Whitesands by Johann Thorsson

I'm stepping slightly outside my comfort zone for today's blog tour stop. It's my turn to review supernatural thriller Whitesands by Icelandic author Johan Thorsson. Thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy.

The Blurb

The breakout supernatural thriller from Icelandic writer Johan Thorsson.

Detective John Dark’s daughter has been missing for two years. In his frantic and unfruitful search for her two years ago, John Dark overreached and was reprimanded and demoted.

Now suddenly back into the homicide department, Dark is put on a chilling case – a man who killed his wife in their locked house and then dressed the body up to resemble a deer, but claims to remember none of it. A few days later an impossibly similar case crops up connecting the suspects to a prep school and a thirty year old missing persons’ case.

Just as he is getting back into his old groove, a new lead in his daughter’s disappearance pops up and threatens to derail his career again.

Time is running out and John Dark needs to solve the case before more people are killed, and while there is still hope to find his daughter.

In the style of True Detective and Silence of the Lambs, Whitesands is a thrilling supernatural crime novel.

'Tense, breakneck storytelling. Whitesands is a dash of Thomas Harris swirled with supernatural elements that leave you speeding through the pages.' - Kristi DeMeester, author of Such A Pretty Smile and Beneath

'Johann Thorsson's fast-moving debut Whitesands, packs enough incident for a novel twice its size, until it's impossible to turn the pages fast enough.' - John Langan, author of Children of the Fang and Other Genealogies

'... certainly one of the best thrillers I have read this year.' - Khasif Hussain, The Best Thriller Books

My Review 

As mentioned before on this blog I am a bit of a wuss. Pathetically easily scared of pretty much anything that might be described as horror or similar, although I can read crime thrillers with horrific content without losing too much sleep, what's that about? I took a chance on Whitesands because it looked to be more a crime thriller with a supernatural leaning than an outright horror story. I went in with my fingers crossed I'd made the right call... 

For some reason, I expected this book to be set in Iceland. If course, there's absolutely no reason that this should be the case but it was still a surprise to find it set in the US. I also found no mention of a translator so assume the author wrote it in English which is no mean feat! Congratulations to him, a fabulous achievement. 

John Dark is grieving, and has been for two years, since his daughter disappeared. It's damaged his relationship with his wife and son and his career. He and his partner Monique, who stood by him all along, were demoted. And then suddenly find themselves once again investigating a homicide, initially reported as a domestic disturbance. From there, things get increasingly sinister, weird and disorienting and John needs to work out just what he's willing to believe...

One thing I wasn't prepared for was how emotional this book was going to be. My heart ached for schizophrenic Daniel, a lost soul with the ability to help grieving souls. John himself, the helplessness that he feels at being unable to find his daughter, Monique and her difficulties and the huge pain of the main plot - there is a lot packed into these pages. 

I enjoyed the writing and just wanted to share one line that really stuck out for me, an interesting observation from an outsider:

'....John left him there, to a fate that he was sure awaited so many Americans in retirement; a slow marinating in pills and TV hate as their organs died one by one, waiting to due as the price of insulin went up and the amount of government assistance went down.'

The storyline is quite graphic, a strong stomach is needed in places. And, as promised, there is a supernatural element. I wasn't sure how it would be handled or how I would handle it but, actually when it came, it felt very natural for the story. I really can't say much about it at all without giving away spoilers so I'm just going to say I enjoyed it. The ending was bittersweet but I believe this is the first in a series so it will be interesting to see where things go in the future. 

Whitesands is an effective supernatural thriller which successfully mixes two timelines and various points of view. It touches on racism, abuse, love, revenge, redemption, grief and the afterlife. I thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to reading more by Johann Thorsson. 

The Author

 

Johann Thorsson is a writer of fiction with a supernatural slant, mainly short stories, mainly in English.

He was born in 1978 in a small town in Iceland (dark and cold, close to the sea). When he was nine he moved to Israel, and later to Croatia. He now resides in the Reykjavik area with his beautiful wife and two little kids.

His work has appeared in numerous publications, including Every Day Fiction, eFiction Magazine, eFiction Horror and Fireside Fiction.

Most recently, a story of his was selected for in the forthcoming anthology Apex Book of World SF 4 and Garden of Fiends

His favorite books are 1984, Flowers for Algernon, I am Legend, The Things They Carried and Neil Gaiman’s Sandman graphic novels. Oh, and Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient. Daniel Woodrell’s Winter’s Bone. Romeo and Juliet. (This could go on for a while).

