News: New Ken McClure book out September 5th

Whilst browsing Amazon earlier, I was very pleased to see that the next installment of the Dr. Steven Dunbar series by Ken McClure is due for release in September. The Secret (#10 in the series) will come out on September 5th. It is currently listed on Amazon as a hardback but publisher Birlinn does say it will be available as an e-book; fingers crossed that it will be a simultaneous release.

Free E-Book: Requiem by Ken McClure

Another great Ken McClure medical thriller is up for FREE on Amazon this week - Requiem. The offer is valid till Tuesday and I urge you to take advantage of it if you've never tried Ken McClure's work before. Don't be put off by the cover, Requiem is a fantastic thriller and I'm sure you won't be disappointed.

Free Kindle E-book: Pandora's Helix by Ken McClure

I've got a great offer to bring to you today! Ken McClure, one of my all time favorite author's is offering his novel Pandora's Helix, in Kindle format, for FREE on Amazon. I've read it many times and it is a great read for fans of medical thrillers or science in fiction. Here's the synopsis:

Check out my review's of some of McClure's other offerings - Wild Card and Lost Causes. 

Pandora's Helix can be downloaded free from Amazon UK, until June 26th, after that it is £3.20. You can also follow Ken McClure on Goodreads to be sure of catching future offers. 

Review: Wildcard by Ken McClure

After reviewing Lost Causes at the weekend I felt like I needed to re-read a better example of McClure's work, so pulled out, electronically, Wildcard which is the third book in the Steven Dunbar series. We're thrown straight into the action when a man becomes violently ill on a flight from Africa, bleeding from every orifice of his body. Soon others who came in contact with the man fall ill and die. The government think they are in the clear until other cases start appearing all over the country - Manchester, Perth, Wales - all wildcards with no know source of the illness. Will Steven Dunbar figure out the connection between the wildcards before the whole country is infected? What will the personal cost be?

From Amazon

Wildcard is a wonderfully paced read which takes you straight into the action, with the unveiling panic on the aircraft, and the action and suspense hardly lets up until the final page. McClure carefully balances story progression with holding enough of the truth back to keep you guessing into the last few chapters, and weaves in a beautifully bitter-sweet sub-plot which reveals some stark truths about Dunbar. The medical information contained in the book is spot-on, ensuring that the story is believable throughout; a hallmark of McClure's work. The only downside I can see is that it is so fast-paced that reading the book only takes a matter of hours and leaves you wanting more.

Overall this is a fantastic example of the medical thriller genre, which is so well written that fans of the genre and non-fans alike are likely to find it an engrossing and enjoyable read.

Wildcard is available from Amazon UK for £1.59, from Amazon US for $2.61, from Kobo for £2.03 and from WH Smith for £1.69, a bargin price for a book of this calibre.

Review: Lost Causes by Ken McClure

I couldn't wait to get my hands on the newest edition to the Steven Dunbar series by Ken McClure, Lost Causes. We arrive upon a different Dunbar than in the previous instalment, disillusioned, he has quit his job at Sci-Med, and moved in with girlfriend Tally, he's even got rid of the Boxer. It is obvious however that this situation won't last, and he is soon called back to Sci-Med to face an impending public health crisis and investigate the re-emergence of a old threat.

From Amazon

I have to say that as a McClure fan I was disappointed with this offering. Unlike many of his other books, the plot in this one is a bit to predictable for my liking. This stems from the fact that Lost Causes is a sequel to Requiem, one of McClure's earlier, non-Dunbar novels. Whilst you don't have to have read Requiem prior to reading this, indeed the first third of the book is taken up with describing the prior events, I do think if you have read Requiem before the plot is too easy to guess, and this takes away from your enjoyment of the book. The exposition at the start of Lost Causes also leads to a slow start, uncharacteristic of McClure's work, but once the story gets going, around Chapter 8, it goes with a bang and there is non-stop action till the end. The last few pages however seem rushed, and this detracts from the ending, and almost makes it seem like McClure had a page limit he had to stick to, with a disappointing "afterwards the characters did..." paragraph on the final page. On a more positive light, once the story gets going, you are literally dragged along with it, and as such it only took me a little over 3 hours to finish the book. There are also some great moments of suspense, which unfortunately were not exploited enough.

Overall this is not the best example of McClure's work, with a slow start, and the feeling that really this was a much longer novel that had to be squeezed into a set number of pages. However, if you have not read Requiem (or cannot remember what happened in Requiem) Lost Causes will provide a gripping read with moments of suspense, in a believable political setting. Above all else I would not recommend re-reading Requiem before this, as it will spoil the plot for you. Although don't let this put you off reading it afterwards, as it is one of the best examples of McClure's writing with a plot so suspenseful it will knock your socks off.

Lost Causes is available from Amazon UK for £9.35, from Amazon US for $15.36 and from WH Smith for £9.75.

Discount E-books - Donor by Ken McClure

Ken McClure is one of my all time favourite authors who pens well-researched, page-turner medical/science thrillers. I have read his entire catalogue, and was ecstatic to see many of his older and rarer titles offered on Kindle.

His first book in the fantastic Dr Dunbar series is now on Amazon UK for just 94p! It seems to be part of a promotion of the newly released e-book versions of McClure's more recent novels with prices ranging from £1.59 to £9.75 for his newest offering Lost Causes, which is due out in print on the 1st June.

I highly recommend giving Donor a try, and if you like it getting the rest of McClure's work. McClure's work is some of the only e-books I will spend more than £5 on.