Down Among The Dead by Damien Boyd
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by FernSomerset’s bloody past meets a dangerous present in this thriller from the bestselling DI Nick Dixon crime series.
When a badly decomposed body is discovered during an archaeological dig on the Sedgemoor battlefield, Avon and Somerset police are notified immediately. The remains are recent, and Detective Chief Inspector Peter Lewis knows exactly who they have found.
A single stab wound from a curved blade implicates convicted serial killer Daniel Parker, who Lewis arrested fifteen years ago.
With Parker’s appeal hearing imminent, Lewis comes under intense pressure to pin this new murder on him quickly and quietly. It’s an open and shut case—and Lewis should know—so why then does he insist on assigning it to DI Nick Dixon?
As Dixon starts to re-examine the original investigation, shocking revelations come in from the forensics team. And just as Dixon’s worst fears begin to surface, another body is found…
Fifteen years ago, DCI Lewis was just an underling who happened to be in the right place at the right time for a major arrest – that of a notorious serial killer. Only, in his gut, Lewis never felt the conviction was right and he hasn’t enjoyed an easy sleep since what he felt might be the wrong man was imprisoned. Now, as a new body is discovered on the very cusp of this prisoner having his appeal heard, there is only one man Lewis can trust to do the investigation right and not bow to any pressure – no matter how high up it comes from.
This is an interesting and enjoyable British police procedural murder mystery. There is a tiny bit of archeology and historical re-enactment that I thoroughly enjoyed, and I thought added well to the plot. I also was glad the author did an excellent job of laying out the groundwork for a few moving parts of the plot including both the victims and police working both in the past and present. I felt this was a well plotted story and it absolutely kept my attention right from the beginning.
I was also pretty relieved that a number of the more regular members of DI Nick Dixon’s team were back in play. The last few books Dixon has been working with a few other divisions and officers and while his regular team has always remained in the background, I was pleased to see the team come back together and I greatly enjoyed the familiarity and smooth way they all meshed back together and worked as a team. I strongly feel this added to the appeal I had for this story. I also was pleased Dixon’s fiancé – and her half-sister – added to the storyline. I was pleased the author seemed to be returning Dixon back to his roots a bit more.
Readers looking for a heavily action base plot or something really fast paced won’t find that here. I definitely felt the investigation moved at a decent clip, but this was solidly a police procedural and smaller town type of murder mystery – no massive car chases or helicopters or movie style of shenanigans here. This was a well written and very well plotted British police mystery and exactly what I was hoping for.
A good story in a great series I definitely enjoy.
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