The Prisoner of Yakutsk, by Shreyas Bhave

~ Book Blitz ~

Prisoner of Yakutsk by Shreyas Bhave

The Subhash Chandra Bose Mystery

Final Chapter

8th to 10th February

About the Author:

What exactly happened to Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose?

• In 1945, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Leader of the INA leaves Singapore to take a series of flights, and dies in Taiwan after his plane crashes near Formosa. Or so it seems.

• In 1947, Mr Mrs Singh, an illustrious army couple, both veterans of the Indian National Army, are last seen in Delhi, and then never again.

• In 1949, the plane carrying the first deputy Prime Minister of India, Sardar Vallabhai Patel, mysteriously disappears for seven hours.

• In 2012, following the fall of WikiLeaks, a female hacker of the notorious X group is on the run as most wanted by everyone from Interpol to the KGB

• In 2015, the millionaire CEO of a Fortune 500 company suddenly resigns and vanishes from the public eye.

A set of seemingly unconnected disappearances emerge to be woven into a single fabric as the answer to one leads to another… In this riveting narrative, bestselling author Shreyas Bhave, takes the reader on a thrilling adventure to solve the greatest mystery the Indian nation has known. 

Book Links:

Goodreads * Amazon

Read an Excerpt:

At minus 5 degrees celsius, the cold is refreshing and a light hat and scarf are all that are required to keep you warm. At minus 20, the moisture in your nostrils freezes and it is difficult not to cough. At minus 35, the air is cold enough to numb exposed skin, making frostbite a constant hazard. And at minus 45 degrees, metal sticks to your cheeks and tears off chunks of flesh when you take off your sun goggles. Jay Rasbihari was not wearing any metal, just his fur coat, but the cold was such that even the plastic earphones in his ears felt painful as he tugged at them to listen to his contact from HQ. He waited for the connection to be established. The thermometer attached to his clothes showed minus 40. His ears had begun to sting. Next would be his legs. Nevertheless he stood still and waited.

                          “HQ to Jay.” His contact’s voice filled Jay’s ears. He opened his mouth to acknowledge the call but realized the cold had caused his throat to freeze. “Jay here.” He willed the words to escape his mouth. 

                       “Start the GPS on your phone so I can track you,” the voice from HQ instructed. For a moment Jay felt envious, thinking about his contact sitting somewhere in warm comfort. Such thoughts were dangerous, he knew. They sapped one’s will. He struggled to find his phone and struggled to enter the codes with his numb fingers. “I see you,” the voice from HQ confirmed. “Move forward.” Jay cursed as he lifted his leg and brought it forward. His foot sunk into the snow but he pulled it out and continued. Walking up the slope was a breathless challenge as he climbing at snail’s pace. “Okay, stop!” The voice from the HQ said once he was on the top of the small hill. Jay halted, struggling to catch his breath.

“Should be at your feet,” the voice said. The mist made it hard to see anything. Jay sank to his knees and groped. He could feel nothing but snow, all around him. “I don’t see it.”

                     “Of course you don’t.” Jay thought he heard amusement in the voice. “Mr. Jay, you’re going to have to dig.”

Book Trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_drRmIwXtmI

About the Author:

Shreyas Bhave's love for history since his childhood prompted him to write his take on the story of Asoka who was one of the towering figures in the history of India, which has been taken up as ‘The Asoka Trilogy’ by Leadstart Publishing. The first part of the trilogy called ‘The Prince of Patliputra’ has been published in January 2016 and the second part called 'Storm From Taxila' was published in 2018.

Connect with the Author:

Website * Facebook * Twitter

A sort of new year's resolution

It's so easy, with the crime genre being so broad these days, to imagine that because you're reading some noir and some cosy and some trad that you're reading widely. With my occasional bookshop job, I've been forced to acknowledge once more that apart from the occasional excursion into fantasy, I'm very bad at leaving my nice familiar genre and reading outside. So this year (well, it being a new year resolution, for the first part of this year) I'm trying to read a non-fiction book (as opposed to dipping into many for research purposes) and a mainstream fiction book per month. And here are January's contributions.

The Sewing Machine, by Natalie Fergie.

 

This was interesting straightaway (not least because I learned to sew on a model very, very close to this one), with a quite rapid movement between eras following the story of Singer sewing machines. The strands are well contrasted, though – 1911, 1950s, and present day, and for a while, despite the key sewing machines, it’s not quite clear how they are going to come together. Then it seems that the solution will be a fairly simple on, but suddenly another thread emerges and cleverly, unexpectedly, binds the whole together beautifully. A very pleasing read.

