Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Wicked Game
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1957
WEBSITE: https://mattjohnsonauthor.com/
CITY: South Wales and Cornwall
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
https://mattjohnsonauthor.com/goodreads/ *
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2014123949
Descriptive conventions:
rda
Personal name heading:
Johnson, Matt, 1957-
Associated country:
England Wales
Located: London (England) Monmouthshire (Wales)
Birth date: 1957
Field of activity: Military art and science Criminal justice, Administration
of
Affiliation: Great Britain. Army
Great Britain. Metropolitan Police Service
Profession or occupation:
Soldiers Police
Found in: Wicked game, 2012: t.p. (Matt Johnson) p. 344 (born in 1957
and brought up in North-West London ; joined the British
Army in 1975 and then the Metropolitan Police in 1978
where he served in a number of uniform and specialist
deaprtments ; now retired and living in Monmouthshire)
Associated language:
eng
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Questions? Contact: ils@loc.gov
PERSONAL
Born 1957.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Served with the Metropolitan Police Force, London, England.
MIILITARY:British Army.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Matt Johnson served in London’s Metropolitan Police force for twenty-five years. He was involved in a number of high profile events, including the London Baltic Exchange bombing in 1992 (where he was blown to the ground by the bomb), the Regent’s Park bombing in 1982, and the Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984. In 1999, Johnson was discharged with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When a therapist told him the value of writing down his experiences, Johnson found himself writing a novel. From it came the novel Wicked Game.
Wicked Game
In Wicked Game, it’s 2001, and Robert Finlay, a police officer on the Royalty Protection team based in London, is getting ready for retirement and looking forward to a stress-free life. When two policemen, both former members of Finlay’s SAS regiment, are killed, Finlay is drawn into a game of cat and mouse with the killers. In the process, he has to bring out skills that he had buried years before and that no one close to him even knew he had.
Reviews of Wicked Game were positive. A Publishers Weekly reviewer wrote: “Johnson is best at the few exciting action scenes, and describing when the cops and criminals puzzle out what their rivals are thinking.” A reviewer on the Blu Book Balloon Web site commented that “this is … where Johnson’s experience at the sharp end of anti-terrorism really shows — he’s good at portraying how events unfold, the roles of the different agencies, their shifting agendas and the very human dilemmas and failings of those who work for them. And also, how little they may really be able to affect events.” The reviewer added: “You’ll enjoy this book if you’re into thriller and action: even if you think you’re not, the pace of the writing will carry you away.”
Deadly Game
Deadly Game picks up where Wicked Game left off. Finding that retirement doesn’t work for him after dealing with multiple attempts by others to kill him and his family, Finlay goes back to work with the police department, and is immediately assigned to a dangerous case. A witness who was going to expose the sex-slave industry is murdered and Finlay and his new partner, Nina Brascov, go up against the traffickers. Also picking up on the events in Wicked Game, Finlay finds that his wife and child are not safe, the targets of a covert secret service operation.
A Blue Book Balloon Web site reviewer praised the book and wrote: “It’s all unbearably tense, with what I’m coming to see as Johnson’s characteristic blend of deeply credible detail (weapons, procedures, tactics, inter-Service relationships, personalities) with some frankly fantastic twists of fate, actions, and events.” The reviewer continued: “Johnson is, simply, a born storyteller. He does it all with such verve, switching between Finlay’s first person narration and as much third-person following other points of view as is needed to paint the background – but without ever getting bogged down.” The reviewer concluded: “This isn’t a slick book, it has a raw quality such that the unlikely events described actually seem to make the story more credible.” A contributor to the Novel Gossip Web site concluded of the book: “Deadly Game once again draws on Matt’s experiences and drips with the same raw authenticity of its predecessor.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, August 15, 2016, review of Wicked Game, p. 54.
ONLINE
Blue Book Balloon, http://bluebookballoon.blogspot.com (March 20, 2016), review of Wicked Game; (March 23, 2017), review of Deadly Game.
Novel Gossip, https://novelgossip.com (March 20, 2017), review of Deadly Game.*
Wednesday, 24 February 2016
Q&A Interview with Matt Johnson
Q&A Interview with Matt Johnson author of Wicked Game
Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer for twenty-five years. Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing in 1992, and one of the first police officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent’s Park bombing, Matt was also at the Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984 where he escorted his mortally wounded friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher, to hospital. Hidden wounds took their toll. In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism. One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on his own condition. Matt is currently working on a sequel Deadly Game.
