Blog Tour: Murder By The Bottle by Ed Whitfield

Today is my stop on the blog tour for the brilliant Murder By The Bottle by Ed Whitfield! Thanks to Lizzie at Red Door Press for sending me a review copy of this darkly compelling read.

Keir Rothwell is an angry young man.

Spurned by his lover and mentor and ejected from his art school, he is lost – but determined this will not be the end of his artistic endeavours.

A new job in a local wine shop gives Keir a creative outlet – a chance to turn shop floor drudgery into an original work of art. But his wine critiques mock the shop’s clientele and tension builds on both sides of the counter.

When his new project is threatened, conflict becomes murder and long buried secrets threaten to destroy the artist. But Keir Rothwell will not be undone.

The story follows Keir Rothwell, a man down on his luck in life. Jilted by his lover and removed from his art school for inappropriate work he gets a job in a local wine store where he intends to put his artistic tendencies to good use. But as his new project is threatened tensions give way to conflict, and conflict soon gives way to murder...

Keir is an incredibly compelling narrator. I haven't read many books from the perspective of the 'villain' before, and it's an intriguing take, because of course the villain thinks they're in the right - that they deserve sympathy and that their cause is justified. The narrative is so tautly written that it kept my attention throughout, constantly on edge wondering what Keir was going to do next. There were times where I wanted to look away but I just couldn't. 

Murder By The Bottle is a darkly satirical insight into the mind of a psychopath. Their thought processes, what makes them tick, and what finally drives them over the edge. I genuinely had nightmares about a serial killer being in my house after reading this!

For more content on this brilliant book, check out the other lovely bloggers taking part in the tour!