Fantastic read! Borrowed Time is a book that you not so much read as feel creep on you. It's violent, harsh, ugly. It's full of blood and crime. But it's also full of love, although not always 'the usual kind' between man and woman.

A bit slow. Prose adequate.

More of a soap opera than a mystery or noir.

Endless exposition and description.

Adam is utterly unsympathetic, with a truly boring life.

I can't see plowing through this any more, sorry.

DNF

Portsmouth 2007. Adam Nunn has a complicated life. A two year old daughter - Tilly who he loves. Her mother Grace is a friend. He lives with Zara and her two children Selena and Jordan. Adam has a criminal record and still works occasionally illegally.
His father is dying, his mind often confused. He tells Adam he was adopted but nothing more. His mother tells him his father is mistaken.
Adam has done some work for a private investigator - Larry Paris. Adam has given him 3000 pounds to find who his birth mother is. However Larry is found dead, tortured and his body cut into pieces in a lake in Dedham Vale, Essex. This used to be a dumping ground for bodies by the Jardine gang. Old man Jardine is seriously ill. His daughter Alison runs the business together with her ineffectual son - Tim, her lover Jimbo and the brutally scarred Irons.
Is Adam the son of a Gangster? He decides to confront the Jardines. Is this the worst mistake of his life?
I enjoy the author's Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy series, which currently has eight books. He also has written three standalone, this is the fourth. I enjoyed this book. Recommended as a good involved read. I will post a review on Amazon on the date of publication.

Adam is shocked when his father, who has dementia, tells him that he was adopted. This revelations changes his life, and that of his partners and children, in more ways than one. The game is on when the investigator he hired to find his birth parents is murdered. The can of worms- there's a gangland connection in his history, a nasty one. Oddly, one of the most interesting characters in this well written mystery is Iron, a criminal hitman to be sure whose face was melted with a blow torch. He knows what happened and he not only wants revenge for Adam's mother, he wants to insure Adam is ok. There are some Nast people to there. It's a good, atmospheric read that offers up a view of 70s criminal gangs. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Adam Nunn is a sometime debt collector with a less than stellar record. His efforts to get his life together are sidetracked when his dying father, in one of the old man's frequent moments of confusion, seems to say that Adam was adopted. Mrs. Nunn refuses to confirm or deny her husband's ramblings. No discussion--Subject closed.

It all becomes something of an obsession for Adam so he recruits a private detective to investigate the issue... A private detective who is later found murdered and mutilated at a spot well known for body dumping. All signs point to an infamous crime family who seem to be closely linked to Adam's own past.

Borrowed Time by David Mark brings to life a handful of characters that could easily have become tired old cliches in lesser hands. It took a few chapters for me to really engage with the story, once I did and things really got going I was surprised (and a little smug) at how easy it was to figure it all out; right up until the time it went in a completely different direction and twisted into an ending that was unexpected yet not the least bit contrived. Well done!

A decent mystery with good characters. Not suitable for sensitive readers. There is adult language and situations. Some graphic descriptions of violence.

***I received a free digital copy of this title in exchange for an honest review.

How a search for your roots can turn into a nightmare.

Adam Nunn is a troubled man living in Portsmouth with his girlfriend, Zara, a single parent with two children. They are relatively happy together although Adam had recently had a child with his good friend, Grace, after a one night stand when they both got drunk. This sums up Adam, he seems to trail through life never really settling to anything. He had dropped out of university, where he had first met Grace, not really settled to any particular job and had minor skirmishes with the law.

The story starts when his father, now suffering from dementia, suddenly announces to Adam that he was adopted. Adam hires a private investigator, Larry Paris, to try and discover his real parents. Still, when Larry is found dead in the middle of a part of Essex notorious for being a previous dumping ground for the Jardine family, associates of the Krays and the Richardson families, Adam’s life is turned upside down.

The patriarch of the Jardine family, Francis is now old and feeble, and his business is being taken over by his daughter, Alison and her sidekick, a terribly scarred man known as Irons. As Adam and Grace start to investigate further they uncover a story of a young teenager, Pamela, taken in by the Jardine family was attacked and raped by a man called Tommy Dozzle while at a birthday party at the Jardine’s country house.

