All or None Review Tour

Lily, 6 months ago

Goddess Fish Promotions Presents

All or None
by Clive Fleury

A randomly drawn winner will receive a $20 Amazon/BN GC – Enter Below

Returning to Sydney, Detective Ramesh Ryan is promoted to the Homicide Squad. Zoe Yang joins him there. Now a detective herself, she is assigned as his junior partner. Straight up, the cops are off and running—investigating the discovery of a murdered company director. Following the clues, Detective Ryan finds that this and a second murder may be linked to past events.

As the pressure mounts for a quick solution to the case, the detective finds that he too, is in the killer’s crosshairs. But Ryan is distracted from the investigation by a romantic encounter with an old university friend. He also worries about his mother, Mumta, and her new obsessive desire for grandchildren from her only son. Could this be linked to her recent medical tests? And there’s another pressing problem—the plague of rats in his apartment block.

Detective Ryan’s hands are well and truly full.

4 out of 5

Disclaimer: this is my first book in the series, but the story works fine as a standalone. The first chapter started off quite slowly, then suddenly escalated towards the end. From there, the real story begins with Detective Ryan. The slice-of-life moments we get mixed in with the mystery were nice, and helped really introduce the characters, especially for readers new to the series (like me). The mystery itself progressed at a bit of an uneven pace, but it worked out well in the end. Everything was tied up neatly, no cliffhangers to worry about. Overall, I’d call this a good mystery with solid cozy elements. If you enjoy leisurely paced mysteries with interesting characters and complex dynamics between those characters, then you’ll enjoy this!

“So, what’s this all about?” Tommy had asked Theresa Cooper after they’d set off.

“It’s about justice and fair play,” Irwin Cooper said before his wife could answer. “Unless we do something now, The Man will destroy the world. And by The Man, I mean those blood-sucking vampire developers and money-grubbing capitalists who’ll do anything and everything to line their own pockets.”

Tommy nodded, regretting that he had started the conversation.

“This protest is all about drawing a line in the sand,” Irwin added.

“What Irwin is trying to say is that this march is about protecting the environment and making sure that our views are taken as seriously as the developers’,” Theresa clarified.

“Exactly,” Irwin said. He pointed behind him. “Take the Morinas back there. They used to own a small farm in Spain before they emigrated to Australia. They bought a plot of land here and began farming. Now, they have a son and what could be a thriving business. They’re well on their way, but some property group has bought everything around them. They want to buy out the Morinas, too, and build a hotel and golf course, but the family doesn’t want to sell.”

“They shouldn’t, then.” Tommy gripped the wheel tight as the Transit hit a pothole and bounced up and down.

“The problem is, if they don’t, those people will make their life hell,” Theresa said. “They’ve already made threats. And they’ve bought their way into the local council.”

“Yep, see, it’s all about fighting The Man,” Irwin added.

“Oh, right,” Tommy said, switching on the wipers as rain started to fall.

Theresa held her husband’s hand. “Irwin, we should let Tommy concentrate on driving, don’t you think?”

And that was the end of that conversation.

Amazon | Goodreads | Storygraph

Clive Fleury is an award-winning writer of books and screenplays and has worked all over the world as a Film/TV director, writer and producer. He has written six books, most recently ‘All Or None’, the second novel in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series.

‘All Or None’ sees Detective Ryan back in the thick of things. His latest investigation into a mysterious death couldn’t come at a worse time. He discovers his mother is hiding a troubling secret and is further sidetracked by a new romance. Fans of who dunnit’s, crime thrillers, and cop and detective stories will love this novel.

Clive’s other books include ‘Off Season’ – book one in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series; ‘Kill Code’ – a dystopian science fiction novel set in a world facing climate change; ‘Scary Lizzy’ – a novel about an eight year old girl, who befriends an African child ghost – and the teen action adventure book; ‘The Boy Next Door ‘ – a story of what happens when a teenage girl has a crush on her next door neighbor, who isn’t all he seems. He also co-wrote ‘Art Pengriffin and The Curse of The Four’ – a young adult fantasy adventure about a teenage boy who discovers his father was Merlin the Magician.