[Book Review]: The Fatal Formula by Malcolm Havard (The Aidan Hughes Series Book 2)

About the Book

Genre: True Crime, Thriller, Noir

Publisher: Northodox Press

Release Date: 21st October 2023

Aidan Hughes is a wanted man, for a murder he didn’t commit, and now Manchester’s most ruthless gangster wants him dead.

Fresh from his confrontation with The Honey Talker, Aidan seeks anonymity in Ireland, and has settled into a cosy life with girlfriend, Roisin. But when an old colleague, Suzie Regen, reaches out in desperation, he is pulled into a new mystery.

Rumours of a chemist with a penchant for poison and contract killing draw Aidan back into the dark underbelly of Manchester to face this deadly new foe. But has he met his match? And can survive this fatal game?

About the Author

Malcolm grew up in Sheffield, has lived and worked in Australia and the Middle-East but now lives in Cheshire, England. He is a prolific and award-winning author who writes both novels and short fiction. He has, in the past, worked in a variety of genres.
Despite the variety, all have a similar DNA containing strong, often flawed but believable characters and telling great stories. His current body of work include the mountaineering thriller, The Last Mountain, a 1950s Spy novel, Contrail and Touched, a haunting novel about love and loneliness.
He has now found a niche writing historical fiction usually with an aviation background but also writes historical crime fiction.

Website: https://www.malcolmhavard.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MalHavardWriter

My review

5* Stars

The second book in Malcolm Havard’s hard-boiled thriller/noir series set in Manchester (rightfully nicknamed “GUN-Chester” in the late ‘90s) brings a reader back to Aidan Hughes and his unfinished business with Mickey Smith, the most notorious gangster in the city. Aidan, a former journalist and now a wanted man for a murder he didn’t commit, has no choice but to return to the crime capital of the North from his cosy and relatively safe life in rural Ireland to prove his innocence and find out why one of his former colleagues and close friends has betrayed him.

Aidan has no time, though, as Mickey Smith craves vengeance and, this time, it seems like he’s got an even more powerful weapon to use. Now, Aidan needs to team up with his friend Suzie Regen and her new colleague, a young journalist, Paul Adeyemi to solve a new mystery of Der Chemiker, a poisoner whose skills Mickey Smith uses to keep his victims under control and his dirty business going.

The Fatal Formula is a rare occasion when I enjoyed the second book more than the first one (hence, my 5-star review). The pace is fast and well-balanced, just as required for a good thriller. The author brings a few more characters to the plot that makes it even more intricate and twisty with more back story to follow. Aidan shows his new, gritty, more stubborn but confident side.

The book ends on a cliffhanger (sort of) which I absolutely love as it promises more of Aidan’s adventures in the next one. As well as in the first book of the series (The Honey Talker) I enjoyed the northern flavour of the story with accented dialogues and true northern slang.

I highly recommend The Fatal Formula to all fans of crime fiction and fast-paced thrillers with a hint of history.

To read my review of The Honey Talker click this link:

[Book Review]: The Honey Talker by Malcolm Havard

Purchase Links:

Nothodox Press:

https://www.northodox.co.uk/malcolm-havard