Is this Adam’s real mother and was Tommy really the guilty party? Adam becomes more involved in the lives of people friendly to the Jardines, many of them unsavoury people in places of responsibility who have their various misdemeanours covered up because of their association with this family.

Although this was well plotted and well written, the story just did not really resonate with me. I am not a fan of gangland type stories, and I did not feel any real sympathy towards Adam, who almost seemed a victim of his own dithering attitude to life. I also found some of the descriptions of the brutality a bit too much for my taste.

Dexter
Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review

Freed from the constraints of writing a crime series, David Mark goes from strength to strength, plunging into the darkest corners of humanity in this unforgettable character driven crime novel. It begins in 2007 with the discovery of the dismembered body of Portsmouth PI Larry Paris in Dedham Vale, Essex, the place once associated with the disposal of bodies by Franco Jardine, the once notorious and feared gangland leader. Adam Nunn has a complicated personal life, he loves the woman he lives with, Zara, and her children, Selena and Jordan, but has a young daughter, Tilly, with his closest friend, Grace. Close to his family, his world is shattered when his dementia suffering father in a mean and nasty mood lashes out, informing he is adopted, a matter his mother refuses to address.

This is not something he could forget as he paid Paris to find his biological parents, but never heard back from him. Adam is pulled in by the police, Paris had his national insurance number on his hand, but soon released. He is helped by Grace in his search for his real parents, bringing him into the orbit of Alison Jardine, now boss of her father's criminal enterprises and her chief enforcer/hitman, Iron. Adam is knocked for six when he learns of the horrifying circumstances in 1971 that led to his birth, having him question his identity, trapped in a endless circle of worrying whether he has been shaped more by his evil father or his beautiful compassionate mother. The loyal and monstrous Iron, his face melting from being tortured with a blowtorch, has to know how much of his father is in Adam too as the past rears its ugly head with its secrets and unanswered questions.

It is Iron who steals the show and mesmerises in this riveting and compulsive piece of crime fiction. Mark's demonstrates just how good a writer he is in his portrayal of the complicated relationship, the highlight of the story for me, that develops between Iron and Adam. It would be so easy to judge Iron on the terrible things he has done, but there is so much more to him, in the few instances he loves, it means everything. Iron is a towering figure and presence, inspiring terror, yet compassionate, carrying out Franco's wishes right up to the end, wanting vengeance for Pamela, uncompromising once he makes the decision to transfer his love and commitment to her son. This is stellar crime fiction that I highly recommend and I just cannot wait to see where Mark goes next. Many thanks to Severn House for an ARC.

4.5 stars
We start with a body found in a remote place synonymous with where old London gangsters disposed of their victims. There are also similarities with the method of death and display. The only clue is a NI number scrawled on the victim's hand. That of Adam Nunn and it soon transpires that the victim is a Larry Paris, a private detective that Adam had contacted to find his birth parents. Could this be the reason he was killed though or is it an unfortunate coincidence? With Adam himself not a stranger to violence, fingers start to point his way too. Just exactly what can of worms has he opened up in his desperate yearning for the truth of his past and exactly how big the repercussion and fallout will be is nothing that Adam ever imagined when he set the ball rolling.
Well, this was the book that kept on giving. Delivering several body blows along the way as we followed Adam, his interesting personal life of two families, and each discovery into his past as he got closer to the truth. But remember the old adage, don't ask the questions if you don't want the answers. Well, that personifies what happens in this book. Adam wants to know where he came from but boy is he unprepared for what he finds.
With its root cemented in gangland, expect this book to be violent in places. It is definitely that but not for effect, the violence matches the narrative, brutal though it is, and is present pretty much all the way through. It's also chock full of a whole cast of colourful, often larger than life, characters who are all very well drawn and act their parts with aplomb. In amongst all the violence it's also quite cerebral in parts with violence going hand in hand with psychology and layers of characters being exposed as the plot thickens.
This is the third stand alone I have read by the author and despite saying this after every book, I have still yet to read his series. If only I had the time... I'm going to make a big effort to try and do this before he releases his next book but, well, you know how it is.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

The latest novel from David Mark, Borrowed Time, is seriously dark stuff. There were times when I felt I had entered the nightmare world of distorted humanity, shocking violence and suffering that was distilled into a kind of bleak poetry by Derek Raymond in such masterpieces as I Was Dora Suarez and The Devil's Home On Leave.

