Tuesday, January 26, 2010

First Newspaper Review Of Nightfall

The first newspaper review of Nightfall is out - in The Lancashire Evening Post. It's by Pam Norfolk, and she liked it! Whew!! I was interviewed for a job on the Lancashire Evening Post more than thirty years ago - it's a great local paper and it would have been fun working for them, but I ended up going on the Mirror Group Training Scheme instead...

Anyway, here's the review -

By Pam Norfolk

Taut, tense, teasing ... and terrific!

The first book of Stephen Leather's brilliant new thriller series is so dark that you won't want to put out the light...

The secret of Nightfall's success lies in its psychology ... who can you trust in the murky world of private eye Jack Nightingale?

Because in the twilight zone there are good people, bad people and some who might just be downright evil.

Jack was a highly respected negotiator with the Met's armed response unit and his speciality was persuading people not to commit suicide.

But when he was called to the 13th floor of a luxury tower block, he discovered a nine-year-old girl, with tell-tale bruises, on the verge of jumping from her parents' balcony.

Jack failed to talk her down and to his horror, Sophie Underwood deliberately slipped off the wall and plunged to her death still clutching her doll.

And when he confronted her father at his high-rise office shortly afterwards, Simon Underwood also fell from the window to his death ... did he jump or was he pushed?

Only Jack knows what happened and he still won't speak of it ... but it cost him his job.

Two years later Jack is haunted by a dream in which Underwood tells him: 'You're going to hell Jack Nightingale.'

And even more alarming for Jack is that the most unexpected people are telling him the same thing, including a man who has recently died and reveals in his will that Jack is his biological son and the sole heir to a substantial mansion house in Surrey.

Ainsley Gosling was a man steeped in Satanism and black magic, and a DVD found in his house claims Jack's soul was sold years ago and that on his 33rd birthday a demon from hell will claim it.

A strict non-believer in either heaven or hell, straight-talking Jack is convinced this is all an elaborate hoax but when people close to him start to die and the truth about his father's dealings is uncovered, it seems the prophecy could be more than just a sick joke.

And as Jack's birthday is only three weeks away, discovering the truth will be a race against time...

Nightfall is a wonderfully atmospheric tale of suspense and intrigue infused with edgy humour and a slow-moving but perfectly paced sense of menace.

Devilishly good...

(Hodder & Stoughton, hardback, £19.99)

3 comments:

Garry said...

Good morning, afternoon or evening Stephen.

My name is Garry, and I have just your latest novel. I live in Australia and the book has just been released. I managed to read it in about 6 hours.

I couldn't put the book down, it was an excellent read that caught my attention from the first few lines.

I have all your published works (that is available to purchase in Australia) and found them all to incredible stories.

Keep up the great work, and please, PLEASE, please do not kill off Dan Shepherd.


On a side note, I am curious as to why the price of your book sells at different prices...

I bought the book for $32.99 AUD at Angus & Robertson in Shellharbour, at Kmart Shellharbour is selling for $21.99

Angus & Robertson in Miranda has your book for $36.99 and Big W in Miranda has your book for $21.44.

I can't understand the difference in prices for the same product, same publisher, same cover art, and in 1 case the same book seller...

Thank you for taking the time in writing these awesome novels, and taking the time to read this comment.

I give it a full 10/10

Regards

Garry

Stephen Leather said...

Hi Garry (same name as my brother, but he is Gary. He lives in Melbourne!)

I won't kill off Shepherd, my publisher wouldn't let me.

Pricing is a weird one - retailers can set their own price so in the UK my books are generally cheaper in supermarkets and through Amazon. Sometimes the various stores run promotions which lowers prices and sometimes they will buy in bulk which means they can negotiate a discount. But I agree with you that it can be very confusing!

Unknown said...

My name is Nathalie and I'm a girl from Austria.
I have to say, I simply LOVED that book! I couldn't put it down and I read it about 4 times.
Everytime I read it it seems new, still thrilling.
One reason why I liked this book is because there are a few parts that make you think. About life and stuff.
I can only repeat myself by telling you one more time how much I loved it!
I'm actually going to make a presentation about it tomorrow for English-class!
Gonna recomment it for everyone to read!
I wouldn't hesitate a second to read it one more time!

Keep up the great work!