Hi, everyone!
Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for SADNESS ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #10) by Stewart Giles on the Books ‘n’ All Promotions Blog Tour.
Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, the author’s bio and social media links. Enjoy!
***
Book Blurb
Detective Liam O’Reilly has reached a low point in his life.
The love of his life has just been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness and his daughter is about to move out of the apartment they’ve shared for the past year.
Even his cats are bringing him down, and he doesn’t think life can get much worse.
But then everything is suddenly put into perspective when news of a horrific incident comes in.
A man has arrived home to find his entire family slaughtered. His wife and children have been brutally murdered. The family dog has also been viciously attacked.
O’Reilly soon forgets his own woes and throws himself headlong into the case. His own sadness can wait.
But soon, O’Reilly realises things are rarely as they appear to be. Not all sadness is real. Sometimes there is something much deeper running beneath the surface, and as he gets closer to the truth, his own misery is forgotten when he comes face to face with an evil so dark, he starts to wonder if sadness is destined to be the norm from now on.
DI O’REILLY MYSTERIES
Book 1 – Blood on the Island
Book 2 – Lies on the Island
Book 3 – Fear on the Island
Book 4 – Malice on the Island
Book 5 – Revenge on the Island
Book 6 – Christmas on the Island
Book 7 – Silence on the Island
Book 8 – Secrets on the Island
Book 9 – Chaos on the Island
Book 10 – Sadness on the Island
Book 11 – Danger on the Island
***
My Book Review
RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars
SADNESS ON THE ISLAND (DI Liam O’Reilly Mysteries Book #10) by Stewart Giles is an intricately plotted murder mystery/police procedural that had me reading this book in the series from start to finish in one sitting. While it is not necessary to read the previous books to follow the criminal investigation, the recurring characters personal lives and circumstances continue to evolve in each book, and I am glad I read them in order.
DI Liam O’Reilly has noticed a general feeling of sadness, not only in his personal life, but throughout the island of Guernsey. His girlfriend has been diagnosed with cancer, his daughter has moved into a home of her own, and his cats are in revolt.
And then he is called to a triple homicide. A mother and her two children have been brutally murdered and set on display. When O’Reilly arrives the family dog is barely alive in the backyard and the husband is sitting at the dining room table with a blood covered shirt playing chess.
As O’Reilly and his team investigate the murders, not all the clues are adding up and when they do, O’Reilly does not believe the easy resolution. This crime is so dark and twisted that sadness may be the norm.
I love this protagonist and all the recurring characters in this series. It is as if I am just catching up with old friends when I get a new book, but with the added bonus of a new crime mystery to solve. O’Reilly’s personal issues were more prevalent in this book, and it is interesting to read his personal evolution which has been a lot since the first book in the series. This crime mystery and the subsequent police investigation are extremely well plotted around the game of chess with many twists and red herrings that kept me guessing. No spoilers, but I believe you will agree that the resolution of the mystery is brilliant, and the resolution of O’Reilly’s personal issues is believable. Nothing though prepared me for the emotionally charged ending. I need the next book immediately!
I highly recommend this addition to the series.
***
Author Bio
After reading English at 3 Universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow. I also have another series featuring an Irish detective who relocated to Guernsey, the Detective Liam O’Reilly series. There are also 3 stand alone novels.
Social Media Links
Website: www.stewartgiles.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stewart.giles.33
Twitter: @stewartgiles
The book sounds brilliant, and I haven’t even read it yet! “This crime is so dark and twisted that sadness may be the norm.” — I got chills from this sentence. On my TBR now!
It is a great book and actually the entire series is worth the read. I am always waiting anxiously for the next book! 😀