Adam Nunn is a decent enough fellow, but like all of us, he has made his mistakes. He lives with Zara, a struggling restaurant owner, but has a child of his own, Tilly, who lives with Grace, her mother. Adam has discovered that he is adopted, and has employed a fairly seedy private investigator to try to trace his birth parents.

When the investigator is found dismembered in a spot notorious for being the burial ground of many victims of old Essex gang wars, Adam is about to have an unpleasant surprise. On the (severed) hand of Larry Paris was a scrawled National Insurance number - and it is Adam's. The police think they have an instant suspect, but after a bruising initial encounter, they realise they have nothing with which to tie Adam to the killing

Adam Nunn lives in Portsmouth. And it is not a particularly fragrant place:

" A city drawn in charcoals and dirt: a place of suet-faced pensioners, of teenagers in baby clothes; of egg-shaped women and puddled men, big middles and conical legs."

His search for the truth about his identity leads him inexorably to an Essex gangster family, the Jardines. Alison is the daughter of ailing patriarch, Francis. She runs the firm and is not a woman much given to empathy with some of her Essex contemporaries:

"She likes to imagine all those golden-blond, size eight bitches, sobbing as they inject Botox into their foreheads and splurge their life savings on surgeries and rejuvination procedures; their skin puckering, spines beginning to curve, veins rising like lugworms on their shins and the backs of their age-mottled hands."

Neither is Alison's son Timmy someone for whom she has a great deal of conventional maternal affection.:

"He's an ugly, rat-faced little specimen who, at twenty years old, has yet to master the art of having a conversation without thrusting both hands down his jogging trousers and cupping his gonads. She loves him, but not in a way that makes her want to touch him, look at him, or spend time breathing him in."

Eventually Adam learns who his mother was, but the nature of his conception and the fate of his mother is just the start of the nightmare. The identity of his father is only revealed after a journey through the inferno, the flames of which threaten to consume him along with everyone else he holds close.

Along the way, Mark (right) introduces us to some loathsome individuals who have all played their part in Adam Nunn's terrible back story. There's local politician Leo Riley, for example:

"He knows that cash is an aphrodisiac. Power enough to loosen any pair of knickers. And fear a crowbar to stubborn legs."

Alison's fearsome minder, Irons, is a creature from hell:

"His face is a butcher's window, all pink and red, meat and offal: a rag-rug of ruined flesh. he still has to apply lotions five times a day to stop his cheeks tearing open when he laughs. Not that he laughs often. He's a quiet man. Hasn't engaged in much chit-chat since the brothers went to work on him with a bayonet, a blowtorch and a claw hammer."

There is compassion within the pages of Borrowed Time, but it is in short supply.  We don't just glimpse the worst of people, we come face to face with them, and close enough to smell their rancid graveyard breath. This is a brilliant and sometimes moving piece of storytelling, but within its pages the only redemption comes in death. Borrowed Time is published by Severn House and is out now.

I don't know why I let David Mark do this to me. I know bad things happen to bad people in his DS McAvoy series (Scorched Earth, Cold Bones) and other standalone books (Still Waters, A Rush of Blood), but good people are by no means immune from the horrors of crime and gang violence in his books either. I just wish he wouldn't make his characters so relatable and likeable in a way that leaves you approaching each development in each tense chapter of Borrowed Time, his latest standalone thriller, with a sense of trepidation about the danger they seem to have unwittingly got themselves into.

As far as Adam Nunn goes it seems to all go very wrong when he simply starts looking into his own origins, having discovered through an inadvertent comment from this Alzheimer's suffering father that he might have been adopted. Unfortunately the investigator and friend that he asked to look for his birth certificate has turned up in Dedham Vale, also known as Dead Mans Vale, an Essex location far away from Adam's home in Portsmouth. It's a location notoriously used by the Jardine family, a remnant from the old days of the East End gangs, a place where they would traditionally bury their problems, weighted down in water. Alison, the daughter currently in charge of the family operation thinks she's being set up and aims to fight back. There's going to be big trouble and it looks like Adam is going to be in the middle of it.

