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Incy Wincy
Malachite Jones is a pretend psychic medium and an unwilling detective.
He certainly doesn't want anyone bringing him a missing persons case.
Definitely not two.
When the a body turns up he knows life is only going to get harder.
Blades Edge premier gangster, Trolley Mick, owes a favour to a family who’s son, Daniel Jerrings, has vanished. He wants Mal to pay it. Jackie’s friend from the military, Spider, is also missing. And though Jackie doesn’t really do friends, he does do loyalty and that means Mal does too.
But it seems that there are plenty of other people out there looking for Spider, and everything is spiralling down the drain in a wash of designer drugs, UFOs, racists, violent youth gangs and a group of evangelical Americans with their own agenda. Somehow, it all involves a missing teenager but nothing adds up, and violence lurks around every corner.
Discovering the truth means sinking deeper into the grimy world of organised crime where dangerous people have an awful lot to lose, and a way out for Mal and Jackie is getting harder and harder to see.
Incy Wincy picks up where A Numbers Game left off. Gritty, good hearted and laugh out loud funny. Mal and Jackie are back!
He certainly doesn't want anyone bringing him a missing persons case.
Definitely not two.
When the a body turns up he knows life is only going to get harder.
Blades Edge premier gangster, Trolley Mick, owes a favour to a family who’s son, Daniel Jerrings, has vanished. He wants Mal to pay it. Jackie’s friend from the military, Spider, is also missing. And though Jackie doesn’t really do friends, he does do loyalty and that means Mal does too.
But it seems that there are plenty of other people out there looking for Spider, and everything is spiralling down the drain in a wash of designer drugs, UFOs, racists, violent youth gangs and a group of evangelical Americans with their own agenda. Somehow, it all involves a missing teenager but nothing adds up, and violence lurks around every corner.
Discovering the truth means sinking deeper into the grimy world of organised crime where dangerous people have an awful lot to lose, and a way out for Mal and Jackie is getting harder and harder to see.
Incy Wincy picks up where A Numbers Game left off. Gritty, good hearted and laugh out loud funny. Mal and Jackie are back!
360 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 24, 2022
1 person is currently reading
15 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
March 26, 2022
This review was originally posted on Queen's Book Asylum!
I received an eARC from the publisher, Wavesback in exchange of an honest review.
As my review of A Numbers Game indicates, I very much enjoyed the first book in the Mal & Jackie series and was looking forward to the sequel. But I think it was Incy Wincy that really made me fall in love with this idiot pair. I was smiling my face off from the very first page and I never really stopped, although it would be wrong to mistake this book and series as comedy. Mal and Jackie’s banter and their personality provide plenty of light moments, but at the heart of the story, there is brutality, violence, societal issues, and of course a crime investigation or two. RJ Dark aka RJ Barker knows his craft very well indeed.
We are sometime after the events in A Numbers Game, life is back to normal – well, as normal as it can be when we talk about Mal. Jackie decides that they are running a detective agency now, Mal being the said detective. He is less than thrilled by the idea, but once Jackie gets something in his head, there is no talking him out of it. Mal’s newfound career comes in handy when he gets tangled in two missing cases – Spider, an ex-military friend of Jackie’s goes missing, and Jackie wants to know what happened; and Trolley Mick calls in for a favor, as he’d like Mal to look into what happened to Daniel Jennings who went missing a couple of months prior. Despite Mal’s continued protests of being called a detective, he throws himself into the investigation. Although the continued death threats by different groups involved might have something to do with his enthusiasm. Not talking about his curiosity in general.
I’d rather not say more about the plot. Suffice to say, Mal and Jackie are having a hell of a time while trying to untangle all the threads and figure out who is involved how in those cases. We meet a lot of old characters such as the Kray twins (they are really starting to grow on me), Trolley Mick, the Russian, and of course Beryl, who is as lovely as ever. She really should have her own book at one point because he is just awesome. She and Lhiewyn from Michael McClung‘s Amra Thetys series would make a hilarious pair. And now that’s in my head, I want it to happen… Anyway.
Apart from the old names, we get plenty of new ones too, namely Pol and the Sharp Boys, the Yorkshire Pure, Spider, Barry and many more. But none of the can outshine Mal and Jackie and honestly, the best parts of this series are their friendship and banter. The contrast of their personalities and way of thinking makes some very hilarious moments. I used the highlighting function on my Kindle quite liberally when it came to these two.
