police Archives - Page 7 of 9 - The Quick and the Read

‘Truth or Dare’ by M J Arlidge

A new book by M J Arlidge is always a cause for celebration and this one – the tenth in the excellent police procedural series to feature Detective Inspector Helen Grace – is no exception.

Book Review: ‘Nighthawking’ by Russ Thomas

My review today is on the fabulous ‘Nighthawking’ by Russ Thomas, the second in the series of crime novels featuring DS Adam Tyler. Thanks to Jess Barratt at Simon and Schuster for the proof copy in exchange for an honest review – all opinions are entirely my own. This book is out now!

Blog Tour: ‘Dead Ground’ by M. W. Craven

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Dead Ground’, the fourth novel in the Poe and Bradshaw series of crime novels by M.W. Craven.

Thanks to Beth Wright at Little Brown UK for inviting me onto the tour and for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour: ‘Both of You’ by Adele Parks

I’m usually more at home with police procedurals but when I was offered the chance to join the blog tour for Adele Parks’ new domestic thriller, I was keen to sign up. I’d heard great things about Parks’ books and this one sounded absolutely compelling.

The story is about two missing women. One, Leigh Fletcher, has left a husband and two adored stepsons in an average family home – the normal trials and stresses of raising children were present, but Leigh was happy and the family miss her very much. The second woman – Kai Janssen – has vanished from her wealthy Dutch businessman husband and glitzy penthouse apartment. Again, there was no discernible reason for her to leave. Two women, two devastated husbands, two very different lives – and it is down to DC Clements to work out where the women have gone any why.

I started this novel thinking it was a slow burner – the start of the novel gives us a lot of backstory about the two women and their domestic set-ups. However, this book soon had me in its grip and I raced through it because I was desperate to find out what had happened. In the process, I think I had pretty much everyone involved pinned as a likely culprit for the abductions – and was pretty much wrong on all counts.

This is definitely a book that will keep you guessing.

On top of the pacey plotting, I also found myself being caught up in the lives of the main characters – I particularly warmed to Leigh who seemed to be making a great job of the difficult role of stepmother to two boys whose mum had died when they were young. My heart actually hurt for the littlest boy who was desperate for news of the only mum he remembered. Much of Leigh’s domestic life seemed relatable and her husband a gentle giant who was lost without her. Kai and Daan (the Dutch husband) seemed much less engaging – but maybe that’s just my jealousy about not living their glamorous lives speaking there!

And that is pretty much all I can say without giving away some major plot elements,

I did enjoy this book a lot and was genuinely taken aback by the ending – again, I can’t say much more, but I really couldn’t see how it was going to end in a way that could tie up all the loose ends and resolve all problems. I do still have some questions and a few reservations – but nothing that detracted from my reading of the novel. I do wish that DC Clements had been a little more instrumental in the whole story – but that might be my love of detective fiction creeping in.

I’d recommend this to anyone who enjoys domestic thrillers – it is cleverly plotted, surprising and immersive. The characters are well-developed and interesting, even if a lot of them aren’t nice and certainly don’t play nice!

Thanks to Harper Collins, the HQ publicity team and NetGalley for my copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour: ‘A Bad Bad Thing’ by Elena Forbes

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this complex police procedural and the first in a series to feature DCI Eve West.

With thanks to Damp Pebbles for organising the tour and for providing a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Blog Tour: ‘Last Place You Look’ by Louisa Scarr

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for ‘Last Place You Look’ by Louisa Scarr. This fab new police procedural will be published by Canelo Crime in paperback and digital formats on 8^th April 2021.

This tour is organised by Damp Pebbles. As always, thanks to the publisher, author and tour organiser for my gifted copy in exchange for an honest review.

‘Lie Beside Me’ by Gytha Lodge

Happy publication day!

This is the third book in the DCI Jonah Sheens series by Gytha Lodge, following on from ‘She Lies in Wait’ and ‘Watching from the Dark’. Both the previous books were excellent, so I was pleased to be granted an advance copy of ‘Lie Beside Me’ for review. As always, opinions are entirely my own.

This book opens with a nightmarish scene – a young woman wakes in her bed with a dead man next to her. She doesn’t recognise him and she cannot remember the events of the night before. DCI Sheens and his team at Southampton Police are called in, but by the time they arrive, things have changed…

What follows is a clever police procedural in which Sheens and his team are called upon to investigate some tangled relationships and shady people with things to hide. As they get nearer to the truth of what happened that snowy night in Southampton, the stakes are raised once again and it is clear that the death is part of something much bigger.