Daily Telegraph article 'Ex-Met officer: my journey from PTSD to crime thriller writer'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/men/thinking-man/ex-met-officer-my-journey-from-ptsd-to-crime-thriller-writer/
Originally a self-published work, in 2015, the rights to Wicked Game were acquired by London based publishers Orenda Books.
Hello Matt, thanks for allowing me to interview you here - I'm really pleased for you that your book Wicked Game is now such a success. You have a very busy year ahead of you. Could you tell us a bit about your upcoming events for this year?
Sure. It's going to be interesting, particularly as to date my only experience of author events and literary festivals has been via Youtube. My first event is on 11 March, before the formal launch of the book. I'm off to Glasgow for the AyeWrite festival where at 6pm in the Mitchell Library I'm joining Michelle Davies doing an informal interview with Craig Robertson. Next comes the formal Orenda Launch which the Waterstones flagship store at Piccadilly, London have agreed to host. That's at 7pm on 22 March and promises to be a great evening. Some former colleagues from both the Army and Police are coming, as well as quite a few authors, readers and bloggers.
On 2nd April I'm off to Deal in Kent for the Deal Noir Event, then it's Llandeilo book fair on 30th April, the Orenda roadshow at Waterstones on 12 May and two slots at Bristol CrimeFest on 20th and 21st May.
And on top of this I have a two-week blog tour in March, I'm hosting a one-week facebook event, also in March, and some interviews for radio stations, the dates of which have yet to be set. All very surreal, and quite exciting.
How do you feel about the endorsements and high praise for Wicked Game that you've had from readers and people such as Peter James and Sir Ralph Fiennes?
Lost for words. Another endorsement came in from Kevin Maurer this week as well. Kevin is the author of 'No Easy Day' - the hunt for Bin Laden - and is another writer that I have huge respect for. Quotes such as these guys have so generously given have been very humbling, especially as I know that they are lending their reputation to my work, so they would only do so if they really liked it.
The response from readers has been both kind and humbling. It's one thing to have friends and family say that they like your book but when the reviews started to come in from complete strangers, people who had no agenda other than to tell me what they thought of the book, then I started to really appreciate that, perhaps, I did have an ability to write a decent story.
You have a lot of book promotions and book signing events coming up but has anyone requested an autograph from you yet in a public place?
Not yet, no. I've no doubt that if or when that happens, I'll be scratching around trying to find a pen!
If your books were turned into a TV drama series would you enjoy the fame?
That's a big 'if', given how many books are published every week and how few of them are considered suitable for film. In truth, I'm not sure how I'd react. Nice to secure that kind of recognition but I wouldn't relish losing my privacy and anonymity and I'd do my level best to ensure that I didn't.
When you started writing during your treatment for PTSD, did you ever visualise that one day your books would be published?
Not at that point in time, no. At the time I was simply writing as a means to avoid the emotion that overtook me when I talked about my experiences and the causes of the disorder. But later on, once I had started to weave the notes into a novel I found that I was enjoying writing and then, of course, the ultimate ambition had to be to see if what I could produced was good enough for others to enjoy and to then be published.
What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
I remember, many years ago, when I discovered ebay for the first time, I realised how many hobbies I had! For example, I keep bees, collect unusual hats, ride a Harley-Davidson and own three dogs who I love to walk in the Brecon Beacons near to my home. In between my hobbies I try and find time to write, but it's not easy.
Which books do enjoy reading?
I read rather slowly and I'm easily distracted. As a result of which I'm quite fussy about what I read and if a book dooesn't engage me after fifty or so pages I tend to put it to one side. I like thrillers but not exclusively. My taste is pretty eclectic, I'm a Lee Child fan, and I've also enjoyed Sebastian Faulks books. Recently I read Ken Follet's 'Pillars of the Earth' and Lalline Paull's 'The Bees'. One book I loved is the Louise Beech book 'How to be Brave' which is a mixture of a ghost story combined with the tale of a mother coping with a young daughter with type 1 diabetes. Having a daughter myself, this book really struck a chord with me.
Do you have a space of your own in which to write?
Yes, I have my 'spudy'. It's a cross between a spare room and a study, so guests sometimes take over my work space and I'm forced to do a bit of tidying. The window behind my Pc looks out over the Beacons with the Sugar Loaf mountain on the horizon. Did I mention I get distracted easily?
If you could choose anywhere in the world to spend as long as you want just reading, relaxing and writing where would it be?
Oh heck, that's a tough one. I think it would be Kenya. On a farm I know near the rift valley. It's a heavenly place, quiet and peaceful.
Thanks Matt for your interesting replies and good luck with your writing career.