But under the comedic moments, Incy Wincy also brings some very actual topics to the forefront such as racism, mental illness, drug use, and poverty. It’s a mix that feels like it shouldn’t work, but it does, and holy shit I just need more.
And the funny thing is, while I was smiling like a lunatic at Mal and Jackie’s banters, and generally his sarcastic way of narrating, I also had this underlying dread for Mal. It’s a bit hard to explain, but every time he deals with anything related to drugs – he is an ex-addict – my heart just sinks and I think to myself “please don’t do anything stupid, please don’t make him go there again” which I guess shows that RJ Dark‘s writing has this cutting-edge sharpness to it. He makes his characters achingly real and vulnerable in their own ways.
Incy Wincy is pure high-octane entertainment, the kind you don’t know you needed until it hits you in the face. A fast-paced murder mystery with genuine laugh-out-loud moments and themes that makes you think this world just sucks. A book that wouldn’t work without the pair of Mal and Jackie and the obvious sheer enjoyment RJ Dark must have had while coming up with these characters. I can’t recommend this series enough even though it has some pretty dark themes going on within the pages. I mean, it is a murder mystery/thriller novel after all. Not that it will keep Incy Wincy away from my favorite reads of 2022 list. When can I get the next book?
I received an eARC from the publisher, Wavesback in exchange of an honest review.
“I walked in and was hit by a familiar smell: a mixture of industrial laundry detergent, bleach based cleaning products, body odour and behind it all a memory of stale urine, which you couldn’t quite get rid of.
It was the smell of ghosts.”
As my review of A Numbers Game indicates, I very much enjoyed the first book in the Mal & Jackie series and was looking forward to the sequel. But I think it was Incy Wincy that really made me fall in love with this idiot pair. I was smiling my face off from the very first page and I never really stopped, although it would be wrong to mistake this book and series as comedy. Mal and Jackie’s banter and their personality provide plenty of light moments, but at the heart of the story, there is brutality, violence, societal issues, and of course a crime investigation or two. RJ Dark aka RJ Barker knows his craft very well indeed.
We are sometime after the events in A Numbers Game, life is back to normal – well, as normal as it can be when we talk about Mal. Jackie decides that they are running a detective agency now, Mal being the said detective. He is less than thrilled by the idea, but once Jackie gets something in his head, there is no talking him out of it. Mal’s newfound career comes in handy when he gets tangled in two missing cases – Spider, an ex-military friend of Jackie’s goes missing, and Jackie wants to know what happened; and Trolley Mick calls in for a favor, as he’d like Mal to look into what happened to Daniel Jennings who went missing a couple of months prior. Despite Mal’s continued protests of being called a detective, he throws himself into the investigation. Although the continued death threats by different groups involved might have something to do with his enthusiasm. Not talking about his curiosity in general.
I’d rather not say more about the plot. Suffice to say, Mal and Jackie are having a hell of a time while trying to untangle all the threads and figure out who is involved how in those cases. We meet a lot of old characters such as the Kray twins (they are really starting to grow on me), Trolley Mick, the Russian, and of course Beryl, who is as lovely as ever. She really should have her own book at one point because he is just awesome. She and Lhiewyn from Michael McClung‘s Amra Thetys series would make a hilarious pair. And now that’s in my head, I want it to happen… Anyway.
Apart from the old names, we get plenty of new ones too, namely Pol and the Sharp Boys, the Yorkshire Pure, Spider, Barry and many more. But none of the can outshine Mal and Jackie and honestly, the best parts of this series are their friendship and banter. The contrast of their personalities and way of thinking makes some very hilarious moments. I used the highlighting function on my Kindle quite liberally when it came to these two.
“The thing with Jackie Singh Khattar is you can never actually tell whether he’s doing something purely to wind you up or not. Sometimes I think it’s because he has an incredible poker face, and other times I think it’s because he hasn’t decided if he’s doing a thing simply to annoy you until he gets a reaction, or because he genuinely thinks it’s best for you.”
But under the comedic moments, Incy Wincy also brings some very actual topics to the forefront such as racism, mental illness, drug use, and poverty. It’s a mix that feels like it shouldn’t work, but it does, and holy shit I just need more.