This Is Going to Hurt, by Adam Kay

Well, it did. My work lunch companion thought I was choking to death before I got to page ten, and I couldn’t read any more in public. It’s a mixture of mostly horrible and hilarious anecdotes of work in obstetrics and gynaecology – don’t read it if you’re at all squeamish – interspersed with commentary on working for the NHS by a man who has left, but who seems to have a lingering guilt at abandoning an organisation that is remarkable, with all its flaws. The episode that drove him to leave brings the book to a tragic end, tragic for a number of reasons, but it is nevertheless a rallying call to support the NHS and its clinical staff much more than we currently do.

And now despite the fact that I have plenty in my To Be Read pile, I've bought more mainstream fiction books from work and have settled in with February's one already. Non fiction might be slower.

Meanwhile the cover illustrator is gently encouraging me to complete at least one chapter of Murray 11 so that I can send it to her to show her what I need. It's sticky going! But at least it has a title - A Deficit of Bones. And it's set in Aberdeen. In winter. So all I have to do is look outside, and there's my inspiration. Please? 

Ballater Bugle and general update

The Boxing Day walk, gentle but rather lovely.

Culter House, currently empty - so we all started to make plans for what we would do with it. At least the roof looks sound ...

The new Ballater Bugle and a short story, Jo, went out today - if you were expecting these and didn't receive them, or if you'd like to receive them and haven't signed up yet, send us an email at contact@kellascatpress.co.uk - before my computer packs up completely!

My blogging pattern went for six towards the end of the year - if you were enjoying the indie authors or the crime about Scotland series I do apologise. I had pretty much reached the end of my tether and was busy tying a knot to hang on to. I hope to do better in 2019!

The plans at present are for a new Murray book, the eleventh, by about Easter (though it requires a good deal of research so it might take a little longer), a new Orkneyinga murder in around the summer, and (though it seems so far away I have no idea if I'll manage it) a new Hippolyta by Christmas again. But who knows? At the moment I'm feeling pretty shattered, so I'm only starting tentatively on that schedule. I'll do my best.

I'm hoping to do a bit better on Instagram this coming year (posting twice over three months, which I've done so far, is not perhaps high profile, but as I don't have a smartphone I have to find a co-operative smartphone owner before I can post). If you haven't already, do take a look at my Pinterest boards. They're not updated frequently, but for each book you'll find some illustrations I've used for research or inspiration, and I have to say I enjoy putting them together. You can also follow me on Facebook. There is a plan for a new website soon (hm, maybe!) but I intend to sustain this blog here and just have a link to here from the website.

Well, there you are ... it almost looks like a scheme for a year! Then there's the garden, the allotment, the knitting (I'm trying to make a 'Viking' pattern jacket for a reading in February), the household, the paid work, the animals, the netball - in no particular order. Who knows, maybe for some of the year I'll even be half-organised?

Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

To all blog readers, Facebook followers, newsletter subscribers, and indeed book readers - I hope you have a pleasantly uncontentious festival season!

A Murderous Game - reduced!

Thinking of buying Hippolyta 4 (The Thankless Child) but plagued by a niggling feeling that you haven't read Hippolyta 3 yet? Now's your chance: A Murderous Game is reduced to $1.25 this week, only on amazon.com, though (for technical reasons, namely that .co.uk customers had your chance earlier in the year!). Offer ends Saturday, and The Thankless Child, now on preorder, goes lives on Friday! It almost looks planned.

And following ...

... as a gale force wind follows the leaves (that is, a bit chaotically and leaving madness in its wake) ...

... and squeaking in just before Christmas, as (sort of) promised ...

... it's out! Well, for pre-order, anyway.

The Thankless Child

The sun is shining, Ballater is full of wealthy visitors, and Mrs. Kynoch’s school for young ladies is flourishing  - until one pupil, the daughter of a slave-owner, vanishes. Has she eloped with a rich man, or is something more sinister afoot? Hippolyta Napier needs to know, before a vulnerable local man is accused of something he could not have done.

Not long to wait! It'll go live on Thursday. Hippolyta 4 - just when you thought the cats would get her!

The Thankless Child - cover reveal!

A bright, cold Monday morning in December, and I invite you to go with me to Ballater in high summer ...

The sun is shining, Ballater is full of wealthy visitors, and Mrs. Kynoch’s school for young ladies is flourishing  - until one pupil, the daughter of a slave-owner, vanishes. Has she eloped with a rich man, or is something more sinister afoot? Hippolyta Napier needs to know, before a vulnerable local man is accused of something he could not have done.

Still hoping to have this out before Christmas! At least as an e-book - print will take a little longer.

I'm taking a sort of writing break till the New Year, though there are always things going on in my head (you'd never know it to look at me). Christmas and all that's involved takes priority for now!