political thriller – The Reading Bud

ARC Review: A River of Blood by Adam Williams

28/10/2025Historical, historical-fiction, Mystery, noir, Surreal Fiction, SuspenseLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Adam Williams
Release Date: 1 November 2025
~~Series~~:
Genre: Historical Mystery, Suspense
Format: E-book
Pages: 382 pages
Publisher: Earnshaw Books Ltd
Blurb:
Egypt 1099 CE, Qahira (Cairo)
Samuel, a Jewish doctor versed in alchemy, and Gregory, his English apprentice, are investigating a terrifying plague. The Nile has turned red with blood and fish are dying.
Near a small island, they wrangle a badly torn body from the jaws of a crocodile — but was this beast the killer? Samuel suspects foul play yet the authorities block his efforts to find the truth at every step. Ignoring the warnings from people in high places, and with nothing more to guide him than his scientific method, Samuel is determined to persist in his quest, especially after a series of gruesome murders seem to confirm his early suspicion.

Little does he know that the secret he will stumble on could shake the empire.
Assassins are on the prowl. A child is being hunted. Who finds him first will change the course of history..

Review

A River of Blood by Adam Williams is a richly textured historical mystery set in 1099 Egypt, where science, faith, and power collide. Set across Fustat and Qahira (old Cairo), the book opens in a world of scholarship, court intrigue, and gathering dread. Author Williams anchors the story in a striking image: the Nile “turning to blood” and fish dying, a scientific mystery that echoes Exodus while refusing easy mysticism. It’s a hook that blends atmosphere, theology, and empiricism in one sweep, and it pulled me in immediately.

The characterisation is brilliant and the world-building is superb. Author Williams weaves theology and politics into the mystery, so the stakes are never just “whodunnit,” but who gets to define truth: the scholar, the priest, or the state. The prose is clean and vivid; action beats snap, but what really stays with you are the moral compromises people make to survive the empire.

Without spoiling the turns, I will share that the volume closes on an earned pivot toward Jerusalem, with a neat blend of intimate vow and geopolitical fuse. It’s a satisfying end-point for Book 1. I turned the last page both satisfied and hungry for the continuation. A River of Blood is a learned and atmospheric historical crime mystery that mirrors Umberto Eco’s curiosity with Michael Jecks’ momentum. For readers who like their mysteries braided with theology, politics, and human tenderness, this will be a perfect read.

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Book Review: Catalyst by Sloane Mercer

23/10/202527/10/2025Espionage, noir, Political, psychological thriller, Surreal Fiction, ThrillerLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Sloane Mercer
Release Date: 2 October 2025
~~Series~~:
Genre: Psychological Thriller, Political Thriller, Terrorism/Espionage Thriller, Literary Suspense, International Intrigue
Format: E-book
Pages: 193 pages
Publisher: AMEE Publishing
Blurb:
Everyone’s the hero in their story. Even the monsters.
Jake Rossi, a Capitol crewman trying to rebuild his life, isn’t looking for meaning — just a paycheck, a place to belong, maybe someone to talk to. Then he meets Emily, a reserved Belgian chocolatier with a scar on her collarbone and eyes that never blink. Her silence is magnetic. Her past, untouchable.

But the closer Jake gets, the more off-kilter things begin to feel. Curiosity twists into obsession. Obsession curdles into fear. Is Emily a survivor haunted by shadows, or the shadow itself? Every answer Jake uncovers only deepens the riddle, and every step closer drags him toward a truth too dangerous to name.
By the time the city gathers under banners and floodlights, it may already be too late.
For readers of dark, atmospheric, slow-burning psychological thrillers with flawed heroes and razor-wire tension, Catalyst will keep you turning pages deep into the night.

Review

Catalyst by Sloane Mercer is the kind of slow-burning psychological thriller that creeps under your skin rather than rushing to shock you. Sloane Mercer’s writing carries that rare balance of elegance and unease, drawing you in with the intimacy of character before you even realize you’re standing at the edge of something dark.

