There are currently 2 books in this series with the 3rd, Unlawful Death, due to be released soon.
Bent Penny is the first book in the series:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
John Day very kindly gave me an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
This is the first book of his I have read so I was unsure what to expect but I love thrillers and I like to discover new authors.
Writing this without spoilers is going to be a challenge but hopefully I have done this without any giveaways.
Penny is the main character in this book (the title is a bit of a giveaway) and the author makes a brilliant job of building her character throughout the book. At the beginning she was a person I didn’t much like and and thought her maybe a bit unrealistic but due to John’s writing skills she develops into a robust and complex character able to quickly adapt to changing situations by the end of the book I was very taken with her. Penny has a very unique and unorthodox way of doing her job, that usually gives fast results that her peers are unable to comprehend, so she is regarded as a bit of an odd ball with an overdose of ‘policeman’s gut feelings’.
Another main character is Sam who is a fellow Policeman under Penny’s management. Sam is obviously a very intelligent and tech savvy individual but a secretive person that nobody knows very well. The 2 appear to be well matched and have a good working relationship.
There are a lot more characters throughout the book that come and go. All are introduced and ‘built’ quickly and efficiently.
There are 2 main stories that make up the book that enable the characters to be introduced in advance to appear when required. There is a lot going on with suspense from the first page and an overdose of intrigue. I am usually able to work out where a story is going but with this one I was totally in the dark most of the way through. I won’t say too much about the story as it may spoil it for some readers but I found it to be (unfortunately) very realistic with the imperfections in people and organisations that I would expect to find in the real world which was a big plus for me. There wasn’t too much of the ‘blood and gore’ I find in some books the author managed to find plenty of adrenaline kicking suspense in other areas.
The story ends with a cliff-hanger that has made me mark the release date for the sequel on my calendar. This is one of those books that you can’t wait to get to the end but you don’t want it to end.
The book is very professionally written I didn’t find any typos or other faults can often be found in self-published books. I can recommend it to any thriller lovers. I will be reading more from this author (and definitely will be pre ordering the sequel as soon as possible. A much deserved 5 stars
A big thank you to John Day for providing me with the opportunity to discover what I may have never found had he not befriended me on Facebook.
Book 2 is Girl on a String:
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
For anyone who likes reading Thrillers I would say this: John has a completely unique way of writing and developing stories and the stories in themselves are like nothing I have ever read before. If you are prepared to think outside the box and read and digest any or all of his books you will either love or hate them I can see where they might not be for everyone but personally I absolutely love them and cant wait for the next book.
Penny is a very unique character with a strange way of getting results which often leaves her at logger heads with her colleagues. This really ‘makes’ the books in book one I was a bit unsure of the how realistic the character was but now I am really getting to know and love her. She is not a social person which makes her success in the Police even more amazing.
The stories are fast paced and gripping and you just keep turning the pages. This book sees the cat, Holly making a contribution I am not a cat lover so consider these little additions unnecessary but I can see where they would appeal to the majority of readers.
I especially like the way John transitions from one book to the next picking up where the previous book left off and managing to ensure the books are stand alone but not boring the readers who have read the previous books with constant repetitions of events.
I thought the ending came as a bit of a surprise leaving some unanswered questions but I am sure this is part of a bigger plan that John has for the series.
On the whole this is one of the best books I have read this year and I am looking forward to the next book, Unlawful Death, which will be released soon.
