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ogreart's review against another edition
4.0
Ishmael's past reaches out in the form of an old friend. This time the mystery surrounds a wedding and a curse. It is well thought out and the end was meant to be tricky. Think I saw it coming, but again this seems more like a character-driven story and I enjoyed the characters.
ellelainey's review against another edition
4.0
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Till Sudden Death Do Us Part, by Simon R. Green
Ishmael Jones, 07
★★★★☆
192 Pages
1st person, single character POV
Themes: murder, science fiction, aliens, secret organisations, small town, family curse, shape-changers
Triggers: mentions of gore, violence and supernatural beings
Genre: Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Crime
Till Sudden Death Do Us Part is the seventh book in the Ishmael Jones series and deviates from the usual plot concept slightly because this is neither a locked-house or locked-room mystery! In fact, it's not even an isolated location mystery.
Ishmael receives a request from an old friend – from way back when he worked for Black Heir in the 60s – whose daughter is about to get married. Robert Bergin was once a Black Heir operative, now in his late70's and with a daughter set to be married, he needs Ishmael's help to break a family curse generations in the making. The curse threatens the lives of the bride and groom, who have all died horribly on their wedding night. To prevent this, Ishmael and Penny attend the small country village to help out.
There's a whole new cast, as well as the recurring characters of Ishmael, Penny and the Colonel. New characters are all wedding related:
Robert – the father of the bride
Gillian – the bride
Tom – the groom, and an up-and-coming actor
Detective Inspector Peter Godwin – the local police, the only one left after everyone else is called to an emergency
Cathy – local taxi driver and old school friend of Gillian's
Linda Meadows – local reporter
Ian Adams – Linda's friend and cameraman
David Barnes – best man and up-and-coming actor along with Tom
Karen Nicholls – bridesmaid and old school friend of Gillian's
Reverend Allen – the first victim, and original vicar for the wedding
Reverend Stewart – his replacement
The plot itself is intriguing. There's a family curse that says the groom will die on the wedding night and bride will either go mad or kill herself afterwards. To make sure that doesn't happen, Robert brings in Ishmael to investigate, after the vicar is killed in his own church. But when Ishmael arrives, the town is terrified of the curse and it's hard to get anyone in the wedding party to believe in it long enough to be cautious.
The investigation goes pretty much along the lines of most others, in that Ishmael and Penny talk to anyone and everyone possible to get more background on the situation, the main players, and then try to figure out what's going on. What's different is that the stakes are lower, the killer is cunning, and the situation is far more dangerous to Ishmael in that this is a favour done outside of the Organisation so he doesn't have any back-up if anything goes wrong.
Add onto that the fact that Ishmael's inner alien is pressing at the gates of its cage, waiting to be set free, and Ishmael is so afraid of what might happen if it gets out that he can't sleep or use his abilities to their full for fear that it will grow strong enough to escape. The fact that he's temporarily imprisoned in this story, paraded through the street in handcuffs, only adds to his paranoia and the danger he's in if the inner alien gets out, because he's terrified that it might just kill everyone in his way.
I loved the representation that was added here, as well. There's an openly gay character, Cathy is openly promiscuous but never shamed or shunned for it, and there's mention that she had a teenage abortion which is never used to shame or degrade her. There is also a mention of childhood bullying and brief off-page parental abuse, that's handled sensitively despite not being related to the main characters.
It was really nice to see a few brief passages about Ishmael's past where he reminisced about his first official partner, Lady Patricia in the 60s. It was great to see something of who he used to be and how suddenly his age and non-ageing abilities crept up on him. It was also good to see how he felt when he faced Robert, who was showing his age and how that affected Ishmael mentally as well as how it affected Robert, who had to see his old world colleague un-aged.
There were a lot of nice twists and turns in the story that kept me guessing, and while I had a few theories throughout the book, I felt it all came together nicely. It felt well paced and reasoned out, and just when I thought Ishmael might fall for that old misdirection trick again – that he's now encountered in 2 recent books – he proved me wrong and saw right through it.
~
Favourite Quote
“But...am I a man dreaming he used to be an alien, or an alien dreaming he's a man?”
