Hi all. I’m currently on substack, where I am serializing my novel Not For Us (posting a new chapter weekly, every wednesday) and will be debuting new material you won’t find anywhere else.

I’ve created a special offer of 100% off the price of a subscription, so FREE, if you sign up for my substack by the end of the month.

Here’s the link: https://tonyhealey.substack.com/FreeMembership

I do hope that you all will join me!

Tony

After a slow but interesting start, Chris Brookmyre’s FALLEN ANGEL finds its feet and gets better and better as it goes on. The characters are well-drawn and believable. The plot is more than believable, which gave it extra edge over other, similar, thrillers in my opinion. The end of the novel is not to be missed, as Brookmyre expertly draws all the plot threads together. His writing is beautiful, yet economical. Here is a writer who can write good, uncluttered prose without feeling the need to pad anything out.

I highly recommend FALLEN ANGEL by Chris Brookmyre. You can order it on Amazon, and in the meantime, be sure to add it to your WANT TO READ shelf on Goodreads. You won’t regret picking-up this modern masterpiece.

I was kindly sent a review copy of Lisa Ko’s sensation novel, ‘The Leavers’ — and agreed to join a huge blog tour to promote the release of the book. I like joining-in with these things, as not only do I get to read excellent works of fiction, but I get to help out a fellow author, which is something I am always more than happy to do. If my little blog post can help spread the word about this terrific novel, and bring it to the attention of more readers, then that is no bad thing.

The book’s main character, Deming, has a dysfunctional beginning, which is only made more complicated when his mother Polly goes missing. With no parents, Deming is taken in by Kay and Peter–two professors–and lives with them in their upstate New York home. They give him a new name, Daniel Wilkinson, and Deming’s life begins to run a different course than perhaps it might have, had his mother Polly not disappeared, along with her boyfriend Leon.

Then, one day, Deming hears from Leon’s son, Michael. Following that, Deming heads for China, to get answers . . .

I don’t want to spoil the plot of this novel any further, but suffice to say it is a beautifully written novel concerned with the movement of people, of free-will, of wanting a life unconstrained by the expectation imposed on Chinese women by long-standing tradition, among many other things. I read a novel a few years ago, on a similar theme, called ‘The First Excellence,’ by Donna Carrick, and I encourage you to read both of these works.

Congratulations to Lisa Ko on this great, timely novel. I can’t wait to see what she conjures up next.

(I was recently sent a copy of FORCE OF NATURE by Jane Harper’s publisher and was more than happy to take part in the truly epic blog tour to support the release–big shout out to Kimberley Nyamhondera at Little, Brown UK for all her support.)

I thoroughly enjoyed FORCE OF NATURE. It is structured in such a way that, in alternating chapters, we see the investigation, and the events that led to the dead woman’s (Alice) murder. Nothing is quite what it seems, and the book was full of twists and turns–many of which were thoroughly unexpected.

Harper’s prose is sharp yet nuanced, and her character work is truly first-rate. I was impressed with this follow-up to THE DRY, and hope that Harper continues the series for at least another couple of books. Falk is an excellent protagonist and, like the famous sleuths that precede him, Falk proves himself to be worth revisiting. Nuanced, multi-layered protagonists like him don’t come along often enough.

Force Of Nature by Jane Harper

Where did Alice Russell go?

Is Alice here? Did she make it? Is she safe? In the chaos, in the night, it was impossible to say which of the four had asked after Alice’s welfare. Later, when everything got worse, each would insist it had been them.

Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.

The hike through the rugged landscape is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.

Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case – and Alice knew secrets. About the company she worked for and the people she worked with…

(To clear something up, I have been asked several times now if I named ‘Jane Harper’ from the Harper and Lane series after novelist Jane Harper. No. I first heard Jane Harper’s name some point after HOPE’S PEAK was released. It is purely a case of coincidence, so quit asking . . .)

After completing the manuscript of STORM’S EDGE, there was a lot of work, through subsequent drafts, that went into taking the book to the next level. I am glad that it got the extra time and attention (not to mention energy!) as readers seem to have responded strongly to the book. Meanwhile, HOPE’S PEAK is in the Top 20 of books sold on Amazon for the year…

I am currently 40,000 words into a new novel. Its the first book in a (hopeful) trilogy. More deets on that later on down the line. My plan is to deliver a solid draft to my agent in February, for her consideration.

On TV I have enjoyed the hell out of Star Trek Discovery, and of course Stranger Things 2 was excellent. Sorely disappointed by the lacklustre third season of Bloodline. And after a cracker second season of The Affair, it was disheartening to find it sizzle out somewhat in its third outing.
Thirteen Reasons Why was great (and timely), and I found that documentary Jim & Andy absolutely fascinating. And Gilmore Girls A Year In The Life did a fine job of pushing the series and characters onward. What we need now is an announcement for more…

At the movies, I think my favourite film of the year was Blade Runner 2049, followed closely by the fantastic The Last Jedi.
Dunkirk was phenomenal. Possibly Nolan’s best film yet. Alien Covenant proved that Scott has taken the Alien franchise about as far as it can go. You can reinvent the wheel, but you can’t reinvent it forever. After a while, all you see is a wheel, no matter what it is trying to be.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 was also fabulous, and the ending was truly moving. Much like The Last Jedi, it is a sequel that takes what made the preceding film really good and elevates it to another level. Rian Johnson and James Gunn are good examples of storytellers who have been given free reign with the material, and it shows with the end product.

On the reading front, I bested my 12 books a year target by reading 17. After enjoying Graham Greene’s The Quiet American years back, I read Our Man In Havana, and The Power and The Glory. Neither very good, unfortunately.
Bernard Schaffer ordered me to read Ready Player One. When El Presidente orders you to do something, you do it. It is a solid book. I enjoyed it for the most part. But I dont think it deserves the reverence it has got. As a non gamer, there were aspects of it that left me cold, and I think that is the books downfall. These sections read like fan wank. But what it does get right are the characters, the stakes and the emotional aspects. It will make a neat film.
I was blown away by Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, and by the grit of Galveston, by True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto. Uncommon Type—Tom Hanks’ short story collection—was really well done, with half a dozen standout stories. Can’t wait to see what he does next. Artemis by Andy Weir is his follow-up to smash hit The Martian. It will appeal more to fans of Ready Player One than it will fans of The Martian. It was a lot of fun, and I greatly enjoyed it. It’s a hard act to follow The Martian, but he did an admirable job, and proves the success hasn’t gone to his head. I enjoyed new works by friends at Thomas and Mercer: The Devil’s Country by the ever-funny Harry Hunsicker; the awesome Baytown Salvage by Mark Wheaton and The Lucky Ones by that no-good rascal Mark Edwards.
Friend David Hulegaard relaunched his rewritten/retooled Noble Trilogy to great acclaim and you really should check it out.
The standout, for me, was Dodgers by Bill Beverly. It was a tremendous work of fiction. Crisp, clean writing. Deft plotting. It has won a slew of awards and it deserves every one of them. I am still thinking of this novel, months later. Very jealous of it, in fact. If I could write something as elegiac, as insightful, I would be a happy man.