As expected, this is a compelling and engaging story that covers all aspects of the police investigation – we see the interviews with suspects, the pathology, the crime scene examination, the digital analysis and the lives of those investigators at the heart of the Southampton team. For crime fiction fans (me included), this is pretty fascinating stuff – although it might not hit the spot for adrenalin junkies who like their reading more on the thriller side of things. There are some genuinely tense and creepy moments, but the focus is the unpacking of the story of what happened on the night in question.

I really liked the way that the narrative shifted between the investigation and a first-person insight into the woman at the centre of the investigation, Louise Reakes. It was interesting to hear how she started to piece together the events of the evening in tandem with the police team.

Normally I prefer crime novels that focus on the investigation and do not dwell too much on the private lives of the police officers. However, there was a sub-plot in this book centred around a female police officer, Juliette Hanson, which I thought was intriguing – I’d love to see her developed as a character even more in the next novel as she felt particularly authentic and convincing.

Overall, this is another excellent addition to the DCI Jonah Sheens series and one that I would recommend. Although this could easily be read as a stand-alone, I would still suggest starting with the first book in the series as it would enhance your understanding of the team dynamics. This is a lively and well-paced story that will keep you turning the pages to the (satisfying) end.

If you would like a copy of this book, please use my affiliate link below – thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.

Header photo by J Shim on Unsplash.

‘The Broken Ones’ by Carla Kovach (Detective Gina Harte – Book 8)

Happy publication day to this brilliant crime fiction book! This is the eighth book in the series featuring DI Gina Harte.

I have read a lot of this series now and they do just seem to keep getting better! The earlier ones in the series focused a lot on Detective Gina Harte’s own personal story but – now this storyline has played out to a greater extent – I love the new focus on the ingenious plotting, creepy scenarios and casts of suspicious characters!

This book opens with the death of a student, Amber, whose body is found in Cleevesford Park – she went out on a date and never returned to her worried housemate. Harte and her team begin their investigations and begin uncovering some weird characters and lots of secrets surrounding the dead woman. The leads begin to mount up and Harte and her team struggle to prioritise their work – but a second disappearance has them scrambling to find connections before there is another murder.

I’m already bought into this series and like the character of DI Gina Harte – she is a likeable character and I also like the fact that she is a strong older women (she has a grown-up daughter) who is in control. Her relationship with her team is positive and (mostly) problem-free, which is great as the focus is on the investigation rather than the police team. The team themselves are often not particularly distinctive, so it was brilliant that one of them got a more important role in the plot this time around.

The plotting itself is cleverly done – there’s always lots happening and plenty of red herrings to fall for. In fact, this series seems to be getting more tense – the sections narrated by Meredith were really quite creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat! I read this book really quickly as I couldn’t wait to find out the next twist.

I’d wholeheartedly recommend this for readers who love police procedurals, especially if a female lead is a draw for you (as it is for me). I’d suggest you start at the beginning of the series really, to fully appreciate the strength of DI Harte, but this would be fine as a stand alone.

Header photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash.

If you’d like a copy of this fabulous police procedural, please use my affiliate link below. Thanks for supporting my blog with any purchases.

‘The Jigsaw Man’ by Nadine Matheson

I was delighted to win a proof copy of this serial killer crime novel from Nadine Matheson and the lovely people at HQ Stories.

The book is published on 18th February 2021 – just enough time to sneak in a pre-order!

This book opens with the gruesome discovery of body parts in various parts of South London and the return to front-line policing duties for DI Anjelica Henley who has been on office duties after a traumatic experience. Faced with the dismembered corpses, Anjelica and her newbie detective sidekick embark on an investigation that will have sinister echoes of a previous spate of serial killer murders. However, that killer, Peter Olivier, is in prison – so how can he be responsible?

DI Anjelica Henley herself is an interesting character. She has a complex home life and the case threatens to break the uneasy peace she has found for herself after her past experiences. It is normally a bit of a bugbear of mine when police officer’s private lives are tied up in a case (you’d think all crime was a personal vendetta against individual officers if you read too much crime fiction!); however, it was well managed here and Anjelica’s family context and relationships added to the sense of her as a realistic character.

As I’ve mentioned, this book is gruesome. You do need quite a strong stomach to deal with the dismemberment and descriptions of injuries. It is dark, although I didn’t find the violence gratuitous.

I did find the casual racism expressed towards DI Henley by other characters in the novel quite shocking – the idea that this highly competent and intelligent woman was being judged primarily on her skin colour was an eye-opener for me.

This is a debut novel, not that I think you would know that from the confident way that Matheson has plotted out her narrative and presented her characters. The book, although fairly long at over 400 pages, is well-paced and packed full of tense moments that keep the reader going. Personally, I finished this novel at 3am during a particularly sleepless night – and I had to get up to check all the doors were locked before I nodded off!

