Six Wounds by Morgan Cry

Today Mandie takes over with a review of Six Wounds, the brand new novel from Morgan Cry (a.k.a. Gordon Brown). With thanks to Anne Cater for the tour invite and publisher, Polygon, for the advance copy for review. Here’s what the book is all about:

About the Book

To make the perfect Spanish whodunnit cocktail, take one dead gangster, mix in six shifty expats, add one ruthless baddie and garnish with a suspicious police officer . . .

Daniella Coulstoun has recently moved to the Costa Blanca. When the dead body of a prominent London gangster is discovered in the cellar of her bar she quickly becomes the number one suspect.

With the police closing in, the local expats turning on her and a psychotic rival to the dead gangster in the background, Daniella knows she needs to nail the real killer, and fast.

Mandie’s Thoughts

I really loved the Thirty-One Bones, the first book in the Daniella Coulstoun series, so given the opportunity to read Six Wounds I couldn’t say no. After the issues she had when she first took over the bar from her mother Daniella was looking forward to a bit of normality. When the body of Pat Ratte is found murdered in the cellar of her bar, Daniella soon finds herself the number one suspect. Added to this she is being warned by bookie Carl Stokes to basically get out of town. With the police chief breathing down her neck, she takes it upon herself to prove her innocence and find out the real perpetrator. What she doesn’t know is if she can rely on her boyfriend and her fellow ex-pat business partners to stand by her and help her.

I have to say if I was Danielle I probably would have sold up ages ago and got out of the pub business as it really does seem more trouble than its worth. She certainly does have a steely determination bordering on blind stubbornness when met with people telling her what she should and shouldn’t do that you can’t help but admire. She has taken on the mantle of pub landlady and head of the ex-pats a little unwillingly as she has some big shoes to fill, a fact that some think they can take advantage of. Once again they seem to be sabotaging themselves and the business without even trying thanks to some shifty work from the deceased and Carl Stokes. If only they were as clever as some of the gang think they are then maybe all their problems would go away.

This series plays well into the stories of the Costa del Crime and the characters that the author has created have you grinning at times and groaning with frustration at others. With old scores to settle and pub rivalries as an added bonus this is a brilliant addition to the series that will have you willing Danielle to come out on top. The only question you will be left with is will this be the straw that breaks the camel’s back and have her heading back to the UK and a little stability or will we get to see what Danielle and co get embroiled in next?

About the Author

Here, Gordon Brown is writing as Morgan Cry. Gordon has written six crime thrillers to date, along with a number of short stories. He also helped found Bloody Scotland, Scotland’s International Crime Writing Festival, is a DJ on local radio (www.pulseonair.co.uk) and runs a strategic planning consultancy. In a former life Gordon delivered pizzas in Toronto, sold non-alcoholic beer in the Middle East, launched a creativity training business, floated a high tech company on the London Stock Exchange, and compered the main stage at a two-day music festival. He lives in Scotland and is married with two children.

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