You can find him at https://jthorsson.com

Fall by West Camel

Today is my stop on the blog tour for the fantastic Fall by West Camel. And it really does unfold like a spell, I completely agree with Carol Lovekin there. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy.

 

The Blurb

Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for forty years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats. But Aaron is blocking the plan and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past – twins Annette and Christine – appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived – a summer that changed their lives forever. Evocative, thought-provoking and exquisitely written, Fall is an unforgettable story of friendship and family – of perception, fear and prejudice, the events that punctuate our journeys into adulthood, and the indelible scars they leave…

 

My Review

This is my first West Camel novel although his debut, Attend, is in my TBR pile. It's also a break from my usual fodder of crime fiction and a very refreshing one at that. 

Aaron and Clive Goldsworthy are twins. They're in their 60s and haven't spoken for 40 years. Clive's company wants to develop the high rise block they grew up in and where Aaron still lives. Alone. All the other residents have moved out but Aaron is determined to block Clive's plans. Clearly something serious has happened in the twins' lives to cause such animosity and slowly we uncover what happened on a fateful night in 1976 and how it changed the lives of everyone involved. 

The story is told in a dual timeline - the present day and then one starting when the men moved to the tower as boys with their mother Zoë and ending in the late 70s, maybe early 80s. It is 1976 when they meet another set of twins, Annette and Christine, who are a little older than them and the first black people to live in the estate. 

I loved the description of the twins, both sets. Aaron and Clive, so similar and yet so different. When we meet them as old men, their world weariness is well described, their aches and pains, and their loneliness. I think for Aaron particularly, who hasn't had the successful life that Clive has. There are a couple of lines at the end of a chapter which said so much and for me was one of the saddest moments in the book. 

'He's never got used to doing things alone. So he does very few things.'

And the girls - in many ways the opposite of Aaron and Clive - free spirited, centre of attention, well liked with lots of friends. It's these attributes that attract the boys to them. Their mother isn't pleased. Zoë is a complicated character - I wasn't sure I liked her - and we don't really know her. But so many things are revealed throughout the book. 

The author has an unusual storytelling style. We view the action from above, or through the window or open door. Initially it was like we were a bird moving with the wind but it was more like we were just moving through the air, following characters into rooms, down stairs - it made it feel more real, three-dimensional and I loved it. But I think I've described it really badly!  Talking about the wind, one of my favourite little moments was 

'He steps out and the wind catches his head in its grasp, runs fingers through his hair and then gads off over the river, laughing and looking back. Laughing again.'

As I said at the beginning, quoting Carol Lovekin because she's far more eloquent than I, the story unfolds like a spell, and, for me, this is it's real strength. I was rocked by events and revelations time and time again. Things I didn't see coming, or expect, but which fitted the storyline perfectly. And it is all told so cleverly and beautifully. 

Fall is a fascinating book. With gorgeous descriptions and accurately drawn characters it tells of family, friendship, love, anger, resentment and redemption. But it also talks about prejudice, injustice and inaction. Someone, Aaron I think, says at one point 'We should say something.' This strikes me as something we should all take on board as there is still so much prejudice, discrimination and injustice going on around us. But this book also speaks to me of the importance of staying close to the ones we love, talking to them even when we don't want to, not letting ill feelings fester away. And finally, it's about the beautiful, devastating power of words. I will be thinking about Fall for a long time yet. 

The Author

Born and bred in south London – and not the Somerset village with which he shares a name – West Camel worked as an editor in higher education and business before turning his attention to the arts and publishing. He has worked as a book and arts journalist, and was editor at Dalkey Archive Press, where he edited the Best European Fiction 2015 anthology, before moving to new press Orenda Books just after its launch. He currently combines his work as editorial director at Orenda with editing The Riveter magazine and #RivetingReviews for the European Literature Network. He has also written several short scripts, which have been produced in London’s fringe theatres, and was longlisted for the Old Vic’s 12 playwrights project. His debut novel, Attend was published in 2018, and was shortlisted for the Polari First Book Prize and longlisted for the Waverton Good Read Award. His second novel, Fall is published this month. Follow West on Twitter @west_camel and on his website www.westcamel.net.

No Way To Die by Tony Kent

The latest book in a favourite series of mine is on the blog today and I couldn't be happier. No Way To Die is the fourth Dempsey/Devlin book from Tony Kent. Published by Elliott &Thompson, it was released in hardback and on eBook on 18th November. The paperback will be out next April. Huge thanks to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my very handsome review copy.

