THE DANMAN CAN

Full disclosure:  M.R. Mackenzie  is a friend of mine. I've  guest hosted  numerous times on the podcast which he co-hosts,  Movie Matters . I also had a hand in proofreading this book, so this was my second read-through. And I like to support my friends in their creative endeavors. Regardless of all that, I still very much objectively enjoyed his sophomore novel  Cruel Summer  (2019). Summer is the sequel novel to In The Silence (2018) (my review for that book here ) and the second installment in the Kelvingrove Park Trilogy . Two of the main characters from  Silence , Zoe Callahan and Anna Scavolini, return in Summer , but the focus this time lies on Zoe rather than Anna. Three years after the horrific events of ITS , which, without spoiling anything, have a deep and personal affect on Zoe, we now find her embroiled in possible political scandal and in bad favor of some unsavory and dangerous people, who threaten her and her loved ones....

Full disclosure: M.R. Mackenzie is a friend of mine. I've guest hosted  numerous times on the podcast which he co-hosts, Movie Matters . I also helped proofread this book, so this was my second read-through. And I like to support my friends in their creative endeavors. Regardless of all that, I can honestly say that his debut novel In The Silence  (2018) is excellent. It's right up your alley if you're fan of gialli  such as What Have You Done To Solange? (1972) and/or murder/mysteries in the vein of a modernized  Agatha Christie . A whodunit with a criminology lecturer named Dr. Anna Scavolini as its protagonist,  Silence  is a riveting page-turner that rarely lets up steam. When Anna returns home to Glasgow for the holidays she witnesses a former classmate die before her eyes. When the police fail to give the case the attention she feels it deserves, she proceeds to investigate on her own. Anna's discoveries will shock and repulse her in equal measur...