You have to sympathise with Adam. He isn't exactly an innocent, he's actually of a bit of a screw up with a history of unfortunate run-ins with the law and a few family complications that he probably hasn't handled all that well, but he's not unlikeable. It's not him you are worried for so much - although it looks like big trouble is heading his way - as much as it looks like those close to him are going to be collateral damage in this. They all seem lovely too, trying to help Adam, not realising what they are getting into. He has a young daughter, a new girlfriend and gets on well with her kids. You'd hate to see anything terrible happen to them but it doesn't look good when they make inquiries on his behalf, not so much opening up a can of worms as poking a stick around in a barrel of snakes.

As usual however, Mark has a way of living up to your expectations while at the same time overturning them. Halfway through Borrowed Time it seems like the main mystery over the identity of his parentage has been solved, even though Adam is not entirely pleased with what he finds out. By this stage however, Mark starts to make matters a little more nuanced and ambiguous and you begin to see characters in a different and more rounded way; the innocent maybe not so innocent, the apparent villains having something of a heart and a conscience, at least as far as looking after their own. It doesn't stop you anticipating that there is worse to come though.

What keeps you reading through the terror of never knowing what is coming next - although knowing David Mark the ending is almost guaranteed to be a major bloodbath - is the usual reliance on this author's ability to develop characters you can recognise and relate to in a gut wrenching way. The writing and dialogue flow with wit and insight, leading you inexorably down a path that is difficult to predetermine, other than for the fact that you know it's heading towards deep deep trouble and there's no way of stopping it coming. This is another terrific work from one of the best crime writers in the UK at the moment.

‘I’ve been covered in blood a lot of times, but it’s always warmer when it’s your own.’

A badly mutilated body has been discovered, in an area on the Essex borders which was once connected to a ruthless London gang in the 1970s. One of the victim’s hands is found nearby. The number scrawled on the palm is the National Insurance number of Adam Nunn, a struggling family man.
The dead man, Larry Paris, was a private investigator hired by Adam Nunn to find out the identity of Adam’s birth parents. Who would kill him, and why? What can I write about this story without introducing spoilers? Very little. But I can say that Larry Paris’s investigations had led him into some dangerous territory. Adam Nunn is determined to find out more.

There are two main characters in this novel: Adam Nunn, and Irons, as gangland enforcer. Both are seeking the truth. Others have secrets they’d prefer to keep hidden.

I picked this book up and couldn’t put it down. I found the character of Irons fascinating and almost impossible to read. The near impossibility of reading Irons, and the self-interest (of some characters) kept me turning the pages. What secrets would be revealed, and could Adam Nunn possibly be happy with the outcome?

This is the third of David Mark’s novels I’ve read, and I’ve not yet started on the McAvoy series. But I will. Highly recommended, if you enjoy gritty psychological thrillers.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

After reading some titles in the Aector MacAvoy series, I was curious about this one, because the blurb isn't very attractive. But, it's David Mark, so I decided to give it a try. I'm very happy I did this. Borrowed Time is a book that you not so much read as feel creep on you. It's violent, harsh, ugly. It's full of blood and crime. But it's also full of love, although not always 'the usual kind' between man and woman.
Words fail me to describe how I felt for Adam ánd for some of the other characters, especially Irons. If I had the words, I would be an excellent author myself. Since I'm not, I can only say that this book left me a little breathless, happy and sad at the same time.