The Blurb

When traces of a radioactive material are found with a body in Key West, multiple federal agencies suddenly descend on the scene. This is not just an isolated murder - a domestic terrorist group is ready to bring the US government to its knees. The threat hits close to home for Agent Joe Dempsey when he discovers a personal connection to the group. With his new team member, former Secret Service agent Eden Grace, Dempsey joins the race to track down the bomb before it’s too late. But when their mission falls apart, he is forced to turn to the most unlikely of allies: an old enemy he thought he had buried in his past. Now, with time running out, they must find a way to work together to stop a madman from unleashing horrifying destruction across the country.

 

My Review

I'm always excited for a new Tony Kent novel because, having now read three of the four (need to go back for number two), I know I'm in for a treat. 

Joe Dempsey is in the airport waiting to fly to London to see his dearest friends when he finds out about the murder of a patrolman and heads to the crime scene instead. There is a possibility radioactive material has been handled there, hence the interest of Joe's International Security Bureau. But this is just the beginning of a race against time which not only involves the ISB but also several other law enforcement agencies and someone very unexpected from Dempsey's past...

This is a fairly hefty tome coming in at just short of 500 pages but it never feels it. Short, sharp chapters and a whole heap of excitement meant I powered through this in two days. This is a book that hits the ground running and doesn't pause for breath until the end. It's action packed and super tense. 

Joe Dempsey is the hero we all need. He has a strong sense of right and wrong, always calm and ready for absolutely anything. Fear never stops him. We learn a little about him when he was younger in this book, which was welcome, just adds to his character.  There is a personal angle for Joe in this book and I really liked that. And I love Eden Grace, Dempsey's most recent recruit, who we met in the last book. She's pretty awesome. In fact, women feature heavily in this story which you wouldn't necessarily expect from such an action packed thriller. Aside from Grace, O'Rourke was the standout from these. From the remaining cast of characters, which is quite large, Vega broke my heart. 

This is the first book I've read that's tackled the Covid 19 pandemic head on. Others have touched on mask wearing and hand washing but Kent has cleverly incorporated it into the plot without ever making the story about it,  if you know what I mean. I know from the acknowledgements that he started out writing a very different book but the pandemic changed that. But the book he ended up writing is fabulous, focusing on a domestic terror threat, which I'm sure is a constant and very real worry for the US. 

No Way To Die is everything you could want from a thriller. It's explosive, action packed and tense. It's full of shocks and surprises. It pulls you in from the first chapter and keeps you there. You won't notice the time passing, I promise you. Tony Kent has delivered all that and done it with heart. There were moments amidst the chaos and shooting that I found really quite moving. In case you are still wondering, I loved this book! 

The Author

Photo by Neil Spence Photography

Tony Kent is a practising criminal barrister who draws on his legal experience to bring a striking authenticity to his thrillers: Killer Intent, Marked for Death, Power Play and now No Way To Die. Ranked as a ‘leader in his field’ Tony has prosecuted and defended in the most serious trials during his twenty years at the Criminal Bar - specialising in murder, terrorism, corruption, kidnap and organised crime. His case history is filled with nationally reported trials and his practice has brought him into close professional contact with GCHQ, the Security Service and the Ministry of Defence. He has also defended in matters with an international element, involving agencies such as the FBI. Tony also appears as a criminal justice expert on a number of TV shows, including Meet, Marry, Murder (coming soon to Netflix), My Lover, My Killer and Kill Thy Neighbour (both Channel 5). Prior to his legal career Tony represented England as a heavyweight boxer and won a host of national amateur titles. He lives just outside of London with his wife, young son and dog.

 

When The Dead Come Calling by Helen Sedgwick

I read this book a while back and really enjoyed it so I'm delighted to share my review of When The Dead Come Calling by Helen Sedgwick as part of the blog tour. Many thanks to Kelly Lacey at Love Books Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. 

 

The Blurb

In the first of the Burrowhead Mysteries, an atmospheric murder investigation unearths the brutal history of a village where no one is innocent.

When psychotherapist Alexis Cosse is found murdered in the playground of the sleepy northern village of Burrowhead, DI Strachan and her team of local police investigate, exposing a maelstrom of racism, misogyny and homophobia simmering beneath the surface of the village.

Shaken by the revelations and beginning to doubt her relationship with her husband, DI Strachan discovers something lurking in the history of Burrowhead, while someone (or something) equally threatening is hiding in the strange and haunted cave beneath the cliffs...