The brilliance of this story lies in its tension, not the loud, cinematic kind, but the quiet, suffocating kind that makes you second-guess what’s real. As Jake’s fascination with Emily deepens, the novel turns into an exploration of obsession, perception, and the fragility of sanity. Mercer’s prose is clean and deliberate, every sentence calibrated to tighten the thread of unease. You start to feel as though you’re peering through a fog, seeing outlines of truth but never the whole picture. And that’s precisely what makes Catalyst addictive; it’s less about solving a mystery and more about descending into it.

Jake is written with a refreshing honesty. He is flawed, lonely, and relatable. He’s not a classic hero; he’s someone doing his best to survive the static of his own mind. Emily, on the other hand, is mesmerizing; part riddle, part mirror , and Mercer wisely resists defining her too soon. Through their fractured connection, the book asks a chilling question: what happens when our need to understand someone else exposes the darkness in ourselves? By the time the truth begins to surface, you realize Catalyst isn’t just about the main character, but about the stories we tell to justify the monsters we become.

Catalyst is atmospheric, introspective, and razor-sharp. It’s a dark psychological thriller that trades jump scares for slow, emotional corrosion. It is perfect for readers who loved Gone Girl or You, and crave stories that linger long after the last page.

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Book Review: Gone to Ground by Morgan Hatch

10/04/202510/04/2025crime, Political, Political Fiction, Surreal Fiction, ThrillerLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Morgan Hatch
Release Date: July 31, 2025
~~Series~~:
Genre: Crime Fiction, Political Thriller, Suspense, Socio-Political Fiction
Format: E-book
Pages: 310 pages
Publisher: –
Blurb:
The first in a suspenseful new trilogy, a fast-paced thriller set in the streets of Los Angeles, featuring a Mexican American high school senior embroiled in a conspiracy that threatens to destroy his neighborhood.
Javier Jimenez is on a glide path to college while his brother, Alex, has done a 180 and is heading for trouble. Neither, however, have any idea what’s coming their way when George Jones sets in motion his plan for their neighborhood. “Some people flip homes. I flip zip codes.” It’s a cataclysmic vision of urban renewal replete with manmade disasters, civil unrest, and a tsunami of ambitious Zoomers.

Meanwhile, Alex and Javier’s feud quickly escalates, even as Alex finds himself in way over his head with Denker Street, the local gang. The bodies start falling, and Javier soon realizes Jones has put a target on his back. It’s time to go to ground. Can he keep Alex from falling further into the streets? Can he outplay Jones at his own game? All this and his own hopes, once so bright, now fading like a smog-shrouded LA skyline.

Review

Gone to Ground by Morgan Hatch is a bold, razor-sharp novel that dives headfirst into the urban sprawl of Los Angeles and never once comes up for air. As a writer and editor, I found myself appreciating not just the story’s complexity but the control with which author Hatch moves between perspectives, timelines, and characters. It’s dense but never bloated, gritty but with a heart that pulses beneath the asphalt.

The story follows Javier, a high school senior doing his best to keep his little brother Alex from falling into the gravitational pull of gang life in the San Fernando Valley. What begins as a familiar tale of familial loyalty quickly expands into a high-stakes political and financial thriller, complete with corporate sabotage, environmental scandal, and cold-blooded real estate warfare. The threads are numerous, but author Hatch pulls them taut with precision.

What I particularly loved was the author’s ear for dialogue and his eye for detail. Whether it’s a classroom filled with half-asleep teens or a power-lunch between political sharks, the writing is immersive and confidently observant. Characters like Betzaida—the tough, queer tow truck operator and half-sister to Javier—leap off the page with authenticity. And George Jones, the book’s Machiavellian fixer, is a villain you love to hate, dripping with charm and menace.

The pacing is deliberate, and that’s the one reason I’m giving this 4 stars instead of 5. Some narrative detours, while insightful, felt slightly indulgent and slowed the momentum during otherwise taut sequences. But it’s a small price to pay for the scope and ambition of what author Hatch accomplishes.

