Joel Hames

Another book featuring a favourite character! What's not to like?

No One Will Hear

Amazon.com link

My review -

Sam Williams is a character I’m growing to like more with each book he features in. He has been bequeathed the task of compiling the life story of his ex-boss, the woman who sacked him and who has been murdered. He has to work with an old enemy, and the woman’s daughter. This seems to be a wild goose chase with obstructive police, smarmy bigwigs and a mentally fragile woman. He discovers there have been more murders and then Sam’s girlfriend starts to behave out of character. The story can stand alone, I think, but more will fall into place for the reader who has read Dead North first. There’s so much happening here and it’s all important to the plot. I love the intricacy of these stories. A Sam Williams story is always a guaranteed good read.

Joel Hames

A long-awaited Sam Williams story. It was worth the wait!

Dead North

Amazon.com link

My review -

Lawyer Sam Williams is called in as a consultant when two police officers are shot dead. It looks like an open-and-shut case but the chief suspect isn’t speaking at all. It doesn’t matter if you haven’t met Sam in previous books, as this story stands brilliantly alone. It’s fast-moving enough for any thriller reader and with believable twists. The last quarter of the book was so exciting I had to stop myself trying to skim-read to find out what happened. It’s worth savouring. It’s a fast and bumpy ride, so hold on tightly. Highly recommended.

Joel Hames

A writer whose work I've previously loved has brought out a novella. I snapped it up!

Victims

Amazon.com link

My review -

Sam Williams is in the very early stages of a relationship with a new girl and learns she’s been abused by a previous partner. This man is still pulling her strings and Sam agrees to help. He has an enemy at work, too, and as the plot progresses, we find out that nothing is really as it seems.

This makes an excellent ‘amuse bouche’ for the longer and more complex story, The Art of Staying Dead, which takes place ten years later. The style is slick and clever and the characters feel well-rounded, not easy to do in a short work. Be aware that the last 30% is the first chapters in The Art of Staying Dead. I prefer a link, myself, as I never read teaser chapters out of context. Nevertheless, in its own right, Victims is a small but beautifully proportioned gem of a story.

Joel Hames

New author to me, Joel Hames writes a Ripping Yarn!

The Art of Staying Dead

Amazon.com

My review - 

This story starts with a visit made by lawyers, journalists and others, to a prison facility where the worst criminals are housed. While Sam, our protagonist, is there, a mass break-out occurs in which lives are lost. Sam has a gun pointed directly at him, just before he's lifted away to safety by helicopter. He describes the man, a black man with grey hair, but the authorities deny there ever was such a prisoner. The story takes off from here and leads us into some unexpected places.

I found this story to be a fact paced thriller which will delight the heart of those who love a conspiracy. It may not be, indeed one hopes it is not, entirely credible, but what a ride! A thoroughly enjoyable book.