Guest Post: Joe McCoubrey (27/6)

Let's welcome Joe McCoubrey to my blog today!




There are many reasons why people read
books. Some find them educational and instructional, others revel in the drama
and pathos provided by a good thriller or whodunit. Me? I just like good
old-fashioned escapism – something that will take me away from the normal ups
and downs of life and transport me to a time and place a lot more exciting than
where I usually find myself.




It’s hardly surprising therefore that my
favoured genre is action and adventure, though I tend to balance this with good
regular helpings of crime thrillers and the kind of mysteries that will tax the
power of deduction. In the latter case it’s great – but often too rare – to
find a story that has one of those I-didn’t-see-that-coming type of endings.




The two most recent novels I finished
fit nicely into those two main categories – the first was by established
British author Mel Comley (these
days she lives in France) and the second was by another Brit author, Andrew Scorah, who has produced a
fascinating debut novella.




But first to Comley. Her latest book Foul
Justice is the fourth, and possibly her last, in a series involving a detective
heroine, Lorne Simpkins, who manages somehow to juggle a hectic, and often
disturbing, social life with the job of catching the bad guys. I just like how
Comley seamlessly weaves both strands together in a way that’s entertaining and
riveting.




Meanwhile Andrew Scorah has produced a
little thrill-a-minute gem in Homecoming , the story of a Special
Forces soldier who returns home to England to face enemies every bit as
ruthless as those he met in Afghanistan. Scorah doesn’t let up on the action
from minute one, but it was his earthy dialogue I found compelling. Here’s a
sample from the opening chapter:




He looked
up at me through eyes glazed with his usual poison of choice, a potent cocktail
of Quinalbarbitone and pseudo-ephedrine, mixed with his other best mate,
Jackie-D.

"Well,
here he is, the man of the hour... girls meet Jimmy Dalton, war hero and hung
like a donkey."

"Good
to see you too."

Paulie
turned to the girls. "Give us a moment eh, gotta lot of catchin' up to do
with me mucker!"

They smiled
at me and sidled out from behind the table, hitching down their almost-there
skirts, and disappeared into the crowd looking for more prey.

"You'll
be catch somethin' from Dollys like them," I said taking a sip from my
pint.

"Too
late for that, mate!"

I almost
choked and he went off in a fit of hysterics.




My next port of call will be the new Jack Higgins tale A Devil is Waiting – number 19 in his
Sean Dillon series, though I have to admit I’m hoping it has a bit more
substance to it than his previous few, which have been a bit predictable and
had the feel of a repetitive production-line franchise. It releases tomorrow.




My next can’t-wait title will be the latest offering from Lee Child –
his latest escapade for Jack Reacher entitled A Wanted Man, due to be released in August. I haven’t missed one
title in this long-running series and I’ve yet to be disappointed.




Overall I get through at least two or three novels per week. My reading
shelf is full of David Baldacci, Stephen Leather, Vince Flynn, Matt Hilton,
Brad Thor, Austin Camacho,  Sean Black,
Clive Cussler, James Paterson….and many more.




Between them they manage to take me into exciting and interesting
worlds. It’s why I read books. I can’t imagine life without them.




Joe McCoubrey is a former journalist turned author. His first
novel Someone Has To Pay is being released shortly by Tri Destiny
Publishing, with number two already in the bag and number three halfway there.
In between he has written a short story which was published last month in an
Action Anthology. To find out more about him check out the following links:




Blogsite: http://joemccoubrey.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/#!/joe.mccoubrey

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoeMcCoubrey1







Why do you read?

What's your favourite book?

Genre?


-Joseph




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