Hello bookish friends.  Welcome to the blog today and a very happy Monday!  Today I am delighted to share another brilliant #R3COMM3ND3D2018 post with you and my guest today (always wanted to say that!) is the fabulous Martin Gore of The Beardy Book Blogger.  If you haven’t discovered Mart’s blog yet then I absolutely insist you do. I promise it will become a new favourite.

If you’ve never come across #R3COMM3ND3D2018 before then please let me explain.  #R3COMM3ND3D is a chance to share your love of three books published in a particular year.  At the moment, due to ill health at the end of last year, I am sharing recommendations from 2018.  However, #R3COMM3ND3D2019 will start on 1st November so if you already have three books in mind then pop your details, along with the books, on the form below.

Without further ado, here are Mart’s choices…

The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson
Ragnar is a writer already known for his superb ‘Dark Iceland’ series of books featuring his young police detective Ari Thor Arason, published by Orenda Books. This book is the start of a new series (from a new publisher, Penguin), collectively known as ‘Hidden Iceland’ and features a new protagonist, Hulda Hermannsdottir, a detective at the end of her career and still struggling to break through the glass ceiling that, it appears, is still firmly in place in the Icelandic police service. This is the first in a trilogy of books that are told in reverse chronological order (unlike the Dark Iceland series that were intentionally released out of sequence in the UK), and this book hits you like a brick wall coming at you at 70mph! Hulda is a great creation, with Ragnar only hinting at things and events from her past that will be revealed in the coming books and will undoubtedly be different to what we will be expecting. He is a great storyteller and The Darkness will definitely leave you wanting more. ‘Nuff said.
https://beardybookblogger.wordpress.com/2018/03/24/the-darkness-ragnar-jonasson/

The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
Astoundingly this is the *debut* novel from Stu, and, boy oh boy, what a debut it is. This book is a superb body hopping murder mystery wrapped up in a time-travelling Agatha Christie cardigan. This is one book that is probably best experienced blind. I don’t mean you should close your eyes when reading it…oh, you know what I meant! Some people may come out of it even blinder than when they went in, but I found it to be so skilfully plotted and executed that at no time did I feel that I had lost my way – unlike our protagonist, poor old, or young, Aiden. If you like your murder mysteries to be of the classic ‘whodunnit’ type, but with a very modern, sci-fi twist, then this is definitely the book for you. But even if you don’t, give this book a try and you – probably* – won’t regret it 😉 *totes won’t
https://beardybookblogger.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/the-seven-deaths-of-evelyn-hardcastle/

Death Of A Diva (Limited Edition Hardback) by Derek Farrell
Ok, ok, I admit, I am cheating just a smidge with this one *cough*. [DP: very loud, very irritated SIGH]. DoaD was originally published in 2015, BUT, Fahrenheit Press published a shiny new hardback edition last year so, in my eyes, this qualifies it 😉 [DP: The same very loud, very irritated SIGH]. The reason why I’m so desperate to include this book here is simples: YOU HAVE TO READ THIS SERIES! Sorry to shout, but I LOVE THESE BOOKS! Sorry-not-sorry, again. This is the 1st in a series and it is truly brilliant. It follows the exploits of our hero Danny Bird, and his attempts to quietly get on with his life running the Marquess of Queensbury pub in South London whilst those around him, fate, local gangsters, ex-boyfriends, the police and pretty much everyone else, tries to do its best to spoil it for him. The books are peppered with truly memorable, eclectic and wonderful characters and Derek’s writing is wonderfully funny, sharp and moving. His characters remain believable even if the situations they often find themselves in most certainly are not. Go on, give them a go!
https://fahrenheit-press.myshopify.com/collections/limited-edition-hardbacks/products/derek-farrell-death-of-a-diva-limited-edition-hardback-1

Rules are rules, people! Anyway, I will remain calm and overlook this small infringement of the very clear, very easy to understand rules and commend you, Mart, on your excellent choices.

If Martin has managed to tempt you, or if you would like to find out more information about the books he recommends, please see the following links:

| The Darkness by Ragnar Jónasson | The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton | Death of a Diva by Derek Farrell (Limited Edition Hardback) |

About Martin:
A beardy bloke just enjoying his books and wants everyone else to know it 😉

Martin’s Social Media Links:
| The Beardy Book Blogger | Twitter @LaughingGravy71 |

If you’re a book blogger, author or you work in publishing and have three books published this year that you want to shout about then please complete the following form (or click this link: https://forms.gle/PE483qCyrKEgV5Uq6)