Will look forward to reading more of your books
Wicked Game – a fresh and distinctive novel from Matt Johnson, a brilliant new name in the world of thrillers
A warm welcome to my blog
The above header is a quote. It isn’t something I would write about my own work, and a couple of years ago, not something I would ever have thought to be written about me. And yet, it was.
Promo pic with quotes1
Wicked Game was my first novel. It came into existence almost by accident. Woven from notes made as part of my treatment for PTSD, it was first released on Kindle as a self-published work early in 2012.
Then, in 2015, the rights to Wicked Game were acquired by Orenda Books of London. Orenda assigned an editor to work with me to produce an improved and polished version of my original work. It wasn’t easy re-visiting the text that had been part of a healing process to try and put my health problems behind me but it proved to be worthwhile.
Not long after publication, Wicked Game was long-listed by the Crime Writers Association for the 2016 John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award and at the end of 2016 it was listed by Amazon as the highest-rated debut novel of the year.
In e-book, it is available now from all e-book outlets. The paperback is available from Waterstones, WH Smith, Hive and through many independent bookshops. The audio book is also available thanks to W F Howes direct, or through Amazon as a CD or to download.
Monday, 21 November 2016
Interview with Matt Johnson
I’m delighted to introduce Matt Johnson, author of Wicked Game. It’s the tale of an ex-soldier and policeman whose past comes back to haunt him.
Tell us about your background and how it influenced your writing of Wicked Game
I served for a little under twenty-five years in the Army and then in the Metropolitan Police working in a number of specialisms and departments. In terms of exposure, my career spanned a time that saw my involvement in a number of high profile incidents. For example, I attended the Regents Park bombing in 1982 and, in 1984, I escorted my mortally wounded colleague, WPC Yvonne Fletcher to hospital.
Unfortunately, my career came to an abrupt end when I was diagnosed with PTSD. I was referred for counselling and initially found expressing myself very difficult - I would be overcome by emotion. To help my progress, my counsellor suggested I try recording my experiences, emotions and feelings in writing, and then bring my notes to be discussed at sessions. One day, many months later, she commented how much she enjoyed my writing and ‘had I ever considered writing a book?’
I hadn’t, and at the time had no desire to do so. But, several years later, with my police career over and my personal circumstances having changed, I pulled those notes from a drawer and started to weave them into a novel. Wicked Game was the result.
How did you go about getting your book endorsed by Peter James and Sir Ranulph Fiennes?
Peter and Ran were connections beforehand, and both are extremely grounded and generous men. That said, neither was minded to simply do me a favour. Both asked for the manuscript and only sent their quotes after reading it.
What are the main differences between self-publishing and your current experience with Orenda?
I often read comments by self-published author regarding the more satisfactory level of control they have over the whole process concerning the production, the design and the marketing of their book. I respect that, but for me, I have found that signing with a highly motivated and skilled publisher has brought huge dividends. I was given the opportunity to work with an editing team who were very instrumental in developing me as a writer. I have learned a great deal from them. The jacket design for the book was incredible and had no input from me, and that is a good thing, as I now realise just how creative are the people that produced such work. In terms of marketing, the book has reached vendors, readers and places that I would have never thought possible and which I could have never achieved when self-published. Also, I’ve been interviewed on radio and television, invited to speak at numerous literary events and festivals, and had a launch at Waterstones flagship store with over a hundred people in attendance. All this has only been possible because of the professionalism and experience of Orenda.
What plans do you have for future books?
The rights to the sequel to Wicked Game have just been acquired by Orenda. The book is called Deadly Game. Following an exciting auction of rights, I have now just signed contracts for the audio versions of both Wicked Game and Deadly Game. In the pipeline, I have the skeletons of several novels sketched out and the possibility of one or two non-fiction books.
Is there anything about being an author that you particularly enjoy?
Many things. I’ve always been very self-motivated and have been equally happy working as a member of a team or as an individual. But, I now find that I do like working on my own, setting my own deadlines and managing my own time. I enjoy research, learning about new things and brushing up on gaps in my knowledge. I enjoy the moment the words start to flow, that realisation that you are ‘in the groove’ and the story is unfolding, sometimes faster than I can type. I often lose track of time, forget to eat and have been known to write into the early hours.
All that said, what I most enjoy is the eventual interaction with readers that the book produces, particularly when it comes to meeting and having the chance to chat.
If you could take three books to a desert island, what would they be?
Now that’s a tough one. I’m not a very fast reader so, whatever I take, I would hope to get plenty of enjoyment from it. I’ve never read a book twice, so I wouldn’t be inclined to take an old favourite, so I think I would choose two books that I always meant to read but never found the time. Both would need to be very long books as, once read, their pages would likely become kindling to help create fire, an essential step in maintaining morale. The third book would be a blank journal, which I would use to write thoughts, experiences and stories, to help me while away the time as I built the ship that I would sail back to civilisation.
