#BlogTour Insider by Owen Mullen

It's my turn on the BlogTour Insider by Owen Mullen.

About the Author

Owen Mullen is a highly regarded crime author who splits his time between Scotland and the island of Crete.  In his earlier life he lived in London and worked as a musician and session singer. He has now written seven books and his first gangland thriller for Boldwood, Family was published in January 2021. Sign up to his newsletter here

Follow @OwenMullen6 on Twitter, on Instagram, on Youtube, Goodreads Author page, Bookbub page,

About the book

Someone’s playing both sides and now they have a score to settle… When the family business is crime, you can never be sure who to trust. And when three of their businesses are hit in one night, the notorious Glass family close ranks. Either someone is sending them a message or a war is coming... 

With trouble coming from all sides, the heads of the Glass family have more than enough to deal with, but all bets are off when a stranger from the past enters the game, causing division and mistrust.

Crooked cops, rival gangs and old enemies are bad enough, but when the trouble comes from the inside, loyalties are tested, with deadly consequences.

Review

This can be read as a standalone novel, however I would recommend reading the first in the series to get the full gist of it and a feel for the Glass family. It's fair to say that although they are a highly volatile and dysfunctional family, they also tend to live by rule of family loyalty rules supreme.

The family and their businesses are under attack. They appear to be highly motivated and willingly to leave complete chaos and destruction in their stead, and the Glass family are more or less chasing a ghost. Who as it in for them?

This book has kind of a get ready, start your engines and full throttle ahead kind of feel to it. There is always something going on, it's pulsing with energy, although one could argue that it's negative energy due to the vast amount of violence and crime.

It's urban crime, gangland under siege and city warfare. The Glass family never seems to not be in the line of sight of some enemy or the other, and indeed it seems like the next read doesn't suggest this will change any time soon.

Buy Insider at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : ‎Boldwood Books pub date June 29, 2021. Buy at Amazon com. 

#BlogTour Games People Play by Owen Mullen

It's my turn on the Blogtour Games People Play by Own Mullen.

About the Author

Owen Mullen is a highly regarded crime author who splits his time between Scotland and the island of Crete.  In his earlier life he lived in London and worked as a musician and session singer. He has now written seven books and his first gangland thriller for Boldwood, Family will be published in January 2021. Sign up to his newsletter here

Follow @OwenMullen6 on Twitter, on Instagram, on Facebook, on Youtube, Goodreads Author page, Bookbub page,

About the book

When a baby is stolen from a Scottish beach, private investigator Charlie Cameron reluctantly agrees to take the case.

While her parents are just yards away, thirteen-month-old Lily Hamilton is abducted from Ayr beach in Scotland. Three days later, her distraught father turns up at private investigator Charlie Cameron’s office. Mark Hamilton believes he knows who has taken his daughter. And why.

Against his better judgment, Charlie takes the case—and when bodies are discovered, he suspects this may not be an isolated crime. Is there a serial killer whose work has gone undetected for decades? Is baby Lily his latest victim? Charlie won’t be able to give up on this case. Memories and guilt from his childhood won’t let him…

Review

Private Investigator Charlie is reluctant to take on the case of a missing baby. It sails too close to the home of his nightmares and his feelings of despair and doubt. Choosing to help the parents of a young baby, an innocent child with not so innocent parents - it's a case that stirs up trouble and emotions.

Charlie Cameron is driven by his own baggage, the memories and flashbacks that dictate his emotional state of mind. This new case is too close to previous experiences, perhaps it's also the reason he can't let it be until he knows the truth.

The fact Charlie is unable to leave his own trauma in the past is very much what flavours the entire story. He is this straight talking PI and yet at the same time he is the child who wants to - needs to know the truth. The question is whether he will ever get a satisfactory answer.

I think truth is the commodity around which the story revolves. Different versions of it and yet also the one that is beyond the truth - that dangerous layer of thin ice between assuming and actually having your suspicions acknowledged is the basis of everything.

It's a slow burner written with a certain style and voice Mullen brings to the table. It gives readers the crime, mystery and also this snappy realistic vibe, and yet the emotional element is just as strong. This is the first in the series and hopefully one of many going forward. I also hope readers will finally get some answers about his sister, although a compelling drawn out cat and mouse game between the bad guy and Cameron would be equally as interesting.

Buy Games People Play at Amazon Uk or got to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Boldwood Books pub date 20 April 2021. Buy at Amazon com. 

#PublicationDay Deadly Harm by Owen Mullen

It's Publication Day for Deadly Harm by Owen Mullen. It's a domestic noir thriller that tackles difficult topics with the realism and honesty it deserves.

