Today I am so excited to be part of the blog tour for Morecambe & Vice Crime Writing Festival. Thank you to Sarah Hardy from Books on the Bright Side Publicity & Promo for asking me to be part of this exciting tour featuring some fabulous crime writers.
I’m reviewing Her Last Breath by Alison Belsham, the second crime book by the author after The Tattoo Thief. The author provided me with a copy of the book, I was under no obligation to review the book and all thoughts are my own.
My Review:
I really enjoyed reading The Tattoo Thief by Alison Belsham, and despite it being one of the most graphic and unsettling books that I have read, I was more than happy to read the authors second crime book, Her Last Breath.
It took me a little while to get back into the characters, mainly police detective Francis and Marni, a civilian who seems to be remarkably good at getting herself stuck in the middle of crimes that occur in her local Brighton.
The fact that the murders in this book didn’t quite match the depravity of the first book says a lot, as the crimes being committed here are deeply unpleasant. I won’t give too much away but if you don’t like graphic and unpleasant killing methods then perhaps this isn’t the book for you.
But if you are more like me then delve right into this story that will have you wondering and reading and holding your breath. The big finale is spectacularly unpleasant, mainly because of where it is set. I am sure that I could visualise and even smell the scene.
Belsham is confident in her writing and we see the characters develop through the book, becoming more real to the readers which makes me emotionally invested in the story. All of which makes a great read, one that is fun to read, but also turns your stomach now and then.
Blurb:
He leaves his victims fighting for life,
And with the mark of death…
After old remains resurface in a heatwave, a young woman is attacked and left fighting for her life in hospital. 24 hours later she dies and a deadly tattoo is discovered on her body.
When another young woman disappears, Detective Francis Sullivan and his team fear a serial killer walks the streets of Brighton.
His team identify a suspect, Alex Mullins, son of his lover, Marni. Can Francis forget their shared past and save the next victim before it is too late?
About The Author:
Alison Belsham initially started writing with the ambition of becoming a screenwriter-and in 2000 was commended for her visual storytelling in the Orange Prize for Screenwriting. In 2001 she was shortlisted in a BBC Drama Writer competition. Life and children intervened but, switching to fiction, in 2009 her novel Dominowas selected for the prestigious Adventures in Fiction mentoring scheme. In 2016 she pitched her first crime novel, The Tattoo Thief, at the Pitch Perfect event at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival and was judged the winner. After signing with agent Jenny Brown, The Tattoo Thief was bought by Trapeze books and published in May, 2018.
Read my review for The Tattoo Thief here. 
For more information and how to get tickets for the Morecambe & Vice Crime Writing Festival go to: https://www.morecambecrimefest.co.uk/
A policeman on his first murder case
Alison Belsham initially started writing with the ambition of becoming a screenwriter-and in 2000 was commended for her visual storytelling in the Orange Prize for Screenwriting. In 2001 she was shortlisted in a BBC Drama Writer competition. Life and children intervened but, switching to fiction, in 2009 her novel Domino was selected for the prestigious Adventures in Fiction mentoring scheme. In 2016 she pitched her first crime novel, The Tattoo Thief, at the Pitch Perfect event at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival and was judged the winner. After signing with agent Jenny Brown, The Tattoo Thief was bought by Trapeze books and published in May, 2018.
If only I could read faster 