Welcome to my stop on the book tour for Shaking Hands with the Devil by Bryan J Mason. Thank you to Zooloo’s Book Tours for the invite!! Check out all the info and my book review, and let me know what you think.
‘WE ARE ON THIS CASE LIKE A BONER FIDO BLOODHOUND…
AND MY MEN ARE BARKING AT THE LEASH’
In this darkly comic novel, Clifton Gentle is an ordinary man without much to distinguish him. Not much, that is, apart from being a serial killer who is leaving bits of his young male victims scattered around North London.
DCI Dave Hicks is the larger than life policeman determined to catch him. His attempts to find ‘the nutter’ through a combination of spoonerisms, personal abuse and a belief that something will turn up don’t go well. All that turns up are yet more body parts.
In a sleazy London dogged by growing squalor and an IRA bombing campaign in the last days of Margaret Thatcher’s premiership, the gruesome murders spur an over-the-top media and merchandising frenzy.
The hunt becomes an increasingly personal one and a race against the clock as Clifton, Dave Hicks, a would-be victim, and a copycat killer each try to uncover what – or who – they hold responsible for their own problems.
Amazon UK | Amazon US
Review
Shaking Hands with the Devil by Bryan J Mason is probably the most unique book I’ve read in 2022. I did read this book over the span of a couple of days, but that’s only because I fell asleep late into the night. I didn’t want to put this down!
I’m obsessed with the writing. There is aton of wit and intriguing writing that really kept me engaged. There’s a healthy mix of comedy and thrills that gives a unique read.
The plot is compelling and heads down a path I wasn’t expecting. I loved the surprises and this is one of the many reasons I had trouble putting this down. This is easily a five star read for me and I highly recommend giving it a shot!
Thank you to Zooloo’s Book Tours for the free review copy. All opinions are my own and unbiased.
Rating
5★
Bryan J Mason wrote his black comedy about a serial killer in the late 1980s, but reluctantly put it away in a drawer after his agent narrowly failed to get it published. He concluded that he was a failed author, so might as well be a failure at something else instead. However, every ten years or so he dug it out and read it and each time he did was surprised to find that he still found it funny. He has now managed to get it published after making some changes, including firmly placing the action in the late ʼ80s and early ʼ90s for today’s reader.
He has worked as a brush salesman and rent collector, made sound effects for BBC Radio and been a tax inspector and occasional actor. He writes regular theatre reviews for StageTalk Magazine and Bristol 24/7.
He is a member of the Crime Writers Association and currently working on a new novel featuring a Jewish detective investigating a series of serial killings in Northern Ireland during the Troubles, called An old Tin Can.
Bryan lives in Bristol with his wife and has two children in their twenties.
Follow him at:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bryanjmason89/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bryanjmason/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BryanJMason
Website: http://www.bryanjmason.com
Let me know what you think in the comments. I’d love to interact with you. If this sounds like something you would read, let me know!
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Jessica Belmont 