Tag: #britishpoliceprocedural

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Seven Days by Michelle Kidd

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh #2) by Michelle Kidd

#SevenDays #DIJackMacIntosh @AuthorKidd @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today I am excited to be sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Damppebbles Blog Tour for SEVEN DAYS (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #2) by Michelle Kidd.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

One killer. One city. One week.

July 2012 and a serial killer is terrorising the streets of London. With the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games in just seven days time, Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh and his team at the Metropolitan Police have one week to find him. With the killer’s motives unknown, and a mysterious clue being left at each scene, the case takes on a menacing and personal twist. Distracted by his own demons, will DI Jack MacIntosh solve the case before it is too late?

The clock is ticking.
Tick.
Tock.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50619225-seven-days?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=ahmwNJCcQp&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

SEVEN DAYS (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #2) by Michelle Kidd is the exciting new book in the DI Jack MacIntosh series. Once again, Ms. Kidd has written a page turner that kept me guessing the identity of killer incorrectly well into the night. While this book’s plot is a complete investigation, to get all of the backstory on all the characters, I feel it is helpful to start with “The Phoenix Project” which is book #1 in this fast-paced thriller/British police procedural series.

It is July 2012 and DI Jack MacIntosh and his team are assigned the monumental case of capturing a serial killer in just seven days before the Opening Ceremonies for the London Summer Olympics. Women’s bodies are being discovered strangled and dumped in London parks. There appear to be no ties to connect the victims and all of them have been thoroughly cleaned of all forensic evidence.

As the days count down, Jack works to discover the killer while still fighting demons from his past that could cloud his judgement when it is most important. The killer has Isabel. Will Jack and his team be able to uncover the killer before it is too late?

It was great to be reunited with the characters from the first book and introduced to DS Carmichael in this one. One minor problem was I did feel Jack had too many flashbacks written into the story and at times they slowed the pace a bit, but I did realize they were included to show the extent of his PTSD which he has never dealt with in his adulthood. I love not only Ms. Kidd’s intricately written plot twists and surprises that comprise the individual book’s plotline, but also her ability to still leave small threads that arc over all the books in the series without making you feel cheated.

I recommend this second book in this series and I am anxiously waiting for the next!

***

About the Author

Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.

Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.

In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.

Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order J

Bibliography

The Phoenix Project (DI Jack MacIntosh book 1)

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh book 2)

The Fifteen (DI Jack MacIntosh book 3)

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKidd

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

Website: https://www.michellekiddauthor.com/

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

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/3obLftd

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/3qNy2bM

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital format on 22nd January 2020

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Dark Truths by A.J. Cross

Dark Truths (Will Traynor #1) by A.J. Cross

#DarkTruths #AJCross @blackthornbks @canongatebooks @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn to share my Feature Post and Book Review on the Damppebbles Blog Tour for DARK TRUTHS (A Will Traynor Forensic Mystery Book #1) by A.J. Cross.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

A fresh case lays bare old bones for DI Watt’s team

When a young woman’s body is discovered on a popular jogging trail in Birmingham, Detective Inspector Bernard Watts and his team are plunged into a disturbing murder investigation. Not only has the woman been violently stabbed – her head is missing.

When a close examination of the crime scene results in a shocking discovery linking the present murder to a past crime, criminologist Will Traynor is brought in to assist the police. Aware of Traynor’s troubled past, Watts is sceptical that Will can contribute anything useful to the investigation.

He’s about to be proved very wrong . . .

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/45915480-dark-truths?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=uhJzti4bKN&rank=1

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

DARK TRUTHS (A Will Traynor Forensic Mystery Book #1) by A.J. Cross is the first book in a new series with criminologist Will Traynor. This book is a police procedural/mystery/thriller mash-up that takes the reader through a step-by-step investigation of a horrific murder.

DI Bernard Watts is assigned the case of a female body found on a jogging trail stabbed several times in the chest without a head. As he walks the scene with the new rookie, PC Chloe Judd they discover a skull without a body which does not belong to the body on the trail. The body is recent, but the skull is at least a decade old.

With the possibility of a serial killer, Watt’s boss informs him that criminologist Will Traynor will be joining his team, but Watt knows of Traynor’s troubled past and is not happy with this decision.

