The Blurb:
The body count is rising...and the clock is ticking.
When a young woman is attacked and left fighting to survive in hospital, the police are pulled into a race against time to save her life. But just 24 hours later, she dies and a deadly tattoo is discovered on her body.
And when another young woman disappears, Detective Francis Sullivan and his team fear a serial killer walks the streets of Brighton.
His team identify a suspect, Alex Mullins, son of Francis's lover, Marni. Can Francis forget their shared past and save the next victim before it is too late?
Her Last Breath was published by Trapeze on 6th February 2020 and is available from all usual retailers. Why not visit your local independent bookshop. Or online you could try Bert's Books, The Big Green Bookshop, or Hive (which will link to the nearest participating indie bookshop).
My Review:
It's great to see Marni Mullins again! I know Francis Sullivan is the main man, but I'm delighted that Marni is back too.
This is the follow up to The Tattoo Thief (you can see my review here) but can easily be read as a standalone. It's set in one of my favourite places, Brighton, and has a character called Suze (great name) in it - what's not to like!
Seventeen year old Tash Brady storms out of a nightclub following an argument with her boyfriend and heads towards home. Hours later he finds her with horrific injuries and a tattoo on her back. Her death sparks a murder investigation headed up by DI Francis Sullivan. And the chief suspect is Tash's boyfriend, Alex Mullins, who just happens to be Marni's son. And Marni and the DI have history.
Sullivan is a really interesting character. Promoted young, he's not always popular with his subordinates, particularly Rory. He has a solid Catholic faith and a strong moral compass. But tattoo artist Marni gets him hot under the collar.
I love Marni. She's feisty, fierce and full of attitude. She has a fair amount of baggage, some of which is teased out here in a charged sub plot. She has a pretty low opinion of the police and her feelings about Sullivan are...complicated. But it's fair to say she's far from impressed when the team get her son in their sights.
Is it wrong that I have a thing for Thierry? I've had it since the first book - I think it's the bad boy/French accent combo that does it!
As well as the current action, we see a few snapshots of a young girl growing up in the 80s and 90s, which I found really intriguing. Sad too. Back in the present, the team struggle to get ahead, not helped by a bit of in fighting. And Francis is distracted by things happening away from work. Tension builds as they start to put clues together. I was rooting for the team, although at times I wanted to give Rory a good shake!
Her Last Breath is nerve-racking throughout. Quite gruesome in places - Belsham doesn't shy away from the bloody details - and a bit icky in others. The denouement had me holding my breath, I just couldn't read fast enough, and whilst I was thinking along the right lines, the reveal was a shock for me.
This story is chocked full of action, with added spadefuls of jeopardy. And it's all done with brilliantly drawn characters who have real emotional depth. Characters that I'd like to have a drink and chat with. That's skilful writing. I devoured this book and just can't wait for the final part of the trilogy.
It's great to see Marni Mullins again! I know Francis Sullivan is the main man, but I'm delighted that Marni is back too.
This is the follow up to The Tattoo Thief (you can see my review here) but can easily be read as a standalone. It's set in one of my favourite places, Brighton, and has a character called Suze (great name) in it - what's not to like!
Seventeen year old Tash Brady storms out of a nightclub following an argument with her boyfriend and heads towards home. Hours later he finds her with horrific injuries and a tattoo on her back. Her death sparks a murder investigation headed up by DI Francis Sullivan. And the chief suspect is Tash's boyfriend, Alex Mullins, who just happens to be Marni's son. And Marni and the DI have history.
Sullivan is a really interesting character. Promoted young, he's not always popular with his subordinates, particularly Rory. He has a solid Catholic faith and a strong moral compass. But tattoo artist Marni gets him hot under the collar.
I love Marni. She's feisty, fierce and full of attitude. She has a fair amount of baggage, some of which is teased out here in a charged sub plot. She has a pretty low opinion of the police and her feelings about Sullivan are...complicated. But it's fair to say she's far from impressed when the team get her son in their sights.
Is it wrong that I have a thing for Thierry? I've had it since the first book - I think it's the bad boy/French accent combo that does it!
As well as the current action, we see a few snapshots of a young girl growing up in the 80s and 90s, which I found really intriguing. Sad too. Back in the present, the team struggle to get ahead, not helped by a bit of in fighting. And Francis is distracted by things happening away from work. Tension builds as they start to put clues together. I was rooting for the team, although at times I wanted to give Rory a good shake!
Her Last Breath is nerve-racking throughout. Quite gruesome in places - Belsham doesn't shy away from the bloody details - and a bit icky in others. The denouement had me holding my breath, I just couldn't read fast enough, and whilst I was thinking along the right lines, the reveal was a shock for me.
This story is chocked full of action, with added spadefuls of jeopardy. And it's all done with brilliantly drawn characters who have real emotional depth. Characters that I'd like to have a drink and chat with. That's skilful writing. I devoured this book and just can't wait for the final part of the trilogy.
The Author:
Alison Belsham initially started writing with the ambition of becoming a screenwriter--and in 2000 was commended for her visual story telling in the Orange Prize for screenwriting. In 2001 she was shortlisted in a BBC Drama Writer competition. Life and children intervened but, switching to fiction, in 2009 her novel Domino was selected for the prestigious Adventures in Fiction mentoring scheme. In 2016 she pitched her first crime novel, The Tattoo Thief, at the Pitch Perfect event at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival and was judged the winner. The Tattoo Thief is out now, the sequel is coming soon and she's currently working on the third book in the Francis Sullivan trilogy, Death's Needle. Alison lives in Edinburgh, and when she's not writing she spends her time visiting tattoo conventions.
To learn more about Alison and her books, visit her website or follow her on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
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