And the funny thing is, while I was smiling like a lunatic at Mal and Jackie’s banters, and generally his sarcastic way of narrating, I also had this underlying dread for Mal. It’s a bit hard to explain, but every time he deals with anything related to drugs – he is an ex-addict – my heart just sinks and I think to myself “please don’t do anything stupid, please don’t make him go there again” which I guess shows that RJ Dark‘s writing has this cutting-edge sharpness to it. He makes his characters achingly real and vulnerable in their own ways.
Incy Wincy is pure high-octane entertainment, the kind you don’t know you needed until it hits you in the face. A fast-paced murder mystery with genuine laugh-out-loud moments and themes that makes you think this world just sucks. A book that wouldn’t work without the pair of Mal and Jackie and the obvious sheer enjoyment RJ Dark must have had while coming up with these characters. I can’t recommend this series enough even though it has some pretty dark themes going on within the pages. I mean, it is a murder mystery/thriller novel after all. Not that it will keep Incy Wincy away from my favorite reads of 2022 list. When can I get the next book?
March 24, 2022
Even better than A Numbers Game with expanding of the world and developing of characters making an even more satisfying story with a very compelling mystery
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...
April 25, 2022
Firstly I need to say I was given a copy of this ebook by the publisher for review purposes.
I nearly gave up after 2-3 chapters because it badly needs a proofreader and editor, to be fair as I got this from the publisher it may be an uncorrected proof copy, I certainly hope so.
I did persevere and I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed the story. There are a large cast of characters and most are up to no good, but we don't find that out about some until later on. The main characters are an ex-junkie medium and his ex-army mate who doesn't believe laws apply to him. They get involved looking for an ex army associate who has gone missing, and they end up dealing with racist thugs, an aging guy who runs everything on his estate, a posh ex army captain who runs his own business which involves secret government work, a homeless shelter leader, a dead man who may not be dead and a bunch of American Christian nutcases. Confused? Well I did say it had a large cast of characters!
The grammatical errors were annoying throughout but hopefully they have been corrected for the retail market, if not I would still recommend you read this book, I will be looking for others by this author
I nearly gave up after 2-3 chapters because it badly needs a proofreader and editor, to be fair as I got this from the publisher it may be an uncorrected proof copy, I certainly hope so.
I did persevere and I'm glad I did because I really enjoyed the story. There are a large cast of characters and most are up to no good, but we don't find that out about some until later on. The main characters are an ex-junkie medium and his ex-army mate who doesn't believe laws apply to him. They get involved looking for an ex army associate who has gone missing, and they end up dealing with racist thugs, an aging guy who runs everything on his estate, a posh ex army captain who runs his own business which involves secret government work, a homeless shelter leader, a dead man who may not be dead and a bunch of American Christian nutcases. Confused? Well I did say it had a large cast of characters!
The grammatical errors were annoying throughout but hopefully they have been corrected for the retail market, if not I would still recommend you read this book, I will be looking for others by this author
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 26, 2022
The story centres around Mal (Malachite - blame his mother) Jones and his best friend Jackie Singh Khattar. On the face of it, they appear to be two completely different sorts of people, but deep down they share a bond from childhood and a strong friendship. After serving time in the army and special forces, Jackie has demonstrated some tough love and tried to teach Mal to defend himself, usually involving a lot of bruises along the way, but he'll never let anyone hurt his friend. Ex-addict Mal is basically a con artist, posing as a psychic medium whilst cold reading his clients. Jackie poses as a legitimate businessman, fitting security systems he can later make good use of and renting out property whilst extorting protection money. Mal grew up on the Blades Edge estate, one of the roughest council estates in the north of England, and has no desire to get involved with most of the people there again. Unfortunately they keep getting involved with him. At the start of this story, Jackie has stuck a sign up outside the shop proclaiming “Jones and Singh Khattar Investigations”. Mal tells everyone he is not a detective – but no one believes him. First in the queue is Trolley Mick, the mobility scooter driving controller of crime on the Blades Edge estate aided by his Kray twin sons Kyle and Ronaldo. He wants Mal to find out what has happened to Daniel Jerrings, the grandson of an old mate, who disappeared two months ago. Then Jackie wants him to find Spider, one of his old army comrades. It seems he is not the only one missing Spider when a man called Leonard Sackhouse also engages Mal to find him. Mal starts to get a bad feeling about all this. Mal’s searches lead him through a homeless shelter and dodgy tattoo parlour to baby gangsters and the Russians Dino and Donald who have replaced Harry and Frank from book one, getting regularly assaulted in the process, with Jackie trying to dodge the clutches of DI Esther Smith and her sidekick DC Sarah Harrington. Then a body turns up. And then another one. Suddenly all roads seem to lead back to clown, the illegal high with an explosive tendency and Spider. So what is the link between the banned drug, the American Jesus Command, the racist Yorkshire Pure, UFOs, the Sharp Boys and a missing teenager?