I did have a few niggles with the book – mainly the large cast which meant that some of the revelations didn’t always pack the necessary punch because I had to remember who was being referred to! I’m also not sure whether the ending was setting up a sequel (although please do be reassured that this mystery is tied up comfortably at the end). However, these are small quibbles and didn’t detract from my enjoyment.

Overall, this is an excellent debut novel and I do hope that Matheson is planning more cases involving DI Anjelica Henley.

An affiliate link for this book is below – thank you for supporting my blog with any purchases.

‘An Eye for an Eye’ by Carol Wyer

Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for this excellent police procedural, ‘An Eye for an Eye’ by Carol Wyer. This is the first book in the series to feature DI Kate Young.

This tour was organised by Damp Pebbles. The book was published on 1st February 2021.

Book Blurb:

A killer running rings around the police. A detective spiralling out of control.

DI Kate Young is on leave. She’s the force’s best detective, but her bosses know she’s under pressure, on medication and overcoming trauma. So after her bad judgement call leads to a narrowly averted public disaster, they’re sure all she needs is a rest.

But when Staffordshire Police summon her back to work on a murder case, it’s a harder, more suspicious Kate Young who returns. With a new ruthlessness, she sets about tracking down a clinical, calculating serial killer who is torturing victims and leaving clues to taunt the police. Spurred on by her reporter husband, Young begins to suspect that the murderer might be closer than she ever imagined.

As she works to uncover the truth, Young unravels a network of secrets and lies, with even those closest to her having something to hide. But with her own competence—and her grip on reality—called into question, can she unmask the killer before they strike again?

My Review:

I love detective fiction with a female lead so I was pleased to be invited on the Damp Pebbles blog tour for this book, the first book in a series to feature DI Kate Young. The fact that is it set in Staffordshire – pretty close to my own home ground – was an added bonus!

In this book, DI Kate Young is called back to work after a traumatic incident that has demonstrably clouded her judgement. She is put onto a murder case with a small team – just two colleagues, Emma and Morgan – although it is also clear that senior management within Staffordshire Police are scrutinising her every move.

She is investigating the rather gruesome killing of a local businessman, Alex Corby, who was tortured and killed in his large, remote house. However, as she begins to uncover the events of Alex’s last day, it becomes clear that there are a lot of suspects , secrets and lies to work through – and Kate’s personal life and issues keep threatening to surface too.

I’ll admit I was worried about the PTSD element of the story as this is becoming quite a staple of this type of detective fiction – and, if I’m honest, I prefer my detectives to be a bit more straightforward! However, I needn’t have been concerned – in Wyer’s hands, the cliché of the broken and troubled police officer becomes something more realistic and compelling as we watch Kate struggle with her mental health issues and her loyal team questioning her capability.

What I really enjoyed about the story was the clever plotting. I’ll admit I just about beat Kate to the final solution, but only just! Throughout, I was caught up in the twisty narrative and the ingenious way that the story strands intertwined – there were so many twists that I didn’t see coming and the final denouement was so far from where I thought we would end up when the story began. For that reason, Wyer should be commended for producing a genuinely surprising narrative.

I liked too that the investigations were methodical and logical, something seen as the right way to do things by Kate. There was a real sense of the investigation stopping and starting which felt realistic – the police team hit dead ends as often as they found important clues, although this didn’t slow the pace of the novel at all. In fact, rather a lot happens to keep the story moving…

Overall, I’d recommend this as a clever and engaging piece of crime fiction. For those who love police procedurals (like me!), this is an excellent example of the genre. I really hope that the next DI Kate Young book will be available soon!

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author and winner of The People’s Book Prize Award, Carol Wyer writes feel-good comedies and gripping crime fiction.

A move from humour to the ‘dark side’ in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in LITTLE GIRL LOST and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol had found her true niche.

To date, her crime novels have sold over 750,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.

Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ”Irritable Male Syndrome’ and ‘Ageing Disgracefully’ and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines ‘Woman’s Weekly’, featured in ‘Take A Break’, ‘Choice’, ‘Yours’ and ‘Woman’s Own’ magazines and the Huffington Post.

She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy… who is very, very grumpy.

When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.

Social Media:

Website www.carolwyer.co.uk

Blog www.carolwyer.com

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCarolEWyer/

Twitter https://twitter.com/carolewyer

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/carolwyer

Pinterest http://www.pinterest.com/carolewyer

Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/carol-wyer-407b1032

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14925467.Carol_Wyer

YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5O-lvkAYO19S0AMW8VqJQ