The Blurb:
Sometimes murder is the only way to get even…
Four friends with dark secrets. One killer out for revenge.
DI Frank Farrell and DS McLeod are tasked with investigating the brutal murder of a defence solicitor’s wife in Dumfries.
It’s been over a year since they left the town after an investigation robbed them of a dear friend. But now they’re back and must find a way to move on.
When the son of another defence solicitor is murdered, a strange tattoo etched on his body, the case takes them into darker, more disturbing territory.
It leads them back into the past – to a horrific fire in a cottage that took a woman’s life, to four friends harbouring dark secrets – and finally to a killer waiting patiently for revenge.
Avenge The Dead was published in digital format by One More Chapter on 28th February 2020 with the paperback to follow in April 2020.
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK
Hive.co.uk
Google Books
Blackwells
My Review:
Time has passed since events at the end of Perfect Dead - if you've not read it, don't panic as everything is covered - and Frank, Mhairi and DC Dave Thomson have relocated to Glasgow to be part of a Major Inquiry Team.
A murdered woman in Dumfries sends them back to the police station there for Farrell to head up the investigation. A lawyer's wife has been murdered. Frank and the team start to look into her husband and his two best friends, who are also lawyers. But before they can delve too far into things, there is another murder, also linked to the group of lawyers. And is there a link to a tragedy years ago?
As a result of what happened before they left Dumfries a year or more earlier, Frank is a mess. He's drinking too much, not taking care of himself and worse. Most devastatingly, he feels distant from God. He has to face some demons as he returns to Dumfries and learns something that throws him completely off balance.
All the characters are fully fleshed out. Mhairi is really growing into herself. For me, she's the stand out character (other than Frank). Not as tough as she makes out, she's all heart. Frank's issues are dealt with density and there's real emotional depth to these characters - Frank and Mhairi particularly, but the others too.
The storyline is unsettling and tragic. The pace builds as the case gathers momentum, and things are pretty tense throughout with plenty of shocks along the way. Long hidden secrets are unearthed and reputations ruined. But the very end made my heart do a little happy dance.
I realise I've probably talked as much, possibly more, about the characters as about the central storyline. It's not that it's weak, the opposite in fact - I loved it. But for me, a good story is nothing without strong characters, good and bad, that I care about. And I was invested in this lot, big time.
I've enjoyed this series immensely and hope there will be more. I think this one just about edges it as my favourite because I love what Baldwin has done with Frank here. She could have played safe with him, but she didn't. She messed with his head. And it worked. She brought him to life for me. Skillful writing.
The Author:
Jackie Baldwin is a Scottish crime writer. Her debut crime novel, Dead Man’s Prayer, was published by Killer Reads on 2nd September 2016. The second in the series, Perfect Dead was published on 15th June 2018. For most of her working life, she has been a solicitor specialising in Family and Criminal Law. She later retrained as a hypnotherapist. Married with a grown family, she recently moved from Dumfries to East Lothian.
Author Social Media Links:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JackieMBaldwin1
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackieBaldwinAuthor/
Website: http://jackiebaldwin.co.uk/
Thanks so much, Suze x
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure. x
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