The Raven Song by JM Dalgliesh

May 17, 2023 By Leave a Comment


The Raven Song by JM Dalgliesh
Publisher: Hamilton Press
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

One song for the dying… sung by the dead…
When the body of a young woman is discovered at the home she shared with her disabled daughter, DI Tom Janssen and his team must investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

The woman was a single mother, well regarded and popular among the group she frequented, but she had a chequered past… a life she kept secret from those around her… a life that may, ultimately, have led to her death. Friends, past lovers, and confidants offer conflicting descriptions of the deceased… did anyone know her at all?

The team realise the daughter is missing and, away from her medication, the little girl’s life hangs in the balance. Unless the team can solve a seemingly calculated murder, an innocent life will be lost…

Set within the mysterious beauty of coastal Norfolk, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end when the final shocking twist is revealed.

DI Tom Janssen is called in unexpectedly over the weekend when a young mother is found dead in her home – but her disabled daughter is missing. The child isn’t physically capable of leaving by herself and so the team is at a loss as to where she might be. The more they look into the young mother’s life, the more questions they have and still they find no leads on the child. Can they sort everything else before tragedy strikes again?

I’ve been really enjoying this Hidden Norfolk series and feel the author has definitely hit a good stride with these characters. While I can understand the pace of the mystery might be a little slow for more action-orientated readers, I personally really enjoy the grind of police procedural styles of mysteries. I feel that I can follow along with the investigators and try to solve the puzzle in time with them. Also, as this is a smaller town/more rural setting I feel this pace is a bit more realistic and logical.

I also really enjoy the team of characters in the police unit. They have all been working together for quite some time and so their professional relationship and I find the way they work so coherently together is a real pleasure to read. Readers also shouldn’t be too shy about picking this story up by itself to read. While there is obviously plenty of history between the main characters and a solid working relationship already in place the plot – and most importantly the murder mystery – is very well contained just to this book and so I feel readers can absolutely pick this book up and read it by itself without too much fuss.

A well written and well plotted small town murder mystery this is an enjoyable book and one I really enjoyed. Recommended.

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Solids And Stripes by Julia Talbot

May 15, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Solids And Stripes by Julia Talbot
Publisher: Turtlehat Creatives
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, Paranormal, LGBTQ
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

One of the new guys at the young Apex Security company, Lucas loves his work as a bodyguard, and he’s pretty fond of his work family too. When they send him out to protect jaguarundi shifter movie star Cash Weatherby, Lucas figures he’s going to get a spoiled, bored actor who has way too much time and money on his hands. Cash’s reputation bears that out, too, but Lucas soon finds out nothing could be farther from the truth.

Cash is easy to work with, good to his team, and is under threat from someone who sets off a bomb on one of his movie sets. As Lucas tries to keep Cash safe, two things begin to become clear: the threat to Cash is not political or professional, it’s personal, and that Cash might just be the one this tiger shifter has waited for all his life. Can they keep Cash safe long enough to make a life together?

Lucas loves his work as a bodyguard at Apex Security, and while he figures the young movie star he’s sent out to protect will be some spoiled, bored kid he’s pleasantly surprised to find Cash isn’t like that at all. Sparks fly between Lucas and Cash, but can they both stay safe long enough to see if they might become more together?

I thoroughly enjoyed Talbot’s Apex Investigations series so was pretty happy when I stumbled on this – the first book in an offshoot series. While Lucas and Cash are new characters, Apex Security is a side-line for the old Investigations crew and so there are decent cameos from all the gang there. I feel this was a really smooth move by the author – it helped bring me in as a reader, and once Lucas and Cash were introduced, I was solidly on board for their adventure together.

Much of what I loved about Talbot’s previous books are still on show here – strong friendship links and a sort of pack mentality between the characters, and a decently paced plot. Add in some smoking chemistry and two shifters who are both strong willed but crazily attracted to each other and it’s a brilliant formula that I greatly enjoyed. The sub-plot of the dangerous stalker was a little bit cliched, but I still felt it was handled quite well by the author – keeping tension and some conflict in the story but not leaning too heavily on the trope and being boring.

