Dancers in the Wind by Anne Coates

About Dancers in the Wind

SHE IS HUNTING FOR THE TRUTH, BUT WHO IS HUNTING HER?

Freelance journalist and single mother Hannah Weybridge is commissioned by a national newspaper to write an investigative article on the notorious red light district in Kings Cross. There she meets prostitute Princess, and police inspector in the vice squad, Tom Jordan. When Princess later arrives on her doorstep beaten up so badly she is barely recognisable, Hannah has to make some tough decisions and is drawn ever deeper into the world of deceit and violence.

Three sex workers are murdered, their deaths covered up in a media blackout, and Hannah herself is under threat. As she comes to realise that the taste for vice reaches into the higher echelons of the great and the good, Hannah realises she must do everything in her power to expose the truth .... and stay alive.

My review of Dancers in the Wind

Dancers in the Wind is a highly innovative and compelling novel from Anne Coats. This book is a mixture of crime thriller slash investigative journalism, with even a dash of romance, that is both gritty and realistic. I loved it.

The novel is set in 1993, and we firstly meet Hannah Weybridge, a freelance journalist and single mother to a young baby, as she is on her way to Kings Cross to interview Princess, a young prostitute, for a national magazine. While interviewing her, she begins to learn of what reality is really like for Princess and for the other women working on the street, and has her eyes well a truly opened. Something changes within Hannah, and her life is soon to be entwined with Princess's and the seedier side of life on the London streets.

Hannah is an incredibly likeable character. She is a mother, and I instantly warned to this nurturing side of her nature. Her maternal instinct most definitely kicked in when she met Princess. However, she also has a steely side, a perceptiveness about her and a determination to find the truth, no matter the cost, in her quest to find out who is responsible for the recent murders of several prostitutes within the Kings Cross area.  

Princess for me was the most interesting character, barely a woman, her life had been ruined from a very young age. The way in which her descriptions of life on the street were described to me as a reader, were very well written, they appeared very much as fact, and it was apparent to me that the author had done much research upon the subject. 

What completely gripped me and made me gasp for breath, was when Princess is brutally attacked and left for dead by one of her punters. In her hour of need she turns to Hannah, literally turning up on her doorstep in the middle of the night, bloodied and broken. The description of Princess in this state, and of how Hannah cares for her, had me in tears. 

We also meet DI Tom Jordan, a police Inspector for the vice squad. He is interviewed by Hannah with regards to his role in the vice squad for her article, but just as Princess becomes part of her life, so does Tom. Here is a man who is handsome but guarded. He seems genuine, in how he treats Hannah and in what he says about keeping the prostitutes safe on the street, but can Hannah trust him? This is the big question in this book, issues of trust when linked to authority. While reading I very quickly made my mind up about him, although I was kept in the dark until the very end. What I also loved was the chemistry between them on the page. For me, they made the perfect couple. 

This book is not an easy read, but then it is not meant to be, it is a book about raising awareness of these vulnerable women, that they are someone's daughter, someone's mother. They are humanised, they are made to count, their lives matter. This is a crime thriller, but one that asks many questions about how these vulnerable women are treated by society and those who are in a position of power to protect them.

I highly recommend Dancers in the Wind, it is a deeply moving book, and I am very much looking forward to book two in the series which is to be published soon. 

Dancers in the Wind, published by Urbane Publications on October 13, can be found on Amazon here.

About the author

I love reading and the type of fiction I write is what I like to read. So my very short stories are often tales with a twist and the longer ones explore relationships – often within a family. Most of these stories were published first in Bella, Candis and other magazines and now appear in two collections published by Endeavour Press.

My debut thriller, "Dancers in the Wind", was published by Urbane Publications in October 2016. This book is a result of an interview I did for a national newspaper and afterwards I thought "What if..." and so Hannah Weybridge came into existence and she continues her life in "Death's Silent Judgement" to be published in May 2017 again by Urbane Publications. I am currently working on the third book in the series. You can find out more about my writing at www.annecoatesauthor.com

Journalism has led me into diverse fields from human interest stories to health and beauty to travel and parenting and so just over seven years ago I founded the website: www.parentingwithouttears.com writing about what inspires (or upsets) me and hosting articles and reviews by other writers and parents. This led to two parenting guides again published by Endeavour Press.

Before that I had written three books (two for Wayland) including "Your Only Child" (Bloomsbury) plus two books about applying to and surviving university published by Need to Know.