It’s so good to have Mal and Jackie back, together with the colourful and vivid collection of people who inhabit the Edge and are so well described and easy to envisage. I adore gloomy and put-upon Mal, Jackie with his flamboyant wardrobe and Beryl with her cutting put-downs and curious carrier bags. With plenty of wonderful black humour, a clever plot and a superb ending, this is a really great new series featuring an unusual and highly original pairing of very likeable characters. I do hope there will be more stories soon! 5*
It’s so good to have Mal and Jackie back, together with the colourful and vivid collection of people who inhabit the Edge and are so well described and easy to envisage. I adore gloomy and put-upon Mal, Jackie with his flamboyant wardrobe and Beryl with her cutting put-downs and curious carrier bags. With plenty of wonderful black humour, a clever plot and a superb ending, this is a really great new series featuring an unusual and highly original pairing of very likeable characters. I do hope there will be more stories soon! 5*
March 24, 2022
Thanks to the publisher, Waves Back, for giving me an advance review copy of Incy Wincy in exchange for my honest review. And I honestly loved it. It's smart and funny with great action (and lots of snark).
The Mal & Jackie series by RJ Dark stars Malachite Jones, who prefers to be called 'Mal,' (and who wouldn't with a name like 'Malachite'?). His best friend is Jackie Singh Khattar, a military vet and a "respected local businessman," who always manages to stay one step ahead of the cops, and his competition in the mob. Jackie doesn't hesitate to get Mal out of trouble, even if he's the one who got Mal into it in the first place.
Mal's the best pretend psychic medium in the roughest neighborhood in England, Blades Edge Estate (well, to be fair, he's the *only* pretend psychic medium in Blades Edge Estate). In "Incy Wincy," Jackie decides that Mal needs to add "pretend private detective" to the list of the services he provides. So, he puts up a sign in front of Mal's shop that says, "JSK Investigations" and they're in business!
Never mind that neither Mal nor Jackie has a license to work as a private investigator or any relevant experience. Mal cringes when he gets not just one, but two missing person cases to solve, one of which is for a gangster boss who isn't in the habit of taking 'no' for an answer. No pressure or anything, Mal. As you'd expect, things spiral out of control very quickly.
This dark, gritty story has everything you'd want in a buddy crime novel: witty banter, creative swearing, missing persons, gangsters, designer drugs, violence, biting social commentary and even UFOs. More important than all of that (or perhaps because of all of that), it's funny and lots of fun.
"Incy Wincy" is even better than the first Mal & Jack story, "A Numbers Game." Highly recommended.
The Mal & Jackie series by RJ Dark stars Malachite Jones, who prefers to be called 'Mal,' (and who wouldn't with a name like 'Malachite'?). His best friend is Jackie Singh Khattar, a military vet and a "respected local businessman," who always manages to stay one step ahead of the cops, and his competition in the mob. Jackie doesn't hesitate to get Mal out of trouble, even if he's the one who got Mal into it in the first place.
Mal's the best pretend psychic medium in the roughest neighborhood in England, Blades Edge Estate (well, to be fair, he's the *only* pretend psychic medium in Blades Edge Estate). In "Incy Wincy," Jackie decides that Mal needs to add "pretend private detective" to the list of the services he provides. So, he puts up a sign in front of Mal's shop that says, "JSK Investigations" and they're in business!
Never mind that neither Mal nor Jackie has a license to work as a private investigator or any relevant experience. Mal cringes when he gets not just one, but two missing person cases to solve, one of which is for a gangster boss who isn't in the habit of taking 'no' for an answer. No pressure or anything, Mal. As you'd expect, things spiral out of control very quickly.