How do you handle negative reviews?
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and the open review system means that anyone with internet access can write theirs. I do read them, and if they contain constructive criticism then I learn from them. It was critical review of Wicked Game, written shortly after I first self-published, that resulted in my having it properly proof-read. That improvement in the standard of the book eventually lead to me being signed by an agent and securing a publisher, so I’m eternally grateful to that reviewer.
What I have less time for is the critics who are clearly writing for other reasons than genuine feedback. For example, some use reviews as a forum to promote another book (often their own) or to feed their ego in some way. It also perplexes me when someone who, for example only likes romance, says critical things of a crime thriller, simply because it wasn’t to their taste.
What I never do is get upset by a review… but, like many fiction writers before me, I might get even!
Do you have an agent? If you do, what are the major benefits?
Yes, I’m fortunate to be represented by James Wills from Watson-Little. Agents are unfairly maligned in my opinion as, to the in-experienced , having someone like James on my team has been of huge benefit. Publishing is a whole new world to me, one that uses its own language, has its own protocols and systems. James has been incredibly patient explaining to me how things work, how the industry operates. He found me a publisher and, when it came to negotiating contracts, he was invaluable in explaining to me the significance of contractual terms, rights allocations and many other facets to reaching an agreement. I recently read an article in the Society of Authors magazine on how non-agented authors can lose out for want of such in-depth understanding and knowledge. I don’t have those skills, my agent does, and I am extremely grateful to him for that.
Where can we find your books?
In e-book form, Wicked Game is available on Amazon, Kobo, Ibookstore, Nook etc. In paperback it’s available in Waterstones, WH Smith, Hive, Amazon and through many independent book shops.
For signed copies, I’m supporting Book-ish of Crickhowell who were the winner of the Wales and west independent book shop of the year 2016. Order from Bookish and they will call me in to sign a personalised copy for you.
Deadly Game is scheduled for publication Spring 2017.
You will also find Wicked Game on sale at a number of literary events this year. I’m at Crickhowell and Berwick Literary Festivals, Tenby Book Fair and Bristol CrimeFest. I will also be touring with the Orenda Author Roadshow.
Many thanks for the opportunity to chat, Alan.
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25Mar2017
**Blog Tour** Deadly Game by Matt Johnson #Guestpost @Matt_Johnson_UK @OrendaBooks
Posted in Book blog, Matt Johnson
Deadly Game A/W.indd
Today it’s my stop on The Deadly Game by Matt Johnson blog tour, and to celebrate the occasion I have a fabulous guest post from the author himself.
Wicked Game the first book in the series was a NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER on Amazon UK and AU, Kobo, Audible and LoveReading, with 380 five-star reviews! An authentic, gripping and moving thriller from an ex-soldier and Met Police officer.
Deadly Game is published by the fabulous Orenda Books and you can get a copy right now as it was published on the 20th February 2017.
image
Ten things you didn’t know about me.
1. I play the guitar. As a teenager I played in a band that gigged in local pubs. We mainly did David Bowie covers as our lead singer looked and sounded like Bowie. Deciding that we needed a second singer, we auditioned. The only applicant didn’t play an instrument and, at the time, didn’t sing too well. We turned him down. His name – Simon Le Bon.
2. I keep bees, having become fascinated watching a bee keeper at work and deciding five years ago to have a try myself. I enjoy the hobby, even if monitoring my sugar levels means limiting my consumption of the resulting honey.
elephant 092
3. I scuba dive, having done the PADI courses up to advanced level some years ago. I’ve now over 100 dives under my belt including in the Red Sea and Malta, as well us home waters off Cornwall and the south coast. One of my favourite dives was Lundy Island where we swam with the seals. A wonderful experience.
4. I walk every day – in the Welsh hills with my dogs. I used to have four but sadly, two passed away during the last year. I find walking to be very relaxing as well as good exercise. Now that I’m writing, it’s also the time when I mull over and come up with ideas, so I always carry a digital recorder to help remember thoughts.
IMG_1705
5. My mother and father were great friends with Leslie Thomas, the author of Virgin Soldiers and The Tropic of Ruislip. I used to walk to infant school with Leslie’s daughter, Lois. Again, rather sadly, with both my father and Leslie now no longer with us, I won’t get the opportunity to celebrate my being published with them.
