Blood Falls
"..Bale has produced a high octane thriller where the stranger rides into town and saves the day."
Synopsis:
Joe Clayton mistakenly assumed he'd escaped the dangers of his former career as an undercover policeman. One grey October morning, while working in a quiet Bristol suburb he overheard the voice of the man who had sworn to kill him. Within minutes Joe is running for his life.
He decides to go to the Cornish town of Trelennan, where an old colleague's widow now lives. However when he arrives at her door Diane Bamber reacts oddly to his arrival. Before long Joe has discovers that all is not what it seems in sleepy Trelennan.
One man controls the town and Leon Race does not welcome strangers who may upset his applecart: especially ex-cops who start investigating the disappearance of young women. Soon Joe finds himself going undercover once more, but as he delves into the secrets of Trelennan his own dark secret edges closer to catching up with him.
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Review:
Tom Bale writes excellent old style thrillers which do what they say on the tin – they thrill! 'Blood Falls' is an enthralling tale which sees Joe Clayton step into a Reacher type role when he turns up in a town and ends up helping the townsfolk at great risk to himself. What makes 'Blood Falls' stand apart, is the way that Joe himself is estranged from his wife and family simply because he did the right thing. This allows the author to play with his character's emotions without ever letting the action decrease. On the opposite side of the coin are Leon Race and his array of henchmen. Race is a formidable opponent for Joe and his deviously evil scheming ramp up the tension. The pace starts off fast and increases steadily throughout the novel before culminating in a fantastic finale. The prose is accomplished and one or two phrases are so deft they will remain in the readers mind for days. All in all Bale has produced a high octane thriller where the stranger rides into town and saves the day.