Readers looking for a sizzling paranormal romance story with some different shifters and a lot of strong ties and emotion between the characters and a hint of adventure/danger should find this to be a good and interesting read. I’ll definitely be picking up the next book in the series.

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Never Go Home by John Carson

May 12, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Never Go Home by John Carson
Publisher: Vellum
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

You can’t run forever…

When a body is discovered on a carousel at the fair in The Meadows in Edinburgh, it brings back memories for DCI Harry McNeil. He had history with the man, having arrested him many years ago.

The victim was a high-flying politician, destined for great things, but did his secrets catch up with him? Or were the death threats he’d received not taken seriously enough?

Harry and his team hunt for a killer who will stop at nothing to achieve his goal, putting themselves in the firing line of a madman with an agenda. But it’s Harry himself who is going to have his life changed forever. If he lives long enough…

When a body is discovered at an Edinburgh fairgrounds on the carousel DCI Harry McNeil and his team are called in to investigate. The victim was a politician, but Harry knows the victim from having arrested him many, many years earlier. Can Harry and his team uncover what the madman’s killing spree is really all about and stop him before Harry’s own life is in peril?

I’ve been enjoying this series for quite some time and feel readers who have also been following along should find this book an excellent addition. There is now quite a large cast of supporting characters – both in Harry’s Edinburgh police team as well as the Glasgow team. I love all the different characters and the small bits each of them adds to the varied facets of the story – but I do feel readers who are new to this series might find it a bit harder to keep everyone in mind and understand the many different threads and currents running under the surface. While I don’t feel readers will have to have necessarily read each of the previous books in the series, having a good working knowledge of the many characters and various ties between them would definitely help in a full and better understanding of this novel and the plots within it.

I enjoyed the longer length to this novel as well. With two or three main plotlines all interweaving it gave the book a deeper complexity than I feel many of the earlier books held. I can absolutely feel that the author has grown in his storytelling skills along the way and this book really showcases that well to my mind. I also like how the plot didn’t feel one dimensional to me – linking in with various characters and situations from the past and how those ramifications were brought forward into the present day.

Readers who like a large cast of characters, multiple plotlines on the go and having a larger story arc interlocking in a single book should feel the Scottish police procedural book really has a lot to offer. I personally really enjoyed it and am eager for the next installment. An interesting and well-paced murder mystery novel that held my attention well and is definitely a series worth picking up. Recommended.

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Unquiet Bones by David J. Gatward

May 10, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Unquiet Bones by David J. Gatward
Publisher: Weirdstone Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

When move-in day turns fatal, will facing up to his past prove deadly?

Detective Chief Inspector Harry Grimm has the keys to hope. Excited but nervous over claiming his new house, he’s tying himself even tighter to his adopted community. But he can’t contain his horrified surprise when a mutilated corpse in the lounge makes him the owner of a gruesome crime scene.

With markings on the body showing a disturbing link to his time in Afghanistan, Grimm shivers with alarm as his team discovers the victim’s identity. And when he’s taken off the case, the stoic cop pursues answers on his own out of fear he’s about to be shattered by his bloody past.

Will he hunt down the killer…or is Grimm about to become the prey?

Unquiet Bones is the page-turning twelfth book in the DCI Harry Grimm Crime Thrillers series. If you like besieged heroes, races against time, and nail-biting mysteries, then you’ll love David J. Gatward’s restless pursuit.

DCI Harry Grimm has finally taken the plunge and bought himself a small home in the Dales. Happy in his new area and job, with a dog, a girlfriend and his brother all comfortably settled Harry is finding life just grand. Until the new, temporary DSup arrives with horrifying news about his father, and Harry uses his brand new keys to unlock his home and finds a murdered corpse in his living room. Nothing can ever come easily, and Harry is determined to find out what, exactly, is going on.

As the twelfth book in the series, I was pleased with this addition. While there is quite a bit of history now between Harry and his police team, it was lovely to read how well they all work together and yet the author still managed to make it appear fresh and interesting. I feel readers should absolutely be able to pick this book up and not need to have read any of the previous installments – though obviously they’re all good and the series is much richer and deeper with all that background knowledge.

