Digital Reads Reviews

Many thanks to Sarah and BOTBS Publicity for my spot on this Blog Tour.

This was one fast rocking ride, with the author not sparing a moment to allow me breathe. The book reminded me of Kill Bill. I am crazy about the movie.

A vacation gone south, and this time it was life threatening. Jackie Shaw just wanted to relax and spend time with his friend Ian and daughter Megan. But it seemed northern Japan had a different plan for him. He was soon embroiled in the darker underbelly of the Japanese mob, the yakuza, in a race against time when a man was murdered and Ian and Megan were kidnapped.

A woman, Fujiko Maki, on display for all to see, apparently for her own safety, a lusty glance and a need to possess her, the murder of the man spying on her started the whole story rolling, and the plot thickened when Jackie was dragged in.

My first book by John Steele had me all gung-ho about the action scenes. And there were plenty which soothed my violent heart. The story had its twists when an imposter, wearing the demon mask, sliced the woman and involved Jackie. That made the book go faster as he now had to get to the truth to save his friends. A long war with these gangs and a battle-weary main character soon reached the end of the book when he managed to get information about his friends.

The final reveal left me and all the characters shocked when the mask of the real demon, the tengu, was removed with devastating results. With so many things happening in the book, the author did make it into a fast, compulsive crime thriller. Recommended for readers who love this genre.

I received a free ARC from Sarah and publisher Silvertail Books, and this is my journey into its pages, straight from the heart!! STRICTLY HONEST AND UNBIASED.

All my reviews can be read here

John Steele was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1995, at the age of twenty-two he travelled to the United States and has since lived and worked on three continents, including a thirteen-year spell in Japan which inspired Dry River. Among past jobs he has been a drummer in a rock band, an illustrator, a truck driver and a teacher of English. He now lives in England with his wife and daughter. He began writing short stories, selling them to North American magazines and fiction digests. Dry River is his third novel and the third Jackie Shaw book. The first two, Ravenhill and Seven Skins, are published by Silvertail Books.

When ex-undercover agent Jackie Shaw visits northern Japan for a holiday, he is in search of relaxation, an escape from the brutality and tragedy of his past.

But when a local man is butchered as he spies on a young woman in the seedy heart of Sapporo’s entertainment district, Jackie is dragged into the hunt for a terrifying serial killer and begins a long and bloody battle with vicious yakuza gangs.

From the twisted underbelly of one of Japan’s largest cities to the vast, unforgiving wilderness of the northern territories of Hokkaido, DRY RIVER is a uniquely menacing and compulsive thriller which will take you to places you’ve never been before.

Publication Date: 22nd August 2019

Publisher: Silvertail books