Wednesday, February 4, 2026

All or None by Clive Fleury (Spotlight, review, and GIVEAWAY) GFT

 


All or None

by 

Clive Fleury

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GENRE: Cozy Mystery

 

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BLURB:

 

Returning to Sydney, Detective Ramesh Ryan is promoted to the Homicide Squad. Zoe Yang joins him there. Now a detective herself, she is assigned as his junior partner. Straight up, the cops are off and running—investigating the discovery of a murdered company director. Following the clues, Detective Ryan finds that this and a second murder may be linked to past events.

 

As the pressure mounts for a quick solution to the case, the detective finds that he too, is in the killer’s crosshairs. But Ryan is distracted from the investigation by a romantic encounter with an old university friend. He also worries about his mother, Mumta, and her new obsessive desire for grandchildren from her only son. Could this be linked to her recent medical tests? And there’s another pressing problem—the plague of rats in his apartment block.

 

Detective Ryan’s hands are well and truly full.

 

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EXCERPT

 

Arriving in Sydney’s city center, Tommy parked. “Come back here when you’re finished,” he instructed the passengers before they disembarked to join the other protestors.

 

After everyone left, the reluctant driver ate the chicken and avocado sandwich his wife had made, lay across the back seat, and closed his eyes for a nap. 

When he awoke, the march was ending. The crowd was dispersing, and people were heading home. 

 

Tommy picked up his camera. Anne had reminded him to take a picture, which she would use to advertise the Transit van’s services. He attached it to a tripod and then joined the passengers lined up along the side of the truck for a group photo.

 

After that, Tommy set off at high speed, ignoring the rain that was now hurtling down. He was desperate to get back to see the end of the match, so it was only twenty minutes later that the van reached the top of Clifton Hill and began its descent.

 

The van picked up too much speed; Tommy tried to brake as the vehicle skidded on the wet, greasy bitumen. Passengers’ screams rent the air as the Transit spun around and out of control. It finally left the road, gliding across silky grass before plunging over the cliff into the angry, foaming ocean waters below.

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Clive Fleury is an award-winning writer of books and screenplays and has worked all over the world as a Film/TV director, writer and producer. He has written six books, most recently 'All Or None', the second novel in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series.

 

All Or None sees Detective Ryan back in the thick of things. His latest investigation into a mysterious death couldn’t come at a worse time. He discovers his mother is hiding a troubling secret and is further sidetracked by a new romance. Fans of who dunnit's, crime thrillers, and cop and detective stories will love this novel. 

 

Clive's other books include 'Off Season' - book one in the Detective Ryan Murder Mystery series; 'Kill Code' - a dystopian science fiction novel set in a world facing climate change;  ‘Scary Lizzy’  - a novel about an eight year old girl, who befriends an African child ghost –  and the teen action adventure book; ‘The Boy Next Door ‘ -  a story of what happens when a teenage girl has a crush on her next door neighbor, who isn’t all he seems.  He also co-wrote ‘Art Pengriffin and The Curse of The Four’ - a young adult fantasy adventure about a teenage boy who discovers his father was Merlin the Magician.

 

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GIVEAWAY

Enter to win a $20 Amazon/BN gift card


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My review:

4 stars

 

All or None by Clive Fleury is part of the ‘Detective Ryan mystery series’ and features Ryan and his new partner, Agnes, as they adjust to working together in a different location with different colleagues. Dealing with a mounting body count, unsupportive colleagues, and a boss who wants immediate results, the pair struggles to find a harmonious working relationship and decipher the clues before time runs out.

 

This is an entertaining contemporary suspense story that doles out pertinent clues, offers lots of red herrings, and shifts through multiple points of view. The story starts a little slow and builds up momentum just like the runaway van described in the opening. I enjoyed the glimpses of Ryan’s personal life and his strong connection to his mom, but wished for a bit more in-depth revelations about some of the other characters. Although the main storyline is resolved, there are a few dangling threads that piqued my interest, and I was disappointed that they will remain a mystery, at least for now. I was fascinated by the variety of murder techniques employed, but a bit overwhelmed by the myriad of voices that had brief appearances. Nonetheless, this was a fun read, and a great glimpse of life in a different part of the world.

 

A copy of this story was provided for review


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