This dark, gritty story has everything you'd want in a buddy crime novel: witty banter, creative swearing, missing persons, gangsters, designer drugs, violence, biting social commentary and even UFOs. More important than all of that (or perhaps because of all of that), it's funny and lots of fun.
"Incy Wincy" is even better than the first Mal & Jack story, "A Numbers Game." Highly recommended.
March 24, 2022
Last year's A Numbers Game debuted mystery crime newcomer RJ Dark's not-so-cosy series, featuring psychic fraud Malachite Jones and "respected local businessman" Jackie Singh Khattar who solve crimes on the Blade's Edge Estate, a rough district of an unnamed Yorkshire town. In this follow-up, Dark turns to a story that goes deeper into Mal's and Jackie's backgrounds.
After the events of the first book, Jackie has decided that Mal's psychic business needs rebranding as a detective agency. Of course, Mal gets no say in this, and the first he knows is when Jackie has a new sign installed over the shop. Cue a running gag where Mal says, in effect, I don't know, I'm not a detective and Jackie responds by citing the sign.
It's probably fitting, given Jackie's hand in creating the "agency" that its first case involves tracking down one of his mates (the "Spider" to whom the title nods). Spider is ex-army, like Jackie, and it turns out that other members of his squad live nearby and that understanding their past will be key to explaining what has happened to Spider. Similarly, Mal's earlier life as a homeless drug-user will also be relevant, not least in providing him with contacts to work (fairly likely that an ex-squaddie will end up among the street people, right?)
But it's not a straightforward case (which of Mal's cases ever are?) Pretty soon the usual pattern emerges as figures both familiar - the 'Kray Twins', Trolley Mick, the town's Russian gangsters - and new - a smooth talking American - turn up at Jackie's shop to threaten him if he either won't give up a line of enquiry or won't take a side job. It gets more and more menacing, as Jackie can't be there all the time to defend Mal (and anyway, Jackie has bigger problems of his own). Mal's by no means a helpless victim in all this, he's actually a pretty shrewd and streetwise character, but the degree of peril in this book felt on a different scale to the previous one.
Add in Yorkshire's own racist front, a missing boy and a crop of UFO sightings and there is almost too much here to wrap one's brain round. Almost, I write, because Dark's story zooms along with brio, carrying us with no apparent effort from nasty fight to intriguing clue to dissecting the nature of the society that has produced Blade's Edge. There's some heartfelt, well argued criticism here, Dark comes across as really knowing his stuff. It's very, very entertaining read, a book with a punchy plot, hard-hitting but humorous dialogue and developed, relatable characters.
Oh - and there's a climax that had me biting my nails.
After the events of the first book, Jackie has decided that Mal's psychic business needs rebranding as a detective agency. Of course, Mal gets no say in this, and the first he knows is when Jackie has a new sign installed over the shop. Cue a running gag where Mal says, in effect, I don't know, I'm not a detective and Jackie responds by citing the sign.
It's probably fitting, given Jackie's hand in creating the "agency" that its first case involves tracking down one of his mates (the "Spider" to whom the title nods). Spider is ex-army, like Jackie, and it turns out that other members of his squad live nearby and that understanding their past will be key to explaining what has happened to Spider. Similarly, Mal's earlier life as a homeless drug-user will also be relevant, not least in providing him with contacts to work (fairly likely that an ex-squaddie will end up among the street people, right?)
But it's not a straightforward case (which of Mal's cases ever are?) Pretty soon the usual pattern emerges as figures both familiar - the 'Kray Twins', Trolley Mick, the town's Russian gangsters - and new - a smooth talking American - turn up at Jackie's shop to threaten him if he either won't give up a line of enquiry or won't take a side job. It gets more and more menacing, as Jackie can't be there all the time to defend Mal (and anyway, Jackie has bigger problems of his own). Mal's by no means a helpless victim in all this, he's actually a pretty shrewd and streetwise character, but the degree of peril in this book felt on a different scale to the previous one.
Add in Yorkshire's own racist front, a missing boy and a crop of UFO sightings and there is almost too much here to wrap one's brain round. Almost, I write, because Dark's story zooms along with brio, carrying us with no apparent effort from nasty fight to intriguing clue to dissecting the nature of the society that has produced Blade's Edge. There's some heartfelt, well argued criticism here, Dark comes across as really knowing his stuff. It's very, very entertaining read, a book with a punchy plot, hard-hitting but humorous dialogue and developed, relatable characters.
