‘It was a strange sort of funeral without a body; but that was how it had to be, given the circumstances.’ What do you think of this as an opening sentence? Fabulous. How can one not go on reading, but trust me, as you read on, the pages will turn at speed and it is unforgiveable that the train arrives at your stop on time when you still have several chapters to go. Yes, it really is this good.
Mark McCrum was originally a travel writer and it shows in the finely drawn settings as the ‘press pack’ leave Britain for Rio de Janeiro and then onto THE Iguacu waterfall and on, and on with threats from all sides: muggers, glaciers and drunk soldiers (heavens, sounds almost the same as a research trip I took once upon a time, but that’s another story). As with all travelling groups, or in my experience at least and yours too no doubt, tensions build, some are mere irritants, but then others become more than that. On this trip, people talk, secrets are exposed one way and another, and those pesky professional relationships slide into the personal… (not that I am speaking from experience on this last situation, obviously – goodness, certainly not).
Will the same number who flew out, also fly back? Or if not, is it murder, or an accident or is everything working to a plan? Ah, no, no… Yours to discover.
I loved Death on the Press Trip, which goes to show that a press pack is pretty much like any other travelling group, as no such group is without a character that goes too far – but hopefully not to this extreme. Is this why Death on the Press Trip is so relatable? Or is it the writing, the humour, the sharp as a knife character creations, the settings, the tension?
We shouldn’t be surprised at the quality of this novel when you consider Mark’s debut novel, The Festival Murders, was longlisted for the Independent on Sunday’s 2024 Alternative Booker prize and selected as the Mail on Sunday’s Thriller of the Week.
Paperback and kindle available https://www.amazon.co.uk/Death-Press-Trip-Sunshine-glamorous-ebook/dp/B0GZ8TSFPH/ and at bookshops.
Milly Adams is the author of the Waterway Girls trilogy https://www.amazon.co.uk//dp/B0FRN1JWMF/ @ £5.97 for all 3 kindles
