Source: Purchased copy
Publication: 8 Feb 2018 from Orion
Don’t look for me.
It was a simple instruction. And for six long years Carter Blake kept his word and didn’t search for the woman he once loved. But now someone else is looking for her.
He’ll come for you.
Trenton Gage is a hitman with a talent for finding people – dead or alive. His next job is to track down a woman who’s on the run, who is harbouring a secret many will kill for.
Both men are hunting the same person. The question is; who will find her first?
I don’t really know why I have been so resistant to trying a Carter Blake book. I suspect that, deep down, I had a completely irrational view that these are what I would loosely term ‘boys books’.
Which only goes to show what a complete doozy I am. Because I loved Carter Blake and the storyline was perfectly pitched for some adrenalin fuelled high action escapism with a side helping of emotional quotient thrown in.
This was a dream to read. Pitched headlong into the action, I soon knew all I need to about Carter Blake’s backstory and from then on it was a huge adventure filled read with action packed sequences, characters you struggled to trust and brilliantly for me, two women at the forefront of the action with brains and ability who made a perfect accompaniment to the Carter Blake main dish.
Carter Blake has many reasons for staying off the grid. He’s also the cause of his ex-girlfriend Carol Langford having to make a hasty exit out of town some six years ago and she hasn’t been seen since. All that Carter knows is that she left him a note with four short words – ‘don’t look for me.’
So when, out of the blue, he gets an e-mail from journalist turned novelist Sarah Blackwell which puts him back on Carol’s trail, there’s a lot he needs to think about. Not least of which is whether he is prepared to ditch one of his cardinal rules -always work alone. What follows is a fast paced, rip-roaring story beautifully told and with a host of villains for Blake to deal with along the way as both he and hitman Trenton Gage race to find their quarry.
I really got into this book and it was a one day read for me; just perfect for enjoyment purposes. I especially liked the journalist Sarah – and I’d hope that we might meet her again one day…?
So I won’t be making the same mistake again. Carter Blake books are now firmly on my agenda. Fortunately, there’s another one coming soon…I can’t wait.
About Mason Cross
Mason Cross is the author of the Carter Blake thriller series published by Orion. The first book, The Killing Season, was published in 2014, and was followed by The Samaritan, The Time to Kill (titled Winterlong in the USA), and Don’t Look For Me.
Mason Cross’s short crime stories have been published in magazines including Ellery Queen and First Edition. His story, ‘A Living’, was shortlisted for the Quick Reads ‘Get Britain Reading’ Award.
The Killing Season was longlisted for the 2015 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award, and The Samaritan was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club for Spring 2016.
The 5th Carter Blake book Presumed Dead is published in April 2018
Follow Mason on 
@MasonCrossBooks
Live and Deadly 