River Rats by Andy Griffee
Published by Orphan Press
Publication Date June 2020
My thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the opportunity to be part of the tour for Andy Griffee's second instalment of his canal-based thriller series.
Book Description:
Book two in the Johnson & Wilde series, featuring journalist Jack Johnson set in the city of Bath, where a war is raging between narrowboat dwellers and property moguls
Jack Johnson has a talent for trouble - wherever he goes on his narrowboat, it seems to follow him. Moored up on the River Avon in the beautiful Georgian surroundings of Bath, he's working at the local paper when a prominent magistrate and heritage campaigner is attacked and drowned. Could it be a serial killer copying the Canal Pusher? Or a biker gang who swore revenge on the magistrate? Against his wishes, Jack is pulled into the investigation by his ambitious editor who wants the scoop. Jack and his friend, the war widow, Nina, have also been drawn into another struggle. The moorings of a small settled boating community sit alongside a huge former industrial site that property developers want to fill with luxury housing. Nearby residents are enlisted to petition against the boat people, and as the campaign spirals out of control, lives are threatened. Who is helping their enemies? Another gripping tale of corruption and intrigue from the riverbank, full of dark waters and deadly secrets.
My Thoughts:
The second of the Johnson & Wilde mystery crime series has been eagerly awaited in my home since reading Canal Pushers earlier this year. I was due to see the author alongside fellow crime writer Stephen Booth at an event at my local library in May which has sadly been rescheduled like many things due to the coronavirus. The new date is firmly fixed in my diary - 7th October at The Hive in Worcester if you would be so kind as to come along and support two excellent Midlands authors.
My initial thoughts when I received the book were to wonder what the title signified. The hero of the first book Jack Johnson has settled in to a new mooring on the waterways in the beautiful city of Bath. His partner in crime Nina Wilde is still deflecting any hope Jack has of a closer relationship with her but the two of them remain firm friends. Jack's finances are looking steadier than they have for a while as he writes a column for the Bath Chronicle newspaper on a regular basis - this together with income from the book he wrote based on his very close encounter with the serial killer branded by the media as the Canal Pusher see him able to afford a nice mooring spot for his boat 'Jumping Jack Flash' and ease the financial pressures which introduced him to life on the water in the first place. It is Jack's editor at the newspaper, Ben Mockett, who is responsible for his involvement in the story which leads him onto a dangerous path. Local magistrate Rufus Powell has been found dead in the river following a meeting at Bath's Georgian Fellowship, a group which campaigns for the preservation of the city's outstanding architecture. Ben immediately jumps to the conclusion that Bath has its own version of the Canal Pusher and avidly sets Jack to work looking out for evidence that he is right. Jack is less than enthusiastic, but during his own research on the subject of Mr Powell's untimely death uncovers another newsworthy story: the redevelopment of a former industrial site alongside the river. It's not long before Jack is considering the possibility that the two stories are linked when some of the facts appear to overlap.
Jack befriends the owners of a small group of boats which have moorings near the entrance to the former Tiller & Brown site, discovering that they bought the permanent moorings from the site owners around the time the business closed. Not all of them are keen to interact with him at first - they are wary of strangers due to the fact the group is the target of property developers who want them to move on - but once they realise Jack is on their side and wanting to make their voice heard in the local newspaper, they soon take him to their hearts. Jack is soon making enemies on the other side of the fence though: the new owners of the site who have influential Russian ancestry, the local police, councillors and ultimately his boss at the Chronicle amongst them. I have to say that when things took a more dangerous turn I did begin to wonder whether Jack, Nina and the boat people would even survive the developers' campaign let alone manage to stay on at their moorings.
This is a wonderful tale of journalistic persistence, corruption in high places and the value of friendship. The characters are as diverse as you can imagine, from a single mum trying to do her best for her children to a retired academic who has turned his narrowboat into a floating library of literary treasures. Throw the local Hell's Angels Chapter into the mix and this really is a varied cast. The support of another fabulous character, a resident in one of the nearby blocks of apartments, proves invaluable in terms of both friendship and in the fight against the developers. A cameo appearance from Jack's best friend and thespian Will Simpson is always welcome and very amusing too. The thread of this book which really made me take it to my heart was that of comradeship among the boat community; how no matter how different the individual lifestyles of those living aboard the boats, the care and support they show one another is admirable. Nobody is judging anyone, they all live companionably alongside one another.
I can wholeheartedly recommend this series to just about everyone - you have a fairly gritty crime as a good basis to the book, a nice mystery to keep you scratching your head and a cosy friendship group looking out for one another to give the whole tale a balanced feel. A really nice all-rounder with nothing too gory to put anyone off.
Book three looks to move along the waterways to a new base in Oxford and I can't wait to find out what awaits Jumping Jack Flash and its crew next.
“An exciting new crime series, with an intriguing setting and a central character who drew me right into his world from the start” Stephen Booth, author of the acclaimed Cooper & Fry series.
About the Author:
Andy Griffee is a former BBC journalist and media consultant with a fascination for stories. He began his journalism career at the Bath Evening Chronicle, and then spent twenty-five years at the BBC, culminating in his role as Editorial Director of the redevelopment of Broadcasting House. Andy lives in Worcestershire and, when he isn’t writing, rears rare breed pigs, struggles to keep a 1964 Triumph Spitfire on the road and enjoys hiring narrowboats with his wife Helen.
Social Media Links:
Instagram: @andygriffee
Twitter: @AndyGriffee
Thanks so much for the blog tour support xx
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