I have to admit I enjoyed the character of the new DSup. She appeared to be quite an interesting and intelligent character and I hope she sticks around for the next few books. I felt she added a breath of fresh air to the storyline, and I really enjoyed her character. I also enjoyed the fact there was a good blend between the faster pace of a murder/mystery novel and the slower pace of the small countryside setting. I do feel readers will need to suspend some disbelief at the high rate of serious crime in such a small and sleepy little area – but that’s a small price to pay for such a picturesque setting for these murder mysteries and the police unit having so many crimes to figure out.

There were a few twists in the plot towards the end of the book – one of which I had guessed somewhere in the middle of the story. That said, the introduction of a new character was something I hadn’t guessed, and I found to be a delightful and surprising addition to the story. I really hope that rekindled friendship continues in the coming few books as well as I’d love to learn more about the history there with Grimm and see if more could be added to the friendship and built into the future.

The author does an excellent job to my mind of balancing all these different elements and making an interesting plot work so well with vibrant characters and I really enjoy this series. This is a good book and one I enjoyed.

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In The Name Of Truth by Viveca Sten

May 2, 2023 By Leave a Comment


In The Name Of Truth by Viveca Sten
Publisher: Self-Published (Amazon Crossing)
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

A shocking abduction rocks idyllic Sandhamn Island in an enthralling novel of suspense by Viveca Sten, bestselling author of In the Heat of the Moment.

With the summer season on Sandhamn comes an unsettling mystery for Detective Inspector Thomas Andreasson. A bullied young boy has vanished from a sailing camp on neighboring Lökholmen Island. Has the terrorized eleven-year-old run away? Or, in this isolated vacation spot where strangers lurk, is it something more ominous?

The disappearance has also captured the interest of Thomas’s longtime friend, attorney Nora Linde. The missing child happens to be the son of her latest client, Christian Dufva. He is a key witness against his partner in a high-profile embezzlement trial, and Dufva’s testimony could be devastating. It’ll also be Nora’s biggest win—the next step toward a position as chief prosecutor. But with every anonymous threat against Dufva, the stakes get higher.

When new evidence surfaces in their respective cases, new questions and fears arise for Thomas and Nora. Time is running out to resolve them. So is hope of finding the boy alive. Because on Sandhamn Island, the truth is buried as deep as the secrets.

Detective Inspector Thomas Andreasson is called to the small community Lokholmen Island where an eleven-year-old boy has gone missing from a summer sailing camp. Thomas’ long-time childhood friend, Nora, is also caught up in the search as the boy is the son of her key witness, Christian Dufva. Nora’s important court case and Thomas’ missing child case are inextricably wound together, and each are seeking their own answers. Can the two friends work together again, and both receive the answers they need?

I’ve been enjoying this Scandinavian noir style of mystery series and was pleased with this addition. The author has added a good mixture of mystery/suspense plot along with a good smattering or Nora’s court case and the more legal/judicial side of events as they unfolded. I feel readers who like either genre should be very happy with the storyline of this book. I was also impressed that even though this book is well into the series it largely stands well by itself. The personal lives of both Nora and Thomas are quite well developed – but are easily understood and caught up on if readers haven’t read anything previous to this book.

While the pace is a little slower than I find most American styled plots to be, I felt this shouldn’t be too much of a deterrent for most readers who like British or Scandinavian styles of mystery novels. I also thought with the mixture of police and legal drama overlapping this helped keep the feel of the pace moving at a decent clip and it definitely gave me the feeling while reading that the plot was moving along. There was also some character grown for both Thomas and Nora – mostly in respect to their personal relationships. While I didn’t feel either of these partnerships overtook the main plotlines, it definitely added an extra element to the story and I feel made the plots feel a bit more well-rounded.

A solid – though not exceptional – addition to the series this was a good book and an enjoyable light read.

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Angel Eyes by Ace Atkins

April 26, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Angel Eyes by Ace Atkins
Publisher: G.P Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In the latest thriller featuring the legendary Boston PI, Spenser heads to the City of Angels to meet old friends and new enemies in a baffling missing person case that might shake Tinseltown to its core.

