Flowers from the Black Sea by A.B. Decker

 Flowers from the Black Sea

by A.B. Decker

Flowers from the Black Sea by A.B. Decker was published on 28th March 2024 by  The Book Guild Ltd. 

My thanks to the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review and to Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the tour.

Tasked by Ben, an old friend, to locate a man in Turkey, private investigator Matt Quillan soon finds himself out of his depth when he has a flash drive thrust on him by a stranger who is arrested by armed officers shortly afterwards. When Ben reveals that his mission is to avenge the murder of his sister, the conjunction of this assignment along with the flash drive burning a hole in Matt’s pocket puts them both – along with holidaymaker Amber – in mortal danger. As the case lands Matt in the crosshairs of a local mobster, it is not only Ben’s search for vengeance which is left hanging in the balance.

My Review

I was drawn into the story line straight away from the minute Rekan , a complete stranger, slips Matt a USB stick on a bus to Southern Turkey and tells him to give it to Murat before being taken away by the gendarme.  

There are so many questions that arise, and in many cases keep playing on your mind ,as you read the story that you will find it is difficult to put down. What is on the USB stick and who is Murat ? Who is the man with the red worry beads and why is he watching Matt and Amber ? Why does Ben want Matt to locate Ahmet and what will happen when he  does ? All these questions and more pull you into this ever developing story and in Matt and Amber’s case into a dangerous world that they may have been better leaving well alone. In a world , or underworld , of organised crime and characters you would definitely not want to be involved with Flowers from the Black Sea draws you into a story of crime , vengeance and danger in such a way that you will find it difficult to put the book down until you have finished it, and if you do you will still be mulling everything over in your head as to what is going to happen next and are Matt and Amber safe.

A.B Decker is one of those authors who I come across for the first time that then leave me hungry for more of their books. Flowers from the Black Sea is his second book and I have now just ordered his first book, The Dark Frontier . I am hoping that there will soon be more as he has the ability to tell a story that develops like a spiderweb with ease and trepidation pulling you deeper into the lives of the characters and the plot until you feel as though you are there with them, watching over your shoulder for a man playing with red worry beads.

About the Author

A native of Exeter, A.B. Decker studied at Newcastle, Bristol and London. He worked as a teacher in Germany for a year, then as a translator in the UK for eight years, before moving with his young family to work for a multinational company in Switzerland, where he eventually set up his own business. Flowers from the Black Sea is his second novel. His first, The Dark Frontier, was published in 2021.