Seb Kirby

I always enjoy this author's work and this book is no exception.

Sugar for Sugar

Amazon.com

My review -

Issy Cunningham has lost her memory due to the trauma of being raped. It comes back gradually and, with her, we find out what has really happened. In addition to the rape, she has a deep tragedy in her past and this has never left her. Both the past she can remember and the past she has recently forgotten haunt her mind. The story manipulates the reader to some extent as we make up our minds what’s happening without the full information. As it unfolds, it’s a shock to have our expectations rattled.

The story is well told and evolves gradually as we enter Issy’s world and grasp her memories. There are several people hunting her at the end and a great sequence of events leads to the denoument. It’s a story which asks challenging questions – in which things are not black and white, and we wonder how we would behave in her circumstances. As always with this author, you know you’re in for a thought-provoking read. Highly recommended.

Seb Kirby

Seb writes an admirable thriller and can crank up the mood till you're breathless. This is a stand-alone and is fantastic. 

Each Day I Wake

Amazon.com

My review -

Tom Markland is rescued from Canary Wharf after almost drowning. He loses his memory as a result but when it begins to return he recalls the strangling of four young women - apparently by himself. Gradually his memory returns and he finds he is a journalist who was engaged in investigating a company's huge financial irregularity. He is in danger from the company boss and his enforcer and also from the real killer of the girls.

The story is an exciting one with a tangled web of characters and motives which the investigative journalist teases apart, only to find he's still not at the end of the journey. I too found I jumped to erroneous conclusions and the swift changes kept me on my toes. This is an action-packed thriller in which, although the story unfolds and results are achieved, there is a slightly unsettling ending. I loved it!

Seb Kirby

Third in a great thriller trilogy.

Forgive No More

Amazon.com Forgive No More

My review - 

This is the final book in Seb Kirby's 'No More' trilogy and it's as internationally wide-ranging and exciting as the previous two. James and Julia Blake and their three week old baby are separated while James, in Italy and Germany and his brother Miles in South America, follow the Lando family's fortunes. This is a huge story arc touching on drugs, art, mythology and even the early history of the Nazis.

Seb Kirby manages to keep the excitement cranked up in so many locations and on so many levels. Because of the scope of this book, the only problem I had was remembering who was who though that could well be down to my age. If you love a good thriller with plenty of action and intrigue, this is the series for you.

Seb Kirby

This is Seb's second James Blake story.  If, like me, you're a sucker for a thriller with added conspiracy theory, you'll enjoy it a great deal.  It's a sequel to Take No More, his first novel.

Regret No More

Amazon.com   Regret No More

My review - 

As the title suggests, this continues the story of James and Julia Blake, first encountered in Take No More. Once again, it concerns dark deeds in the world of art and people supported by drug money. Julia is seven months pregnant when their safe hideaway under the Witness Protection programme is compromised. The author catches the fears a woman has for her unborn child - if Julia is killed, two lives are lost. The Blakes flee and go into hiding and James' brother Miles, who Julia blames for her situation in Italy, comes in to help. She doesn't know if she can trust him. The Lando family are out to eliminate anyone who knows of their latest money making scam and someone's let the cat out of the bag, incriminating several big names.

This is a tense and exciting thriller with settings in London and across the Atlantic. James and Julia are out of contact and each doesn't know if the other is safe or even alive. We meet ruthless hit-men, members of different law enforcement agencies; often we can't tell the good from the bad. There's a heart-stopping chase and a massive explosion and a body in a London hotel. If you enjoyed Take No More you really have to read this one!

Seb Kirby

Seb Kirby's books are most certainly thrillers though the first two are rather different in theme and style.  I have very much enjoyed them both.

Take No More

Amazon.com  Take No More

My review -

This is a wonderful novel from a new author and I hope it will be the first of many. The plot moves fast and often surprisingly. There is much to admire about Seb Kirby's knowledge of the art world and there's plotting and deceit in the criminal underworld to contend with too. Seb is a master at writing emotion without overdoing it. He can make you feel the full jolt under the heart from bereavement, the lack of purpose felt by those who experience it, but he is never soppy about it. He can also express utter joy in a way many authors would love to be able to do.

I really enjoyed this book. It's a very satisfying read from an intelligent and talented author. More, please.

Double Bind

Amazon .com  Double Bind

My review -

Seb Kirby has taken a new direction in his second novel. It is at heart a deeply intriguing psychological thriller.
I would say it leans a little towards science fiction although it still contains elements of mystery and murder as in his debut novel Take No More (The murder mystery thriller). Imagine not only the sort of identity theft where someone steals your credit card and passwords but where s/he effectively becomes you. The physical resemblance is so close it fools your nearest and dearest. This is not Sci-fi in the tentacled green monsters or whizzy machines sense but it concerns the potential destruction of our planet at our own hands.

I began by suspecting the narrator, Raymond Bridges, of concocting the story for his own ends but as the book progressed I found him a sympathetic character and was really rooting for him. Had I been a nail-biter I'd have been up to my elbows by about 85%. The chapters are short so it's tempting just to read another... and another! The book is narrated by a character who is not familiar with the use of the past tense and initially this takes a little getting used to. It doesn't hinder the flow of the story though and I found it an effective ploy for distancing him from others.