Will Watt be able to keep his inexperienced and brash rookie in line and learn to trust Traynor’s theories to bring a successful conclusion to this present murder which seems to be tied to several missing persons from the past?

I really enjoyed all the characters introduced in this book: the experienced detective, the abrasive rookie, the intelligent and kind pathologist and the criminologist with a tragic past. They all worked together well in the story to bring the clues and plot twists to a satisfying conclusion in the past and present mysteries. My problem was that DI Bernard Watts was more of a lead character than Will Traynor, who the book and new series is supposed to feature. This fact does not detract from the story itself; it just does not lead where I thought it would. I am looking forward to a return of all these characters in the future.

Overall, a strong investigative story to begin the series, but I will be looking for more of a lead role from Will Traynor in future books.

***

About the Author

A.J. Cross is a forensic psychologist with over twenty years’ experience in the field. She lives in Birmingham with her jazz-musician husband and is the author of five Kate Hanson mysteries.

Social Media Links

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2N5diNR

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/3oV6UXv

Waterstones: http://bit.ly/38UrQbR

Blackwells: http://bit.ly/38UNYCR

WHSmith: http://bit.ly/38VdZlC

Hive.co.uk: http://bit.ly/3oVvMhZ

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital formats by Black Thorn Books on 4th February 2021

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: An Eye for an Eye by Carol Wyer

An Eye for an Eye (Detective Kate Young #1) by Carol Wyer

#AnEyeForAnEye @DetectiveKateYoung @carolewyer @AmazonPub @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the Damppebbles blog tour for the first book in a hopefully new crime fiction/mystery series featuring DI Kate Young. AN EYE FOR AN EYE (Detective Kate Young Book #1) by Carol Wyer.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the authors social media links. Enjoy!

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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?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53624264-an-eye-for-an-eye

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

AN EYE FOR AN EYE (Detective Kate Young Book #1) by Carol Wyer is the first book in a hopefully new British police procedural crime fiction/mystery series featuring DI Kate Young.

DI Kate Young is suffering after a traumatic incident. She is having flashbacks and taking pills and alcohol to cope. After a narrowly avoiding hurting a civilian, her superintendent places her on forced leave in March.

Just three months later, Kate’s friend and fellow officer DCI Chase comes to tell her she is requested specifically for a murder investigation by her superintendent. In a small team, just two of her fellow officers, DS Morgan Meredith and DS Emma Donaldson, they work diligently to track down a ruthless killer who tortures his victims and taunts the police. This case is a tangled web of secrets, lies and vengeance.

Everyone worries about Kate’s mental state, but Kate is determined to prove she is able to work the evidence and clues step-by-step to catch the killer.

I could not put this book down! Kate is an absolutely stellar new main character that I am looking forward to following. Her personal story, which is intertwined in bits throughout the entire book, had me as intrigued as the crime/mystery itself. The plot moves at a steady pace and is full of red herrings and twists. Although the murders are gruesome, they do not occur on the page and are only discussed and in the forensics after the fact.

This book has me wanting the next book immediately! I highly recommend this new British police procedural crime fiction and author.

***

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

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: http://amzn.to/2LdJpdV

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/35y4g2j

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback, digital and audio formats by Thomas & Mercer on 1st February 2021

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Phoenix Project by Michelle Kidd

The Phoenix Project (DI Jack MacIntosh #1) by Michelle Kidd

#ThePhoenixProject #DIJackMacIntosh @AuthorKidd @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today is my turn on the Damppebbles Blog Tour to share my Feature Post and Book Review for THE PHOENIX PROJECT (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #1) by Michelle Kidd. This is an exciting thriller/international crime/mystery mash-up that is the first book in a new series by a new to me author.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Blurb

How long can the past remain buried?

A simple message in a local newspaper. A set of highly sensitive documents left in the back of a London black cab. Both events collide to cause Isabel Faraday’s life to be turned upside down. Growing up believing her parents died in a car crash when she was five, Isabel learns the shocking truth; a truth that places her own life in danger by simply being a Faraday. Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh of the Metropolitan Police races against time to save her, and at the same time unravels long forgotten secrets involving MI5, MI6, the KGB and NASA. Secrets that have lain dormant for twenty years. Secrets worth killing for. With kidnap, murder and suicides stretching across four continents, just what is the Phoenix Project?