Copy received through Netgalley
~
Till Sudden Death Do Us Part, by Simon R. Green
Ishmael Jones, 07
★★★★☆
192 Pages
1st person, single character POV
Themes: murder, science fiction, aliens, secret organisations, small town, family curse, shape-changers
Triggers: mentions of gore, violence and supernatural beings
Genre: Contemporary, Murder Mystery, Science Fiction, Crime
Till Sudden Death Do Us Part is the seventh book in the Ishmael Jones series and deviates from the usual plot concept slightly because this is neither a locked-house or locked-room mystery! In fact, it's not even an isolated location mystery.
Ishmael receives a request from an old friend – from way back when he worked for Black Heir in the 60s – whose daughter is about to get married. Robert Bergin was once a Black Heir operative, now in his late70's and with a daughter set to be married, he needs Ishmael's help to break a family curse generations in the making. The curse threatens the lives of the bride and groom, who have all died horribly on their wedding night. To prevent this, Ishmael and Penny attend the small country village to help out.
There's a whole new cast, as well as the recurring characters of Ishmael, Penny and the Colonel. New characters are all wedding related:
Robert – the father of the bride
Gillian – the bride
Tom – the groom, and an up-and-coming actor
Detective Inspector Peter Godwin – the local police, the only one left after everyone else is called to an emergency
Cathy – local taxi driver and old school friend of Gillian's
Linda Meadows – local reporter
Ian Adams – Linda's friend and cameraman
David Barnes – best man and up-and-coming actor along with Tom
Karen Nicholls – bridesmaid and old school friend of Gillian's
Reverend Allen – the first victim, and original vicar for the wedding
Reverend Stewart – his replacement
The plot itself is intriguing. There's a family curse that says the groom will die on the wedding night and bride will either go mad or kill herself afterwards. To make sure that doesn't happen, Robert brings in Ishmael to investigate, after the vicar is killed in his own church. But when Ishmael arrives, the town is terrified of the curse and it's hard to get anyone in the wedding party to believe in it long enough to be cautious.
The investigation goes pretty much along the lines of most others, in that Ishmael and Penny talk to anyone and everyone possible to get more background on the situation, the main players, and then try to figure out what's going on. What's different is that the stakes are lower, the killer is cunning, and the situation is far more dangerous to Ishmael in that this is a favour done outside of the Organisation so he doesn't have any back-up if anything goes wrong.
Add onto that the fact that Ishmael's inner alien is pressing at the gates of its cage, waiting to be set free, and Ishmael is so afraid of what might happen if it gets out that he can't sleep or use his abilities to their full for fear that it will grow strong enough to escape. The fact that he's temporarily imprisoned in this story, paraded through the street in handcuffs, only adds to his paranoia and the danger he's in if the inner alien gets out, because he's terrified that it might just kill everyone in his way.
I loved the representation that was added here, as well. There's an openly gay character, Cathy is openly promiscuous but never shamed or shunned for it, and there's mention that she had a teenage abortion which is never used to shame or degrade her. There is also a mention of childhood bullying and brief off-page parental abuse, that's handled sensitively despite not being related to the main characters.
It was really nice to see a few brief passages about Ishmael's past where he reminisced about his first official partner, Lady Patricia in the 60s. It was great to see something of who he used to be and how suddenly his age and non-ageing abilities crept up on him. It was also good to see how he felt when he faced Robert, who was showing his age and how that affected Ishmael mentally as well as how it affected Robert, who had to see his old world colleague un-aged.
There were a lot of nice twists and turns in the story that kept me guessing, and while I had a few theories throughout the book, I felt it all came together nicely. It felt well paced and reasoned out, and just when I thought Ishmael might fall for that old misdirection trick again – that he's now encountered in 2 recent books – he proved me wrong and saw right through it.
~
Favourite Quote
“But...am I a man dreaming he used to be an alien, or an alien dreaming he's a man?”
kirkw1972's review against another edition
5.0
One of the great things about ARCs from netgalley is discovering new authors. The downside is that on discovering a new author I find I'm so far behind in my reviews that I actually discovered them 2 years ago but still haven't read that book and so yet again I'm reading the books in the wrong order. Oh well hopefully by the time this book is released I will have caught up.
Forgetting that I should've started this series in 2017 the description intrigued me. I'm not one for spy stories but a spy who is an alien in a non-aging body suit investigating the death of a small village vicar? That I can get behind.