My Review

Well, I'll open by saying I enjoyed When The Dead Come Calling enough to buy my own paperback copy. It took me a while to get into this book but it's one I was thinking about long after I'd finished it. And it was always going to be a bit of a winner for me - there's a character called Suze in it! 

The book opens with a very atmospheric first chapter with someone hiding out in a cave before the action moves into town and the discovery of a body, someone known well by one of the small police team, in the children's playground. The investigation that follows throws up some disturbing findings...

Not really sure what I thought of main character DI Georgie Strachan. She has an interesting back story and I liked the way information about her was teased out throughout the book, with maybe more to come in future books. I  didn't warm to her like I wanted to, even by the end. Her husband Fergus, I just wanted to shake though! Simon broke my heart and it was team member Trish that I could relate to the most.

We don't know who anyone is at the beginning which I found a bit disorienting, especially with the sharp change in tone and scenes in the first three chapters. Things jump about a bit and the story is told from various viewpoints but once I got into it I was OK with that. Although in the two or three chapters from the point of view of outsider DS Frazer, drafted in from the city to support Georgie's unit, the police team are referred to by rank and surname whereas first names are used elsewhere. I understand why that was done but it didn't work for me.  I really liked the interesting chapter headings (which, of course, make more sense in context). Some examples are  'What Wednesdays Used to be Like', 'The Shapes of the Evening' 'and The Darkness Surrounding Mrs Helmsteading'. 

 
I loved the author's world building and how the landscape and weather played such a large part in the story. But also, the indoor spaces were described really well. Her descriptions are wonderful, my favourite thing about this book. The bit about the cave mentioned at the beginning hooked me in:

'a cavern the width of my arm span and the height of a block of flats - emptied for demolition but left standing, to rot, repainted on the inside with bird shit. Shouldn't have left those windows open.'

And there are many more examples: 

'But her words are snatched by the wind, to be coated in salt and preserved for the apocalypse.'
'... with the cold moving past his wrists, past his elbows and curling around his chest.'
'The human croak of the roundabout as it turns. The ache of it.'
‘The wind is singing a grit-song now, spitting sand at my eyes.'

The nod to the supernatural, something otherworldly - I really didn't expect that and it knocked me off balance a little at first. But it's that that I keep coming back to, keep thinking about.

When The Dead Come Calling is an easy to read, effective police procedural which is also emotive and evocative. It touches on some difficult subjects and has some tragic moments. Its hint of otherworldliness was a really interesting surprise and one I liked.  But for me, the book's strength is how beautifully descriptive it is. Enjoyed it. 

The Author

Helen Sedgwick is the author of The Comet Seekers and The Growing Season, which was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Fiction Book of the Year in 2018. The opener to her Burrowhead Mysteries crime trilogy, When the Dead Come Calling, was published in 2020, followed by Where the Missing Gather in 2021. She has an MLitt in Creative Writing from Glasgow University and has won a Scottish Book Trust New Writers Award. Before she became an author, she was a research physicist with a PhD in Physics from Edinburgh University. She lives in the Scottish Highlands.

The Hostage by John Ryder

Wishing a very happy publication day to author John Ryder as I share my review of his brand new action thriller, The Hostage, out today. Many thanks to Noelle Holten at Bookoutre for inviting me on to the blog tour and for my review copy, which I received via Netgalley.

The Blurb

“You get us what we want. Or your wife dies. And we will make it hurt.”

Jerome Prentice is a good guy. Loyal to a fault, he always stays on the right side of the law.

But everything changes the night he is awoken by the sound of masked kidnappers entering his home. Holding him at gunpoint, they drag his beloved wife Alicia out of the house with a promise to kill her if he goes to the police. Their demand: betray the company he’s worked for his entire adult life.

They think he’ll do anything to save his wife. But they don’t know that they’re messing with the wrong man. Because Jerome might be a good guy. But betrayal doesn’t come easily to him. And he’s not a man who will go down without a fight.

What’s more, he will hunt the people who’ve taken Alicia to the ends of the earth. And if they’ve hurt even one hair on her head, he’s going to make them pay…

This utterly page-turning, jaw-dropping thriller is perfect for fans of Lee Child, David Baldacci and Mark Dawson.

The Hostage is published by Bookoutre and is out today.