About the Author
Owen Mullen is a McIlvanney Crime Book Of The Year and best selling author.

Owen graduated from Strathclyde University, moved to London and worked as a rock musician, session singer and songwriter, and had a hit record in Japan with a band he refuses to name; he still loves to perform on occasion. His passion for travel has taken him on many adventures from the Amazon and Africa to the colourful continent of India and Nepal. A gregarious recluse, he and his wife, Christine, split their time between Glasgow, and their home in the Greek Islands where Owen writes.

Follow @OwenMullen6 @Bloodhoundbook on Twitter, Follow Owen Mullen on Instagram, on Facebook, on Youtube, Amazon Author page, Goodreads Author page, Bookbub page,
Buy Deadly Harm

About the book
It’s been five years since Mackenzie Darroch was abducted and held captive in a derelict house.
She thought she'd found her way out of the darkness. She was wrong.

When she witnesses a car crash and saves the driver’s life, it sets in motion a chain of events that will alter both their futures.

The two women get involved in a high profile police case and draw the attention of a ruthless reporter. Gina Calvi is convinced Mackenzie is not what she appears and is prepared to do anything to prove it.

Meanwhile, across the city, Kirsty McBride, a young single mother, is persuaded to leave a violent relationship. Her partner, Malkie Boyle a Glasgow hardman, is due to be released from prison. Once back on the street and bent on revenge, Boyle is determined to find the people responsible for stealing his family from him. Can Mackenzie save them or will Boyle get his revenge?

Review
As I mentioned in my review of Mullen's Out of Silence, he has a penchant for tackling the topics of abuse, victimisation and domestic violence, as they pertain to women. Where others mansplain and fail to hit the mark, Mullen approaches said topics from the victim's perspective.

This is the follow-up to In Harm's Way, which also features DS Geddes and Mackenzie. The story starts with two women burying a body then the reader gets swooped up into the world Mackenzie  inhabits now. She runs a refuge for abused women. Geddes gets in touch with her to try and convince a young woman to leave her abusive husband, which is where the story actually does start. 

I have to be honest I got so wrapped up in the story that I completely forgot about anyone burying a body. (The story does return to that moment)

Fear lives on...

No truer words can be spoken when it comes to domestic violence. Even if someone does manage to extricate themselves from a domestic violence situation it doesn't mean the fear magically disappears. It doesn't, partly because victims comprehend the very harsh and real fact that society and the rule of law has not built in enough measures to keep victims safe. That is just the stone cold truth.

The reality of escaping is a financial and emotional imbalance created by society and the perpetrator. The victim can only be safe if they leave everything behind and start afresh. It sounds so easy to anyone not in that situation. It isn't, and it is part of the reason victims find it so hard to leave. There isn't sufficient support to stay safe or start anew.

It's a domestic noir thriller that tackles difficult topics with the realism and honesty it deserves. Just one more thing, I have to give a shout out to my favourite character, Grandpa Boyle. Don't ever mess with his Liquorice Allsorts - ever.

Buy Deadly Harm at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Bloodhound Books; pub date 15 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

Read my review of Out of Silence by Owen Mullen

Out of the Silence by Owen Mullen

I am delighted to welcome Owen Mullen to the blog today and his crime fiction novel Out of the Silence. Don't miss the brilliant Q&A with Owen!

About the Author
Owen Mullen is a McIlvanney Crime Book Of The Year long-listed novelist.

Owen graduated from Strathclyde University, moved to London and worked as a rock musician, session singer and songwriter, and had a hit record in Japan with a band he refuses to name; he still loves to perform on occasion. His passion for travel has taken him on many adventures from the Amazon and Africa to the colourful continent of India and Nepal. A gregarious recluse, he and his wife, Christine, split their time between Glasgow, and their home in the Greek Islands where In Harm's Way and the Charlie Cameron and Delaney series' were created and written. His latest novel Out Of The Silence is an epic revenge thriller set in Pakistan.

Follow @OwenMullen6 @Bloodhoundbook on Twitter,
on Instagram, on Facebook, on Youtube, Amazon Author page, Goodreads Author page, Bookbub page,
Buy Out of the Silence

About the book
A compelling revenge thriller

Star investigative reporter Ralph Buchanan’s glory days are behind him. His newspaper has banished him to Pakistan, not knowing the greatest moment of his long career is waiting for him there. When Simone Jasnin asks him to help expose a grave injustice, he finds himself embroiled in a harrowing tale that began in a dusty settlement in rural Punjab, setting in motion a chain of events that will change the lives of everyone involved.

