Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Cristelle Comby - Danse Macabre - Review & Giveaway



About the Book

Private investigators Alexandra Neve and Ashford Egan are hired to succeed where the police have failed, to safely return home a missing ballerina. With no lead to pursue and no idea who could be behind the young woman’s kidnapping, they soon find themselves at a loss as to what to do.

To make matters worse, the heart of England seems to be caught in the middle of a little Ice Age. With snow endlessly falling and Tube lines either too cramped up to use or out of service, it is a pain to do any legwork in the huge metropolis.

Oh, and because trouble never comes alone, there may also be a serial killer on the loose in the streets of East London...


My Review

London, a few weeks before Christmas, and there's a serial killer on the loose. Snow covers the sidewalks. Dampness settles in the bones. The wind is relentless. There aren't enough hot cups of tea or layers of clothing to help ease the chill. But that doesn't deter Cristelle Comby's crime-solving duo in DANSE MACABRE. Hipster Alexandra Neve just trades her Converse sneakers for faux-fur boots, and her partner Ashford Egan gets up after falling on his ice-covered steps—ice he couldn't see because he's blind. A bout of nasty winter weather sure isn't going to stop these two from tracking down a psychopath.

Alexandra may be British, but she's of the millennial generation. She's more likely to say, "Yo, wazzup?" or vent her frustrations in Italian than maintain the prim and proper demeanor of her more traditional colleague. Ashford's baritone is rich and deep whenever he talks about his love of the city's history and culture. He's into opera and ballet, and she digs rock n' roll. Alexandra teases Ashford about his blindness and he's okay with it. He keeps her calm when she starts to freak out, especially after dropping a flashlight in a rat-infested subway tunnel. And he trusts her enough to lead him out of danger whenever they find themselves in a sticky situation like being held at gunpoint.

The affection they have for each other is truly touching. Alexandra knows that London isn't an easy city to get around in. She understands how difficult it is for Ashford to navigate his way through life, never mind a crime scene. Yet, she always plays to his strengths. His ears become their secret weapon. He can detect when someone's lying just by the sound of their voice. He's like radar because he can always hear when someone's coming up behind them even from good distance away.

They're a well-balanced team, a team of equals. Ash's intellectual nature jives with Alex's go get'em attitude. He lives alone. She lives with her mother. They'd both love to have some office space of their own, but money's tight. Ash envies the salaried pensioned positions of the police officers they work with and Alex is still getting comfortable telling people what she actually does for a living. The adjustment to private investigating isn't an easy one for either of them. They know they're capable of doing the job, but they still have their misgivings about the career path they've chosen.

Their goal now is to catch a killer before Christmas. Their quest leads them to abandoned theaters, half empty churches, reconverted dance studios and beyond. Even when Ash's flat is broken into and a warning note is left, they don't back down, they keep going. They sure don't have the resources they need, but they have the raw talent and ability to bring the killer to justice. They're out to save lives and grant victims' families some healing and closure, and that's exactly what they do.

London isn't just a safer place with these two patrolling the streets, it's a better one.

***

Danse Macabre can be purchased at:
Amazon

Prices/Formats: $2.99 ebook, $11.99 paperback
Pages: 254
Genre: New Adult, Detective Mystery
Release: October 2014
Publisher: self-published
ISBN: 9781502723772
Click to add to your Goodreads list.


About the Author

Cristelle Comby was born and raised in the French-speaking area of Switzerland, in Greater Geneva, where she still resides.

Thanks to her insatiable thirst for American and British action films and television dramas, her English is fluent.

She attributes to her origins her ever-peaceful nature and her undying love for chocolate. She has a passion for art, which also includes an interest in drawing and acting.

Danse Macabre is her third new-adult novel, and she’s hard at work on the next titles in the Neve & Egan series.

Links to connect with Cristelle:
Web Site
Twitter
Goodreads
Instagram
Blog Tour Site


About the Giveaway

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4 comments:

  1. Thanks for pointing out in your review how fitting this novel is for this time of year! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for a lovely, original and well balanced review. I'm glad you liked the book.
    Take care
    Cristelle

    ReplyDelete