It’s the weekend! Time to put your feet up with a good book and while away a few hours lost in another world. It’s also day 18 of #R3COMM3ND3D2021 which is also something to celebrate I feel. We’re 50 individual books in so far with one book taking an early lead. If you would like to take part in this year’s feature and have your say then please don’t forget that pesky deadline of midday (GMT) on Wednesday 1st December when the #R3COMM3ND3D form for this year will CLOSE. For good. That’ll be it. Gone. Don’t miss out.

Joining me today is someone I have an enormous amount of respect for. I truly value her opinion on all things crime fiction, it’s the fabulous Ayo Onatade of Shotsmag Confidential. If you’re a crime fiction fan and you’re not following Ayo, then to be honest, you’re doing it all wrong. Make sure you subscribe. I promise you won’t be disappointed. Ayo, and the entire Shots team, really know their stuff!

So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2021? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2021. To make things interesting there are a couple of teeny, tiny rules; 1) the book must have FIRST been published in 2021 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. I like to keep you lovely people on your toes 😉

As this is the fifth year of #R3C, things are going to be a smidge different this year. There’s a scary deadline involved *shudder*. The #R3COMM3ND3D application form will only be open until midday (GMT) on Wednesday 1st December. If you would like to take part in #R3C this year (and I would LOVE you to!) then please get your three choices in sooner rather than later. Any posts scheduled for later in December will be brought forward and I will close the series early if I’m not able to fill all of the available dates. The form is at the bottom of this post if you fancy taking part.

Here are the three books Ayo has chosen for us (and they’re all going straight onto the TBR)…

Razorblade Tears by S.A Cosby
An action packed and fine hard edge of a story about two very flawed fathers seeking justice for their murdered sons. Really well written and absorbing. Set in Virginia, this is a story of fatherhood, family, race and homophobia. A gut punch of a novel that is also razor sharp.
Ayo’s Review of Razorblade Tears

The Last Thing to Burn by Will Dean
A claustrophobic thriller that is chillingly harrowing, in a dark disturbing world where the evils and horrors of human trafficking and enslavement are sharply brought into focus.
Ayo’s Review of The Last Thing to Burn

Turf Wars by Olivier Norek
A realistic, explosive police procedural which gives you an intelligent look at the power play between politics, politicians and the law and also the effects of immigration and drugs. The second book in a trilogy that starts with a bang and does not let up.

Three brilliant picks, thanks so much Ayo. This is the second time we’ve seen The Last Thing to Burn which puts it in joint first place with The Last House on Needless Street. All three of your picks are going straight on the TBR and I’m looking forward to reading them.

About Ayo Onatade:
Ayo Onatade is a freelance crime fiction critic and blogger. She has written a number of articles on different aspects of crime fiction and has also given papers on the subject as well. She has an eclectic taste in crime fiction, which runs the gamut from historical crime fiction to hardboiled and short stories. Her research interests include historical fiction especially crime fiction and crime fiction literary criticism. She is a former Chair and Judge of the CWA Short Story Dagger and a former Judge of the Ngaio Marsh Award. She is the current Chair of the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown and also a judge of the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and Bloody Scotland McIlvanney Prize. She was a contributor to British Crime Writing: An Encyclopaedia (2008) edited by Barry Forshaw and The American Thriller (Critical Insights) (2014) edited by Gary Hoppenstand. She is co-editor with Len Tyler of the anthology Bodies in the Bookshop (2014).

Ayo’s Blog and Social Media Links:
| Shotsmag Confidential | Twitter @Shotsblog | Facebook Group | Instagram @ayoonatade |

If you’re a book blogger, bookstagrammer or an author and you have three books published this year which you want to shout about then please complete the following form (or click this link: https://forms.gle/pHinvKCHGP89wumn9)