I ploughed through this in no time. Ishmael heads to a Yorkshire village to see his old colleague and investigate the family curse - no groom has ever made it past his wedding night when marrying a Bergin woman. The spy element is a bit of a non-factor in this story beyond Ishmael being bailed out just the once by his boss, otherwise it's a closed-room murder type of book and I enjoyed it all the more for that. Ishmael is grappling with the re-emergence of his alien self and the murders are piling up. I'm always happy when it gets bizarre and you can't say more bizarre than this.
Having come in at book 7 I'm not intrigued by the events leading up to this plot and how he and Penny met and formed a working partnership, what other adventures they've been on. They have an appealing relationship I'm keen to know more about. I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to picking up on the rest of the authors books.
Forgetting that I should've started this series in 2017 the description intrigued me. I'm not one for spy stories but a spy who is an alien in a non-aging body suit investigating the death of a small village vicar? That I can get behind.
I ploughed through this in no time. Ishmael heads to a Yorkshire village to see his old colleague and investigate the family curse - no groom has ever made it past his wedding night when marrying a Bergin woman. The spy element is a bit of a non-factor in this story beyond Ishmael being bailed out just the once by his boss, otherwise it's a closed-room murder type of book and I enjoyed it all the more for that. Ishmael is grappling with the re-emergence of his alien self and the murders are piling up. I'm always happy when it gets bizarre and you can't say more bizarre than this.
Having come in at book 7 I'm not intrigued by the events leading up to this plot and how he and Penny met and formed a working partnership, what other adventures they've been on. They have an appealing relationship I'm keen to know more about. I really enjoyed this and am looking forward to picking up on the rest of the authors books.
spookshow's review against another edition
4.0
You can find this review and all of my others over at www.readbookrepeat.wordpress.com
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Severn House Publishers, and the author via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ishmael and Penny are back for another mystery. Things are going swimmingly for the pair, besides Ishmael's "other" side trying to break out, when the Colonel appears bearing a message from an old friend of Ishmael's. Knowing the kind of person that Robert Bergin is, Ishmael doesn't take it lightly when he has to make the decision whether to help his old friend or not, of course he does. Knowing that this will probably raise more questions for Robert and Penny than Ishmael is comfortable, he pushes through and accepts the call for help with no questions asked. Once the couple have arrived in the sleepy, country town where Robert now resides, they find themselves asked "Are you here for the wedding? Or the murder?" What follows is a race against time as Ishmael is tasked with protecting Robert's soon-to-be married daughter from either a murderer intent on ripping the happy couple apart, or the centuries old family curse of the Bergin's. Twists and turns abound as Ishmael and Penny do everything in their power to keep the bride and groom alive and get to the bottom of things before it's too late.
I first came to know of Green when I was approved for the previous book in this series, Murder in the Dark, which is book number six in this series. I haven't read any of the previous titles in the series, but I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on them. Though these mysteries are generally coloured with darker tones than a cosy mystery, there's still something cosy about them to me. They tend to lean more towards the supernatural and paranormal aspects of the world rather than your run of the mill revenge murderer, that's not to say that it's never the human though. I've always been fond of the more supernatural and paranormal stories that I come across as it just adds that little bit of extra oomph that I'm looking for in a story. I was not disappointed with Murder in the Dark and I wasn't disappointed with this one either.
The story starts off with Penny and Ishmael in London (I think? My memory is shocking), they're on a break of all things. Taking breakfast in the morning sun, deciding to take a stroll down a street that Ishmael hasn't seen since the 60's. The only difference is, Ishmael is finding that his other self, the alien part of him, is breaking through and he is struggling to control it. Funnily enough, after finishing the story, I find there to be some interesting parallels between what Ishmael is dealing with and other things that are happening in the story itself, I quite enjoyed this. After the Colonel finds the pair, much to their disdain, they set off to a small, country town so that Ishmael can help an old friend of his.
I found the beginning of the story to drag quite a bit as things were set up, from memory, I had the same experience in the previous book I've read in the series. Once Penny and Ishmael had met with the Colonel and it was decided that Ishmael would help his old friend, the pacing picked up a little bit. That's not to say that this is a quick read, even though it's relatively short, I've found, in my experiences, that Green's stories are more of a slow burn. There's no rushing to be seen in these stories at all, it's more of a languorous stroll through the pages than a race, even though the suspense is an absolutely killer at times.