Gabby Leggett left her Boston family with dreams of making it big as a model/actress in Hollywood. Two years later, she disappears from her apartment. Her family, former boyfriend, friends–and the police–have no idea where she is and no leads. Leggett’s mother hires Spenser to find her, with help of his former apprentice, Zebulon Sixkill, now an L.A. private eye.

Spenser barely has time to unpack before the trail leads to a powerful movie studio boss, the Armenian mob, and a shadowy empowerment group some say might be a dangerous cult.

It’s soon clear that Spenser and Sixkill may be outgunned this time, and series favorites Chollo and Bobby Horse ride to the rescue to provide backup. From the mansions of Beverly Hills to the lawless streets of a small California town, Spenser will need to watch his step. In Hollywood, all that glitters isn’t gold. And not all those who wander are lost.

Spenser finds himself back in LA once again with friends and a growing list of enemies as he searches for a young actress – the missing daughter of his client. What at first seems to be a straightforward case quickly becomes embroiled in the powerful politics of the movie world as well as nefarious gangsters. But Spenser is never one to back down from a fight and he’s determined to find what happened to the young lady, no matter the cost.

I’ve been a fan of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser series for a number of years. While a few of his very early works haven’t aged too well with modern times, the main thrust of any Spenser novel – an independent and hard-boiled detective who wants the truth and isn’t going to let those bigger or meaner than him bully or push him around – never really gets old. Some of the more recent stories have been a bit hit and miss with me – but I personally really enjoyed this story. In many ways it could have been written ten – or maybe even twenty – years ago. Readers who prefer the older style of Spenser and his stories should find this a really strong and enjoyable hark back to his roots. I was also impressed Atkins managed to keep much of the old Spenser preset and relatable while still keeping the story itself quite modern – with snippets of the “Me Too” movement, modern technology and plenty of other timely aspects to the plot.

Readers who haven’t been introduced to this series should be able to pick up this book and enjoy it for a straight-forward, hard-boiled and slightly gritty mystery story. I admit a lot of the secondary characters were far, far richer to me because I know their backstory and history with Spenser and how all those threads weave together, but I don’t feel this is strictly necessary to enjoy the book. It’s probably the difference between a good meal and a great one though – readers who have no previous knowledge of Spenser or his world and friends can pick this up and enjoy a good story. Readers who know the secondary characters and how everything fits together can expect a great story.

American, modern and a dry sort of wit, this is a great mystery book which I really enjoyed. I’ll definitely be picking up the next in this series.

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A Knock At The Door by T.W Ellis

April 12, 2023 By Leave a Comment


A Knock At The Door by T.W Ellis
Publisher: Little, Brown Group
Genre: Contemporary, Action/Adventure, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

They ask for your husband. They just want to talk. THEY’RE LYING.

Your husband isn’t who he says he is, say the people at your door. Come with us.

Don’t trust them, says a voice on the phone. Run.

Who would you believe?

In this terrifying first psychological thriller by bestselling author T.W. Ellis, one woman goes on the run and is forced to question everything she held dear . . .

Jem is a regular woman, happily married, a yoga instructor for her small town and slowly renovating the large house she owns with her loving husband. Until one morning – shortly after her husband leaves on his latest business trip – two FBI Agents knock on Jem’s front door. What quickly follows is a spiraling mess of confusion, fear and lies as her whole world comes tumbling down.

I’m a huge fan of Tom Wood’s Victor the Assassin series and so when I found out he had written – under a different pseudonym – a stand alone thriller I couldn’t resist. My faith absolutely was rewarded with this novel. An increasingly complex web of lies hidden within the truth within more layers of subterfuge made this a deliciously knotty plot that I feel should have most readers turned around at least a few times. At first glance it’s practically impossible to work out what everyone’s true motives are – and most are complicated enough that even as answers are found plenty more is left to chew over and work out. This is the best kind of thriller, where the reader is trying to sort everything out alongside the main protagonist.

