“When an author is asked to help the police with the investigation into a double murder by identifying occult symbols, which had been carved into the victims, he is plunged into nightmare and forced to go on the run. Hunted by law and a powerful cult, he has to stay one step ahead to survive.”

I am thrilled to welcome you to my stop on the Hunting Angels Diaries blog tour.  I had the pleasure of reading Brick, one of Conrad Jones’s crime thrillers last year (and if you click here you can read my review).  I discovered whilst prepping that post that Conrad Jones is also the author of a number of horror thrillers and you know me, I can’t resist a horror novel!  So when the opportunity to read the Hunting Angels Box Set arose, well….I would have been a fool to pass it up.

Now before I go any further, I should add that this is part one of my review.  Somehow, time has gotten away from me and I’ve only managed to read the first book in the box set, A Child for the Devil.  So look out for part two which will feature the second book, Dark Angel coming your way very very soon.

I enjoyed reading A Child for the Devil.  I can’t compare it to any of the my previous reads as I don’t think there is anything even vaguely similar.  What struck me as ‘standout different’ is that the author mentioned in the blurb is, well, the author.  This is the story of Conrad Jones’s dealings with the devil.  Or to be more specific, his encounter with an occult loving group of satanists.  And they are everywhere; your local councillor, the headteacher of the primary school, your librarian, your parents….  Having previously referred to this particular group in one of his crime novels, they now know exactly who Conrad is and he is the skurge of their lives, the stain to be removed.  He is a writer and all writers must be destroyed.  At points throughout the book you are advised to Google the cult if you don’t believe what you’re reading.  I couldn’t do it.  I’m not ashamed to admit that I was too scared to look!  And I think that says a lot.

It is gory and it is violent but I got the feeling the author knew where the limits were and made sure the explicit content was pulled back.  In all honestly, I probably would have liked a little more gore but then I’m strange!

I didn’t really feel anything for the characters.  Although I do not know Conrad Jones personally, I know of him and see him interacting in several bookish Facebook groups. Having pondered on it I’m pretty sure that is why I felt no connection to the characters, I had trouble separating the real person from the fictional account.  I guess I invest more in characters that are new and I can shape them in my mind as I wish.  Although I would like to know exactly how much of this book is autobiographical (and I don’t mean the toting of the sawn-off shotgun*!).  Other readers may not have this problem.

Would I recommend this book?  I would.  I can’t wait to make a start on the second book in the box set and find out what is going to happen next.

Four out of five stars.

I chose to read and review a copy of A Child for the Devil (Hunting Angels Diaries). The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

*I can’t recall if the shotgun was sawn-off or not but it sounds so much better when it is!  Apologies if the shotguns mentioned in this book are not sawn-off.

Hunting Angels Diaries by Conrad Jones was published in the UK by GerriCon Books on 28th November 2013 and is available in paperback and eBook formats | amazon.co.uk | #1 amazon.com | #2 amazon.com | Goodreads |

Conrad is the author of seventeen novels, eight author guides and two biographies. He has three series;
* The Detective Alec Ramsay Series; seven books Gritty Crime Thrillers
* The Soft Target Series; Gritty Thrillers six books (Reacher Style)
* The Hunting Angels Diaries; three books Horror Thrillers
You can find out more; http://www.conradjonesauthor.com | jonesconrad5@aol.com

I am Conrad Jones, a fifty-year-old author, originally from a sleepy green-belt called Tarbock Green, which is situated on the outskirts of Liverpool. I spent a number of years living in Holyhead, Anglesey, which I class as my home, before starting a career as a trainee manger with McDonalds Restaurants in 1989. I worked in management at McDonalds Restaurants Ltd from 1989-2002, working my way up to Business Consultant (area manager) working in the corporate and franchised departments.
On March 20th, 1993, I was managing the restaurant in Warrington`s Bridge St when two Irish Republican Army bombs exploded directly outside the store, resulting in the death of two young boys and many casualties. Along with hundreds of other people there that day I was deeply affected by the attack, which led to a long-term interest in the motivation and mind set of criminal gangs. I began to read anything crime related that I could get my hands on.

I link this experience with the desire to write books on the subject, which came much later on due to an unusual set of circumstances. Because of that experience my early novels follow the adventures of an elite counter terrorist unit, The Terrorist Task Force, and their enigmatic leader, John Tankersley, or `Tank` and they are the Soft Target Series, which have been described by a reviewer as ‘Reacher on steroids’; You can see them here;

I had no intentions of writing until 2007, when I set off on an eleven-week tour of the USA. The Day before I boarded the plane, Madeleine McCann disappeared and all through the holiday I followed the American news reports which had little or no information about her. I didn’t realise it at the time, but the terrible kidnap would inspire my book, The Child Taker years later. During that trip, I received news that my house had been burgled and my work van and equipment were stolen. That summer was the year when York and Tewksbury were flooded by a deluge and insurance companies were swamped with claims. They informed me that they couldn’t do anything for weeks and that returning home would be a wasted journey. Rendered unemployed on a beach in Clearwater, Florida, I decided to begin my first book, Soft Target. I have never stopped writing since. I have recently completed my fifteenth novel, ‘Brick’, something that never would have happened but for that burglary and my experiences in Warrington.
The Child Taker was the 6th book in the Soft Target Series but it also became the first book in the Detective Alec Ramsay Series when I signed a three-book deal with London based publishers, Thames River Press. The series is now seven books long with an average of 4.8 stars from over 2000 reviews. The first two books are always free with over 1100 5-star reviews. You can see them here;

As far as my favourite series ever, it has to be James Herbert’s, The Rats trilogy. The first book did for me what school books couldn’t. It fascinated me, triggered my imagination and gave me the hunger to want to read more. I waited years for the second book, The Lair, and Domain, the third book to come out and they were amazing. Domain is one of the best books I have ever read. In later years, Lee Child, especially the early books, has kept me hypnotised on my sunbed on holiday as has Michael Connelly and his Harry Bosch Series.