6. I once played rugby for London Wasps. I say once, as it wasn’t a great experience. I was at school when our PE teacher – who was Wasps fly half – took a few of us young lads to help as Wasps were short. We donned the black and gold kit and turned out, only to be smashed to bits when put up against men who were much stronger and more experienced than we were. It really was a case of men against boys. The next time we were asked, not a single one of us said yes.
Wasps U18 v Bath U18
7. With my former wife, I used to run an animal rescue specialising in cats and dogs. We started it after I left the police and, over the years, we found new homes for many thousands of abandoned and stray animals. Spiritually, it was very rewarding work but extremely demanding.
8. As a soldier and police officer, I trained in the use of many vehicles. I completed a number of driving courses for both cars and motorcycles and, even now, my love of them continues. For pleasure, I drive an old Jaguar XKR and a ’99 Harley Davidson Fatboy. Although trained and qualified to drive fast, I have a family reputation as a bit of a slug. I tend not to rush, following the adage that nothing is so urgent as to justify an accident. I’ve seen what happens to people when they crash at speed and that tends to have a sobering effect on your own driving.
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9. I’m patron to two charities, The Armed Forces Bikers and Shoeboxes for our Heroes. Being a patron to them is an incredible honour and I’m more than happy to do what I can to help both of these fundraising charities.
10. And probably of least interest is the fact that I collect hats. And I’m not talking just a few. It started during my Army service and continues now. I even wear some of them. I include in my collection a Foreign Legion Kepi, a WWII Tommy helmet, an Australian Akubra and a Russian Submariner officer foxfur hat. Many of the hats used to be displayed on a wall until a house move confined them to boxes where many of them remain.
img_1639Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer for 25 years. Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing in 1993, and one of the first police officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent’s Park bombing, Matt was also at the Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984 where he escorted his mortally wounded friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher, to hospital. Hidden wounds took their toll. In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism. One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on his own condition. His bestselling thriller, Wicked Game, which was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Dagger, was the result. Deadly Game once again draws on Matt’s experiences and drips with the same raw authenticity of its predecessor
CRIMINALLY GOOD: interview with author Matt Johnson
On 10th March 2017 · By Lucy Hay · With 0 Comments
1) So, who are you & what have you written?
My name is Matt Johnson. I describe myself as an accidental author, and a very lucky one. I served in the Army and Metropolitan Police office for nearly 25 years.
My debut novel Wicked Game – a crime thriller – was published by Orenda Books in March 2016.
I didn’t train as a writer and or come though a traditional route. My journey from the military, through policing to eventual publication might be described as somewhat unusual.
In 1999, I was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Whilst undergoing treatment, I was encouraged by my counsellor to write about my career and experience of murders, shootings and terrorism.
I was eventually persuaded to give this a go, and one evening, I sat at my computer and started to weave my notes into a work of fiction – Wicked Game was the result.
Since then Wicked Game has been listed for the Crime Writers Association John Creasey Dagger award, has topped the Amazon and WH Smith KOBO charts in several categories and at the end of 2016 was listed by Amazon UK as the highest-rated ‘rising star’ novel of 2016.
Deadly Game, the sequel to my debut, is scheduled for publication in March 2017. Check out my website, HERE and follow me on Twitter as @Matt_Johnson_UK
2) Why do you write crime fiction?
I was motivated to start writing fiction out of a sense of both duty and failure. During the 1980s, I was involved in the post Broadwater Farm riot enquiry. I was tasked with taking statements from officers involved. At that time, the profession did not recognise the effect that exposure to the trauma of the riot and the death of Pc Blakelock had on those officers and when many ended up leaving the service I didn’t recognise their PTSD until I too suffered from it. I knew I couldn’t turn the clock back but I undertook to write in a way that informed people about the condition and how it affects individuals and their families. I chose crime fiction as it is based on a world that I know intimately.
3) What informs your crime writing?
As I described above, I spent many years as a police officer in a variety of roles. That gives be background and helps me to be authentic but I still harness ideas from real-life events and I talk to former and serving cops to help me generate ideas.
4) What’s your usual writing routine?
I wish I had one! Having come to writing quite late in life, I have yet to think of it as my occupation. At the moment, it is a hobby that I fit into my day as and when I can. It was only after the success of Wicked Game that I started to think of myself as an author and then start to consider how or whether I should develop this hobby in a more professional way. That is happening, slowly, as I learn and as the editing team at Orenda help me develop.
5) Which crime book do you wish YOU’D written, and why?