Oh - and there's a climax that had me biting my nails.
March 27, 2022
Mal and Jackie are great characters and I enjoyed this even more than the first one, I think. Already looking forward to the next one, which is one of the problems with reading something as soon as it comes out.
This definitely needed another round of edits though, or a tougher proofread, there are some weird errors. They don't affect the story, which is why it still gets five stars, but obviously as an editor myself I'm incapable of ignoring things like inconsistently applied italics for film titles. Also the extremely bizarre misspelling of 'heroin' as 'heroine' (but only twice, the other time it's spelled correctly). There were some other typos as well, and I know how easy it is for things to slip through, but it's awkward. There's a 'brown' that should be 'brow' for example, and one character's name changes from 'Helen' to 'Sarah'.
Now I've written loads more about the editorial issues than the story, which is unfair. It's a very pacey, complex and twisty tale involving a number of recurring characters plus some new ones, equally unpleasant. The dialogue's a real strength and Mal and Jackie's conversations are very amusing.
This definitely needed another round of edits though, or a tougher proofread, there are some weird errors. They don't affect the story, which is why it still gets five stars, but obviously as an editor myself I'm incapable of ignoring things like inconsistently applied italics for film titles. Also the extremely bizarre misspelling of 'heroin' as 'heroine' (but only twice, the other time it's spelled correctly). There were some other typos as well, and I know how easy it is for things to slip through, but it's awkward. There's a 'brown' that should be 'brow' for example, and one character's name changes from 'Helen' to 'Sarah'.
Now I've written loads more about the editorial issues than the story, which is unfair. It's a very pacey, complex and twisty tale involving a number of recurring characters plus some new ones, equally unpleasant. The dialogue's a real strength and Mal and Jackie's conversations are very amusing.
March 23, 2022
4/5 - Great Read
Incy Wincy sees the return of one of my favourite new reads from last year, and the characters of Malachite Jones and Jackie Singh Kattar. A completely mismatched pairing.
Mal is an ex druggie, now blagging his way through life pretending to be a medium, conning old ladies out of their money. He’s nice though. It’s not nasty. He’s performing a service and the old dears need it.
Then there is the mysterious Jackie, ex Military with some dark secrets, he looks after Mal in his own way, but deep down he’s a troubled soul for all his bravado.
Mal is now a. Private investigator. Not that he wants to be, but with his new profession thrust upon by the indomitable Jackie, he soon finds himself speaking with 2 missing person cases, one for the local gang boss, Trolley Mick, and funnily enough one for Jackie, when an old soldier friend goes missing.
A rip roaring, entertaining, very funny caper ensues, with American Religious Sects, Yorkshires own brand of the National Front, Teenage gangsters, UFOs and dodgy drugs,
It’s fun and accessible, fast paced crime with its own unique twist, and it’s also quite serious and delves in the racism so rife in this country whilst we learn a little bit more about Jackie’s past.
Every bit as good as the first in the series. This comes highly Recommended and I hope for more of these hilarious yet serious adventures.
Incy Wincy sees the return of one of my favourite new reads from last year, and the characters of Malachite Jones and Jackie Singh Kattar. A completely mismatched pairing.
Mal is an ex druggie, now blagging his way through life pretending to be a medium, conning old ladies out of their money. He’s nice though. It’s not nasty. He’s performing a service and the old dears need it.
Then there is the mysterious Jackie, ex Military with some dark secrets, he looks after Mal in his own way, but deep down he’s a troubled soul for all his bravado.
Mal is now a. Private investigator. Not that he wants to be, but with his new profession thrust upon by the indomitable Jackie, he soon finds himself speaking with 2 missing person cases, one for the local gang boss, Trolley Mick, and funnily enough one for Jackie, when an old soldier friend goes missing.
A rip roaring, entertaining, very funny caper ensues, with American Religious Sects, Yorkshires own brand of the National Front, Teenage gangsters, UFOs and dodgy drugs,
It’s fun and accessible, fast paced crime with its own unique twist, and it’s also quite serious and delves in the racism so rife in this country whilst we learn a little bit more about Jackie’s past.
