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.
What Has Been Seen Cannot Be Unseen…
Liverpool is in the grip of an intense heatwave, and strange things are happening. A woman dies in an apparent case of Spontaneous Human Combustion; a truck explodes on the dock road; the charred corpses of pets litter the city; forest fires ravage the pinewoods…and there are birds everywhere, silent flocks drawing in ominously.
Detective Inspector Darren Swift thinks there are connections, and his investigation delves into the worlds of football, nightclubs and organised crime. But is he imagining things?
Dr. Helen Hope doesn’t think so. And she believes the key lies in a mysterious seventeenth-century occult book which has gone missing from Liverpool Library.
In the blistering sequel to Reprobation, DI Swift is forced to confront some inconvenient ghosts from his past, as a terrifying shadow lies over his city’s reality….
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'Consuming Fire' by Catherine Fearns.
Read and reviewed for Catherine Fearns, CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform and Zooloo's Book Tours.
Publication date 9th January 2019.
This is the second book I have read by this author. It is also the second book in the 'Reprobation' series but can be read as a standalone. I have also read 'Reprobation' which is the first book in the series which I would also highly recommend
I was originally drawn to this book by its fantastic eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. I am also a huge fan of Catherine Fearns and if this book is half as good as 'Reprobation' (the first book in this series) it is guaranteed to be a page turner!!
This novel consists of an introduction, 13 chapters, 11 chapters translating the Ars Adramelechum and an epilogue. 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 🇬🇧 and Geneva, Switzerland 🇨🇭. . 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 and DI Darren Swift. 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.
'Consuming Fire' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Catherine discusses Pedicide, occultism, and demons.
LOVE, LOVE, ABSOLUTELY LOVED THIS AMAZING EXPLOSIVE ADDITION TO THIS 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 I could feel the heat of the fires, see the sunsets and smell the fresh mountain air. Tthe 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, I absolutely LOVED the first book in this series 'Reprobation' and didn't think it could get any better than the first book so how the hell did you manage to beat that Catherine!!! What an absolutely amazing addition to one of the series I have ever read!! What an absolutely unique page turner!!! This book is as unique as 'Reprobation', just as addictive and even more explosive!!! This book starts with a warning to not read the translations of the memoir of the fire demon Adramelech. It then moves onto chapter one of the storyline and practically every other chapter continues with the translation of Adramelech's memoirs. I was absolutely fascinated with these chapters and loved reading about mythology, demonology and discovering so much new information!! I was constantly googling the demons mentioned and ended up looking into them more along with looking at images. The storyline mentions Collins de Plancy's Dictionnaire Infernal which is a book that lists demons and the first thing I did was add this book onto my wishlist. I just found all the information absolutely intriguing and I am looking forward to discovering more about Adramelech's, his consort Anamelech, and just so much more. I learned more about anthropodermic bibliopegy, grimoires, mythology, demonology, occultism, Les Paons and more and that is just from the alternate chapters!!! The main storyline takes the reader on DI Darren Swift and Helen Hope's investigations into why a woman would seemingly spontaneously combust in the middle of a village. Catherine manages to weave the translations of Adramelech's grimoires and the main storyline together to form an absolutely explosive storyline perfectly!! I was absolutely absorbed throughout this page turner. It is filled with tension, suspense, fire, demons, romance, occultism, demonology and absolutely everything you could ever want in an explosive series!!! One of the most gripping unputdownable nerve wracking psychological thrillers I have EVER read and definitely one of the best book series!!! I absolutely loved the gothic aspects and the atmosphere of Liverpool and the stunning Geneva 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. 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 addition in an explosive and addictive series and I cannot wait to start reading the next and sadly last book in this series 'Sound'. I could go on and on writing about this absolute MUST READ but I really should wrap this up soon before it turns into a mega essay!! The ending is both heartbreaking while also ending on a cliff hanger and I really cannot wait to see where Darren and Helen go from here and what will happen next in Liverpool. I want to say a HUGE THANK YOU to Catherine for all the amazing information. The fact that you have done your research shines through the pages and I cannot wait to do more myself. It is one of my pet hates when an author doesn't do enough research on their book topic which ends up in a book littered in mistakes but you will not have to worry about that in this series!! 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!!!!
Although this is the second book in the series I had would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader. However, there are some parts in this book that will give away too much of what happened in the first book such as who the killer was so if you are planning on reading the first book I would definitely read it first as not to spoil the storyline.
I was completely invested in both the storyline and the characters who I was looking forward to meeting again after the fantastic first book Reprobation. Each of the characters have their own unique personalities and I felt differently about each of them. I absolutely love 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!! I love that Helen has left The Sisters Of Grace and you can see is so much happier now and free to do more of what she wants such as singing while still worshipping in her own way. I must say that I missed her "partner in crime" in 'Reprobation' Mikko and I hope he makes an appearance in 'Sound'. The other main characters are DI Darren Swift and DC Colette Quinn who also don't have much in common but worked perfectly together. I enjoyed getting to know more about Darren and his partner Matt in this book and watching their character development continuing to grow. I absolutely love Darren and my heart went out to him in this book and I hope he manages to come out of the darkness. It will be interesting to see what happens next with him and Thomas after that ending!! Other characters that we get to learn more about from the first book include Colette Quinn, Liz Canter, Dave and Baz. We also meet Deaconess Margaret Mills again for a short time. I am looking forward to seeing where Dave's relationship with Lacey will go too. These characters and more make a fantastic team 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 'Sound' and I am off to read it now. Keep your eyes peeled for my review coming on Sunday 5th February!! All in all a great mix of characters that worked well with this storyline.
This book has got to be in my top 5 books of all time and considering I have read hundreds and hundred that is one hell of an achievement!! This series is also now in my top 3 so a HUGE WELL DONE Catherine and here's to your next success 🥂 a
Congratulations Catherine on a true page turner! It is intriguing, gripping, atmospheric, gothic, addictive and everything I could ever ask for in a page turning book and series!!
Overall an absolutely heart racing, gothic, thought provoking, suspense and tension filled addictive and explosive addition in an absolutely must read series!!!
Genres covered in this novel include Urban, Crime, Mystery, Mythology, Genetic Engineering Fiction, Occultism, 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!!
201 pages.
This book is just £9.78 in paperback and £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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