Now that’s a tough one. I prefer to read non-fiction and probably only read about seven or eight fiction books a year. To answer this question, I’ve had to scan through my bookshelves and look for a title that called out to me. I came up with Harry’s Game, the Belfast-based thriller by Gerald Seymour, which changed the genre for the better and still sells well, over forty years later.
Wicked Game
263.33 (Aug. 15, 2016): p54.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Wicked Game
Matt Johnson. Orenda (IPG, dist.), $14.95 trade paper (400p) ISBN 978-1-910633-41-0
In British author Johnson's uneven first novel, cop Robert Finlay is targeted by bombers Declan Costello and Selahattin Yildrim, who have killed two men in India and two policemen in the U.K. A former SAS soldier now with the Royal Protection team in London, Finlay is proving difficult to terminate, which gives him time to figure out who is after him and why. The reason might have something to do with such events as the decades-old siege of the Iranian embassy in London. Meanwhile, he has to keep his wife and daughter safe. With assistance from MI5 operative Monaghan, his former commanding officer, and his police friend Sgt. Kevin Jones, Finlay sets out to neutralize his enemies before the plot lumbers to a contrived climax at Finlay's house. Johnson, a former soldier and police officer, knows this world firsthand, but Finlay is a one dimensional, all-too-lucky, and saintly hero. Johnson is best at the few exciting action scenes, and describing when the cops and criminals puzzle out what their rivals are thinking. (Oct.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th Edition)
"Wicked Game." Publishers Weekly, 15 Aug. 2016, p. 54. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA461444539&it=r&asid=545953d9a0837e85f4563ec684e4395e. Accessed 12 May 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A461444539
QUOTED: Deadly Game once again draws on Matt’s experiences and drips with the same raw authenticity of its predecessor.
Blog Tour: Deadly Game by Matt Johnson @Matt_Johnson_UK @OrendaBooks
March 20, 2017
Goodreads|Amazon US|Amazon UK
Release date: February 20, 2017
Publisher: Orenda Books
Genre: Action Thriller
Blurb:
Reeling from the attempts on his life and that of his family, Police Inspector Robert Finlay returns to work to discover that any hope of a peaceful existence has been dashed. Assigned to investigate the Eastern European sex-slave industry just as a key witness is murdered. Finlay, along with his new partner Nina Brasov, finds himself facing a ruthless criminal gang, determined to keep control of the traffic of people into the UK. On the home front, Finlay’s efforts to protect his wife and child may have been in vain, as an MI5 protection officer uncovers a covert secret service operation that threatens them all… Picking up where the bestselling Wicked Game left off, Deadly Game sees Matt Johnson’s damaged hero fighting on two fronts. Aided by new allies, he must not only protect his family but save a colleague from an unseen enemy … and a shocking fate.
Review:
I’m so pleased to be a stop on the blog tour for Deadly Game.
This is the second book in a series following Robert Finlay and though I didn’t have the time to read the first book in the series, it read just fine on it’s own. There was enough relevant background information provided that I felt caught up on what had happened to Finlay in Wicked Game. After an attempt on his life and that of his family’s, Robert is trying to regain some normalcy and balance. They are living in a safe house and though things are less complicated, he’s suffering from night terrors and PTSD. His new job finds him investigating the sex trade industry and partnering up with Nina, who was a character that I really took to.
This book packed quite the punch as it was multifaceted and covered a wide variety of issues. It’s set in the months following 9/11 when tensions are high and there is always a sense of danger lurking in the shadows. There was espionage, sex trafficking, terrorism, political intrigue, conspiracy theories and military operations. I don’t generally read books with this type of subject material, but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! Toni is the Finlay families liaison officer, she works for M15 and was very interesting, she kept me on my toes. When you’re reading a book with so many spies it was almost impossible to know who had a hidden agenda or who was trustworthy, completely intriguing.
The pacing was spot on, it was fast with brief chapters that entice you to keep reading for just one more chapter. Johnson’s writing style is tight, sharp and full of authenticity based on his own personal history as a police officer. Finlay as a character was well developed and easily likable to me and the secondary characters were also richly developed adding fantastic depth. The scariest part of the plot, for me, is that the sex trade industry is really happening and the scenes with these poor young woman were heartbreaking, shocking and harrowing.
Overall rating: 4/5
Thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy.
About the Author:
Matt Johnson served as a soldier and Metropolitan Police officer for 25 years. Blown off his feet at the London Baltic Exchange bombing in 1993, and one of the first police officers on the scene of the 1982 Regent’s Park bombing, Matt was also at the Libyan People’s Bureau shooting in 1984 where he escorted his mortally wounded friend and colleague, Yvonne Fletcher, to hospital. Hidden wounds took their toll.
