Release: 15th June 2023
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Northodox Press
Source: Zooloos Book Tours
Find it at: Goodreads, Amazon
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There’s a bad vibe. A professor of psychoacoustics is found dead in his office. A suspected heart attack, until a second acoustician dies under similar circumstances. Meanwhile, an outbreak of mysterious illnesses on a council estate, outbursts of unexplained violence in a city centre nightclub, and strange noises coming from the tunnels underneath Liverpool. Can it really be a coincidence that death metal band Total Depravity are back in the city, waging their own form of sonic warfare?
Detective Inspector Darren Swift convinces himself that there are connections. Still grieving his fiancé’s death , he swears to revenge. He pushes himself back into action on the trail of a murderer with a terrifying and undetectable weapon. But he cannot solve this case using conventional detective work, . D.I. Swift will need to put the rulebook aside and seek the occult expertise of Dr. Helen Hope and her unlikely sidekick, guitarist Mikko Kristensen. You can’t escape the noise. Only the memory of silence can comfort you. Or death itself
About the Author:
Catherine Fearns is a writer and musician from Liverpool, UK. Her Reprobation series of crime fiction novels was published by Darkstroke Books.
The first in the series, Reprobation, won a Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal and a Page Turner eBook Award. Northodox Press is now re-releasing the series as an ebook/Kindle boxset, and will publish a fourth instalment (Lamb of God) in February 2023.
US publisher Quill & Crow has signed Catherine, and her first historical novel, All The Parts Of The Soul, is due for release in 2023.
Catherine is a music journalist, specialising in heavy metal. She plays guitar and keyboards in the all-female metal band Chaos Rising.Also,Universal Edition has published her sheet music compositions .
Catherine currently lives in Switzerland with her four children and her Tibetan terrier.
Sound Review:
What sets this series apart is the wealth of knowledge that the author imparts through the protagonists’ research. In each book, you learn something new, and I learned about various subjects like misophonia, stigmatophilia, apophenia, and Vibroacoustic Disorder, to name a few. The author seamlessly weaves this information into the narrative, making it educational and engaging.
Moreover, the author skillfully incorporates new writing techniques, and in this book, I enjoyed the details of the medical examination of bodies. While some of the murder scenes are pretty gruesome, they effectively contribute to the story’s overall atmosphere. There are several memorable moments, such as the haunting sounds from the tunnel and the intriguing visit to the bookstore by Mikko and Helen.
Regarding the ploy, the author adeptly incorporates events from the previous books, creating a sense of continuity. Familiar characters like Lacey, Dave, Stuart, Justine, Thomas, and Shawn Forrest appear, and their story arcs develop nicely. The return of Mikko, who was missed in the second book, adds another layer of excitement. I liked the dynamics between Mikko, Helen, and Darren as they tackled a new investigation involving sounds. Additionally, the complex relationship between Darren and McGregor adds an exciting dynamic to the case.
However, I felt the story suffered from having too much happening simultaneously. With multiple story arcs, religious themes, investigations, and an expanding cast of characters, it was, at times, challenging to keep track of everyone’s roles and actions. While the climax offers satisfying resolutions to some of these elements, there are still open-ended aspects that leave you wanting more.
Despite this minor drawback, I enjoy this series greatly, and “Sound” proves to be a worthy addition. I’m curious to see how the story will progress in future installments.
Book Tour Schedule
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the Lamb of God by Catherine Fearns Blog Tour hosted by Zooloos Book Tours
