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A Bitter Taste
A Bitter Taste
Oct 10, 2024 7:20 AM

Author:Annie Hauxwell

A Bitter Taste

She was ten years old, but knew enough to wipe clean the handle of the bloody kitchen knife. The night was stifling; the windows were closed, sealing in the chaos. A table upturned, shattered crockery. Her distraught mother, bare shoulders raw with welts, knelt beside her motionless father. The child snatched up her backpack, and ran…

London sweats in the height of midsummer, and Catherine Berlin hides her scars from prying eyes. At the methadone clinic, she meets an old friend, Sonja Kvist, who begs her to help find her missing daughter. But the case is not as straightforward as it first appears, and Catherine soon realises that in order to find the girl, she must tackle a far greater threat …

A Bitter Taste is the thrilling second instalment in the magnificent crime series featuring civilian investigator Catherine Berlin, whose long-standing heroin addiction is only part of her story.

Reviews

This is Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on autoload. Winslow's stripped-down prose is a revelation

—— Stephen King

Rejoice - Don is back on the drugs ... Winslow has few equals

—— Independent

Winslow on rip-roaring form, his most stylish, pacy and blood-soaked novel yet ... A brilliantly clever game of cat and mouse ... Vibrant, stylish and captivating ... A true thriller

—— Henry Sutton , Mirror

Savages is a wild ride...The language is limber and lean, the pace adrenalin-fuelled and the killers downright terrifying ... Will linger with you long after the final page

—— Time Out

A frighteningly convincing depiction of big-time drug cartels at work

—— John Harvey

Utterly impossible to put down. Savages is, bar none, the best novel I have read in years

—— Christopher Reich, author of Rules of Deception

Don Winslow's best book yet

—— Janet Evanovich

...a thoughtful, prescient satire on the war on drugs, packed with neat twists and funny-horrid set pieces. The characters stay with you, too

—— Guardian

Savages [. . .] is both a gripping heist story, and a remarkably astute history of organised crime in Orange County, from the 1960s to the present.

—— Guy Adams , Independent

The Way Of The Dead has everything you'd want from a book noir – enveloping atmosphere, flavorful characters, evocative writing, and a serpentine plot which seems to make the pages turn themselves. Neely Tucker is an impressive new talent.

—— Richard North Patterson

Along with an ear for inner-city argot almost as finely tuned as those of Elmore Leonard and fellow D.C. crime writer George Pelacanos, Tucker has a knack for ingenious plotting that jolts his narrative into unexpected directions ... rich yet taut description, edgy storytelling, rock-and-rolling dialogue, and a deeply flawed but compelling hero add up to a luminous first novel.

—— Kirkus

The brisk plot is punctuated by an insightful view of journalism and manipulative editors, shady politicians, and apathetic cops, while also showing residents working to create a better neighborhood. Readers will be pleased that Tucker leaves room for a sequel.

—— Publishers Weekly

Based on a true story, this gritty, exciting book is Tucker's impressive debut novel.

—— Prize Quest Magazine

Outstanding.

—— Peterborough Telegraph

Stunningly written with such brilliant and believable characters alongside such an intricately woven and gripping storyline, this is one of the most enjoyable crime fiction novels I've read in a long time.

—— Book Addict Shaun blog

Right from the start I loved this book – descriptions of the main characters were believable and got me hooked. A real page turner and I read it really quickly…A great first novel by Neely Tucker, and I will certainly be looking for the next one.

—— Mojomums

Intricate, absorbing and a thoroughly enjoyable read.

—— Sunday Life

A page-turning, gripping debut novel ... sharply observed, well-drawn characters and pitch perfect writing.

—— East Anglian Daily Times

A thoroughly enjoyable read.

—— Colchester Gazette

Not only an enthralling murder investigation... but a plot that is strengthened and illuminated by two of the best characters I have read for some time- reporter Sully Carter and his cohort, the streetwise gangster Sly Hastings... their exchanges are pure gold.

—— Raven Crime Reads

This is a terrific first novel by a man with a long career in journalism. The tale builds to a dramatic conclusion, with a final unexpected and terrible twist in the tail.

—— Crime Review
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