In 1999, Matt was discharged from the police with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While undergoing treatment, he was encouraged by his counsellor to write about his career and his experience of murders, shootings and terrorism. One evening, Matt sat at his computer and started to weave these notes into a work of fiction that he described as having a tremendously cathartic effect on his own condition.
His bestselling thriller, Wicked Game, which was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Dagger, was the result. Deadly Game once again draws on Matt’s experiences and drips with the same raw authenticity of its predecessor.
QUOTED: It's all unbearably tense, with what I'm coming to see as Johnson's characteristic blend of deeply credible detail (weapons, procedures, tactics, inter-Service relationships, personalities) with some frankly fantastic twists of fate, actions, and events.
Johnson is, simply, a born storyteller. He does it all with such verve, switching between Finlay's first person narration and as much third-person following other points of view as is needed to paint the background - but without ever getting bogged down.
this isn't a slick book, it has a raw quality such that the unlikely events described actually seem to make the story more credible.
23 March 2017
Review - Deadly Game by Matt Johnson
Deadly Game (Robert Finlay No 2)
Matt Johnson
Orenda Books, 15 March 2017
PB, 352pp, e-book
I'm grateful to Orenda books for a review copy.
First, full disclosure. I reviewed Johnson's first book, Wicked Game, on a blogtour last year and my review is quoted inside this one (Yay! Fame! Fortune! Prizes...) I also attended the launch of that book at which the author spoke very movingly of his experiences in the Met Police and the PTSD which was part of his reason for writing these books.
I'm also reviewing this on 22 Match 2017, the day of a terrorist attack in Westminster close to where I work, and I spent this afternoon watching the incredibly brave and professional police managing the situation.
So I may seem a teensy bit biased about this book, which I enjoyed greatly, but I'll try not to be.
In fact, it's actually quite a hard book to write about. Johnson's writing isn't perfect but it has something, a distinctive voice, a blend of the matter of fact and the down right incredible, which makes it compulsively readable.
I'll say a little bit more about both these aspects in a moment. First, in case you haven't read Wicked Game, the setup.
Inspector Robert Finlay is a bit of a misfit. Ex SAS, then Royal Protection, he had just moved into uniformed policing - with a lot to learn - when he got caught up in a terrorist campaign that seemed to target him and a group of his ex-Regiment comrades. Johnson pursued this thrillery concept with zest, having Finlay dust off a cache of weapons and mix it with the bad guys, including, at one stage, taking pot shots at SO19, the Met's armed response specialists. (Bit awkward in the canteen afterwards, obviously).
Things got straightened out and blame for the killings laid at the door of Monoghan, an MI5 maverick. In Deadly Game, the Met are trying to find a role for an Inspector who's now shunned by his uniform colleagues as a bullet magnet but isn't qualified to be a detective. In the end he's attached to a human trafficking taskforce. (Johnson refers throughout to the trafficked women as 'slaves' which is either a bit quaintly old-fashioned or plain non-PC: take your pick. See also references to a WPC, a top firearms officer, as a 'girl').
At the same time, he has business remaining with MI5 over the Monaghan debacle, and his liaison there also tries to use him to get a line on an ex SAS man who's just published his memoirs. Involvement in that inevitably leads Finlay into deep trouble, in a fast paced adventure blending conspiracy theories, a 'state of the world' sub-plot reminiscent of a Richard Hannay story, and an expose of the human trafficking racket.
It's all unbearably tense, with what I'm coming to see as Johnson's characteristic blend of deeply credible detail (weapons, procedures, tactics, inter-Service relationships, personalities) with some frankly fantastic twists of fate, actions, and events. If one wanted to criticise, the latter might be a sufficient excuse, although I think that would be unfair as they don't in any way hamper enjoyment of the story. I'll only give one example - because I don't want to spoil the story - which is when a key fact becomes known because, at just the right moment, one of the trafficked women escapes and is picked up by the police.
If you want every last detail of your books believable, things like this - and there are more - may be a problem for you. Yet I find myself not particularly bothered about these things. Why? Is it because I'm biased (see above)?
I don't think so. I think the reason is rather different and goes to the heart of the appeal of Johnson's writing.
First, I've learned to be wary of saying 'X is just not believable'. It seems to be a fact in today's world that the unbelievable happens more often than you would think, and that a writer striving simply for believability might actually have to tone down the real world rather to write something convincing - and where's the fun in that?
