it becomes obvious that no one is who they appear to be. Can Detective Boone and his team manage to unravel the seemingly impossible tangle of lies and deceit? It appears likely that the unknown drug which keeps being found in various places has something to do with events. They need to find out more about its effects on people and perhaps that will answer some of their questions.

A very good in-depth story dealing with the seedier side of life. I don’t think I have ever read such a complex and complicated plot – the title Twisted is very apt.

Thoroughly recommended for readers who love to unravel a complex plot.
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Reviewer: Tricia Chappell

Maggie Giles is a Canadian author who enjoys creating new connections and experiencing new opportunities. Her writing interests span across a variety of genres but finding a focus on a women’s fiction with suspense elements. She is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

Tricia Chappell. I have a great love of books and reading, especially crime and thrillers. I play the occasional game of golf (when I am not reading). My great love is cruising especially to far flung places, when there are long days at sea for plenty more reading! I am really enjoying reviewing books and have found lots of great new authors.

‘The Picture House Murders’ by Fiona Veitch Smith

Published by Embla Books,
29th August 2023.
ISBN 978-1-47141570-8 (PB)

Fiona Veitch Smith’s earlier Poppy Denby murder mysteries became some of my favourite reads of the year and I confess to being somewhat apprehensive when I discovered the author had abandoned Poppy and Oxford in favour of not only a new heroine but also what was for me an unknown northern city. Even with a much-loved author, reading the first in a new series is always a gambol. We grow to know and love the old characters we are familiar with and don't quite know what to expect. I confess I was hesitant at first but after a couple of chapters, I was hooked and couldn't put it down.

Set in 1929, Clara Vale is an emancipated young woman determined to make her own way in life without financial support from her father or a husband. Despite her top-class Oxford degree in chemistry, her hopes of finding a job in the science world are dashed when she is faces prejudice about employing a woman in what is perceived as a male environment. Much to the annoyance of her parents who want her to find a suitable husband, Clara takes a post as a librarian which provides little opportunity for her love of research.

On the unexpected death of her much-loved Uncle Bob, Clara discovers he has left her not only his house and a substantial legacy but also a detective agency and a laboratory. Clara is faced with a dilemma whether to sell the house and business or leave London for Newcastle and continue with the agency. Before she has the chance to decide, she is approached by one of Uncle Bob’s clients who pleads for Clara to continue the case he was working on concerning a fire in a local picture house. When a second picture house is destroyed in suspicious circumstances, Clara finds herself drawn into solving the mystery using all her scientific knowledge and her fast-developing detection skills.

Each of the large cast of characters are well-drawn, and as the complex plot unfolds with plenty of twists and turns, the tension mounts up lightened with hints of a romantic subplot. The reader is quickly drawn into this engaging, page-turning first novel in what will no doubt be a fascinating new series.
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Reviewer: Judith Cranswick  

Fiona Veitch Smith is the author of the Poppy Denby Investigates novels, Golden Age-style murder mysteries set in the 1920s (Lion Fiction). The first book, The Jazz Files, was shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger, while subsequent books have been shortlisted for the Foreword Review Mystery Novel of the Year and the People’s Book Prize. Book 5, The Art Fiasco, is out now. Fiona lives with her husband and teenage daughter in Newcastle upon Tyne. She works part time for the Crime Writers' Association and is the Deputy Editor of Red Herrings magazine.

 www.poppydenby.com

Judith Cranswick was born and brought up in Norwich. Apart from writing, Judith’s great passions are travel and history. Both have influenced her two series of mystery novels. Tour Manager, Fiona Mason takes coach parties throughout Europe, and historian Aunt Jessica is the guest lecturer accompanying tour groups visiting more exotic destinations aided by her nephew Harry. Her published novels also include several award-winning standalone psychological thrillers. She wrote her first novel (now languishing in the back of a drawer somewhere) when her two children were toddlers, but there was little time for writing when she returned to her teaching career. Now retired, she is able to indulge her love of writing and has begun a life of crime! ‘Writers are told to write what they know about, but I can assure you, I've never committed a murder. I'm an ex-convent school headmistress for goodness sake!’ Her most recent book is Passage to Greenland

 http://judithcranswick.co.uk/

Winners Revealed For The Mcilvanney Prize 2023 & The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize

Sponsored by The Glencairn Glass

We're thrilled to reveal the 2023 winners of
The McIlvanney Prize and The Bloody Scotland Debut Prize.
The finalists for both prizes led the iconic torchlit procession from Stirling Castle through the historic old town this evening accompanied by the pipes and drums of the Stirling and District Schools Pipe Band.
On stage at The Albert Halls Kenny Tweeddale, from sponsors The Glencairn Glass, presented the winner of
The Bloody Scotland Scottish Crime Debut of the Year
to Kate Foster for The Maiden (Mantle)
and The McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Book of the Year
to another debut author, Callum McSorley for Squeaky Clean (Pushkin Press).

