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Sunday, 26 May 2019

#BlogBlitz Children in Chains by Lorraine Mace


It's my turn on the BlogTour Children in Chains by Lorraine Mace. It's police procedural crime fiction with a gritty realistic feel to it.
About the Author
When not working on her D.I. Sterling Series, Lorraine Mace is engaged in many writing-related activities. She is a columnist for both Writing Magazine and Writers' Forum and is head judge for Writers’ Forum monthly fiction competitions. A tutor for Writers Bureau, she also runs her own private critique and author mentoring service. She is co-author, with Maureen Vincent-Northam, of The Writer;s ABC Checklist (Accent Press). Other books include children’s novel Vlad the Inhaler - Hero in the Making, and Notes From the Margin, a compilation of her Writing Magazine humour column.

Follow @lomace on Twitter, on Facebook, on Goodreads, on Amazon, Visit lorrainemace.com  or thewritersabcchecklist.blogspot.com
Buy Children in Chains


About the book
Detective Inspector Paolo Sterling is determined to shut down the syndicate flooding Bradchester’s streets with young prostitutes.

When a child is murdered, Paolo becomes aware of a sinister network of abusers spread across Europe, and spanning all levels of society. But Joey, the shadowy leader of the gang, always seems to be one step ahead in the chase.

Has Paolo come up against a criminal he cannot defeat?

Review
This will be an uncomfortable read for some readers. It's quite graphic when it comes to the paedophilia, especially the interactions between the children and customers or kidnappers. It's not pleasant and can perhaps come across as a little gratuitous at times, however having read the first in the series, Retriever of Souls, I do think it's a Mace thing. Her schtick or particular style is to not only show the reader a spade is spade, but also to show them the dirt under the fingernails when someone is digging a grave with said spade.

In this second book in the DI Sterling series, Paolo stumbles across an insidious network of criminals that are supplying deviants with young children. It could be connected to the same syndicate who seem to have an endless supply of young prostitutes.

Mace gives her main character a lot of depth by balancing the crime element with his complex personal life and his equally as challenging professional life. His daughter is still suffering from the traumatic events of the last book and his team at work seems to be having some internal problems.

It's police procedural crime fiction with a gritty realistic feel to it. Mace doesn't mince words or care for the readers with a more delicate disposition. This is what that kind of crime looks like. There is no smoothing over the dirty details of the most heinous of crimes.

I was a little taken aback by the last few pages. I didn't expect that and found myself shaking my head and saying: 'Oh no, don't do it Sterling'.

Buy Children in Chains (DI Sterling #2) at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Accent Press Ltd; pub date 12 Feb. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of Retriever of Souls by Lorraine Mace

Children In Chains is on offer at 99p/99c across all Amazon stores until June 15.


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