#Review #Excerpt: Zenka by Alison Brodie @alisonbrodie2

Release date - 6th November 2017
Book length - 305 pages
Publisher - Self-Published
Amazon UK - www.amazon.co.uk
Amazon US - www.amazon.com

*I want to thank Alison Brodie for providing me with a copy of this book for review.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Ruthless, capricious, and loyal.

Zenka is a Hungarian pole-dancer with a dark past.

When cranky London mob boss, Jack Murray, saves her life she vows to become his guardian angel – whether he likes it or not.  Happily, she now has easy access to pistols and shotguns.

Jack learns he has a son, Nicholas, a male nurse with a heart of gold.  Problem is, Nicholas is a wimp.

Zenka takes charge. Using her feminine wiles and gangland contacts, she aims to turn Nicholas into a son any self-respecting crime boss would be proud of.  And she succeeds!

Nicholas transforms from pussycat to mad dog, falls in love with Zenka, and finds out where the bodies are buried – because he buries them.  He’s learning fast that sometimes you have to kill, or be killed.

As his life becomes more terrifying, questions have to be asked:

How do you tell a crime boss you don’t want to be his son?

And is Zenka really who she says she is?

MY REVIEW

ZENKA by Alison Brodie is a mad-cap, crazy, whirlwind of a novel that is part crime fiction, part humour, and part romance, that will hold your attention from beginning to end.

Nicholas is a kind-hearted young man who works as a nurse and is gently spoken with everyone he meets. Because of this, he has a flatmate who drives him round the bend and a girlfriend who bullies him relentlessly, and he grieves for his beloved mother who abandoned him. But one day he wins a luxury car and it begins a crazy adventure that will make Nicholas really look at his life and stand up for himself in a way that he has never done before. And then he meets Zenka who takes his very breath away ...

Jack Murray may be a vicious mobster but he is a mobster with principles. After saving the beautiful Zenka, she becomes the daughter he never had, the family that he never had. But when he receives a letter from his past, suddenly Jack has everything he ever wanted. A son called Nicholas. Wanting to make him proud, Jack is determined to do the right thing but in the meantime, he instructs Zenka with the task of toughening up his boy. Because if he is going to pass down his kingdom, Nicholas needs to get a little tougher. 
But as their two worlds collide, both Nicholas and Jack will learn so much about themselves and those that are close to them, and it may have very unexpected consequences for them both ...

ZENKA by Alison Brodie is a fast-paced, gritty, story of family, lies, love, and some murderous mobsters thrown in for good measure. I laughed out loud, I cringed, and I became invested in what would happen to all of the characters in this tale and I thoroughly enjoyed my foray into this particular underworld. The narrative is told from different characters points of view which makes this story authentic and relatable, and I particularly enjoyed Zenka's letters to her friend! 
ZENKA by Alison Brodie is a cracking read and I highly recommend it.

Author Bio:

Alison Brodie is a Scot, with French Huguenot ancestors on her mother’s side. 

Brodie is an international, best-selling author.  Her books have been published by Hodder & Stoughton (UK), Heyne (Germany) and Unieboek (Holland). 
Reviews for her debut, FACE TO FACE:  “Fun to snuggle up with” –GOOD HOUSEKEEPING Pick of the Paperbacks.                                        
“Vane but wildly funny leading lady” -Scottish Daily Mail. 

Brodie has now gone “indie”.  Here are some editorial reviews for her recent books.  

BRAKE FAILURE:  “Masterpiece of humor” -Midwest Book Review
THE DOUBLE:   “Proof of her genius in writing fiction” -San Francisco Book Review.
ZENKA (to be released 6 Nov, 2017):  “ZENKA is top of my list for best fiction this year.  If Tina Fey and Simon Pegg got together to write a dark and hilarious mobster story with a happy ending, ZENKA would be the result.”  -Lauren Sapala, WriteCity

For more information:
Website - www.alisonbrodiebooks.com/untitled
Twitter - twitter.com/alisonbrodie2
Facebook - www.facebook.com/AlisonBrodieAuthor/?fref=ts&ref=br_tf


Read on for a little snippet of what you can expect from Zenka ... 

EXCERPT

Jack glanced sharply at the gun in Zenka’s hand.  ‘Put that down!’

‘No.’

‘I didn’t order those shooters for your benefit.’

She shrugged and picked up another gun.

Jack bristled.  ‘I told you to wait in the car!’

‘Car boring.’

‘You can’t have that.  It’s illegal.’

She was aiming the gun at the wall, one eye closed as she looked along the barrel.  ‘I need gun to protect myself from people.’

‘No, Zenka, people need gun to protect themselves from you.’

She laughed, a full-throated laugh, her face suddenly alive and sparkling.  Jack was staring at her in fury, but he was helpless.  How can you reprimand someone so beautiful, so fearless?

*I want to thank Alison Brodie for giving us this taster for you all to enjoy.