4 stars for a dark mystery with a surprise ending. David Mark writes dark, gritty mysteries that are not for cozy mystery fans. One criminal has a horribly disfigured face after being tortured with a blowtorch. There are graphic descriptions of his face.
The mystery opens with the discovery of a dismembered body. The body is identified to be Larry Paris. He has a phone number written on his hand. It belongs to Adam Nunn. Adam had hired Larry, a private investigator, to find out who his biological parents are. Adam has only recently found out that he was adopted. Adam is taken in by the police for questioning. He initially refuses to explain his connection to Larry. He is consumed by guilt, worried that Larry stumbled onto something in his investigation that got Larry Killed. Adam has a complicated personal life. He lives with Zara and her 2 children. He has a child, Tilly, with Grace. He confides in Grace, and she starts researching the Jardine family. The police asked Alan if he was acquainted with any of the family.
Adam decides to meet with Alison Jardine and starts a chain of events that leads to more deaths.
Adam does discover who his real parents are.
One quote, describing the medical examiner: "He's not dull--he just manages to sound like he's reading a bedtime story, his words soft and perfectly enunciated, his pauses large enough to drive a truck through. He's got a lullaby of a voice, even as he's highlighting the parts of a post-mortem examination most likely to cause the listener's breakfast to make a U-turn."
This book is a stand alone and not part of the Aector McAvoy series. Thanks to Severn House Publishers for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#BorrowedTime #NetGalley

*4.5 stars *

When the badly mutilated body of Private Investigator Larry Paris is discovered in a pond at Dedham Vale, it leads to the most in-depth, and terrifying investigation, but most of all, it produces a riveting read.

Paris had been hired by Adam Nunns, an ordinary 30 something guy, to discover the identity of his birth parents, but neither of them had any idea just what a can of worms they were about to disturb, and the nightmare scenario that they would find themselves in.

This stand-alone from David Mark, immerses the reader in the very real and terrifying culture of gangland life, both in the present and the past. The cast of characters were really interesting, none more so than Irons, an old school gangster and hitman, who’s features would have most adults,( never mind children), running in the opposite direction, because when rival gangsters had finished with him, the results were truly horrifying.

Somehow though, this hard man has you onside at times - did I really just say that? That somehow sounds very wrong! ) but he does have a compassionate side to him, having said that, whilst you could say that none of us are completely black or white, it’s fair to say that we wouldn’t in a million years have committed the atrocities that he has! A terrific, heart pounding storyline, leads to a stunning unforeseen ending!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House Publishers for an advance copy of Borrowed Time, a stand alone thriller set in Essex and Portsmouth.

A body is found in Dedham Vale, mutilated and unrecognisable. It is finally identified as PI Larry Paris who has been hired by Adam Nunn to find his biological parents. Larry was investigating a local crime family and Adam gets pulled in to their world as he continues Larry’s investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed Borrowed Time although I did not expect to do so. I requested to read it on the strength of Mr Mark’s name without reading the synopsis and when I finally did I wasn’t particularly looking forward to it as I’m not particularly interested in the gangland culture. This, however, is a tour de force of characterisation with a real twist in the tail that will stun most readers. It held my attention throughout and I read it in one sitting.

The plot is quite difficult to discuss without spoilers as it hinges on one violent event. There are several characters interested in revealing the truth and several others more interested in keeping it and their secrets quiet. The truth is gradually teased out over the course of the novel but it’s not particularly straightforward as all these competing interests take their own actions in furtherance of their goals. That sounds more complicated than it is and it certainly makes for an interesting read. I think the real story, apart from the amazing twist at the end lies in the interaction between the characters.

There are two main characters in the novel, Adam Nunn and the gangland enforcer, Irons, who are both interested in the truth for different reasons. Adam is an ordinary Joe with a fairly happy go lucky nature and a sudden burning need to discover his origins. Irons, on the other hand, is a sinister, violent character with a much deeper psychology. He is a fascinating character, impossible to second guess and the reader never knows which way he will turn, be it to violence or compassion. It certainly keeps you on your toes and in suspense. I can’t stress enough how much his character makes the novel such an enthralling read.

Borrowed Time is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

This is a dark & intense story that proves evil doesn’t come with an expiry date. A family secret leads a young man to question everything he thought he knew about himself & ponder that old debate of nature vs. nurture. Are you the product of your childhood or your DNA?

