#WhoIsSamAlexander? There is a great feeling about Carnal Acts by Sam Alexander, in part due to the fact that Sam Alexander is a pseudonym for a respected crime writer. Whoever he or she is they are a bloody good writer and I hope they will continue to write as Sam Alexander and more importantly that the protagonists in this novel get another outing. I was attracted to reading this crime thriller in part by the mystery of who the author is, partly the title, Carnal Acts (well I am male!) and the promise of Northumbrian noir with lots of dark secrets. As a northerner I tend to think of Northumbria as east coast cold, windswept and too close to Scotland for its own good. Nothing exciting ever happens there other than sheep rustling, Newcastle United and Sunderland AFC loosing! So I have an open mind as you can tell but wow oh wow Carnal Acts is a bloody brilliant read, the closer I got to the ending the more my anxiety for the main protagonists kicked in. Like most crime thrillers the good guys always win with Carnal Acts it is not so clear who really are the good guys at times. This is to use a cliché or three a real stonking page turner something that you will regret finishing too soon. This is a powerful, provocative and exciting thriller with plenty of pace and even better nasty people who end up dead. DI Joni Pax has transferred up to the new Police Force of North East England from the Met where as a Murder Squad detective she has been wounded in a takedown operation. Her DCI Hector ‘Heck’ Rutherford has just returned to work after beating cancer. They are both part of the Major Crimes Unit that covers rural Northumbria and County Durham. They are based in Corham an historic town that has plenty of history and tradition running through it. A murder happens at an Albanian run brothel and one of the girls is on the run. As Pax and Rutherford investigate they come up against a wall of silence as bodies appear and bombs go off. The Albanians will stop at nothing to protect their businesses even if it means going against the police. With many brilliant twists in the plot at time you really are left to wonder who the good guys are. The further they dig in to the local corruption the more they are becoming targets themselves. Who will be able to survive all the way to the end is a real mystery as the Albanians are not afraid to have a shot at the police or anyone else in their way. At times things are happening so fast it is like water over a waterfall you know it is hard and fast you just do not want to be at the bottom of it. As both Pax and Rutherford and their team are relentless but it is exactly that which may put them in harm’s way. I cannot recommend Carnal Acts highly enough it is a fast pace explosive in your face thriller that delivers everything you want and need.

Carnal Acts is published in paperback by Arcadia Books on 15 June 2014. The world of Twitter has been ablaze with tweets about Carnal Acts. Arcadia Books have created one of the biggest mysteries I've ever seen on the net around this book. You see, Sam Alexander is not a debut author, a new name, a first-timer. No, Sam Alexander is in fact a well-known, succesful British Crime Author - writing under another name, and so far, nobody has guessed who he/she is. I've tried, believe me, I've tried, and I have been wrong so many times. Hopefully, eventually, someone will guess correctly - I'm desperate to know who it is. Back to Carnal Acts - the story. Set in Northumberland, this is a tightly woven crime story - I guess it would be best described as 'crime noir' -it's certainly very dark, there are some twisted characters, some gruesome crimes and a forbidding air about this story. Whoever the author is, they have had me on the edge of my seat for the past few days - throwing in enough red herrings to stock the best fishmonger in the business. Lead character DI Joni Pax is new to the the North Eastern town of Corham, she's transferred up from the Met after a nasty episode with a bad guy and a big knife. She answers to DCI Hector Rutherford, known affectionately as Heck, he's had his troubles too lately - recovering from a cancer operation and feeling as though he's stared death in the face. The Albanians are in town. Controlling the call-girls, the drugs rings. Violent and vicious, they don't give a damn and when Pax and Heck find themselves investigating a murder at a brothel in town, they soon realise that this is more than your average run of the mill fall out in a dodgy back-street doss-house. The story is brutal, full-on and fast moving. There is a point towards the middle of the story when I became just a little overwhelmed by the complexity of the the plot and the amount of characters that seemed to be involved, but this passed. I found my way again and sure enough, the tension is cranked up by at least three gears as the reader is hurtled towards the stunning climax of the story. I don't know if 'Sam Alexander' intends to write more about Pax and Heck - I hope so. Carnal Acts could be the start of something huge in British Crime Fiction. A female lead character who is a mystery herself and a supporting cast of characters who could be developed so well. Joni Pax is an enigma. With a white mother and black father, she finds it difficult to define herself and her new colleagues certainly have trouble sussing her out - I'd love to think that readers will be able to discover more and more with a whole series devoted to her. Carnal Acts is a thrilling, compelling, well written crime story. Complex, intelligent and exciting. Read it, you won't be disappointed. Check out #WhoIsSamAlexander on Twitter to see the buzz around this novel - and to see if we ever find out just who the hell is Sam Alexander.