BLOODSTOCK / SIMON ELLICE SERIES Blog Tour - Rod Humphris

I'm thrilled to be on the Blog Tour today for the Simon Ellice Series of books.

This review is going to cover all four books in the series. Bloodstock the latest release is out now. I'm going to start with the previous book in the series.

Description

Highly charged, action packed and intelligent, Go Fast is set in the vivid, exotic location of Morocco and is the first novel in the Simon Ellice series. On moonless nights Si runs hash from Morocco to Spain in his go-fast boat but soon discovers he's caught up in a tangle of illegal power and hidden love.

Review

I love a good action film, but when it comes to the book I've been let down by Bond and Bourne. Just couldn't get into them. Not this time though, Simon Ellice is my new hero. OK so he's technically not a good guy, as he's a drug smuggler, but I'd have him on my team any day.

We meet Simon and his beloved boat Nottambulo, which is super fast - the reference of the title of the book. I don't know anything about boats but thanks to the author's skilful story telling and the hints dropped here and there about boats, by the time I got near the end I knew exactly what he was talking about. So when the plot focussed on a manoeuvre I just knew what Simon was doing with the boat. 

I also liked that the book has strong female characters in Sam - the one woman army, and also Soumy his help. Soumy's has strengths not so obvious as those Sam displays, but nevertheless she is also a force to be reckoned with. 

Although it's a lengthy book I raced through it as I really wanted to find out how this was going to end. I also just loved reading about Simon - he's smart, self assured, takes everything in his stride and yet caring too. I've never read a book in which a criminal recovers a body so his family could bury him.

There is a lot of violence - as you might expect, but only in as far as those in the way get dispatched! What made the book for me was the way Simon second guessed his opponents moves, just genius.

Description

After what feels like a lifetime of mayhem, Simon Ellice returns to the Hampshire village where he grew up. He enjoys the solace and tranquillity of rural life, working on a farm and getting to know the lively locals, but suddenly Si walks right into a deadly mystery. Old friends are going missing and then turning up dead. Someone from the City is spreading their evil tentacles and Si dives into London's underworld to uncover a conspiracy of poisoning, murder and pagan ritual that threatens those closest to him. Written with Humphris' razor-sharp style, this is Simon Ellice's darkest and most challenging adventure yet, touching on themes of sacrifice and objectification, that threaten the very foundations of our civilised world.

Review

I got a feeling from the first book that Si reminded me of a character, and it was stronger in this book - it's Richard Hannay in The 39 Steps. They both share that innate ability to tackle anything in any situation and come out of it the other side in a reasonably intact state. Just like Buchan the writing is so atmospheric and gives a sense of action without detailing every single punch.

I loved this book just as much as the first one, but maybe because it was set in England I had an easier time picturing the places in London and the environs Si resides in this time.

Si now works (albeit loosely) for Whitehall now and so he has a few resources at his disposal that he previously didn't have, not that he's gone completely over to the other side! He still gets involved in some dealings that the shirt and tie brigade would rather he didn't. 

Young female aristos in London are developing drug habits, going missing and then turning up dead - but why? Is there a pattern to it? Si is asked to look into what's going on by an old friend who's concerned. What follows is a fantastic plot. It's hard not to give away spoilers, but I will say that when I finished it I kept thinking about it. Flashes came into my mind of "oh! that's why" and "of course, that was because of..." etc So many isolated threads coming together in my mind at last.

This is a lengthy book at 502 pages and it takes a good plot for me to invest that amount of time in a book.  Sometimes I might think that the book could be edited down, but in this instance I have to say every single page of it was worthwhile and needed.

I'm giving these books 5 out of 5 stars. 

There are two other books in the series, although they are more of a novella, each being considerably shorter than the two previous books I have reviewed.

Dead Ground  In the mountains and passes of Nuristan, British forces hunt the Taliban. Trouble is coming, that is certain. Only Lieutenant Simon Ellice, with a clarity born of grief and anger, can see what must be done. Dead Ground is a story of the impossibility of the task assigned to British soldiers in Afghanistan. A tale of the heroism, loyalty and individual responsibility in the chaos of war.

Review -  This is a prequel, we get to find out about Si's army career and is set in the Afghanistan war. It reads like a first hand real life experience with a lot of army slang for authenticity. There is a glossary at the back of the book - which I was very grateful for. Another book from this author that has a strong female character as one of the army officers. 

Starlight Jamaica. Simon Ellice goes on a cocktail charged dally in Port Antonio. He brushes shoulders with the cloudy-eyed, over-sexed and deeply tranquillised Hollywood set. They become enamoured with him, and Si thus becomes embroiled when the ostensibly ostentatious wealth entices the exuberantly poor. Opportunistic thieves Stanley and Jason rattle Si's cage and go further than he was expecting. The question is, why?

Review - This book has mentions of Soumy who we met in Go Fast. This novella reads like it's set in the 1920s and with few mentions of technology I did wonder at first if it was. Si plays more of a Columbo role in this plot, although he is also ready with his armed combat skills at the first sign of trouble.

Both of these shorter books have wonderful black and white illustrations, some taking full pages. All four books have the most beautiful covers and are a joy to hold while reading.

My thanks to the author and publisher Rat's Tales for copies of the beautiful books for review and to Random Things Tours.

AUTHOR Rod Humphris is the author of a number of acclaimed thrillers. He is the happiest and most productive when travelling about in his battered old truck with a canoe in top and a dog in the back. He currently lives in Bath. Rod Humphris is the winner of N. N. Light Best Fiction Award 2016