As always, Penny and Ishmael are witty and charming and all things likeable in a sleuthing, working for a secret government agency, pair of lovers, one with a secret that he keeps buried deep. They're relateable and likeable in their personalities. Green does an excellent job of ensuring that all characters in his stories have their own voice and distinctive personalities, you have the overbearing Gillian, the bride to be, the acquiescing groom in Tom, who will always do what Gillian asks. The old friend, Robert who is struggling with all the aspects of growing old, namely that he can't protect his daughter how he once could. The nosy and loud reporter Linda, with the mouse like camera man Ian. Cathy who's personality can only be described as larger than life and incredibly loud, we have Inspector Godwin, the only person able to be spared when there is murder afoot; the ever suspicious, dutiful law enforcement officer just trying to do his job. And lastly we have characters who are further set back than even secondary characters, the bit players who even though they blend in with the background more, are still very distinctive and memorable. If Green can do anything well, it's giving life and realness to the characters he creates, even those that are the literal wallpaper of a story, something that blends in with the background and is just there to contrast with the main objects of the story.
The mystery itself was incredibly interesting. The whole time I had no idea whether it was supernatural or simply human monsters that were responsible for the murder (and past murders at that). Roughly halfway through I though "Ha! I've got it, I've worked it out already" nope, it wasn't so, I do love to be proven wrong in these instances. It's never fun when you work it all out before the main characters of a story. THEN! Just as the big reveal happened BAM! Another twist. I did NOT see this one coming AT ALL. Not one bit. I've come to expect big firework, finale finishes of Green's work so I sincerely hope that I am not disappointed when I start my foray through the series from the beginning!!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher, Severn House Publishers, and the author via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Ishmael and Penny are back for another mystery. Things are going swimmingly for the pair, besides Ishmael's "other" side trying to break out, when the Colonel appears bearing a message from an old friend of Ishmael's. Knowing the kind of person that Robert Bergin is, Ishmael doesn't take it lightly when he has to make the decision whether to help his old friend or not, of course he does. Knowing that this will probably raise more questions for Robert and Penny than Ishmael is comfortable, he pushes through and accepts the call for help with no questions asked. Once the couple have arrived in the sleepy, country town where Robert now resides, they find themselves asked "Are you here for the wedding? Or the murder?" What follows is a race against time as Ishmael is tasked with protecting Robert's soon-to-be married daughter from either a murderer intent on ripping the happy couple apart, or the centuries old family curse of the Bergin's. Twists and turns abound as Ishmael and Penny do everything in their power to keep the bride and groom alive and get to the bottom of things before it's too late.
I first came to know of Green when I was approved for the previous book in this series, Murder in the Dark, which is book number six in this series. I haven't read any of the previous titles in the series, but I'm really looking forward to getting my hands on them. Though these mysteries are generally coloured with darker tones than a cosy mystery, there's still something cosy about them to me. They tend to lean more towards the supernatural and paranormal aspects of the world rather than your run of the mill revenge murderer, that's not to say that it's never the human though. I've always been fond of the more supernatural and paranormal stories that I come across as it just adds that little bit of extra oomph that I'm looking for in a story. I was not disappointed with Murder in the Dark and I wasn't disappointed with this one either.
The story starts off with Penny and Ishmael in London (I think? My memory is shocking), they're on a break of all things. Taking breakfast in the morning sun, deciding to take a stroll down a street that Ishmael hasn't seen since the 60's. The only difference is, Ishmael is finding that his other self, the alien part of him, is breaking through and he is struggling to control it. Funnily enough, after finishing the story, I find there to be some interesting parallels between what Ishmael is dealing with and other things that are happening in the story itself, I quite enjoyed this. After the Colonel finds the pair, much to their disdain, they set off to a small, country town so that Ishmael can help an old friend of his.
I found the beginning of the story to drag quite a bit as things were set up, from memory, I had the same experience in the previous book I've read in the series. Once Penny and Ishmael had met with the Colonel and it was decided that Ishmael would help his old friend, the pacing picked up a little bit. That's not to say that this is a quick read, even though it's relatively short, I've found, in my experiences, that Green's stories are more of a slow burn. There's no rushing to be seen in these stories at all, it's more of a languorous stroll through the pages than a race, even though the suspense is an absolutely killer at times.