Every bit as good as the first in the series. This comes highly Recommended and I hope for more of these hilarious yet serious adventures.
May 17, 2022
This was a very interesting book and not my usual choice. It is the second in a series but I had no difficulty recognising the characters as they were introduced. I think the story was set in Leeds or Sheffield but it was never properly confirmed, and I don't know either of those cities well enough to recognise some of the estates and areas that featured in the book. I did enjoy reading a book set in the North of England that was modern, that I could relate to, and that managed to combine Hollywood action with British reservedness, if that makes sense.
Jackie was an interesting character, who at first I disliked but in the end grew quite fond of, even recognising and understanding why he behaved the way that he did. Mal was a fairly regular character, and my one disappointment was that while it is touted as being a book about a psychic detective, he didn't display any obvious psychic skills during the story. Generally I am glad I read this book, it had me gripped when the action kicked in, and it left me thinking about what happened for a while afterwards.
Jackie was an interesting character, who at first I disliked but in the end grew quite fond of, even recognising and understanding why he behaved the way that he did. Mal was a fairly regular character, and my one disappointment was that while it is touted as being a book about a psychic detective, he didn't display any obvious psychic skills during the story. Generally I am glad I read this book, it had me gripped when the action kicked in, and it left me thinking about what happened for a while afterwards.
March 28, 2022
Some times ago I received an email from Waves Back's Nick inviting me to review Incy Windy by RJ Dark.
I reply "YES" as fast as I could because I loved A Numbers Game, the previous book, and wanted to read other adventure of Mal and Jackie.
I had high expectations and all of them were satisfied as it's a gripping, highly entertaining, humorous, and well written thriller that made me laugh out loud more than once.
Mal and Jackie are two great characters, you cannot help rooting for them and hope they will find the culprit. They're not boy scouts, they're faulted and oftern on the wrong side of law but I cannot help loving them.
RJ Dark can surely write a gripping and well plotted story and this one is excellent. He's a very talented storyteller and his descriptions of the setting are realistic and heart wrenching at times.
This is highly recommended, go and read it.
Many thanks to RJ Dark and Waves Back for this digital copy, all opinions are mine
I reply "YES" as fast as I could because I loved A Numbers Game, the previous book, and wanted to read other adventure of Mal and Jackie.
I had high expectations and all of them were satisfied as it's a gripping, highly entertaining, humorous, and well written thriller that made me laugh out loud more than once.
Mal and Jackie are two great characters, you cannot help rooting for them and hope they will find the culprit. They're not boy scouts, they're faulted and oftern on the wrong side of law but I cannot help loving them.
RJ Dark can surely write a gripping and well plotted story and this one is excellent. He's a very talented storyteller and his descriptions of the setting are realistic and heart wrenching at times.
This is highly recommended, go and read it.
Many thanks to RJ Dark and Waves Back for this digital copy, all opinions are mine
May 4, 2022
Mal and Jackie are unlikely friends. Jackie tries to tell Mal that they're detectives but he's not convinced. When Spider a friend goes missing they try to find him and the problems begin.
Along the way we meet lots of people from drug dealers to American Christians and the local people determined to rid the area of undesirables as they see it.
It's a great story and you never quite know what the next turn in the story will be. No-one is entirely without issues which comprises the investigation.
I really enjoyed this story and only realised after finishing it that it's actually book two in the series.
I received this book for free and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Along the way we meet lots of people from drug dealers to American Christians and the local people determined to rid the area of undesirables as they see it.
It's a great story and you never quite know what the next turn in the story will be. No-one is entirely without issues which comprises the investigation.
I really enjoyed this story and only realised after finishing it that it's actually book two in the series.
I received this book for free and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.
April 25, 2022
This is a fast paced and very witty mystery.
I absolutely loved the relationship between Malachite (a wannabe medium who ends up being a very soft detective) and Jackie (a rather suave but hilarious ex miltary man with an undefined career) This reminded me of Riggs & Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon, that very funny yet frustrating bond that was so endearing. A twisty turny mystery, an ex Special Forces buddy, a young man's disappearance, opposing gangs, drugs, homelessness and fear all play a part. A good, fast and enjoyable read.
Thanks to @thebooknetwork.co.uk for sending it my way.
