I’m so glad to say I am lart of the blog tour for The Sky Turned Black by John Steele on behalf of Rachel’s Random Resources. Thanks to Rachel and Silvertaul Books for the copy of the book.
HIS BIGGEST CASE YET. BUT IT COULD BE HIS LAST…
NYPD officer Callum Burke is on a routine drugs raid when he bursts in on a scene of unimaginable horror – and two killers about to get away.
The men are caught but they won’t talk. All the cops know is that they’re Russian and extremely dangerous which means this could be the start of a savage new gang war.
Callum Burke is tasked with finding out what is going on. It’s Manhattan in 1997 and the city is being cleaned up. The pressure is on.
But when Callum discovers there might be more to the Russian involvement than just criminal gangs, he finds himself in deeper trouble than he’s ever known…
The Sky Turned Black is my second read from John Steele. My first being Rat Island which is the first book in the Callum Burke NYPD series. I was so lucky to be part of Rat Island’s blog tour and now this one also. I didn’t even consider that this book wouldn’t be good. I was already raring to catch up with Callum Burke the NYPD police officer who takes centre stage.
This time it’s 1997, New York and Callum is given a case to investigate the world of criminal gangs which is a dark one anyway. As Callum begins to discover that the Russians are much more involved in things than the gangs he also realises he may just be in much more trouble than he has ever experienced before.
It was so good to return to Callum, a character who I felt was so real in Rat Island. John Steele has kept up the action and the tension racked up again in The Sky Turned Black and I wondered what else could go wrong for Callum. There are quite a few characters in the storyline too, but the author has, again, created them so well that I had no issues keeping up with who was who as the plot unfolded.
Again, the setting of New York is so real. I have never been but as I was reading this book I felt I could be there. The pacing was a little slower at the start but it soon picks up and that’s when I found myself hooked. I was so invested in this book and Callum Burke.
With The Sky Turned Black, John Steele has made this a book that can be read as a standalone too. He fills in the background needed to help new readers feel they are up to speed. This is quite handy as I know the confusion that starting after the first book of a series can bring.
A gripping, gritty and action filled crime thriller that grabs you and doesn’t let go. This is sure to hit the right note with any crimer thriller/police procedural fans out there.
‘Hard and intriguing. Callum Burke is a cop on the edge’ David Albertyn
‘The Sky Turned Black will make your head spin’ T. J. English
‘The Sky Turned Black is a crime saga that combines gritty detail with a global scope’ Thomas Mullen
Purchase Links
UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/Turned-Black-Callum-Burke-NYPD-ebook/dp/B09T6VFQM1/
US https://www.amazon.com/Turned-Black-Callum-Burke-NYPD-ebook/dp/B09T6VFQM1/
Author Bio
John Steele was born and raised in Belfast, Northern Ireland. In 1995, at the age of twenty-two he travelled to the United States and has since lived and worked on three continents, including a thirteen-year spell in Japan. Among past jobs he has been a drummer in a rock band, an illustrator, a truck driver and a teacher of English. He now lives in England with his wife and daughter. He began writing short stories, selling them to North American magazines and fiction digests. He has published four previous novels: Ravenhill, Seven Skins, Dry River and Rat Island, the first of which was longlisted for a CWA Debut Dagger award. John’s books have been described as ‘remarkable’ by the Sunday Times, ‘dark and thrilling’ by Claire McGowan, and ‘spectacular’ by Tony Parsons. The Irish Independent called John ‘a writer of huge promise’ and Gary Donnelly appointed him ‘the undisputed champion of the modern metropolitan thriller’.
Social Media Links
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnSte_author
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