#AntonyDunford – Bookmarks and Stages by Lou

Hobeck Books is a publishing company run by husband and wife team – Adrian Hobart and Rebecca Collins. Today is the first anniversary of this team who are passionate about super crime fiction in all its forms and cats. I am also proud to be on their Advanced Readers Team and read through as many books as I can, to submit feedback, before I write a blog review.
Please note that I have not been asked to write a blog post or anything about it being their first anniversary, so, what I am writing is completely unbiased. I’ve felt I’ve wanted to put something together for awhile and now seems an appropriate time to do so to celebrate such an achievement from afar.
I have included some links to Hobeck Books and some of my reviews and you should check out the eye-catching covers too. There have so many books and authors that I just want to give you a taste of some here and bundle up a small selection of my reviews and also find out a bit more about this Indy publisher.

Hobeck Books have published police procedurals, thrillers, psychological thrillers, political thillers, quirky crime, Scottish Noir and more…There really is something for everyone who likes crime within fiction that also has a wider scope into people’s lives and so much more. Their authors are writing more than one book with them and they are often signing up authors from all over the UK.
They publish Paperbacks, Audiobooks and E-books, sometimes free E-books too. They also have their own Podcast (Hobcast), details can be found on their website. It has been quite a year from them.

Hobeck: Website www.hobeck.net Twitter: @HobeckBooks Instagram: @hobeckbooks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hobeckbooks10

Hobeck Books is doing tremendously well for year 1. Not only have they learned about publishing (before Hobeck was official of course, as there’s always a lot going on in the background to businesses etc) and made connections with various people from authors to bloggers to other readers, but they have a book in the Shortlist for Crime Book Festival – Bloody Scotland – Waking The Tiger by Mark Wightman. It’s no mean feat as there are hugely popular authors on that list and yet, they’ve found and published a great debut that’s reached (so far), these heady heights. Luckily they all leave the killing to just being on the page. They’re all nicer than their culprits.

Their Flagship Author is the ever popular and hugely successful actor, podcaster and author – Robert Daws, who transferred all his books in his excellent Broderick and Sullivan Murder Mystery series to them and has another being released soon.
All are set in Gibraltar, may well make you want to go there and are twisty and compelling to read. They are also 99p over on Amazon to celebrate this magnificent achievement is such climes.

Links to Reviews
The Rock and Poisoned Rock Reviews
Killing Rock Review

Waking The Tiger by Mark Wightman has made it to Shortlist at Bloody Scotland, a prestigious and ever growing festival in Stirling, Scotland.

Waking The Tiger Review

Lewis Hastings has a trilogy of books – the increasingly popular Se7en series.
Here is a book with Jack Cade returning, but more standalone and works well with its twists and big plotlines to be gripped by.

The Angel of Whitehall Review

Blood Loss is the first in the DI Paton Investigates series. It’s twisty and hard to put down.

Blood Loss Review

Throttled is humourous, with some big themes and is part of The Quirk Files. This is book two. Book one is Over Her Dead Body.

Throttled Review

Hunted takes readers to the heart of nature and the dark world of wildlife crime. It’s books like these that also bring something different to crime fiction.

Hunted Review

Catch As Catch Can by Malcolm Hollingdrake is in the dark and brooding underworld and has quite a hook to it, that then makes you want to read the next book -Syn.
Catch As Catch Can Review

That was just a few, keep a look out for more and also keep an eye out on the Hobeck Books media and bloggers posts for more… Check out their website for what’s coming and for free books too and more info.
Hobeck: Website www.hobeck.net Twitter: @HobeckBooks Instagram: @hobeckbooks
Facebook: www.facebook.com/hobeckbooks10

Blurb

Once a member of the world’s first all-female special forces unit, the Norwegian Hunter Troop,

Jane Haven is now helping her brother Kennet protect some of the world’s most endangered animals at his Kenyan Wildlife Conservancy.

Heavily armed poachers pose a deadly threat to humans and animals alike, and when her brother dies suddenly, Jane vows to protect his legacy against the threats circling the Bandari reservation.

With rhino horn worth more than diamonds – those threats keep on coming – until Jane finds she’s the one being hunted …

Hunted is a thrilling adventure that transports the reader into the savage beauty of the African bush. Antony Dunford captures the majesty of Kenya’s wildlife, and in Jane Haven, he’s created a modern kick-ass heroine for the Extinction Rebellion generation.

Review

This is a fabulous book with bite in such an exciting setting, which in turn brings a great paced thriller. Festo, Douglas, Jane and Tony are on the Laikipia Plateau, Kenya, amongst the wild animals, such as rhinos and Zebras amongst other animals and birds across the Savannah. It’s a spectacular landscape to behold in the mind’s-eye. It is exquisite in depiction of African wilderness and is quite irresistible and enchanting, yet endangered due to poachers and there’s a peculiar omen featuring an owl. All of which would draw any reader in and by the second chapter, there’s even more action.
Murder is never pretty, and this one definitely is not and the hunt is on in what becomes a fast-paced thriller, which becomes about humans and animals in danger. As much as there is this, there is a beautiful richness to the story and it is all encompassing and absorbing as Africa wraps around you. The theories are interesting with the dynamics at play in characters and landscape adding depth to the story.

The book later moves to Nairobi, Lang’ata Maximum Security Prison. It sends a slight shiver down the spine in the way it is described and then you get to know a bit about the activities that are within it and some of the prisoners. It gets more intriguing still and before you know it, the book has come to and end! It’s a very good end in finding out the culprit and also, like throughout, such a nod to conservation and the stark need for it, to protect what is left in the natural world and all done in a none preachy way and all within a fantastic fast-paced thriller with a great heroine.

Find it on Amazon and the Hobeck Books website

Click Hobeck Books to find out more.

Click here for Amazon