I am delighted to be part of the #blogtour for Joel Hames’ latest Sam Williams’ novel THE COLD YEARS.
About the book: When so many haven’t survived, just being alive can feel like a crime.
Everyone needs to be heard: if there’s one thing Sam Williams has learned it’s that. Which is why he finds himself defending Richard Fothergill against accusations that date back decades.
But Sam’s real problems are closer to home. His nemesis, Trawden, is finally dead, but so are those he once called friends. The people he used to count on, the ones who aren’t in the ground, aren’t what they once were, either. DI Martins is on his back again, and she’s got company. And Sam’s girlfriend Claire might be recovering from her breakdown, but she’s not telling him everything.
Life would be so much easier if Sam knew the answers. Instead, all he’s got are questions.
Who is following him, and what do they want?
What did Fothergill really do to the children he taught?
And where was Claire the day Edward Trawden was killed?
Everyone has a secret to hide, but some secrets are too close to home
About the Author: Joel Hames lives in rural Lancashire, England, with his wife and two daughters, where he works hard at looking serious and pretending to be a proper novelist.
After a varied career in London which involved City law firms, a picture frame warehouse, an investment bank and a number of market stalls (he has been known to cry out “Belgian chocolates going cheap over ‘ere” in his sleep), Joel relocated from the Big Smoke to be his own boss. As a result, he now writes what he wants, when he wants to (which by coincidence is when the rest of the family choose to let him).
Joel’s first novel, Bankers Town, was published in 2014, and The Art of Staying Dead followed in 2015. The novellas Brexecution (written and published in the space of ten days following the UK’s Brexit referendum, with half of the profits going to charity) and Victims were published in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
My Review: The Cold Years is the 3rd book in the Sam Williams series (Dead North book 1, No-One Will Hear book 2) and whilst you could read this as a standalone, personally I would strongly recommend reading the books in order as most of the storyline and characters have back stories which are ongoing from the previous books.
Sam Williams is a fascinating character, he’s a street smart, wise-cracking lawyer who isn’t afraid of stepping over the line to defend his clients and The Cold Years finds Sam, once again, trying to defend his clients, keep his girlfriend safe and avoid being kicked in the ribs too often. There are several brilliant characters helping Sam in this story, especially Maloney and DI Roarkes and The Cold Years shows another side to their friendship.
Another enjoyable book which kept me turning the pages.