The judges for The McIlvanney Prize were unanimous in their praise for Squeaky Clean which beat off competition from previous McIlvanney Prize winners Craig Russell and Denise Mina and previous Bloody Scotland Debut winner, Robbie Morrison, to be named Scottish Crime Book of the Year.

Bryan Burnett from BBC Radio Scotland said:
 
‘A wonderfully rich and funny new voice in Scottish crime. McSorley has created characters you invest in and a plot that keeps you hooked right from the start. Although it’s dark and gruesome it’s full of laugh out loud lines that still bring you pleasure long after you’ve finished the book. A novel I couldn’t wait to recommend to friends. ‘Glasgow’s least popular detective’ is about to hit the big time.’ 

Jason Allardyce, former editor of Sunday Times Scotland described it as:

‘A fresh new voice brings a Brookmyre-esque beauty that sparkles like a motor straight out the car wash. Full of unforgettable, three-dimensional characters and laugh out loud moments in every chapter to offset the violence among the valets.’

Angie Crawford Category Manager for Waterstones called it:

‘A thoroughly astonishing brutally brilliant novel written with wit and verve and laced with a very black humour that betrays a vulnerability and gets right under the skin. Callum McSorley’s writing is fresh and exciting, I can’t wait to read more.’
 
Squeaky Clean (Pushkin) features DI Ally McCoist the least popular detective in the Glasgow police who has been demoted. It’s a contemporary thriller packed with black humour and hints of Breaking Bad. Like Tim in the book, Callum McSorley worked at a carwash to make money while he was a student which has informed some of the colourful characters.  He is from East Kilbride (as is the original footballing Ally McCoist) and graduated from the University of Strathclyde in 2013. His stories have appeared in Gutter magazine and New Writing Scotland.

The judges for the Bloody Scotland Debut Prize selected The Maiden by Kate Foster (Mantle) as the best Debut of the Year

Pauline McLean from BBC Scotland said:

‘The Maiden is a finely crafted, multi layered story. I didn’t want it to end, and certainly not in the way I knew it did, being based on a true-life case. A rare and poignant female perspective in a decidedly male world, told with passion and humour. Much more than a crime novel, and apt that its own development began at Bloody Scotland in 2020.’

 Kenny Tweeddale, New Product Development Manager from The Glencairn Glass said:

‘I thought The Maiden was a terrific bodice ripping tale that kept you guessing till the end.  The fictional story was built around factual characters and a historical incident from the chequered past of Auld Reekie. Bouncing between two strong female characters it demonstrates how women had to strive to survive in a male orientated world.’

Journalist and Editor Arusa Qureshi said:

‘The Maiden is a fascinating and immersive debut, that places you in an imagined yet historically familiar time and space. Stories about women in history are so often lost or forgotten so it’s refreshing to read something based on a true case that is skilfully constructed and utterly gripping, with a woman’s voice front and centre.’

Kate Foster has come full circle at Bloody Scotland. She first appeared on the virtual stage at Pitch Perfect during lockdown in 2020. She won the pitching panel with an outline of The Maiden and went on to get an agent and publisher. The Maiden (Mantle) is set in the 17^th Century and is a reimagining of true historical events in which Lady Christian Nimmo is charged with the murder of her lover - and uncle - James Forrester. Kate Foster is a journalist and lives in Edinburgh.

Kirsty Nicholson, Design and Marketing Manager at Glencairn Crystal, said:

We’re raising a celebratory dram in our Glencairn Glass to salute Callum McSorley and Kate Foster for winning this year’s awards. A massive congratulations to them both on their success. We’re very proud of our Scottish heritage and it has been a huge honour to sponsor the awards over the past few years that showcase the diverse array of talent that currently exists in the world of Scottish crime fiction.’

A huge congratulations to both winners!

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