#inc
I absolutely loved the relationship between Malachite (a wannabe medium who ends up being a very soft detective) and Jackie (a rather suave but hilarious ex miltary man with an undefined career) This reminded me of Riggs & Murtaugh in Lethal Weapon, that very funny yet frustrating bond that was so endearing. A twisty turny mystery, an ex Special Forces buddy, a young man's disappearance, opposing gangs, drugs, homelessness and fear all play a part. A good, fast and enjoyable read.
Thanks to @thebooknetwork.co.uk for sending it my way.
#inc
June 6, 2022
I thoroughly enjoyed the second book in RJ Dark’s Mal & Jackie series. These two characters have some of the best chemistry I’ve read; their banter makes them feel so real. RJ has really perfected his voice in writing this series, creating the perfect balance between lighthearted/comedic moments and brutal violence. He also explores contemporary and social issues really effectively. I won’t spoil the story but, suffice to say, it was a page-turner and kept me guessing. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a crime thriller with excellently written characters.
May 2, 2022
I really enjoyed reading this book. Although it is the second in the series it is easy to pick up what had happened previously.
I think we all know of estates like the one in this book. I don't personally mix with people who are like the characters but they seemed believable.
Not sure about the Russian mafia, but there again I suppose they must be around.
I felt sorry for the family of the missing boy, he is example of how people who are different can be marginalised, bit like Mal
I think we all know of estates like the one in this book. I don't personally mix with people who are like the characters but they seemed believable.
Not sure about the Russian mafia, but there again I suppose they must be around.
I felt sorry for the family of the missing boy, he is example of how people who are different can be marginalised, bit like Mal
March 8, 2022
Received this arc from the publisher. Although it wasn’t my cup of tea, there was a lot of drugs and racial slurs but that’s part of the novel itself, and the plot was good. I was hoping for some more character development however upon research I have discovered I was yet to read the first book, didn’t realise it was a part 2.
Good novel nevertheless
Good novel nevertheless
April 6, 2022
I enjoyed the first in this series, but loved this second one. Mal and Jackie definitely grow on you. If you like your mysteries a bit on the grim side (but not stupid serial killer stuff), with endearingly eccentric detectives who care about people (well, Mal does, and even Jackie, in his own strange way), and an atmospheric setting, then give this series a go.
March 20, 2022
absolutely loved this.
Full review here
https://www.fullofabook.co.uk/incy-wincy
Full review here
https://www.fullofabook.co.uk/incy-wincy
March 22, 2022
Received the ARC from the publisher, and quite enjoyed it. Probably would have been better if I’d read the first book in the series, but that’s my fault. A quick read 😊
March 25, 2022
I read this in one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it.
April 1, 2022
Another tour de force in Yorkshire, RJ has done it again, it just didn't last long enough, finished it in 3 days (not being able to put it down may have had something to do with that!).
April 20, 2022
Enjoyed the book ,enjoyed the characters and enjoyed the plot , good build up to a surprise ending very readable.
March 9, 2022
I received a review copy from the publisher.
Review in progress...
Review in progress...
May 5, 2022
I was originally given a free copy of this before the release date but found out it was the second in the series. I read the first book before this and glad I did as it would of been difficult to understand parts as it mentions things that happened in book 1.
Really like the characters Mal and Jackie hope there is more of these books to come
Really like the characters Mal and Jackie hope there is more of these books to come
May 4, 2022
Received an ebook ARC from the publisher.
Not my cup of tea, I didn’t actually finish it. I didn’t engage with the characters and felt it was a bit jarring the way they were constantly using each other’s names in conversation. I’ve given it a 3/5 because I didn’t love it didn’t hate it.
Not my cup of tea, I didn’t actually finish it. I didn’t engage with the characters and felt it was a bit jarring the way they were constantly using each other’s names in conversation. I’ve given it a 3/5 because I didn’t love it didn’t hate it.
December 29, 2022
I am sorry to say this book just wasn't for Me.
To give its due it did have a good storyline with a number of twists ,turns and surprising revelations.
I am sure others will enjoy it immensely.
My thanks to Book network for the arc copy, of which this is my honest unbiased review
To give its due it did have a good storyline with a number of twists ,turns and surprising revelations.
I am sure others will enjoy it immensely.
My thanks to Book network for the arc copy, of which this is my honest unbiased review
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