I also really enjoyed the fact the pace of the story is set to quite a fast clip. Jem is rushing from one point to the next with very little breathing room or time to really settle and process all the different – and overlapping – stories she’s being fed. It’s understandable just how confused and twisted around she feels, and I heartily sympathized with her for much of the story. In her position I would find it equally impossible to fathom who, exactly, to trust and where to turn. This gives the story quite an edge and a real sense of urgency and pacing that lasts right up to the end of the story. Readers looking for a traditional or straightforward mystery/suspense might not find themselves satisfied with this. This is quite a complicated story and even in the last few chapters things continue to get turned upside down and I don’t feel this ending is at all traditional. For me, that was a lovely change and something I really enjoyed, but I understand it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.

Readers looking for a good thriller – more espionage/action based than gory or bloodthirsty – should find this an excellent standalone novel with believable characters and a great pacing throughout. Recommended.

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Fair Game by David J. Gatward

April 6, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Fair Game by David J. Gatward
Publisher: Weirdstone Publishing
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Trouble in the Dales. A brutal gang of poachers. When one of the unsavories is killed, can a DCI stop a river of revenge from overflowing with blood?

Detective Harry Grimm is reaching another milestone in the Dales. As he completes the purchase of his new house, his plans for moving in are disrupted when a trespasser falls into a grisly calculated trap and bleeds out.

Tracking back to a recent violent confrontation in a local pub, Grimm and his team assemble a long list of suspects. But when a principal lead disappears in a potentially murderous payback, he fears it’s the start of an all-out slaughter across his idyllic countryside.

Can he halt a killer stalking human prey before the butchery destroys his beloved land?

DCI Harry Grimm is on the brink of making his biggest commitment yet to the Dales – signing on to purchase his own home. But life in the Dales continues along as normal, only this time some particularly grisly trouble is brewing. A small band of local poachers are roaming the area and many of the locals are taking matters into their own hands – and this ends up when a grisly trap turns deadly, and a man is left alone to bleed out in the dark night. Can Harry and his team figure everything out before more bodies are left behind in this idyllic small community?

I’ve been really enjoying the Grimm series and have found these last few books in particular to be strongly written and quite thick – with intriguing plots and numerous subplots all woven together to form a really engrossing and well layered story. Harry and his team are quite well meshed now, working well together and with solid relationships that are beginning to run really deep.

While I feel this extra depth and history between the characters would make it harder for a reader to pick this book (eleventh in the series) up by itself, I feel the story itself can stand well alone. It would be all the smaller interactions and deeper connection between the characters and their shared history that the reader would miss out on. The story itself – particularly this plotline – is very well encapsulated in this book and stands just fine by itself.

That said half the fun for me personally is seeing Harry and his team mesh and work together, and particularly Harry and his brother and how well their relationship has progressed and grown. All that is a real pleasure to read, and I feel adds a lot to the story. I feel the murder mystery is very well plotted and deep enough to keep me guessing – it’s a slower style police procedural plot but I feel the author really did an excellent job adding enough sub plots and false starts that it should keep even veteran mystery readers on their toes.

A great book with a number of linking plots and some exceptional small-town characters – this is a great British murder mystery and an excellent book I thoroughly enjoyed.

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A Question Of Guilt by Jorn Lier Horst

March 28, 2023 By Leave a Comment


A Question Of Guilt by Jorn Lier Horst
Publisher: Penguin Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense//Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

In 1999, seventeen-year-old Tone Vaterland was killed on her way home from work.

Desperate for a conviction the police deemed the investigation an open-and-shut case and sent her spurned boyfriend, Danny Momrak, down for murder.

But twenty years later William Wisting receives a puzzling letter. It suggests the wrong man was convicted for Tone’s death.

And the real murderer is still out there.

Wisting is quickly thrown into a terrifying race against time where he must find the sender, decipher this mysterious letter and catch the real killer – before they strike again . . .

William Wisting is taking a well-earned break, staying home and getting some rest when an envelope arrives in his post. The letter inside only contains a single case-file number, one he has not seen before. Curious, Wisting finds it refers to a murder case back in 1999 of a young woman – one where the guilty party has already served his sentence of 17 years in jail. But then another envelope arrives, one that refers to a 2011 case Wisting himself was responsible for. Are the cases linked, and are they connected somehow to the current case where another woman has gone missing?