Adam Nunn is an likeable 36 yr. old guy who has spent his life drifting between questionable jobs & relationships. His personal life is bit complicated. He has a daughter with Grace but lives with girlfriend Zara & her 2 kids. It doesn’t leave a lot of time for his aging parents. And visits have become increasingly difficult since his Dad’s dementia took hold. Especially the last one when his father casually mentioned Adam was adopted.

It’s a bombshell that rocks Adam’s world. He’s always been a people pleaser, at the expense of his own sense of self. Now he literally doesn’t know who he is. So Adam hires a shifty PI to search for his birth parents. And he might have got some answers if the investigator hadn’t ended up as landfill on property belonging to an infamous mobster.

This single event brings Adam to the attention of Alison Jardine, daughter & heir apparent to a man who’s ruled the area for decades. But she too, is dealing with an ailing father. Luckily, when she took over the family business she also inherited Irons, a hitman with a terrifying reputation.

Adam’s search for his identity goes screaming off the rails as soon as Alison enters his life. She has a story to tell that feeds his growing obsession to learn the truth. But as he becomes more involved in her world of casual violence, you begin to wonder if there are some things it’s just better not to know. Because this is not a story of happy families. It’s about how secrets only gain power as they fester over time.

We slowly learn about a chilling & poignant event that has haunted Alison, Irons & her father for decades. It has a profound effect on Adam as well & just a heads up, it’s not pretty. The author provides enough description to make you uncomfortable but never stoops to gratuitous detail. From this point, you become desperate for Adam to find the answers that hold the key to his identity.

Once again, Mark has crafted a tale that pulls you in with gripping plot lines & a cast that holds your attention. Some of them you’ll relate to while others are downright repugnant. At the centre of it all is Adam & as his life spiralled out of control, I couldn’t decide what he needed most…..a hug or a good thump upside the head. Of all the characters, I particularly enjoyed Irons. I expect if I saw him on the street I’d either run screaming in the other direction or faint. But as we spend time with him, you realize his persona masks an overwhelming sense of grief & regret.

And the ending? Well, I’m just going to throw down the gauntlet here & dare you to guess how this winds up. I paid attention the whole way through & never saw it coming. Like Adam, I felt like the rug got pulled out from beneath my feet & had to take a moment. This is the third stand alone book I’ve read by the author. The stories have been incredibly diverse but they all send the same message….this is a writer who is gleefully embracing his dark side.

Stark, tense, well plotted and seriously exciting, this is an excellent standalone thriller by an exceptionally gifted thriller writer.

He is better known for his excellent Hull-based procedurals but here he clearly demonstrates a keen knowledge of the London gang scene.

Exciting and visceral, this is one to grab!

240 pages

4 stars

Warning for gore and violence!

This is a great book about the world of gangsters and their code of “honor”/”ethics?”

A tough woman takes over the reins of the business for her father who is badly ailing. She has at her disposal a ruthless and scarred hitman. He is very good at what he does. He is also pining for a lost love. She was murdered several years earlier.

Adam Nunn is searching for his birth parents. Be careful what you wish for...He is very confused, especially when the private investigator he hired is viciously murdered – and he is suspect number one.

When these two worlds collide, the tension and drama is nearly nail-biting.

David Mark is a very talented writer. I did not like this book as much as “The Mausoleum.” It was a little too violent for my taste. Mr. Mark's wonderful writing overcame some of my squeamishness, however.

I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC and the discovery of David Mark!
I read Mausoleum and A Rush of Blood, both stunning reads in my humble opinion, and so is Borrowed Time.
Since I don't want to give anything away I'll just say that it was a fantastic read (again) with such a great cast of characters: the gangsters and the daughter who takes over from him, the wannabes, the cold hearted killer, the psychopaths and the much loved 15-year old girl who was brutally murdered and raped a long time ago. The protagonist is a young man at odds with himself, both in his personal life and his career. When he finds out his parents adopted him, his world tilts and he's obsessively looking for the truth. What he doesn't and does finds just about destroys him. Even when you think you have the answer, it changes and you end up with your mouth open ... What an ending!
I must add that the stone cold killer is one of the most interesting characters I've read; at once repulsive and heartbreaking.
Now I have the whole Aector McAvoy series to look forward to...
A resounding 5 stars and a Must Read!