Buy Links

EBook:
https://geni.us/B09DPZCZ2Nsocial

Audible:
UK: zpr.io/C9Y7JxMtkpH3
US: zpr.io/G2nPDjSvkMRA

My Review

Having enjoyed John Ryder's previous books (First Shot, Final Second, Third Kill, The Witness) I was delighted to have the opportunity to read his new standalone. Like the others, this one is set across the pond in the US.

Jerome and Alicia are happy. Crazy in love and with plans for a future that involves kids and pets. But all that is threatened one night when masked gunmen enter their bedroom and kidnap Alicia. They have specifically targeted her because they want Jerome to carry out a task for them - a very big, illegal and dangerous task. He does this, they will release Alicia. If they are telling the truth...

Jerome is a regular guy. He goes to his job, which he's very good at, goes home to his wife. He's good looking, but not too handsome. He's fit, but not a gym bunny. Doesn't own a gun, doesn't really know how to fight although did some combat sports at college. He's loyal. In other words, he's just a normal, stand up guy. Until his wife, the most precious person in his life, is kidnapped. Then we start to see a different Jerome. He is willing to fight for her, go to prison if necessary, even die, if it means she'll survive. He really, really loves this woman.

I loved following Jerome over the most traumatic days of his life. From the initial, overwhelming fear and incomprehension about the whole situation to the anger that followed then working out what his limited options are to secure Alicia's release. We see him make decisions he hates and do things that he never believed he could do. And although he doesn't really want to, he involved his good friend Ed, who works in computing and who Jerome hopes will help him carry out the task he's been set but also help him find out more about what's going on. Jerome is very relatable even though some of his actions are maybe questionable.  His love for his wife shines through. This may be fiction but I'm sure most of us would do whatever we could to save a loved one in trouble. And Alicia is not someone that can be written off - she's tougher than she first appears. 

This is not a book with a high body count nor too much violence. But that does not make it any less tense and exciting. I whizzed through it in a couple of days. It's fast paced and Ryder makes even the scenes in Jerome's office, and all the tech stuff - the moments when, in different hands, the story could have lagged - seem exciting. It's a fast, breathless book because of the speed of the action. We are picked up and swept away with it. I might have got a wee bit lost with all the financial stuff but that took nothing away from my enjoyment of the story. 

The Hostage is a tense exciting action thriller, one that really draws you in and keeps you close. The writing is great and the characters believable. There was really nothing I didn't like as evidenced by my quick read time. Another great book from John Ryder - I look forward to more in the future! 

The Author

John Ryder is a former farmworker and joiner. He’s turned his hand to many skills to put food on the table and clothes on his back. A life-long bibliophile, he eventually summoned the courage to try writing himself, and his Grant Fletcher novels have drawn inspiration from authors such as Lee Child, Tom Cain, Zoe Sharp and Matt Hilton. When it comes to future novels, he says he has more ideas than time to write them.

When not writing, John enjoys spending time with his son, reading and socialising with friends. A fanatic supporter of his local football team, he can often be found shouting encouragement to men much younger and fitter than he is.


Author Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnRyderAuthor/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnRyder101
Website: https://johnryderauthor.com/

Poetic Justice by Mark Tilbury

Regular visitors to the blog will know I'm a Mark Tilbury fan. Usually we see the twisted thrillers that have earned him his nickname, but in Poetic Justice he's turned his hand to poetry and short stories. I was intrigued ... Thanks to Mark for inviting me and for my review copy. I've since purchased a copy.

The Blurb

Five twisted tales of murder and revenge.

Time doesn’t heal; it just incubates old wounds.

Last Orders – Jeff Tully’s wife has left him. Trying to run his pub single-handedly, he increasingly turns to his barmaid, Alyson, for help. But when Alyson tells him of her own troubles, they hatch a plan to get rid of Alyson’s violent, abusive husband. But will Jeff live to regret he ever got involved with his barmaid?

Lucy’s Return – No one remembers Lucy at the school reunion, but she remembers them. Especially one boy who made her life hell, and now she’s going to do the same to him.

Private Museum – Retired nurse Mandy Rostron never thought she’d find love again after her husband died, but in Anthony Mallard she’s found the perfect gentleman. Or so she thinks. Mallard has some very dark secrets in his basement, or his Private Museum as he calls it, and Mandy is about to discover the truth about the man of her dreams.

Ballad of the Unsung Hero – Retired shopkeeper Jennifer Price is at her wits end. Her husband Kenneth thinks more of his fishing than he does of her. But when she meets the man of her dreams at a spiritual church, Jennifer is hell-bent on getting her man – whatever it takes.