Seven years later in the city of Lahore, members of a prominent family are being brutally murdered, one by one. The only clue is a hand-carved wooden bangle left at the scene of each crime. As the list of suspects grows and the tension mounts, Ralph realises the answers might be closer to home than he ever thought possible.

Solving the mystery will put him back on top but at what cost?
Only when the smoke clears will the killing stop and honour be satisfied…

Q&A with Owen Mullen
Before we get down to business (i.e. talking about your book) I would like to ask a set of questions I call 'Breaking the Ice.'

The last book you read? (Inquisitive bookworms would like to know)
Gone Tomorrow by Lee Child

The last movie you watched, which you felt left a mark (in your heart, soul, wallet...you name it)? Calibre...great Scottish drama

Writers or books who have inspired you to put pen to paper?
Stephen King and James Lee Burke

Which famous person (dead, alive, barely kicking) would you most like to meet?
Jesus Christ...that would be an interesting conversation!

A famous declutterer a la Marie Kondo has decided to help you organise your home - you have to get rid of all but three of your books (the ones you have written yourself are exempt) which three would you pick and why?
Firstly I’ve got my own version of Marie at home! The Collected Stories of Sherlock Holmes – my all-time favourite detective, A Bend In The River by V.S. Naipal – it’s a slow burner but I love his use of language and Brideshead Revisited – an old boss switched me on to Evelyn Waugh

All of the above questions are actually a pretty elaborate pysch evaluation disguised as random questions. Have no fear here come the real ones. Let’s talk about Out of the Silence.

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by your book. It blends the often stringent boundaries of crime and women's fiction.

I would love to know all about your inspiration for Out of the Silence?
Several years ago I watched a horrific documentary on the treatment of women in Pakistan; it stayed with me. Some years later, my wife Christine and I were travelling in the region for the third time and the idea started to form for an amazing crime thriller set in this wonderfully colourful environment. When we ventured into the Thar dessert we came across a young woman selling salt: when she looked up at me from behind her hijab Afra was born.

The use of the bangles as a plot device to connect the threads is both clever and emotional. Again, I am intrigued by the inspiration to use the bangles in this way.
The idea just arrived from wherever it is they live.

The contrasting effect of seeing how the lives of Jameel and Afra go in such different directions is an excellent example of the stark difference in opportunities and development when it comes to gender. Do you think giving a voice to the silent will help to end or at least level out the inequality a little?
I’m going to be honest here: I didn’t set out to change things. I simply wanted to write a thrilling crime fiction novel. That said however, if anything I ever write can help someone in any way I would be more than delighted.

As I mentioned above I enjoyed the fact that this fits firmly into both crime and women's fiction. Did you know your crime story would end up being a silent call to arms for the abused and oppressed or did it just evolve that way as the story progressed?
The story arrived almost complete for me, so I always knew that Dr Simone would take up the cause.

What’s next for Owen Mullen? Are you already working on something new?
Almost finished the follow up to In Harm’s Way, then there are several ideas fighting for my time!

Thanks for answering all of my questions, even the odd ones!
Thanks for inviting me here today...I really enjoyed it.

Owen

Review
Although the blurb suggests that the investigative reporter Ralph Buchanan is the main character and takes centre stage, the truth is he is a mere bit-player in the story of Afra and Jameel. Saying that, aside from the important connection and emotional significance of the family heirloom Jameel gives to his love, even he doesn't play as much of a pivotal role as Afra.

This story belongs to her, every disillusioned moment, every injury and each second of silence. In turn her story belongs to every woman and girl, who have been and still are treated as a sub-humans. Treated with contempt, abused and used for pleasure and/or pain.

Unfortunately there are still plenty of countries that still do nothing to combat the abuse, molestation, torture, rape and murder of girls and women. Not that our western society has a stellar record, but the country in which this is set, Pakistan, still lives in the dark ages in regards to women's rights and the abuse of women. Don't even get me started on India.

An intriguing and emotional element of the story is the way Mullen connects all the threads of the story with the bangles, and indeed they become an integral part of the plot. They become synonymous with the image of Afra, every time they are mentioned it conjures up images of the young girl before, when her world existed only of her family, the village and Jameel. The innocent girl experiencing the first blushes of young love, before life submerges her into a quagmire of systemic and cultural abuse.

It's a crime thriller combined with a poignant plot about the abuse and neglect of girls and women. This is so much more than a crime thriller, perhaps because the story of Afra takes precedence over the murders, despite the fact everything leads back to her. She is always there in the background, watching and waiting.

Buy Out of the Silence at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Buy Out of the Silence at Amazon com., at Waterstones, at Foyles, Book Depository,
Publisher: Bloodhound Books; pub date Paperback - 21 Jan. 2019, pub date ebook edition 28 Jan.2019