Malice

This is the third book in a brilliantly gritty series set in 1960s London. Our main protagonist here, Rina Walker, is a bit of a complex character and has a rather chequered and colourful past so, although I recommend this for all series books, to get the most of this book, you really would be better off reading Harm and Threat first.
In this book, we see the uprising of the gangs in London. Fighting for territory and pitting wits against each other in the war to supply drugs and girls as well as offering "protection" to businesses. Due to several previous incidents and family associations, Rina is allied to one side. Problem is, the lines which were previously clear cut turn out to be a bit blurred and she finds herself on the wrong side on more than one occasion.
Well, this is now turning out to be one of my favourite series of books. I devour each new one and then pine for the next. I was told once that "celebrities" can't write. They only sell books on the back of who they are. I have seen truth in this statement a couple of times but, believe me, this is definitely not the case with Mr Fraser. I do however have to admit to being a wee bit shocked at the darkness and, on occasion, rather gruesome nature of some of the scenes, given that my preconception of the author was based solely on his portrayal of one Captain Hastings in the wonderful Poirot TV series. There is also a fair amount of bad language used along the way. Not for shock value I hasten to add, all totally within context of the characters and situations.
Rina herself is becoming a bit of a favourite character of mine and I do love the way she has been created. Sometimes male authors come very close to a good female lead but Mr Fraser has it perfect in every way. He also must either be an aficionado of women's clothing of that era or he has a secret source feeding him the information! I love the way that Rina has accepted her role in life with what she does but still manages to strike a good balance between that and the rest of things. Her sister for instance. Also, in this book she shows her softer side a bit. The only thing I didn't like so much in this book was the repeated mentions of the book she herself was reading throughout. I am not totally convinced that it gave enough to the story at hand to warrant the amount of inclusion it got. At times it felt a wee bit like padding, totally unnecessary in my opinion as the story was well strong enough to stand up for itself.
Pacing was good as well as the overall balance of the book. There were some quite high octane action parts which left me totally breathless but these were followed by some slower moments which allowed me as a reader to take a breather and regroup before it all kicked off again.
Description was also of a high standard, especially with regard to the place and time setting. I'm not quite old enough to remember the 60s but there were several memory links in the book that had me chuckling or cringing, sometimes at the same time!
All in all, a stonking good read that held my attention throughout and left me completely satisfied at the end. Roll on book four... soon as you can please Mr Fraser!

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.