#BlogTour ‘Firewatching’ by Russ Thomas

About the book…

ONE FALSE MOVE Someone is setting fire to Sheffield. It starts with small things – dustbins and abandoned sheds – so people don’t notice at first. But the calling card is there if you look for it.

WILL IGNITE Soon the fires spread to offices, homes, people. The Firewatcher’s followers are growing and they have one particular blaze in mind – one that the police would do well to pay attention to.

THE CITY But D/S Adam Tyler is distracted by a case, one that he is unknowingly connected to. And if he can’t discover the link between the fires and himself, he will burn – along with the entire city.

Many thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things for the blogtour invite for ‘Firewatching’ by Russ Thomas which is published in hardback and kindle edition, by Simon And Schuster on 20th February!

I am here to add my voice to the rising swell of praise for this outstanding debut novel-thoroughly satisfying, big and bold in tone and narrative, ‘Firewatching‘ marks itself out the spark which ignites Russ Thomas’s career.

It doesn’t give up its secrets easily,this is a book which would be easy to devour very quickly indeed, however, I resisited my natural impulses to race through the first DS Adam Tyler Cold Case. He has a multi layered back story, as well as being used-against his full co-operation- as a poster boy for the police’s aceeptance and tolerance of gay men.

This aside, his narrative alternates with that of Edna and Lily, elderly daughter and mother, who live in a trapped relationship of mutual dependence-except annoymous letters are arriving which Lily is intercepting and hiding from her mother, letters which say ‘ I know what you did’….

WHAT DID THEY DO?

How did disappearing businessman, Gerald Cartright, end up inside the walls of his home, finally discovered 6 years after he dropped out of sight?

What’s the link with Tyler and the case and how far will he go to hide it in the attempt to solve it? Will reigniting his career supercede his professional responsibilities of disclosure?

A wayward policeman, a cold case and a new beginning for rookie Amina Rabbani is levied against a city which is slumbering , on the  verge of ignition . Before long, the Cold Case team is up to their necks in death, suspicion, accusations and this probides the kindling that sets Sheffield aflame.

I loved the sense of place, too often in crime novels there is a lack of this so that it could be easily transplanted anywhere within the British isles. This very firm sense of place and time reminds me of the Ed McBain novels, where Isola was as much a part of the stories as the whodunnit nature of his mysteries.

And extremely satisfying read, I thoruoghly recommend snapping up a copy of this book-I would genuinely be surprised if it does not become a HUGE bestseller and it’s a perfect vehicle for television.

Adam Tyler steps, fully formed, into the world of fictional detectives,and sets it smouldering.

About the author…

Russ Thomas grew up in the 80s reading anything he could get his hands on, writing stories, watching television and playing videogames: in short, anything that avoided the Great Outdoors. He spent five years trying to master the Electronic Organ and another five learning Spanish. It didn’t take him too long to realize he’d be better off sticking to the writing.

After a few ‘proper’ jobs (among them: pot-washer. optician’s receptionist, supermarket warehouse operative, call-center telephonist and storage salesman) he discovered the joys of bookselling, where he could talk to people about books all day. Now a full-time writer, he also teaches creative writing classes and mentors new authors. ‘Firewatching’ is his first novel

Twitter @thevoiceofruss @simonschuster @annecater

Links-http://russthomasauthor.com/index.html#