Review: Black Blood, by Jane Eddie

Paperback: 300 pages
Publisher: Book Guild Publishing Ltd (5 Dec. 2019)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1913208060
ISBN-13: 978-1913208066

Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Blood-Jane-Eddie/dp/1913208060

BLURB

Danni was a trainee corporate lawyer before she was forced to flee her life in London. Having escaped a controlling and abusive partner, she now finds herself hiding from another predator – her employer.

Post-Brexit, the U.K. oil industry is on its knees and desperate to turn a profit, but at what cost?

Many companies in Aberdeen have already been forced to sell out to the Russians, but when a prominent CEO is found dead, the number of mysterious deaths offshore have escalated and oil platforms are being targeted by terrorists. But who is actually calling the shots? There is more to these attacks than meets the eye…

As Danni draws ever closer to discovering the truth, she becomes embroiled in a web of secrets and deceit where doing the right thing could cost her life.

I’m trying a new format for my reviews this month, just to see how it goes down. As usual, there will be my intro and synopsis, then what I liked, what didn’t work and a verdict. I’m trying to be even handed because in the past i have felt pressured to only say nice things. Not that the pressure really worked, but sometimes it pushed me to not write anything when I felt that there were points of constructive criticism that could be made.

But, on with the review.

My Review

Thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours, and to the author and publisher for my copy of this book in return for an HONEST REVIEW.

THE ROSIE SYNOPSIS

Danni is a corporate lawyer. Or was, until she had to escape her abusive ex-boyfriend, Mark, and their life in London. She ran for Aberdeen and found a job in an oil company as a legal assistant, changing her name and ceasing all contact with anyone from her old life. Things are a bit strained at her company, the new Russian owners are squeezing every penny, and people keep dying.

THE GOOD

I read this book in two great big gulps. I liked Danni and Tony, and the by-play between them. The slow development of their relationship as co-workers and then friends, that evolves over the novel, is realistic. I’m not sure if it would survive the final shock to go on to fulfill the burgeoning romance, but the promise of a future is there.

The plot was good, with industrial espionage, Russian killers, and strange text interludes between unknown conspirators. I certainly didn’t struggle to read it. The atmosphere of Aberdeen in winter was very clear and the feeling of encroaching financial ruin was palpable. I was ‘there’.

The ending was a sudden crescendo, where all the different parties come together. Danni doesn’t expect it, at all. The description of her pain and confusion, and her nightmares about her ex feel very personal, as though they were written by someone who had been through domestic violence. I can imagine the trauma would cause nightmares long after escape.

THE NOT-SO-GREAT

Unfortunately, there were problems. This novel couldn’t decide what it was, a thriller about a domestic abuse survivor hiding from her murderous ex, or a crime novel about industrial sabotage and murder.

There was an awful lot of telling rather than showing and lots of exposition. I’m not sure why I needed to know exactly what streets Danni walked down or where the cars went. That’s the sort of thing the author needs to know, but not the reader. The constant exposition threw me out of any sense of immersion far too often.

The sudden introduction of characters speaking almost entirely in dialect didn’t fit with the rest of the characters, where the odd dialect word is used to show origins and give a sense of place. I didn’t like the way all the other women characters were portrayed as either bitchy or domestic niceness. I also worked out pretty early on who Mark (the murderous ex) was talking to to keep tabs on Danni. It wasn’t exactly a mystery.

VERDICT

Overall, it was okay, but it didn’t quite hit the spot for me.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR::

I am a 48-year-old Contracts Manager for a Well Abandonment Company working in the oil industry in Aberdeen. I live in a farmhouse in the rural hamlet of Netherley, Aberdeenshire with my long suffering partner, four horses and two working cocker spaniels. When I’ve not got my head stuck in a book, my time is devoted to my horses, one of which I compete at dressage.

During the last downturn in the oil market I became disillusioned with my job and made a conscious decision to do something that made me happy. That turned out to be writing! I think my partner thought I was having a mid-life crisis when I told him I was quitting my job to write a book. I have been an avid reader from a young age and always have a book on the go. My passion is crime and psychological thrillers. I had the idea for this novel floating about in my head for about a year and decided it was time to unleash my secret desire to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) and see if I could turn my notion of a story into reality. The time it took to write and edit my book have been the most enjoyable of my life so far. Unfortunately, I have had to return to work to pay the bills but I am working on an idea for Book 2!

Twitter @JaneEddie2