After a much needed break, I’m happy to be blogging again! I’d like to introduced The Coop, a new release from independent publisher, Bloodhound Books.

Title: The Coop

Author: EC Deacon

Blurb: When a woman staggers, naked, from a river, she has no idea that she’s been
saved from a killer by a text message from a dead woman.
Laura Fell is horrified when she discovers of her friend Gina’s suicide. But when the
autopsy reveals Gina died before her arrival at the house, she is perplexed. Who then
answered her mobile phone?
Everton Bowe, a cop whose career is as dead as his marriage, insists there was no-one
else present. But he’s wrong.
Meanwhile, his ex-lover, DC Helen Lake, insists there are similarities between the
traumatized river woman and the cold case of three missing women; the victims, she
fears, of a serial killer.
So, when a strange Dove’s feather, matching one found on the river victim, is found
in Gina’s house, Everton and Helen are suspicious.
If there was someone inside Gina’s house could he also be the river attacker?
And could he also be responsible for the other missing women?
At the same time, Laura Fell uncovers a web of deceit that stains the relationships
around her and seems weirdly linked to Gina’s death, as well as the attacked woman.
Is there a serial killer on the loose?
If so, what is his motive, and the macabre significance of the feather?

Review:

There are several things that I have come to expect from any Bloodhound book — a well-presented story with an interesting serial killer and suspense or psychological twists. However, there were a few things that prevented me from enjoying the novel as much as I could. This one took some time to get into. I found it difficult to follow the story at times with the number of characters introduced right at the beginning and jumping around to them frequently. I could tell the author was used to writing screenplays as the novel often read better as a movie, when the scenes can change without much description.

Another bugbear of mine has to do with the description of women. We do not stand in front of mirrors inspecting our bodies and then rubbing lotion into our skin. Sorry, that just doesn’t happen!

However, in saying that, I did enjoy the quick read and the twist at the end, and would most likely read other novels by Deacon in the future.

About the Author:

Eric had a successful acting career, playing leading roles in TV and film
including, Penmarric and Kings Royal for the BBC. London’s Burning and Hard Cases for ITV. His films include the lead role in Peter Greenaway’s controversial A Zed and Two Noughts. He started writing screenplays after a family illness and found almost immediate success. His scripts include the Bafta nominated, Prime Suspect and the multi IFTA nominated Relative Strangers, starring another Oscar winner,
Brenda Fricker. His short film Engaged, which he wrote and directed, was short-listed for the Fuji Film and BBC awards. Whilst Orla’s Song won the Best
Horror UK Award.

Eric has four – yes, four – screenplays in development (hell). Which is probably
why he started writing novels. The Coop is his first and will form the basis of a
trilogy.

He has two sons, both working successfully in the television and film industry.
Eric is divorced and lives in Esher with his partner, in a house once occupied by
the Judge that jailed Oscar Wilde – which may or may not be a good omen for
his work.