Gone to Ground isn’t just about a city, it’s about the people hanging on to their dignity as the ground shifts beneath them. It’s a book that challenges, informs, and, most importantly, feels alive. Highly recommended for fans of Don Winslow, George Pelecanos, and Walter Mosley.

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Book Review: The Fossilarchy: It’s a WAR for the WORLD by Tom Clark

18/02/2025Dystopian, Environmental Fiction, Political, Political Fiction, Speculative-Fiction, Surreal Fiction, ThrillerLeave a Comment

Book Details:

Author: Tom Clark
Release Date: March 7, 2022
~~Series~~:
Genre: Climate Fiction, Political Thriller, Speculative Fiction
Format: E-book
Pages: 394 pages
Publisher: Aurora House
Blurb:
As the world burns and floods, humanity stares into the abyss of climate apocalypse… but hey, a planet is a small sacrifice for a few more years of profits and executive bonuses.
Meet the Fossilarchy, the fossil fuel industry and its political cronies, cause of the climate crisis, doyen of denial.
All-powerful, it has captured government and nations. Ever-growing, it won’t stop until it has consumed the Earth.

In this epic tale of revenge, power, greed and travel, some start to think the unthinkable: Only sabotage will save the world.
But it will be dangerous. How can it be done without detection and retribution?
Don’t miss this fast-paced, action-packed thriller set against a global backdrop and the horror-comedy show of Australian climate politics.

“As a huge fan of modern climate fiction, it was exciting to see the action-thriller genre taking up the mantle in this excellent work by author Tom Clark.”
– KC Finn, Author, for Readers’ Favorite

“Engrossing…. the tension ebbs and flows throughout… descriptions of the Australian landscape and surrounding waters are picture-perfect……. a gripping and timely environmental tale with a combustible mix of deadly elements
– Kirkus Book Reviews.

Review

The Fossilarchy by Tom Clark is an ambitious, thought-provoking, and intensely relevant novel that plunges headfirst into the intersection of political power, environmental destruction, and activism. Tom Clark crafts a narrative that reads like a high-stakes thriller, yet beneath the surface, it is a scathing critique of the fossil fuel industry and the systems that sustain it.

What stands out most is how Clark brings his themes to life through an electrifying, multi-layered plot. The story unfolds in a near-future world where climate activism has escalated into sabotage and direct attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure. As industries and governments scramble to suppress the resistance, tensions rise to the boiling point. The novel doesn’t shy away from the moral dilemmas at the heart of this struggle: How far should people go to stop an industry that is actively destroying the planet? Can sabotage ever be justified, or does it simply fuel the oppressive mechanisms of the powerful?

The characters, while sometimes more symbolic than deeply nuanced, are engaging in their own ways. Activists, politicians, and corporate titans collide in a game of high-stakes chess, each trying to outmanoeuvre the other. Clark does a great job of highlighting the contradictions within both the movement and the industry, showing how power and corruption seep into every facet of society.

One of the novel’s strongest aspects is its pacing. The story moves quickly, with tension building in each chapter. The writing is clear, and while the exposition can sometimes feel heavy-handed, it’s clear that author Clark is deeply passionate about the subject. The book is not just a call to action, it’s a wake-up call, delivered with all the urgency of a world teetering on the edge.

That being said, The Fossilarchy can sometimes feel more like a manifesto than a novel. While its message is important, some sections are dense with political and economic discourse that might slow the momentum for some readers. The book shines brightest when it lets the narrative drive home its themes rather than spelling them out in long stretches of dialogue or exposition.

Overall, this is a gripping and eye-opening read, perfect for anyone interested in climate activism, political thrillers, or stories that challenge the status quo. It’s bold, urgent, and not afraid to ask the big questions. While the balance between storytelling and message could be fine-tuned, The Fossilarchy is undeniably compelling and leaves a lasting impression.