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The Nudge Man (Harrison Vaughan – 1) by Keith Nixon

A washed up reporter, an escaped convict, a sociopathic gangster. All are hunting The Nudge Man…

Wheelchair bound, born again, ex-gangster, Eric Hennessey offers down on his luck reporter, Harrison Vaughan, a job. Find The Nudge Man, a mysterious vigilante who’s stolen most of Hennessey’s money, ill-gotten gains which now Hennessey wants to use to do God’s work. Trouble is, Harry has no desire to work for a sociopathic murderer, even if he is an apparently changed man.

Harry is estranged from his family, he hasn’t seen or heard from them in over five years, since a fabricated scandal destroyed his career. Harry believes his wife walked out on him and took the children. However, Hennessey tells Vaughan it was The Nudge Man who set him up for the fall. Find The Nudge Man and Harry has the chance for redemption and maybe even his family back.

However, Hennessey has another objective in mind. Unknown to Harry his family were taken into witness protection and had to cut ties with everyone after Harry’s son saw a murder – carried out by Eric Hennessey. But the witness protection programme was compromised and the Vaughans had to go off the grid, they couldn’t contact anybody. Hennessey has been looking for them ever since and now may have a way in – Harry himself.

Harry’s search begins in prison, visiting violent criminal Pomfrey Lavender – apparently Lavender has information which will help. But Lavender is suffering various medical problems, including a psychological condition whereby he believes he’s already dead. Harry’s mention of The Nudge Man sends Lavender into a rage and he threatens to kill Harry should he pursue his objective. Harry is relieved Lavender is behind bars. Trouble is, two days later Lavender breaks out.

And others are on the trail of The Nudge Man, including the British government and an American secret service agent. Then there’s the lawyer who offers Harry £1m. All Harry has to do is stay away from The Nudge Man.

With more questions than answers and hapless guard dog, Bonzo at his side who’s bark is definitely worse than his bite, Harry begins his search.

Can Harry find The Nudge Man and save his family? Or will Hennessey exact his revenge?

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Praise for The Nudge Man

“Packed with the author’s trademark wit, The Nudge Man is a seriously good, mind-bendingly twisty novel, and cements Nixon’s place among the upper echelon of British crime writers.”
M.W. Craven, author of the Washington Poe Novels.

What Readers Say

‘A great story that unfolded at a perfect pace.’

‘The twists and turns keep one gripped and the ending, totally unexpected, will knock your socks off.’

‘A black comedy crime thriller with a difference.’

‘If you want to give someone the gift that keeps on giving, buy them a copy of The Nudge Man.’

‘A fantastic read with some great characters.’

‘Highly recommended 5 stars.’

About the Author

Keith Nixon is a British born writer of crime and historical fiction novels. Originally he trained as a chemist, but Keith is now in a senior sales role for a high-tech business.

Keith currently lives with his family in the North West of England. His novels are published by Bastei Lubbe & Gladius Press.

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My Review

5 Stars

Harrison, Harry, Vaughan is a discredited journalist that believes his wife divorced him and left because of it. But things are about to change for him with former gangster Eric Hennessey offers him the job of finding The Nudge Man. Eric tells Harry that The Nudge Man is the one that caused Harry’s downfall. So Harry goes looking and finds a lot of people are looking for The Nudge Man, some willing to offer a lot of money for Harry to walk away.

But this is not some simple investigation. It seems Eric knows more about Harry’s family than first though. He is looking for them himself and knows why they disappeared. He is planning on using Harry to get them. The question is if Harry is going to find The Nudge Man and if he can really get his family back.

This is a great, action packed story that kept me on the edge of my seat. At first I felt for Harry thinking his wife left over the scandal. But when you find out what really happened I was hoping that he could get back together. I was really draw into the whole Nudge Man. There were so many possibilities that they could have been and I was completely thrown when I learned the truth.

This is a great thriller that will keep you flipping pages until the end. This is only my second book from author Keith Nixon but I will be checking out his other books. I can’t wait to see what trouble Harry gets himself into next.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank Book on the Bright Side for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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Waiting for Fitz by Spencer Hyde

Addie loves nothing more than curling up on the couch with her dog, Duck, and watching The Great British Baking Show with her mom. It’s one of the few things that can help her relax when her OCD kicks into overdrive. She counts everything. All the time. She can’t stop. Rituals and rhythms. It’s exhausting.

When Fitz was diagnosed with schizophrenia, he named the voices in his head after famous country singers. The adolescent psychiatric ward at Seattle Regional Hospital isn’t exactly the ideal place to meet your soul mate, but when Addie meets Fitz, they immediately connect over their shared love of words, appreciate each other’s quick wit, and wish they could both make more sense of their lives.

Fitz is haunted by the voices in his head and often doesn’t know what is real. But he feels if he can convince Addie to help him escape the psych ward and everything will be okay. If not, he risks falling into a downward spiral that may keep him in the hospital indefinitely.

Waiting for Fitz is a story about life and love, forgiveness and courage, and what’s necessary to let go and learning what is truly worth waiting for.

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About the Author

Spencer Hyde spent three years of his high school experience visiting Johns Hopkins for severe OCD. He feels particularly suited to write Waiting for Fitz because he’s lived through his protagonists’ obsessions.

Spencer worked at a therapeutic boarding school before earning his MFA in Utah and his PhD in Texas, specializing in fiction. He wrote Waiting for Fitz while working as a Teaching Fellow in Denton, Texas. He is currently an assistant professor of English at Brigham Young University.

Stories have a way of changing lives—Spencer learned that the first time he picked up a Tom Stoppard play and realized that words can nudge the world and build bridges to hope.

Spencer and his wife, Brittany, are the parents of four children. They love to hike, read, watch movies, fly-fish, and bake.

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My Review

4 stars

Addie has OCD and it has been making her life difficult. She is sent to the psych ward at the Seattle Regional Hospital. While in group sessions she meets Fitz who suffers from schizophrenia. They connect and start having feelings for each other. Fitz then asks Addie to help him escape the hospital.

This is one of those stories that if you read it for the story it is enjoyable. I felt for both Addie and Fitz with their mental illnesses. I think it does a great job of introducing the different illnesses to readers along with how others tend to view them. Although it seemed that the illness became the definition of the person instead of the person being an individual.

But if you look at it from a realistic point things start falling apart. I doubt a lot of this would really take place, especially knowing insurance doesn’t pay for anything near this. I also doubt staff would let a budding relationship between two patients start.

Over all this is a good read. It’s one that introduces some mental illnesses and the struggles those that suffer go through.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.

I would like to thank Shadow Mountain Publishing for the opportunity to read and share this book.

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