The Tallyman – Donna is in debt, and the loan shark is making her life unbearable, with increasingly vile demands when she can’t make her payments. But her elderly neighbour, Elsie, has the perfect solution to get rid of the tallyman once and for all.

My Review

Poetic Justice comprises of five short stories, each one loosely based on a poem also written by the author. Many of you will know that I love a bit of poetry and I was very interested to read those produced by Mark. Unsurprisingly, they are pretty dark but beautiful. Here's just a couple of lines from Last Orders to give you an idea:

'Tell me what's your poison, son, what's your chosen brew?

We've fine fermented tears, squeezed from a bleeding heart'

The stories are also dark, and as we've come to expect, fairly twisted, but not as much so as recent books have been, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. 

The characters inhabiting the tales are all well drawn. We clearly see Jeff's desperation after his wife disappears from the pub in Last Orders and Jennifer's mounting frustration at boring husband Kenneth in Ballad of the Unsung Hero. The scene setting is excellent whether we're in the pub, the spiritual church or one of the various homes we visit along the way. And the less said about the basement in Private Museum, the better - super creepy! 

I had a couple of favourites. I loved Lucy's Return because it went in a very unexpected direction, at least for me. And hurrah for Malcolm although he's maybe a little too perfect. And I found The Tallyman really sad in places but it also made me smile afterwards - felt like I 'd been through the emotional wringer a bit. But I loved Elsie, for ALL the reasons! 

So, Mr Tilbury has proven he can turn his hand to something new. Poetic Justice is a great collection of entertaining short stories but I particularly loved the poetry & would like to see some more of that in the future. Who knows, only time will tell! But I'm sure he'll be back with a dark slice of something before too long! 

The Author

Mark lives in a small village in the lovely county of Cumbria, although his books are set in Oxfordshire where he was born and raised.

He's always had a keen interest in writing and after being widowed and raising his two daughters, Mark finally took the plunge and began self-publishing. Mark's writing has earned him the name #TwistedTilbury due to the dark and twisted nature of his books. He's published 11 thrillers to date.

When he's not writing, Mark can be found playing guitar, reading and walking.

Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten

Today is my stop on the blog tour for Dead Mercy by Noelle Holten, the fifth in the DC Maggie Jamieson series (After Dead Inside, Dead Wrong, Dead Perfect and Dead Secret). Thanks to Sarah Hardy at Book on the Bright Side Publicity and Promo for the invitation and to The publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

'Hugely confident … harrowing, visceral … recommended’ Ian Rankin on Dead Inside

A brutal murder…

When a burned body is found with its teeth missing, DC Maggie Jamieson discovers that the victim may be the husband of one of her probation colleagues.

A dark history…

As the body count rises, the team becomes increasingly baffled by how the victims could possibly be connected until a clue leads them to a historical case that was never prosecuted.

A terrible secret…

In order to catch the killer, Maggie must piece together what happened all those years ago before it’s too late.

My Review

I can't believe we're on the fifth Maggie Jamieson book already - how time flies! Maggie and the team are back, still shaken after events in the last book. And Dr Kate Maloney is returning to work part time with the team, offering her expertise and helping to build profiles of perpetrators. The story opens with a terrifying description of a crime taking place in the office of a probation colleague's husband. When the body is later discovered so are his wallet and keys... But this is just the beginning of a very difficult investigation for the police team, together with partnership colleagues in probation and social care.

The storyline covers a sensitive subject, and it might make hard reading for some. But Noelle handles it with sensitivity, and no sensationalism. Sometimes difficult reading nevertheless because, whilst this is fiction, there have been similar cases in real life. 

We see the crimes from the perpetrator's point of view and the descriptions of them are quite graphic - prepare yourselves! As are the descriptions of the scenes once the crimes have been discovered. But it's all in keeping with the story and also enables us to learn a little of the killer's thinking and their motivation and it makes for uncomfortable reading. 

Maggie and the team have a lot to be getting on with as the investigation progresses and we see them stumble down a few blind alleys before seeing the way though. It's great to see them all back again and working strongly together - I like the interpersonal relationships. There are a lot of minor characters to keep track of - I actually got a bit confused but that may well have been me. 

Dead Mercy is a tense, effective police procedural which deals with a difficult subject sensitively and makes you stop and think about justice, revenge and taking the law into one's own hands. It considers how events from the past can still have an effect many years later. A great edition to the series.

The Author

Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog. Dead Inside – her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.


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