Showing posts with label Val Penny. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Val Penny. Show all posts

Monday, 13 October 2025

A Fighting Chance by Val Penny

 


Good morning, Bookaholics. Yet another cracking book for you to read and, if I may say so, buy for Christmas Presents.

Blurb

In the second Jane Renwick Thriller by Val Penny, drug cartels collide as crime boss Connor O’Grady returns to Scotland to protect his turf from rival Peggy Cheney, newly released from prison.

DS Jane Renwick and DC Brian Harris are sent to Stirling, where Jane discovers two tragic deaths—a young man and a girl—raising suspicions of a single killer.

O’Grady denies involvement, but can a drug lord be trusted?
Set in Stirling and Gartcosh, this tense police procedural thrusts Jane into the heart of a deadly turf war.


Review

This is the second Jane Renwick Thriller, a character who has her own spin off from the DI Hunter Wilson Series. Jane has proven to be a worthy main character, setting her own style and her own pace. The book, as in all Penny's books, is well written and gives a real sense of Scotland, especially Stirling. The setting is well drawn and the characters' Scottish background gives a real sense of who they are and shapes their characters in a unique manner. The crime element is handled well and the plot draws you in and keeps you reading. I found myself genuinely wanting to know what happens next. The ending is strong, something I find crucial in a crime thriller. Many crime books can be let down by a weak ending, but Penny ties this up well. Although this can be read as a standalone I would recommend the first in the series be read first, and then this one to give a full picture of the character. 

You can find out more about Val and her books at:

Website - https://www.valpenny.com

Amazon Author Page - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Val-Penny/e/B07C4725TK

Author Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739

Author Twitter Page @valeriepenny

Author Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/valerieepenny/

That's it for another week my Bookahloic friends. See you back here soon. Until then, keep reading and keep writing. 

Monday, 30 January 2023

Book Review: Hunter's Force by Val Penny

 



Hello, my Bookaholic friends, I have another book review for you and this is one you will not want to miss. 

I would like to start by saying I love this cover. It gives a real Tartan Noir vibe and this book certainly sits squarely in the Tartan Noir genre. The atmospheric cover carries over into the book itself which has atmosphere aplenty. 

Blurb

Hunter by name – Hunter by nature.

Can DI Hunter Wilson keep Edinburgh safe when he is the hunted?


Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson is woken in the early hours of the morning by a call from his son. Cameron’s flatmate has been murdered.

Why would anybody want to kill a young woman recently arrived in the city?Hunter must call in the new Major Incident Team (MIT), however his ability to be involved in the case is severely compromised when someone from his past resurfaces with revenge on their mind

When Hunter goes missing, and his team struggle to find the clues they need to locate hm. Who would want to stop Hunter in his tracks?

Meanwhile, Hunter's team must also work closely with the MIT and with or without him, solve the murder in this taut crime thriller.

Review

I love the D.I. Hunter Wilson crime thrillers and was excited to read this new edition of Hunter's Force. I was not disappointed. What a cracking, on the edge of your seat, up way past bedtime, read it was. 

This thriller is essentially a taut game of cat and mouse, where one is never sure who is the cat and who is the mouse. The hunter has become the hunted, whilst he is still the hunter. If you are confused, please do not be. This book is beautifully written and the stories flows well. The plot is strong and the tension ebbs and flows at just the right pace, meaning the redder is often breathless as the story unfolds. The characters are sublimely drawn, so one feels they know them intimately. Yes, even the ones you wouldn't want to know intimately in real life. In the pages of this book they give the action an extra frisson of both danger and excitement.

The setting is described perfectly and I felt I was on the streets of Edinburgh. Even if the reader has never been there, they will leave the book feeling like they have visited and know it well.

All of this is possible because Penny is an expert wordsmith who uses every carefully chosen word to its best effect. This is a book which will leave you both satisfied and wanting more. I would recommend this book and the series to you. 


Author Biography 

 

Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat. 

Grab your copy of Hunter's Force today.

That's it for another week Bookaholics. See you soon and until then keep reading and keep writing. 


Wendy H. Jones

Wendy H. Jones is an award-winning, international best-selling author who writes adult crime books, young adult mysteries, children's picture books and non-fiction books for writers. She is also a writing and marketing coach, runs the Writing Matters Online School and is the CEO of Authorpreneur Accelerator Academy, The president of the Scottish Association of Writers and hosts The Writing and Marketing Show podcast. She is currently writing a series of historical fiction novels based around the life of a 19th Century Surgeon in the Royal Navy. 

Website

Amazon Author Page