Twisted Trees

Bromo Perkins #4

by Tony Berry

Once a spy always a spy… Former British secret agent Bromo Perkins finds his strings being pulled again in Tony Berry’s latest crime thriller, Twisted Trees. Bromo’s long been ‘retired’ to Australia where he runs a one-man travel agency. His clients are a select group – including other ‘sleepers’, acting on orders from London, people like businessman Dave McCoy. But Bromo soon discovers somebody has it in for the Melbourne McCoys. Four siblings of the family are one by one hunted, humiliated and brutally assaulted. Torture, head-shaving, arson and drowning are the means. Two die from their wounds, and The Tree Surgeon proclaims his mission with chilling messages. But where there is trouble in Bromo’s life, there is always the lovely Liz Shapcott to help dig him out. Together they begin the peel back the layers of McCoy’s past, eventually leading all the way back to the London Blitz. But not before Bromo has himself suffered his own beating at the hands of … who exactly? Who really is fellow agent Steve Stone? Under the surface, who is Dave’s new partner, the self-styled Melissa McCoy? And how does the decrepit old-timer George Smith, who lives in luxurious splendour, fit in? And can Bromo and Liz finally clinch it as a couple by together solving the riddle of who is the real McCoy? Tony Berry’s Twisted Trees is the latest in the popular Bromo Perkins series of crime thrillers, which began with debut novel Done Deal, followed by Washed Up and The Devil Deals in Diamonds. His fourth book expands on themes and characters already firmly established, and continues to deliver fast-paced action with outrageous humour and subtle sexual banter. Praise for Tony Berry “A gripping crime story” – Nicole Lindsay, the Herald Sun “Bromo’s dialogue is snappy and he’s a man of action” – Australian Crime Fiction Website Berry, is a lifelong journalist and fiction writer in the UK and Australia. Both Done Deal and Washed Up won the New South Wales Genre Fiction award.

265 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 14, 2017

About the author

A lifelong journalist in the UK and Australia, Tony eventually got around to penning the novel (Done Deal) he had long hankered to write but had never found time to start. It met immediate success by winning a New South Wales Genre Fiction Award.

A sequel, Washed Up, followed a year later and that, too, won a NSW Genre Fiction Award plus a mentorship from the Australian Society of Authors. He is now working on the third book in the series - all crime novels and all set in the inner Melbourne suburb of Richmond - while being kept busy as a professional editor of other writers' works.

He has also turned to non-fiction with the enthralling story (From Paupers To iPads) of his search for lost ancestors and their hitherto unknown stories.

Tony's other main pursuit is long-distance running and he recently broke the Australian age-group record for the half-marathon and, during a trip to the UK, became the year's fastest runner in his age group for the 10km, 10 miles and the half-marathon.

Reviews

[Susan Quinn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing and I'm not likely to read this author again.

I hadn't read any of Berry's books before so deliberately chose book #4, thinking that any kinks in the writing would be ironed out by book 4. Hmmmmm.

I just had a number of problems with this book.

The protagonist, Bromo, is described as a "Former British secret agent". I can see why he is a "former agent" - because he keeps getting taken by surprise. For an agent, he is shockingly unaware of his surroundings at times, since people can sneak up on him. One time, he "underestimates" someone and gets kidnapped. Duh.

Somehow it just irked me that the women all wore stilettos. And clacked in them.

And people slapping their hands on desks? How many times can people do that in one book?
And smirk? I don't tend to come across many people in my daily life who do smirk, but folks in this book did it often. Weird.

This slapping of hands had to do with a couple of people, including Bromo, who had hair triggers for sure. Underneath the exterior, but not far underneath, anger, even rage, was just waiting to be ignited. And that rage boiled over and prevented them from acting or thinking rationally. For a former agent, this seems to be a fairly major failing.

And for a murder mystery - who was the "bad guy"? I picked that person out fairly early in the book although there were some weird other wrinkles in the storyline that seemed unnecessary. I prefer mysteries where the "bad guy" is not so predictable.