Blog Tour: ‘Dark Memories’ by Liz Mistry

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Dark Memories’ by Liz Mistry. This tour has been organised by Rachel’s Random Resources – thanks to Rachel, the publisher and author for my copy of the novel for review – opinions are entirely my own.

Blurb:

Three letters. Three murders. The clock is ticking…

When the body of a homeless woman is found under Bradford’s railway arches, DS Nikki Parekh and her trusty partner DC Sajid Malik are on the case.

With little evidence, it’s impossible to make a breakthrough, and when Nikki receives a newspaper clipping taunting her about her lack of progress in catching the killer, she wonders if she has a personal link to the case.

When another seemingly unrelated body is discovered, Nikki receives another note. Someone is clearly trying to send her clues… but who?

And then a third body is found.

This time on Nikki’s old street, opposite the house she used to live in as a child. And there’s another message… underneath the victim’s body.

With nothing but the notes to connect the murders, Nikki must revisit the traumatic events of her childhood to work out her connection to the investigation.

But some memories are best left forgotten, and it’s going to take all Nikki’s inner strength to catch the killer…

Before they strike again.

Purchase Links

UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dark-Memories-addictive-nail-biting-Detective-ebook/dp/B08NZ4LV2R

US – https://www.amazon.com/Dark-Memories-addictive-nail-biting-Detective-ebook/dp/B08NZ4LV2R

My Review:

Having absolutely loved the previous book in this series, ‘Broken Silence’, I was very pleased to be able to read ‘Dark Memories’ before its publication date. Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the third book in the (so far) excellent crime series featuring DS Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik who work in Bradford. The last book was dark, gritty and so compelling so this one had a lot to live up to!

And it absolutely delivers. This story is closer to home for Nikki who begins to suspect that a number of murders are connected when she starts receiving newspaper clippings in the post from an anonymous sender. When the third murder is on the street she grew up on, she makes connections that link her past to the current horrors unfolding in Bradford.

Without wanting to give any spoilers, it is worth noting that Nikki’s childhood was not a happy one and this book touches on lots of hard-hitting issues. Regular readers will expect this of Mistry (whose last book tackled the grim world of people-smuggling), but I thought was worth mentioning for new readers.

One of the strengths of the novel is the relationship between Nikki and Sajid. Both are happily in relationships elsewhere (so it isn’t that kind of will-they-won’t-they scenario for so many reasons!), but their friendship is warm and genuine. There is lots of good-natured teasing between them that readers will recognise as being part of an intense working relationship. However, Saj is also really supportive when the truth about Nikki’s past comes out and this proves to be a positive in a book that otherwise would be extremely dark. Similarly, Nikki’s partner and children are also lovely – while the revelations about her past are sad and awful, she has the support network around her.

Another strength for me was the detail in the way the investigation was carried out. I love police procedurals, although I can’t claim to be an expert, and this felt realistic and methodical. There was a sense of the police being clueless at times and having to undertake lots of boring work in order to make any progress which felt real. That’s absolutely not to say it was boring to read though! Mistry manages the pace of the novel well – there are moments of high tension as well as more measured investigations.

As already mentioned, the themes are gritty and Bradford’s streets are populated with some awful people! As excellent as the plotting and characterisation is, I did find the grimness a bit of a challenge at times, especially the investigation involving children.

Overall, this is a tightly-plotted and tense police procedural. The fact that Nikki is surrounded by love and support helped to temper the dark themes a little and I’ll admit I raced through this to find out what happened!

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 (Winky and Scumpy) 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.

Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. 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. Now, having nearly completed a PhD in Creative Writing focussing on ‘the absence of the teen voice in adult crime fiction’ and ‘why expansive narratives matter’, Liz is chock full of ideas to continue writing.

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/