As always, Penny and Ishmael are witty and charming and all things likeable in a sleuthing, working for a secret government agency, pair of lovers, one with a secret that he keeps buried deep. They're relateable and likeable in their personalities. Green does an excellent job of ensuring that all characters in his stories have their own voice and distinctive personalities, you have the overbearing Gillian, the bride to be, the acquiescing groom in Tom, who will always do what Gillian asks. The old friend, Robert who is struggling with all the aspects of growing old, namely that he can't protect his daughter how he once could. The nosy and loud reporter Linda, with the mouse like camera man Ian. Cathy who's personality can only be described as larger than life and incredibly loud, we have Inspector Godwin, the only person able to be spared when there is murder afoot; the ever suspicious, dutiful law enforcement officer just trying to do his job. And lastly we have characters who are further set back than even secondary characters, the bit players who even though they blend in with the background more, are still very distinctive and memorable. If Green can do anything well, it's giving life and realness to the characters he creates, even those that are the literal wallpaper of a story, something that blends in with the background and is just there to contrast with the main objects of the story.
The mystery itself was incredibly interesting. The whole time I had no idea whether it was supernatural or simply human monsters that were responsible for the murder (and past murders at that). Roughly halfway through I though "Ha! I've got it, I've worked it out already" nope, it wasn't so, I do love to be proven wrong in these instances. It's never fun when you work it all out before the main characters of a story. THEN! Just as the big reveal happened BAM! Another twist. I did NOT see this one coming AT ALL. Not one bit. I've come to expect big firework, finale finishes of Green's work so I sincerely hope that I am not disappointed when I start my foray through the series from the beginning!!
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't read this book, I inhaled it. It was so engrossing that I couldn't turn pages fast enough and I read it in one setting.
I'm a fan Ishmael Jones and I thinks this one a very good installment.
The usual mix of thriller/paranormal/sci-fi works/horror works very well as well as the description of the small town dynamics and the character development.
I think that one of the theme of the book is the past that is haunting the present, the fear of the unknown consequences of the past.
The mystery part is excellent, full of red herrings, and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to the next installment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I'm a fan Ishmael Jones and I thinks this one a very good installment.
The usual mix of thriller/paranormal/sci-fi works/horror works very well as well as the description of the small town dynamics and the character development.
I think that one of the theme of the book is the past that is haunting the present, the fear of the unknown consequences of the past.
The mystery part is excellent, full of red herrings, and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to the next installment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
geohiker's review against another edition
4.0
Doesn't have the same feeling of fun the earlier books do, but it's like visiting with old friends.
annarella's review against another edition
5.0
I didn't read this book, I inhaled it. It was so engrossing that I couldn't turn pages fast enough and I read it in one setting.
I'm a fan Ishmael Jones and I thinks this one a very good installment.
The usual mix of thriller/paranormal/sci-fi works/horror works very well as well as the description of the small town dynamics and the character development.
I think that one of the theme of the book is the past that is haunting the present, the fear of the unknown consequences of the past.
The mystery part is excellent, full of red herrings, and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to the next installment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
I'm a fan Ishmael Jones and I thinks this one a very good installment.
The usual mix of thriller/paranormal/sci-fi works/horror works very well as well as the description of the small town dynamics and the character development.
I think that one of the theme of the book is the past that is haunting the present, the fear of the unknown consequences of the past.
The mystery part is excellent, full of red herrings, and it kept me guessing till the end.
I look forward to the next installment.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to Severn House and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
vkemp's review against another edition
3.0
Ishmael Jones and Penny Belcourt travel to the countryside after the head of The Organization (for which Ishmael works now) tells him an old friend needs his help. Ishmael has worked for various secret organization through his years in the human world, one of which was The Black Heir. Robert Bergin warned Ishmael to get out of Black Heir before they canned him, so Ishmael feels he owes Robert, whose daughter is about to be married. Robert is concerned about the Bergin Curse that was laid upon the family centuries before by a witch who felt she was wrongfully passed over by a man who wed a Bergin ancestor. No Bergin female has survived her wedding night. But before the wedding, there are more murders that Ishmael and Penny feel are being contrived to place the blame on the Curse. But what is the Curse? The reader is left guessing until the actual wedding night. Another good romp in the world of alien Ishmael Jones.
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