In my opinion "Harm" written by Hugh Fraser is an utterly mind blowing thriller that really hits the spot!! It's gritty, hard hitting, often brutal and with a really thrilling story line I was hooked from the first shocking pages. This explosive story is about Rina Walker a paid assassin who is hired to kill a drug dealer in Mexico, but when the deal goes drastically wrong, things go from bad to worse not knowing who to trust or rely on and we are taken on a seriously wild ride of violence, action and murder! "What makes an innocent girl become a contract killer?" - considering how resilient and tough she has become through her brutal upbringing it's a typical example of nature v nurtured with Rina's learned behaviour being explicitly nurtured. However, I really admired Rina, she's such a likeable bad ass, sexy, strong, nothing scares her and she knows exactly how to get what she wants using mind or body! I love books that have a couple of timelines running through them and I particularly liked reading about Rina's younger years where I felt really strong emotions. The two stories intertwined seamlessly and balanced the story perfectly. Hugh's vivid descriptions of people, living conditions and places are outstanding, and with his expressive and hard hitting writing prose this makes the book so much harder to put down. I've taken so much to Rina I can't wait to read the second in the series "Threat" and I understand there's a third "Malice" coming out this year. It's very hard to believe this is a first novel - (Hugh Fraser is better known as TV's Captain Hastings in David Suchet's Poirot) - Hugh has done exceptionally well writing this book and has gone on to now be recognised as a fantastic crime writer. With a stunning photographic cover showing the two different ages of Rina this is a brilliantly printed book published by Urbane Publications that I can't recommend highly enough. An amazing 5 stars!

Absolutely brilliant novel, top-notch, I loved it! I could not put it down - it really transports one into the world of the novel and one feels for and feels connected to the characters and I am looking forward to reading Malice and Threat. I love how the chapters alternate with different time periods - the 50's and the 70's. The description of London in the 1950's is insightful, powerful and thought-provoking. The novel is gripping, enthralling, invigorating, exciting and a poignant pleasure to read. Hugh Fraser is a very talented novelist and he should write some more. The books would make great films or a TV series.

In my opinion "Harm" written by Hugh Fraser is an utterly mind blowing thriller that really hits the spot!! It's gritty, hard hitting, often brutal and with a really thrilling story line I was hooked from the first shocking pages. This explosive story is about Rina Walker a paid assassin who is hired to kill a drug dealer in Mexico, but when the deal goes drastically wrong, things go from bad to worse not knowing who to trust or rely on and we are taken on a seriously wild ride of violence, action and murder! "What makes an innocent girl become a contract killer?" - considering how resilient and tough she has become through her brutal upbringing it's a typical example of nature v nurtured with Rina's learned behaviour being explicitly nurtured. However, I really admired Rina, she's such a likeable bad ass, sexy, strong, nothing scares her and she knows exactly how to get what she wants using mind or body! I love books that have a couple of timelines running through them and I particularly liked reading about Rina's younger years where I felt really strong emotions. The two stories intertwined seamlessly and balanced the story perfectly. Hugh's vivid descriptions of people, living conditions and places are outstanding, and with his expressive and hard hitting writing prose this makes the book so much harder to put down. I've taken so much to Rina I can't wait to read the second in the series "Threat" and I understand there's a third "Malice" coming out this year. It's very hard to believe this is a first novel - (Hugh Fraser is better known as TV's Captain Hastings in David Suchet's Poirot) - Hugh has done exceptionally well writing this book and has gone on to now be recognised as a fantastic crime writer. With a stunning photographic cover showing the two different ages of Rina this is a brilliantly printed book published by Urbane Publications that I can't recommend highly enough. An amazing 5 stars!