This is one of the latest novels in Jorn Lier Horst’s “William Wisting” series which I have enjoyed greatly over the years. A slightly slower paced, methodical police procedural mystery series set in Norway this Scandinavian crime series is quite exceptional. I love how it has a slightly different feel to American or British crime novels, a little more tense and slightly grittier the Scandinavian writing style is a bit of an acquired taste, but I really enjoy them.

Wisting is getting on in years – talking about retiring in a few more years – but what he lacks in youthful energy I really feel is made up for and very well writing with his seasoning and expertise. He can connect the dots faster in a case and since he’s been around the block more than a few times he can often make an intelligent guess where something is leading and show the younger officers how criminals often think and behave.

I thought this story was a good balance between the older cases and the current case being investigated. There is a bit of back-and-forth between the 1999 case and while I’d understand if some people didn’t like the time jumps, I feel they are very clearly explained and outlined and the facts and history explained in the earlier cases really helps show the bigger picture and how the current case is unequivocally tied to the previous cases – ones where innocent people have been sentenced and carried out jail terms. I thought the plotlines very well meshed, and the writing was crisp and gritty enough to really hold my attention.

An atmospheric murder mystery I found this to be an excellent book and a great addition to a series I really enjoy. Recommended.

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All Or Nothing by John Carson

March 24, 2023 By Leave a Comment


All Or Nothing by John Carson
Publisher: Vellum
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Practice makes perfect. Even in death.

DCI Harry McNeil is back at the helm, joined by his old friend, DI Frank Miller. He is juggling his private life with being a single father, running a new Major Investigation Team, and spending time with a woman who may or may not become more than just friends.

Edinburgh at New Year is a time for celebration, fun, and for one person, murder.

The festivities leading up to Hogmanay are tinged with fear as Harry’s team gets a shout when the murdered body of a woman is found floating in the Water of Leith near the docks.

A vicious killer has left his mark and Harry’s new team is put to the test.

But with time running out, the killer is going to be knocking on Harry McNeil’s door, in more ways than one…

It’s Christmas and DCI Harry McNeil is spending the festive season with his infant daughter, Grace, and his new “slightly more than a friend” female companion, Morgan. Just as Harry decides to go with the flow and welcome Morgan more firmly into his life, work intrudes with a particularly vicious killing that falls into the hands of his team. Can Harry juggle his many responsibilities in amongst all the craziness of the Christmas season?

This is quite a thicker book than many of the preceding Harry McNeil mysteries and I was really excited to find there were a number of solid plotlines all woven very well together. Add in Harry appears to be moving forward in his private life as well and there is quite a bit going on in this Scottish police procedural mystery/suspense novel.

Speaking personally, I do feel it’s a little too soon for Harry to be getting entangled in another woman and what appears will become yet another serious relationship for him. It’s only been about seven months since the very surprising death of his wife and ex-working-partner, Alex, and with a fairly small baby daughter (also only seven months old) and two other previously serious romantic relationships behind him a part of me strongly thought this would be a good time for Harry to focus on Grace, his work and getting the non-romantic aspects of his life on solid ground. So I found it hard to get on board with the blossoming relationship with the psychiatrist and felt this aspect to Harry’s life was a little shoe-horned into the story. I especially thought this considering his sister-in-law is living in his house as a mostly full-time career for baby Grace while Harry is off solving crimes at work. It all just didn’t really come together for me, and I didn’t feel a good connection to Morgan’s character, either.

That said – I was really impressed with the multi-layered nature of the murder mystery side of the plot. There is what appears to be an accidental death of a hiker falling off a bridge in Glasgow and body of a murdered woman floating near the docks in Edinburgh – so Harry and his team more than have their hands full as they try to uncover what’s going on and what plans the vicious killer has. I found this aspect of the two plotlines and how the Glasgow and Edinburgh teams worked solidly together was exceptionally well written and had the comfortable, familiar banter that I’ve come to expect from a Harry McNeil book. All the regular characters that a reader wants from the previous novels are present and while the banter and interactions might seem a bit much for readers who are newer to the series, I personally loved it.

Readers looking for a rambunctious romp of a Scottish police procedural mystery should find this a really good read and I thought this was a great addition to the series. Thoroughly enjoyable.

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