Publisher: Perfect City Press
Publication: 18th October 2019
Review: 4th November 2019
Blurb
Family feuds just got bloodier…
A gripping thriller, and a great story of death, revenge and vodka.
To save glamorous Kat White’s life, Ben Halloran killed his gangster father. Now his brother wants to even the score.
The gripping Trail series of British crime thrillers reaches its dramatic conclusion in this compelling page turner.
My Review
The Final Trail is the fifth and final crime thriller novel in the Trail series: The Bride’s Trail; The Vodka Trail; The Grass Trail; The Revenge Trail; The Final Trail. I haven’t read the prior books in the series (yet!) but whilst I’m intrigued to find out about what happened to the characters earlier on in the series, this final book still holds as a stand-alone story.
I first started reading this book when I was on the bus and become so engrossed in the story I almost missed my stop! The novel is structured around alternating chapters giving the limited third-person perspectives of Kat and Marty (owners of Starshine Vodka); Erik (Kat’s brother); and Ben (the man who saved Kat’s life, and son of the gangster killed in a previous book in the series – he’s also in love with Amy, Erik’s girlfriend). There is also a chapter from Charles (Amy’s father). So, as you can see there are lots of diverse characters each with their own goals, and you guessed it – lots of conflict between them!
The story is mainly set in Birmingham, with Kat and Marty’s vodka business at the centre of this. Kat is a strong female character, she has a competent head for business but Starshine Vodka is her first enterprise (she has inherited the business from her father). Marty is the opposite: Kat's father's friend and ex-business partner, he has lots of experience in running Starshine Vodka but with his fingers in many pies, he is a complete nightmare with paperwork. He knows what he’s doing but let’s just say his admin skills need working on. Poor Kat, he absolutely does her head in! But this all makes for a good story and Starshine Vodka is like a character itself.
But the real suspense is linked to Marty’s other business, Darria Enterprises. Marty's business partner here is Erik, Kat's brother. Erik is a research scientist who has discovered a plant that could prove a miracle cure for cancer. The trail here leads to the dark depths of Russia, where the plot thickens and becomes more complex. I don’t want to give too much away here but OMG let’s just say you won’t be able to turn those pages fast enough to find out what happens to Eric. And his mother (also Kat’s mother) is she really as awful as everybody thinks? She might be, but she might not be, but she might be …
Ben also has a spine-tingling story to tell, and this runs as the subplot. I really liked this character – apart from the fact he’s in love with Erik’s girlfriend! Ben’s family are integral to what has gone on in previous novels in the series and this subplot ties up this element of the plotline running through the series. Ben is very different to his brother Jon. Whilst Ben has put all his energy into building a career as a gamer, Jon has gone down the same criminal route as their rouge father, and now Jon blames Ben for their father's death (can't wait to read the other books in the series to find out more about this part of the story). This strand of the novel is full of action and at times will have you gripping on to the edge of your seat!
But crime wasn’t the only aspect of this multi-faceted novel: there was also everyday family life, romance, sex, comedy, a wedding, a cruise … the list goes on. All the characters in this story were compelling, each with their own distinctive voice. I loved the realistic dialogue and the way the author’s skilful use of action tags gave a good sense of visual imagery. In all, The Final Trail was a great read full of twists and turns and with a satisfying ending.
Thank you to the author, A A Abbott for an Advance Review Copy of this book.
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About the Author
You can find out more about A A Abbott here:
https://aaabbott.co.uk/crime-story-writer-aa-abbott/