Book Description
Strange things are happening in Liverpool…
When the city of two cathedrals is hit by a series of horrific crimes, cynical Detective Inspector Darren Swift is forced to put the rule book aside.
With the occult expertise of Sister Helen Hope and her unlikely sidekick, guitarist Mikko Kristensen, DI Swift goes on the trail of something darker than murder.
Science, religion and heavy metal combine in this award-winning crime thriller series that will have you questioning everything you believe.
Originally published by Darkstroke, the series is being re-released by Northodox Press as an ebook/Kindle boxset, in time for a fourth instalment, Lamb of God, which will be out in February 2023.
Are You One Of The Elect?
Dr. Helen Hope is a lecturer in eschatology – the study of death, judgement, and the destiny of humankind. She is also a Calvinist nun, her life devoted to atoning for a secret crime.
When a body is found crucified on a Liverpool beach, she forms an unlikely alliance with suspect Mikko Kristensen, lead guitarist in death metal band Total Depravity. Together, they go on the trail of a rogue geneticist who they believe holds the key – not just to the murder, but to something much darker.
Also on the trail is cynical Scouse detective Darren Swift. In his first murder case, he must confront his own lack of faith as a series of horrific crimes drag the city of two cathedrals to the gates of hell.
Science meets religious belief in this gripping murder mystery.
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Reprobation' by Catherine Fearns.
Read and reviewed for Catherine Fearns, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform and Zooloo's Book Tours.
Publication date 4th August 2018.
This is the first book I have read by this author. It is also the first book in the 'Reprobation' series but can be read as a standalone.
I was originally drawn to this book by its fantastic eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title.
This novel consists of 20 chapters. The chapters are short in length so possible to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in Liverpool, England 🏴 , UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. I have actually visited Liverpool several times so am looking forward to seeing if I recognise any places mentioned.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Dr Helen Hope, DI Darren Swift, DC Colette Quinn and Mikko Kristensen. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
LOVE, LOVE, ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS AMAZING EXPLOSIVE START TO A GUARANTEED ADDICTIVE SERIES!!!
Wow!!! This book is fantastically written and had me hook, line and sinker from beginning to end. The descriptions were so in depth and vivid that the hair on my arms was standing on the ends and my heart was pounding throughout. The synopsis, title and cover were perfect for the storyline.
WELL, WELL, WELL, where to even begin? What an absolutely unique page turner!!! I mean where the hell (no pun intended) else are you going to come across a nun that goes to a rock concert in her beetle and teaches Eschatology at a University, a guitarist in a heavy metal banned called 'Total Depravity' whose majority of conversation consists of four letter words beginning with f and ending in k, murder, laughter, tension, suspense, a gene that your born with that has your end destiny of heaven or hell already concluded and so, so, so much more!!! I have never, ever come across such a unique storyline before and if you have please let me know!! An absolute mixed jumble of opposites that should never work but Catherine manages to weave together to form an absolutely explosive storyline perfectly!! I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, suspense and omg the twists!!! One of the most gripping unputdownable nerve wracking psychological thrillers I have EVER read!!! I absolutely loved the gothic aspects and the atmosphere of Liverpool and Argarmeols Hall (where Helen and the rest of the Sister's Of Grace live) is just perfect for this amazing page turner!! You lady have one hell of a talent and I cannot wait to get hold of your previous and future books. I cannot remember the last time I was so hooked by a book but you managed that big time!!! The storyline is filled with shocks, suspense, humour, tension and so much more! There was so much going on and it was very fast paced and kept me on the edge of my seat throughout. Catherine's writing style and depth had me so engrossed that when I looked up it took me a moment to realise I was even reading!! Clear your schedule before you start as I read this in one sitting as I could not put it down!! I was absolutely hooked!! I would absolutely love to see this turned into a movie!!!! This is a fantastic book in what promises to be an explosive and addictive series and I am looking forward to reading the next two books in this series 'Consuming Fire' and 'Sound'. In fact as soon as I have written this up I'm jumping straight into 'Consuming Fire'. I loved the multiple narrators and the past and present time lines and I just couldn't do 'just one more chapter' and ended up devouring it in a few hours.
Clear your schedules before even looking at the first page as you will not be able to put this book down!!!!
It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with not only the lead protagonists but also any characters that may make repeat appearances during the series too.
I was completely invested in both the storyline and the characters. Each of the characters had their own unique personalities and I felt differently about each of them. I absolutely loved Sister Helen Hope who is definitely NOT your typical nun. She is also a university teacher teaching Eschatology which absolutely fascinated me. I had to look up quite a lot of words throughout this book but reading on kindle made this easy! I also enjoyed learning so many new things!! Helen teams up with guitarist Mikko and talk about chalk and cheese!! Helen is a calvinist nun (something else I had to look up) and Mikko is the guitarist in the metal band 'Total Depravity' who swore every other word. The fact that they were complete opposites made their relationship all the more intriguing and watching their characters develop and bond was fascinating for me. They made an absolutely brilliant team, despite of or maybe because of their differences and I was laughing so much at times I had tears running down my face!! The other main characters are DI Darren Swift and DC Colette Quinn who also don't have much in common but worked perfectly together. At times I loved Darren and the fact that he admits he doesn't know what he is doing makes him stronger in my book for not pretending he has a clue and being a down to Earth and realistic person. However, there are times where he is quite blunt with people and that's where Colette comes in to put him in his place. These characters and more make fantastic teams and I cannot wait to meet each and every one of them again in the next book in what promises to be an explosive series!!! That book is called 'Consuming Fire' and I am off to read it now. Keep your eyes peeled for my review coming later today!! All in all a great mix of characters that worked well with this storyline.
This book has got to be in my top 10 books of all time and considering I have read hundreds and hundred that is one hell of an achievement!! Welcome to my favourite author list Catherine and keep writing these fantastic books!!
Congratulations Catherine on a true page turner! This may be the first book I have read by you but it most definitely will not be my last!! Here's to your next success 🥂
Overall an absolutely heart racing, gothic, hilarious, suspense and tension filled addictive and explosive start to a promising new series!!!
Genres covered in this novel include Urban, Crime, Mystery, Genetic Engineering Fiction, Crime Fiction, Crime Thriller, Thriller, Psychological Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Gothic Fiction, Horror, British Detective Stories and Urban Fantasy amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as to anyone looking for an unputdownable series that is guaranteed to have you glued to the pages!!
211 pages.
This book is just £6.78 in paperback, £2.99 in kindle for the full series (at time of review) via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Catherine Fearns is a writer and composer from Liverpool, UK. Her Reprobation series of crime fiction novels was first published by Darkstroke Books 2018, and is now being re-issued by Northodox Press. The first in the series, Reprobation, won a Readers’ Favorite Silver Medal and a Page Turner eBook Award. Catherine has also been widely published as a music journalist, specialising in heavy metal. She plays guitar and keyboards in the all-female metal band Chaos Rising, and her sheet music compositions are published by Universal Edition. Catherine currently lives in Switzerland, and has four children, a Tibetan terrier and an axolotl. She has a degree in History from Oxford University and a Masters from the London School of Economics.
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