Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Blood Games’, the fourth book in the excellent DI Nikki Parekh crime series.
Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the tour and for providing a copy of the book for review. As always, opinions are all mine!
From the Publisher:
THREE MURDERS. ONE MISSING BOY. THE GAME IS JUST BEGINNING…
When a body is found at the edge of Chellow Dene reservoir Detective Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik are quick to arrive.
This is the third murder in the space of a few weeks. Each murder has a completely different MO, but there is one common theme… all the victims are teenagers. The dead boy reminds Nikki of her nephew, and she feels more helpless than ever.
But then another boy goes missing. And this time his parents have been sent a threatening package too. The pattern is different again – is the killer just playing a game? Can Nikki find the strength to uncover the shocking truth before the killer strikes again?
My Review:
I’ve long been a fan of the DI Nikki Parekh series and so was delighted to be invited onto the blog tour for ‘Blood Games’, the fourth book. Thanks to NetGalley and Rachel’s Random Resources for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
This book delivered exactly what I expected: a fast-paced police procedural set against a bleak Bradford that is divided along racial lines.
In this book, Nikki is faced with a series of machete killings of young people; the similarity of one body to her nephew floors her with grief and she feels a very personal connection to the crimes. Along with DC Sajid Malik, her trusted sidekick, Nikki begins to uncover the seedy underworld dealings of Bradford that are leading to these tragedies. When the threats start to edge closer to home, Nikki is faced with a race against time to stop the killings.
This is another satisfying instalment in the DI Nikki Parekh series. It is well plotted and the action moves on quickly, especially as the number of killings escalates and Nikki faces trouble at work in the shape of a new detective on the team. The story – bubbling under – of Nikki’s family background is also sustained well. There are plenty of twists along the way, although I did manage to guess whodunnit just ahead of Nikki and her team! Still, it is a clever and well-managed denouement and one that wraps things up cleverly.
The Bradford setting is interesting, but incredibly bleak. This is a city surviving on a knife-edge of racial tension and this is mainly shown through the relationships of the city’s young people – some of whom end up as victims. It is also shown through Nikki’s own secure mixed-race relationship, a source of positivity in the novel but also the focus of criticism by various characters. Bradford is also a city with pockets of extreme poverty and this makes for some shocking reading as the police visit the homeless communities.
As with previous novels, I felt drawn to the warmth of some of the characters. Nikki herself walks a fine line: on the one hand, she is a strong and capable police officer, but she also is battling neuroses and the scars of a horrific past. She is vulnerable and human, and I love the way she balances doing things by the book with a willingness to step outside the law when she needs. Her relationship with Sajid is full of warmth and trust – and Sajid is a brilliant and nuanced character in his own right. The only character that grates slightly is DCI Hegley – a warm and humorous figure, but one who overuses the word ‘proverbials’!
If you’re new to the DI Nikki Parekh series, I’d really recommend that you start with book one, not least so you can appreciate Nikki’s tortured past and the impact this has on her in the present. This book could still be enjoyed without the backstory though, so don’t let anything deter you from picking it up. It’s a challenging and (at times) sad read, but Mistry ensures that the bleakness is weighed with glimmers of hope and a satisfying conclusion that should hopefully rid Bradford of some of its more evil elements…until Book 5!
About the Author:
Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too.
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.
Social Media Links –
FB https://www.facebook.com/LizMistrybooks/
Twitter @LizMistryAuthor
Website: https://www.lizmistry.com/
Purchase Links
Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Blood-Games-gripping-procedural-Detective-ebook/dp/B09MN1526W
Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/Blood-Games-gripping-procedural-Detective-ebook/dp/B09MN1526W