The Phoenix Project is the first Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh novel.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42112850-the-phoenix-project

***

My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

THE PHOENIX PROJECT (DI Jack MacIntosh Book #1) by Michelle Kidd is an exciting thriller/international crime/mystery mash-up that is the first book in a new series by a new to me author.

Isabel Faraday is about to go from a simple shop assistant to becoming the center of an international plot which has her on the run for her life.

Long kept secrets that have lain dormant for twenty years are on the verge of being exposed, but there is a contingent that will do anything and kill anyone to prevent that from happening. Everyone is involved, MI5, MI6, the FBI, NASA and the KGB and with Isabel’s life on the line, Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh of the Metropolitan Police races against time to save Isabel and unravel the secrets of the Phoenix Project and a secret organization protecting it called PRISM.

What is the Phoenix Project?

This book is a little confusing at first, not just trying to understand why Isabel is in danger, but also because there are so many characters from many different agencies. Once you get everything sorted out, each turn of the page increases the pace of the plot. The thrills, twists and turns, murders and intrigue take off and continues to crescendo towards a very satisfying conclusion. I was especially intrigued with Jack and I believe he is a great protagonist to follow into future books.

I am looking forward to following DI Jack MacIntosh and author Michelle Kidd in the future.

***

About the Author

Michelle Kidd is a self-published author known for the Detective Inspector Jack MacIntosh series of novels.

Michelle qualified as a lawyer in the early 1990s and spent the best part of ten years practising civil and criminal litigation.

But the dream to write books was never far from her mind and in 2008 she began writing the manuscript that would become the first DI Jack MacIntosh novel – The Phoenix Project. The book took eighteen months to write, but spent the next eight years gathering dust underneath the bed.

In 2018 Michelle self-published The Phoenix Project and had not looked back since. There are currently three DI Jack MacIntosh novels, with a fourth in progress.

Michelle works full time for the NHS and lives in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. She enjoys reading, wine and cats – not necessarily in that order J

Bibliography

The Phoenix Project (DI Jack MacIntosh book 1)

Seven Days (DI Jack MacIntosh book 2)

The Fifteen (DI Jack MacIntosh book 3)

Social Media

Twitter: https://twitter.com/AuthorKidd

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

Website: https://www.michellekiddauthor.com/

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

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3nLLqMQ

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/2IkU6Jz

Publishing Information:

Published in paperback and digital formats on 5th October 2018

Blog Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: How the Wired Weep by Ian Patrick

How the Wired Weep by Ian Patrick

#HowTheWiredWeep @IPatrick_Author @damppebbles #damppebblesblogtours

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review on the blog tour for this new dark and gritty British police procedural mystery HOW THE WIRED WEEP by Ian Patrick.

Below you will find a book blurb, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

***

Book Blurb

The Wire crosses the pond.

Ed is a detective who handles informants. He recruits Ben, a young man, who is treading a dangerous path into the criminal underworld.

Ben’s unsure of where his loyalties lie. They have to find a way to work together despite their differences.

Both men are drawn into the world of Troy, a ruthless and brutal leader of an Organised Criminal Network.

Ben is torn between two worlds as he tries to walk the impossible line between criminality and helping Ed combat crime.


He lives in fear of discovery.


When your life is thrown upside down who do you turn to in order to survive?

Set against the backdrop of the 2012 Olympic Games, How the Wired Weep is a fast paced urban thriller where time is against both men as they attempt to serve their own agendas.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54166480-how-the-wired-weep

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

HOW THE WIRED WEEP by Ian Patrick is a new standalone dark and gritty British police procedural mystery. It takes the reader into a mystery in the world of covert police operations and how they handle the safety and anonymity of their criminal informants.

DS Ed Hunter and his teammates handle police informants out of the Metropolitan Police headquarters. Ed loves his work, but it is a tricky business. The informants are criminals and Ed does have rules and laws to work by and must also let the informants know that they cannot break them either. One of Ed’s informants, Ben is being released from prison and Ed is eager to get him back out on the streets.

Ben, a young gang member and his family have a history of being on the wrong side of the law. He likes the easy money from being an informant, but Ed is afraid Ben will end up back in prison for not being able to follow his rules. Ed needs him though to get information from the inside on a new violent gang leader.

