Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and my copy of the book for review. Opinions, as always, are entirely my own.
From the Publisher:
The killer is closing in… can she find him before he finds her?
When Detective Nikki Parekh receives a set of threatening postcards, she knows it can only mean one thing… The man who escaped arrest after murdering her mother two years ago is back.
Each postcard has a similar message: You’re next Parekh.
As the post marks on the cards gradually get closer to Bradford, Nikki must do everything she can to protect her family and catch the killer before it’s too late.
But when human remains are found in a remote barn on the icy Yorkshire moors, Nikki’s attention is pulled away from her family. When a tattoo on the victim’s arm – the only means of identification – leads nowhere, the team have already met a dead end.
My Review:
A new Nikki Parekh novel is always a treat – albeit a gruesome and gritty one! This – the fifth in the series – is another gem.
In this instalment, Detective Nikki Parekh is thrown into a grisly investigation when a human arm is recovered at the site of an illegally organised dog fight. Struggling to identify the body, she is also working to keep her family safe from the man who killed her mother and is back in the UK – with Nikki (and her family) in his sights.
This story cuts between several perspectives which is engaging. As well as watching Nikki and the Bradford Police investigation, there are also chapters focused on Nikki’s arch enemy and someone caught up in the illegal dog fighting operation. These are cleverly constructed and brilliantly reveal twists along the way. This is a book with plenty of pace!
As usual, I found Nikki Parekh a compelling and well-rounded character at the centre of the various events. Her family take more of a central role in this novel and it is a welcome shift – I think there’s a lot of readers who can find something relatable in watching Nikki balance her stressful job with raising children (and – more challengingly – teenagers!) She’s not a character who is always perfect but she is an interesting and credible figure.
Her partnership with Sajid Malik is also (as usual) a highlight of the novel – there is a genuine warmth and rapport between the two. Mistry presents a totally believable picture of two long-term colleagues who have a lot of shared history, but also real friendship.
As with Mistry’s previous books, this probably isn’t one for the faint-hearted. As well as the stray tattooed arm, there are some pretty brutal and violent scenes around the criminal gangs and those they exploit. The dog fighting is also quite grim – just a word of warning!
I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys well-written and twisty police procedurals. If you haven’t followed Nikki Parekh from the start, you’ve missed 4 great books and might not fully understand the significance of the man stalking Nikki’s family – basically, you’ve missed a great back-story! I’d recommend you start with the first book, but ‘Dying Breath’ would also work as a standalone.
Purchase Links
https://mybook.to/DyingBreathLizMistry
https://mybook.to/DyingBreathLizMistryPB
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.
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. Liz has completed a PhD in Creative Writing on Diverse voices in crime fiction
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 –
Twitter: @LizMistryAuthor / Facebook: @LizMistryBooks / Website: lizmistry.com
Amazing review, Kate! I can’t believe I hadn’t come across this book series before but I will have to check it out now!