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New Low Price For The Vanishing Wife

If you haven’t already done so, now is a great time to get started on The Marcie Kane Thriller Collection. Here is what some Amazon customers had to say (including misspellings of my name) :

“…not one disappointing moment in any of the books. Fast paced, lots of action and intrigue. Great Character’s. I will be read more Barry Finley books!!!!”

“Once I started read each book I had to finish. I love the plot and characters. Very suspenseful.”

“Good books Sure hope findlay writes more about Marcie. She sure gets into trouble!”

Get Book One at Amazon for $1.99 or read the whole series FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Book Review – Last Know Contact

Last Known Contact by Phillipa Nefri Clark is a fast-paced thriller with a variety of twists and turns. When Ellie Connor returns from a business trip to find out her father has disappeared, it sets off a series of events that will have you turning the pages.

The characters are extremely well developed and the reader is left guessing to the end as to whether Ellie’s father is dead or alive and the reasons behind his disappearance.

This book has all the ingredients of a good thriller and you won’t be disappointed if you pick it up. Highly recommended.

Book Review – Farewell, My Lovely

As an author of crime and police procedural novels, I’m always interested in what and how other people write. One day I searched for the best crime books of all time. Of course, there are many lists, but one on Wikipedia included Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Maurier and three books by Raymond Chandler in the top 15.

I decided to read Farewell, My Lovely by Chandler to see what would place him on the list. The book was written in 1940 and the reader has to remember it was a different time. There are racially derogatory terms that are a bit shocking by today’s standards. There were also a few more typos than I would have expected in the e-book I read.

The story line is clever with peaks and valleys and a few murders, corrupt cops and rich women. The dialogue, while again from another time period, is excellent. Marlowe has a tough, no nonsense personality, but his flippant, and often witty remarks add to the enjoyment of the read. However, aside from being a page-turning thriller, what sets it apart, I think, is the use of descriptions. The synonyms, metaphors and descriptive terms make you feel like you are right there with Philip Marlowe. The description of the city and neighborhoods is excellent.

Farewell, My Lovely is not today’s crime thriller. With the racial epithets, I’m not even sure it would be published today. But setting that aside, it is a well written book and I will be reading more from Raymond Chandler and authors of that era.

New Short Story

Here is a new offer for signing up for my newsletter. My newsletters only go out when there is something new in my writing world so don’t worry about being bombarded with emails. I try to keep them light and engaging. As a thank you, a download of my new short story will be available the minute you sign up. Don’t hesitate!

Newsletter signup

Sign up for an occasional newsletter from Barry Finlay's writing world and receive a free copy of the short story, An Interview With Marcie Kane.

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Thank you for signing up! Please download your free copy of An Interview With Marcie Kane here https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JWQ60Fliie9LK-NhS34soIcy9f7SYczm/view?usp=sharing. 

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Book Review – Proof Positive

Proof Positive by Philip Margolin is an interesting and engaging book about a forensic scientist who falsifies evidence to put the bad guys behind bars and leave them there. His misguided antics worsen when he’s on the verge of getting caught and he takes extreme measures to ensure he can continue doing the work he considers necessary to protect society. The problem is that innocent people are getting hurt or worse.

The book is well written and the plot kept me turning the pages. The method the scientist uses to falsify the evidence is interesting and left me wondering about the controls in place to ensure something like this doesn’t happen. The central characters are well developed and believable, in my opinion. I did find that some of the many lesser characters who float in and out of the storyline were difficult to keep track of. Nevertheless, this is a good book to be enjoyed by fans of the genre.

Book Review – American Dirt

American Dirt is one of the best books I’ve read in a while. While the book has received its share of criticism for being stereotypical, opportunistic and lacking authenticity, I found it to be eye-opening and entertaining. Jeanine Cummins relates the story of Lydia and her son who are in a desperate race to get away from a vengeful cartel leader and cross the border from Mexico into the States. The cartel leader has already killed sixteen of Lydia’s family members, including her reporter husband. It leads to a compelling read that alternates between fear and hope while offering the reader some timely insight into the plight of migrants. The writing style is imaginative and interesting. American Dirt is an entertaining work of fiction that tells a story that needs to be told. I highly recommend it.

Book Review – A Year In The Life Of Leah Brand

Lucinda Clarke has created a psychological thriller that will make the hair on the back of your neck stand at attention. As if Leah Brand doesn’t have enough problems with the death of her family, a spoiled stepdaughter and a husband who doesn’t seem to care, weird things start to happen in her house. It’s enough to make anyone question their sanity. The reader will wonder whether her family is responsible for the things that are happening or if there is some other malevolent force at play. A Year In The Life Of Leah Brand is a well written psychological thriller with characters that tug at your emotions.

Book Launch – May 22

The digital version of The Burden of Darkness will launched May 22!

But there’s a conundrum: How does one launch a book in this era of COVID-19?

Virtually, of course. I’ll be going live on Facebook on May 22 at 7:30 Eastern. If you haven’t joined my Facebook page yet, please do so at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarryFinlay so you can tune in and be part of the fun.

But here’s the thing. I’m not overly effusive, and especially when I’m talking to my computer. PLEASE send questions beforehand to info@barry-finlay.com. They can be about the new book, the Marcie Kane series, writing, publishing, or anything writing related you can think of. If you don’t send me questions, it might be the shortest book launch in the history of book launches. I hope to see you there.

Pre-order

In the meantime, you can be one of the first to receive a copy. The Burden of Darkness is available to pre-order right now. That means it would be delivered to your device on May 22. Go to https://bit.ly/TheBurdenofDarkness and grab your copy now.

Teaser:

Still not convinced? Maybe this will help.

Scarred for life. Marked for death. Headed for disaster.

GRAB YOUR COPY AT https://bit.ly/TheBurdenofDarkness