Blog tour review + giveaway – Death Sentence by Sheryl Browne

Death Sentence – He’s killed your child and kidnapped your wife. What would YOU do?

Detective Inspector Matthew Adams and Patrick Sullivan, drug dealer, pimp, murderer: two men on opposite sides of the law. A history that goes way back. A bully even in his youth, Sullivan had made it his mission in life to make the goody-two-shoes copper’s life a misery. Now Matthew has made it his mission in life to make sure the pimping scum responsible for prostituting young girls, abusing them, and beating them to death, is locked up for life.

When Matthew’s child becomes a casualty of the war between them, does Matthew want justice? Or does he want retribution? When Patrick’s brother is shot down like a dog in a drug bust gone wrong, Patrick wants payback. He wants Matthew. Or the copper loses his pretty, pregnant wife. As far as Patrick is concerned, it’s quid pro quo.

I don’t really read crime… ok, shall I give that line a rest? I’ve read more crime in the last couple of weeks than I’ve read in a very long time. I love Sheryl Browne’s writing – many of you will know that her The Rest of My Life was one of Being Anne’s Books of 2015 – and I was really intrigued to see whether I liked her as much when writing what’s described as a thriller/psychological thriller/crime thriller. Death Sentence – available for kindle via Amazon in the UK and US, was released in June 2015, and it seemed the perfect introduction to Sheryl’s darker writing side.

So, how was it for me? “An edge-of-your seat story of revenge” said the publicity, and – by heck – it’s certainly that! The relationship between Matthew and Becky was beautifully drawn, with the sadness and loss at its core – and a simmering fury that nothing has or can be done about bringing to justice the man responsible. Matthew’s pursuit of Patrick O’Sullivan becomes an obsession, driving him close to (and over) the edge of what’s legal – but their history goes back a long way, way back into childhood bullying and cranked up at every encounter, and Patrick’s own activities are now pure cruelty and evil, totally out of control. 

Patrick is a really wonderfully awful creation – although extreme in many ways, almost a caricature of evil, I believed in him totally. I hated him but was also mesmerised by him, and just couldn’t tear my eyes away. When both Patrick and Matthew begin to seek their revenge on each other at the same time, it sets off a chain reaction that escalates very quickly into a situation where several lives are in the balance. This a quite fantastic read – with tension cranked up to an almost unbearable level. It’s gritty, graphic and violent – totally outside my reading experience and comfort zone – and I have to say that I absolutely loved it. 

“Unputdownable” is probably a bit overused when talking about thrillers, but I can’t think of a better word for this one – I read it all afternoon and evening, then into the early hours, then again when I woke in the night (nightmare from reading it, maybe?!) and just had to finish it in the morning. I already knew Sheryl could write well and tell a damned good story. I knew she could create good characters – and there are many here, including Matthew’s troubled niece, teenager Ashley.  But Patrick – he’s a real tour-de-force, truly terrifying, who will stay in my memory for a long time to come.

With thanks to Sheryl and tour organisers Brook Cottage Books, I’m delighted to offer a chance to win an ecopy of Death Sentence. Here’s the Rafflecopter for entry. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And there’s an excellent book trailer for Death Sentence – you can view it here. 

My thanks to author Sheryl Browne and Brook Cottage Books for my e-copy of Death Sentence, and for inviting me to be part of the tour.

Heartache, humour, love, loss & betrayal, Sheryl Browne brings you edgy, sexy, poignant fiction. A member of the Crime Writers’ Association, Romantic Novelists’ Association and shortlisted for the Best Romantic e-book Love Stories Award 2015, Sheryl has seven books published and two short stories in Birmingham City University anthologies.