Ben becomes more frustrated, greedy and angry at being used. Ed sees Ben spiraling out of control as he returns to the streets. Will Ed be able to continue to get Ben to walk the line and see beyond the easiest and quickest means to an end?

This story pulls you in to the two main characters lives and makes you feel everything they do. Mr. Patrick’s writing invests you in the outcome for both as the story is told in chapters related by each character. This book depicts the dark, dirty despair of the urban criminal landscape, but also has moments of friendship and humor. This is an intense, realistic and powerful read.

I highly recommend this book as a crime read that is very different from the norm.

***

About the Author

Ian spent twenty-seven years in the Metropolitan police the majority as a Detective Sergeant within the Specialist Operations Command. He specialised in Child Protection and was part of a Major Investigation Team that targeted abusers and investigated the murder of children.

His last seven years were spent in the Covert Policing Command where he managed a specialist covert unit dedicated to the detection and disruption of organised criminal networks across London and the UK.


Rubicon, Stoned Love, and Fools Gold are published by Fahrenheit Press.

How the Wired Weep is a standalone novel.

Rubicon is in development with the BBC for a six part TV series.


He’s appeared at Bloody Scotland in 2018 as a spotlight author on the opening night with Val McDermid and Denise Mina.

Ian’s undertaken a mentorship with Write4Film Scotland and is developing a script for a short film. He’s also an ambassador for Muscular Dystrophy Scotland. He lives in Scotland where he divides his time between family, writing, reading and photography. 

You can follow Ian on his website https://www.ianpatrick.co.uk where you can subscribe to his newsletter and get updates on blogs, events and books.

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/IPatrick_Author

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

Website: https://www.ianpatrick.co.uk/

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ian_patrick_author

Purchase Links

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/332xpRm

Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3jRISKb

Publishing Information

Published in paperback and digital formats on 30th June 2020

Book Review: Dead Cold by Jane Heafield

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

DEAD COLD by Jane Heafield is a new British police procedural mystery/thriller by a new debut author from Bloodhound Books. This begins as a whodunnit of a double murder that turns into an investigation of three murders separated by several decades. I am hoping this becomes a series featuring the two primary detectives in this book.

DI Lucy Miller loves nothing more than a high-profile case with a lot of publicity. She is the first to arrive at a bloody double murder scene which was called in by an anonymous caller. She digs in and starts looking for clues, but her superior is involved in a car crash on route to the scene and the case is turned over to another murder squad. She keeps investigating even when she is warned off the case.

DCI Liam Bennet is now in charge of the Pond Street murder investigation. A series of missed clues leads to wrong conclusions regarding the dead couple, but Bennet is determined to correct the mistake and solve the murders even as Lucy Miller continues to insert herself into his case. Both detectives are pulled into the mystery of the dead couple which leads to two other cold cases with similar injuries to the corpses and they decide to work together.

As Lucy and Bennet get closer to the truth, Lucy comes closer to losing the job she loves above all else. Will the resolution prove her right and save her job as well as Bennet’s life?

This is one of the most intricately plotted police procedural/mystery thriller I have read in quite some time. Ms. Heafield has managed to intertwine the plots of a current double murder and two cold case murders that flowed seamlessly with red herrings, twists and revelations. I found that I could not stop turning the pages.

Lucy is a strong female protagonist who at first rubbed me the wrong way and I was not sure if that would affect my enjoyment of the mystery, but as she begins to interact with Bennet and you get more of her backstory, you understand why she acts the way she does. I feel Bennet is the perfect foil to Lucy and they balance each other well. Both have been hurt in the past and I am hoping that this will become a series with the two of them working together again. Their relationship is tricky though because I want them together, but that is the perception that caused Lucy’s problems in the past. I will be interested to see how Ms. Heafield handles both of them in the future.

I highly recommend this new British police procedural/mystery thriller!

***

Author Bio

Jane was born and raised in South Yorkshire, where she works as a scientist in a busy hospital. When not using a microscope or a TV remote, she likes to write. Plotting for her novels is done with a voice recorder while strolling around English Heritage sites. She loves all things crime and cannot sleep without an audiobook blaring. Her partner cannot sleep because of this.