This is the fourth book that I have read by A.P. Martin and I have thoroughly enjoyed each one. The stories are well constructed, flowing smoothly through various sub-plots to exciting finishes. This is also the second book in his Clavel & Snow series, the first ‘Sentence Of Death‘ I reviewed in July 2018.

Death of an Asylum Seeker is as good as the previous three. Martin has again used his established characters Sam Snow and Olivia Clavel in his familiar setting of Tyneside with, of course, a little bit of Switzerland thrown in for good measure. The easy to follow plot revolves around the contemporary issues of asylum and racism, with a few references to Brexit. There is another issue that has frequently been in the news during the last year which I cannot detail here without spoiling the plot.

Most crime novels have a possible six to eight culprits. I read quite a few so statistically I should be able guess correctly at least once every seven books but I rarely do. This time I impressed myself by choosing the right suspect although I was wrong on the motive.

Most of the book is written in the first person, told from the perspectives of Sam and Olivia. Each section is clearly marked so that we know whose head we are occupying. A.P. Martin writes in a fairly formal style and some of his descriptions can be a little dated which is fine for an older audience but I’m not sure how that would sit with younger readers. Like many good thriller writers he could be better at describing romance but fortunately he keeps such detail to a minimum.

The text is generally easy to read but to my mind there are far too many commas which can make some sentences a little awkward to comprehend. By the time I finished the book I was ignoring all commas and letting my brain subconsciously translate the text.

The author is to be applauded for self-publishing his books and marketing them at the attractive prices of £7.99 for the paperback and just 99p for the e-book. He is making nothing out of the venture so what excuse can we have for not giving Death of an Asylum Seeker a try. Even with all those commas I have still awarded four and a half stars.

About the Author

I hail from the North of England and, since taking early retirement from my academic post, I’ve really enjoyed immersing myself in reading and writing. Essentially, I read purely for pleasure and my single goal in writing, is to produce books that people will thoroughly enjoy as a ‘cracking story.’

My first two novels are historical fiction, a genre which, in my view, almost always benefits from a close connection to something that actually happened. The inspiration for my first two books, Codename Lazarus and Spy Trap, came from little known, but truly incredible events from the Second World War. It gave me huge pleasure to adapt the courageous actions of two unsung heroes, into what, I hope, readers have experienced as exciting thrillers.

My third novel, Sentence of Death, represents an exciting new direction for me. It’s a crime thriller, set on Tyneside in the summer of 2016. Strangely, the basic framework for this book also comes from a real event in Gateshead at that time. I’ve always been a bit of a fan of crime fiction, and I do hope that readers of this book will agree that I’ve created an original plot for their entertainment.

Currently, I’m working on my fourth book, which will be the second in the Clavel and Snow Crime Series, set in the North East. I also have a firm plan to return to the more familiar territory of the Second World War with another virtually unknown, but extremely important story of bravery, which I will try to adapt into a thrilling adventure story.

What did you think of Death of an Asylum Seeker? Share your thoughts in the comment section below!