Secondly, Johnson is, simply, a born storyteller. He does it all with such verve, switching between Finlay's first person narration and as much third-person following other points of view as is needed to paint the background - but without ever getting bogged down. In so doing we are introduced to facts Finlay doesn't know (and never learns), characters he hardly meets (but who populate the pages of the book like figures in a soap opera, suggesting there's a whole world out there beyond what we're told) and events that took place long before. It all creates such a convincing impression of depths, of a teeming community of spies, police and crooks, that you can - well I could - forgive the odd apparently far fetched plot feature.
Finally - Johnson has been there. He won't, obviously, talk about stuff he shouldn't, but perhaps we can take on trust that, yes, the unlikely does happen, cases are moved on by strokes of luck, and both criminals and spooks do indulge in baroque extremes of behaviour from time to time (I'm looking at you, MI6 man Howard Green...)
So, to sum up: this isn't a slick book, it has a raw quality such that the unlikely events described actually seem to make the story more credible. Again I go back to John Buchan and his 'shockers'. They weren't elevated literary writing perhaps but they were - and are - cracking good stories, still readable after a hundred years or more. For sheer readability and entertainment I'd see Johnson in that tradition. But unlike Buchan, at the same time, he's exploring Finlay's slow recovery from PTSD - not at all a quick or easy theme, but a journey I'm looking forward to him continuing in future books.
To sum up even more: READ THIS BOOK!
Posted by David at 06:35 Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to FacebookShare to Pinterest
20 March 2016
Blogtour review: Wicked Game by Matt Johnson
Wicked Game
Matt Johnson
Orenda Books, March 2016
PB, 392pp
I'm grateful to Karen at Orenda Books for letting me have a copy of Wicked Game as part of the book's blogtour. (See below for details of the tour).
If, like me, you did most of your growing up in the 70s, there are things you may remember. Not just the long hot summers, the year of the ladybirds, and punk rock. No, I'm thinking of the politically heated times. Bombs going off - both in Northern Ireland and on the mainland. Rumours about disgruntled cliques of ex military types plotting in London clubs, of "shoot to kill" in Northern Ireland. Trade unionists targeted on the mainland. Shady, semi acknowledged arms law enforcement over the water known only by cryptic initials.
Set firmly at the opening of the present century, Johnson's book nevertheless looks back to those times through the eyes of his protagonist, Robert Finlay. While it might be stretching things to give Finlay - ex Army, ex SAS - an active past in the 70s, his background in the murky world of Northern Ireland policing, and his contacts among those ex officers, mercenaries and spooks - now gearing up for a different, even more deadly, counter terrorism campaign - can't help but evoke that atmosphere as Finlay becomes embroiled in the deadly game on the streets of London.
Certainly the air of suspicion, of paranoia, effortless sweeps him up, making him contemplate actions that should form no part of modern policing under the rule of law... especially since The trouble is, Finlay is now an Inspector in the Metropolitan Police, sworn to uphold law and order. He will fall far and low if he's caught taking part in any of these "deniable" activities. Yet he's also convinced that his life, and the lives of the wife and daughter he loves, are at risk - and that only he can protect them.
This book is in a genre I don't read very much, the fast paced action thriller and that did mean I had a little acclimatising to do in the early part of the book where we are briskly introduced to Finlay's past, and to some of the elements of the later mystery.
The writing is direct: facts and histories stated, not left for the reader to pick over: there isn't time to stop and sift the finer aspects of motivation - to do so would only slow the plot. That style of writing may not be to everyone's taste but it becomes a real strength in this book as events cascade, ruthless killers spill into the open, and the agencies who should be tackling them are far less united and coherent than one might expect. Johnson marries form and subject very well, almost as if Robert Finlay himself was giving an urgent briefing to his superiors en route to the scene of yet another murder.
This is I think where Johnson's experience at the sharp end of anti-terrorism really shows - he's good at portraying how events unfold, the roles of the different agencies, their shifting agendas and the very human dilemmas and failings of those who work for them. And also, how little they may really be able to affect events.
He also really gets into the minds of the terrorists - there are some great passages of writing that seem to be banal monologues until you realise you're in the mind of a would-be killer stalking their victim. The ordinaryness is very convincing, as is the self-justification
Finlay himself is straightforward: he does what he has to do now, he did what he had to do in the past. When he needed to kill, he killed: when he needed to plan, he planned. These skills come back in the present, and serve him well even though the mess he's wandered into in knottier and has many more layers than anything he dealt with before. What he doesn't do - much - is brood: unlike the heroes of many crime novels, his life isn't a mess, he lives for his family.
And he's prepared to kill for them...
You'll enjoy this book if you're into thriller and action: even if you think you're not, the pace of the writing will carry you away. Robert Finlay's not a man who gives up easily.
Posted by David at 07:09