I live in SE London with three demanding cats and enjoy going to the theatre and cinema and socialising with friends. You can find out more about the parenting website on twitter @ParentingWT or more about what I am up to @Anne_Coates1

The Gift Maker by Mark Mayes

About The Gift Maker

'Gifts ought to be free, but they never are. They tie you to the wishes of others. To your own sad expectations. To the penitentiary of your dreams.'

Late one night, Thomas Ruder receives a strange package: a small blue box. Another such item is delivered to his friend Liselotte Hauptmann. These 'gifts' will change their lives forever. In the far-off border town of Grenze, a play is to be performed at the Sheol Theatre. Reynard the impresario expects a very special audience. Thomas and Liselotte, together with their friend Johann, are drawn into Reynard's seductive web, as Daumen, the gift maker, must decide who his master really is. The Gift Maker is a story about identity, about fulfilling your dreams and becoming the person you always were ... at whatever cost.

My Review of The Gift Maker

The Gift Maker is a magical fantasy novel like no other, and I loved it. To try and define the genre that this book fits into is incredibly difficult. It is a fantasy novel, but it is also a magical fairy tale alongside a story of good and evil and of creation. It's an exceptionally clever novel, that uses poetic language, in a world so unlike our own.  This is a world where reality sits alongside magic. 

And just look at the cover. It is so beautiful.

The Gift Maker is other worldly, it remnded me of when I read Gormenghast by Mervyn Peake many years ago, and for some reason the film Dogville, popped into my mind while I was reading (which I loved).  The writing style is very different to the contemporary fiction of today, but I soon relaxed into the melodic dialogue and found myself immersed in this beautiful literary world. 

So, the story begins when Thomas is woken in the middle of the night by his landlady, who has a small box to give him. This has been hand delivered by a mysterious man with large hairy hands. Thomas is afraid of what is inside the box and so shuts it away in his bedside drawer. He tells nobody about this gift, not even his closest friend, Johann. He then finds out that a friend of his, Liselotte, whom he cares deeply about, has also received a strange box. She confides in him one evening about what is inside the box. Thomas is unsupportive of Liselotte's revelation, and as a result she dismisses him. He is despondent as he really wanted to be more than just friends. It is the following day that Liselotte disappears, leaving a note behind, simply telling Thomas that she has gone to Grenze. It is from this moment on that the book takes a dramatic turn, and the lives of these three friends is never the same again.

I can't really disclose any more about what happens after this, as it would give the entire plot away, and I really don't want to do that. All I will say is that the three friends go on their own separate journeys of self discovery, defined by the gifts that they receive.

What I loved about this book was the description of the faraway ghost town of Grenze. This is a place that I would never wish to travel to. For me, this tiny village represented the end of the world.

The Gift Maker is not an easy read, in the sense that it makes you think, it is a philosophical read with multiple interpretations available to the reader, depending upon their personal viewpoints and past experiences. This book can be interpreted in many different ways. For me, this book was about good and evil, how the world began and of that all consuming first love. This book is predominantly about self discovery and it asks the question:

Would you really do anything, no matter the cost, to fulfill your wildest dreams?

The Gift Maker is a breathtaking read of self discovery. It is a magical tale of love, morality and of doing the right thing. And as for the ending...well, it was completely unexpected but brilliant. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it.

The Gift Maker is published by Urbane Publications on February 23rd, and is available to buy from Amazon here.

With thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy.

About the author

Before becoming a writer, Mark trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He subsequently worked in theatre and television for several years, both in the UK and abroad. He has worked variously as a cleaner, care-worker and carer, salesman, barman, medical transcriptionist, warehouse worker, and administrator.

Mark has published numerous stories and poems in magazines and anthologies in the UK, Eire, and Italy, and in particular has had several stories published in (or accepted for) the celebrated Unthology series (Unthank Books). His work has been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and the BBC World Service. He has been shortlisted for literary prizes, including the prestigious Bridport Prize.

In 2009, Mark graduated with a First Class Honours Degree in English (Creative Writing and Critical Practice) from Ruskin College, Oxford.

Currently living in South Wales, Mark is also a musician and songwriter, and some of his songs may be found here: HTTPS://SOUNDCLOUD.COM/PUMPSTREETSONGS

Among his favourite writers are: Jean Rhys, Franz Kafka, Anton Chekhov, and Christopher Priest.

The Gift Maker is his début novel and will publish spring 2017.