Book Review: The Murder Wall by Mari Hannah

Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge, from Harper Collins, via Edelweiss Galleries,  for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it!

Well thanks to a Kindle app upgrade error, my ebooks got a bit scrambled in their order, and I accidently read the second book, Settled Blood,  in this wonderful police procedural first, so I was eager to go back and read the debut book in the series, and here it is!

(This is the UK Cover- I think it fits the story better!)

Synopsis:

The Murder Wall: It's where you look death in the face.

Months after discovering a double homicide in a sleepy village, detective Kate Daniels is still haunted by her failure to solve the crime. When a new murder gives Daniels her first case as officer in charge, she jumps at another chance to get it right.

But even more shocking than the brutal killing is the fact that Daniels recognizes the corpse. Eager to prove herself, she decides to keep her connection to the dead man a secret from her team, putting her career in jeopardy as her personal and professional lives threaten to collide.

As the killer continues to claim his victims, Daniels unearths baffling clues in her search for connections among the murders . . . and while she draws closer to finding the culprit, he is watching her.

Review: 

This book takes the idea of making assumptions/jumping to only one conclusion and throws it on its proverbial head! Even more fast paced and a roller coaster of a ride, than the second book, this is NOT a book you can put down, as each chapter gives a new twist- more evidence, clues to the suspect and his motives, more clues to Kate's personal life!  This book faces the old ways of detecting, versus the new information highway, and counters them with changes in the make up of police officers in the force. the subtle commentary on the 'glass ceiling' and the hardships women officers faced, seem to echo off the killer zeroing in on Kate as being the only one who can solve the case. There is so much more to this story that when you finish reading it, you have a few 'well, then' moments, as you ponder the subtleties of the story. This was an amazing start to the series and I can't wait to read books 3 and 4!

If you are looking for a great series to add to someone's ereader for Christmas, who happens to LOVE mysteries- add these 4 ebooks in the Kate Daniels series!!

About the Author:

Mari Hannah was born in London and moved north as a child. Sponsored by the Home Office, she graduated from Teesside University before becoming a Probation Officer, a career cut short when she was injured while on duty. Thereafter, she spent several years working as a film/television scriptwriter. During that time she created and developed a number of projects, most notably a feature length film and the pilot episode of a crime series for television based on the characters in her book, the latter as part of a BBC drama development scheme. She lives in Northumberland with her partner, an ex-murder detective. In 2010, she won the Northern Writers' Award. To find Mari or see where she is appearing, visit her events page at: marihannah.com