The Huntsmen by Tony Forder

I am delighted that today is my stop on the blog tour for The Huntsmen by Tony Forder. This is the start of a new series featuring DS Royston Chase. My thanks to Tony for inviting me and for my review copy. Many of you will remember how much I loved last year's standalone Fifteen Coffins and earlier this year I read The Autumn Tree, the eighth DI Jimmy Bliss book (still to catch up on the rest) so it was interesting to see something completely new.

 

The Blurb

Book 1 in the DS Royston Chase series.

When DS Royston Chase is called to the scene of a fatal road collision, his task is to identify the girl who died alongside the ex-Chief Constable of Wiltshire Police. Paired with the bold and strident DC Claire Laney, Chase is given the task of closing the case quickly and quietly.

But when the girl’s DNA provides a familial link to a child who vanished from her home twenty years earlier, Chase and Laney refuse to accept the coincidence. The pair start looking harder at the ex-cop’s life, at which point they encounter serious opposition. Perhaps deadly serious.

Because the establishment looks after its own, and soon it’s not only their bosses getting in the way of a thorough investigation. Chase and Laney find themselves seemingly at odds with everyone, fighting to save their own reputations as well as the case. But neither will rest until they identify their young victim, no matter what the cost...

The Huntsmen was published yesterday and is available here.

My Review

Well, I was hooked by the end of the first chapter! The prologue is super creepy, I was holding my breath through most of it, I think, then there was a huge shock at the end of the first chapter! I re-read it to make sure. Bam, that was me well and truly hooked.

DS Royston Chase is a good policeman with a stable family life, no dodgy skeletons in the closet. But due to a previous brain injury, he can be a bit... forthright. He doesn't check what he's going to say before it comes out of his mouth. He's been sent to man a small station with just PCSO Alison May for company. Nothing much happens on his patch, until it does. Although another team are dealing with the accident itself, it is down to Chase to find the identity of the young girl travelling with the ex Chief Constable at the time of the crash. He is sent help in the form of DC Claire Laney and their investigation goes in a direction they never expected.

So, I like Chase, you know what he's thinking. His upfrontness is refreshing. And I like that he has a strong, stable family. You don't seem to get much of that in crime fiction. But, my goodness, I loved Claire Laney! She has no excuse for her brashness and she doesn't care. Royston and Claire meeting for the first time is hilarious. She's larger than life and he just doesn't know what to do. Brilliant. But they make a really good team and I enjoyed watching them bond. It's so great to read such brilliant, fresh, down to earth characters and you can't help but root it for them.

So there is humour and some light hearted moments but this is a dark, sad story with a denouement that manages to be horrifying, happy and heartbreaking all at the same time. you'll see what I mean when you read it. The story of how the team get there is beautifully written, with great characters featuring along the way. It's one that, for both the reader and the investigating team, just gets bigger and bigger. I loved the mysterious Maurice, have a fabulous picture of him in my head. I don't know where Tony gets his ideas but I think it's a dark place! 

I'm worried I've made it sound miserable and it isn't that at all. The subject matter is dark and may not be for everyone but this a cracking story told well. The Huntsmen is a really strong start to the new series introducing a unique partnership in Chase and Laney and delivering a beautifully written piece on family, love, pain, evil and redemption. There's a crime or two in there too! 

The Author

Tony J Forder is the author of the bestselling DI Bliss crime thriller series. The first seven books, Bad to the Bone, The Scent of Guilt, If Fear Wins, The Reach of Shadows, The Death of Justice, Endless Silent Scream, and Slow Slicing, were joined in December 2020 by a prequel novella, Bliss Uncovered. The series continued with The Autumn Tree in May 2021.

Tony’s other early series – two action-adventure novels featuring Mike Lynch – comprises both Scream Blue Murder and Cold Winter Sun. These books were republished in April 2021, and will be joined in 2022 by The Dark Division.

In addition, Tony has written two standalone novels: a dark, psychological crime thriller, Degrees of Darkness, and a suspense thriller set in California, called Fifteen Coffins.

The Huntsmen, released on 4 October 2021, is the first book in a new crime series, set in Wiltshire. It features DS Royston Chase, DC Claire Laney, and PCSO Alison May.

Tony lives with his wife in Peterborough, UK, and is now a full-time author.