Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge, from Joffe Books, Via their Joffe's Arc program, 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. All opinions are my own.
A brand new British crime mystery set on the Dorset coast from bestselling author Michael Hambling.
Synopsis:
A dark, wet night on a lonely road in west Dorset. Bryony O’Neil stops her car when she spots a distressed young woman by the side of the road. But all is not as it seems . . .
The following day, keen rambler Robin Pryor sets off along the clifftop path from the pretty seaside town of Lyme Regis — and never comes home.
The subsequent search reveals a badly beaten body hidden in the undergrowth beside the path.
It’s the third time that week the police have been called out to the quiet little town. First an attempted car-jacking. Then a break-in — where nothing was taken. And now murder.
Detective Barry Marsh’s instincts tell him that a particularly callous killer has descended on his patch. And their timing couldn’t be worse. His boss and mentor, Detective Sophie Allen, is still in hospital, recovering from the injuries she sustained in their last case. Not that she’d let that stop her!
Then a second body is discovered, a few miles further along the coastal path. And the case takes a terrifying new twist . . .
THE DETECTIVE
DCI Sophie Allen is Dorset’s acknowledged expert on murder and violent crime. She has recently been promoted to Chief Superintendent of the Wessex Serious Crimes Unit, overseeing investigations across Dorset, Wiltshire and Somerset. She is in her early fifties, and lives with her husband in Wareham. She has two grown-up daughters. Sophie has a law degree and a master’s in criminal psychology. Her brilliant mind conceals some dark secrets from her past.
THE SETTING
The picturesque coastal town of Lyme Regis is situated at the point where the dramatic West Dorset and East Devon coastlines meet — right in the heart of the world-famous Jurassic Coast. The town is known as the ‘Pearl of Dorset’ and is renowned for its natural beauty, fossils, literary connections and extraordinarily rich heritage.
Review:
This twisty mystery, British procedural, will keep you guessing to the end. As Barry is working to solve a case that seems to be unrelated to anything else, without his boss's guidness, she unknowingly is working the same case from the hospital, but from a different angle..As they both gain information on the case, they both suddenly realized they may be related and q both are rushing to find the killer before another murder happens. The reader knows who might be the killer, but they don't know the why and the author keeps that close to their chest to the end. A fun twisty book. I'll be looking to more from this series (this is book 13 in it).
About the Author:
I like to think of myself as a writer of thoughtful, contemporary crime novels that are complex and involve situations that change lives. I live in the west-country counties of Wiltshire and Dorset, and set my novels in this area. The early novels in the Sophie Allen series are based on the Isle of Purbeck, that most beautiful of coastal areas. But the rest of the county of Dorset does get a look in. I'm a retired teacher who has tinkered with writing for much of my life. My previous efforts have usually been directed towards short stories but I have always felt that crime novels would be one of my final choices, particularly if a developing storyline allows me to introduce one or two social issues, albeit with a light touch. I write because I constantly create scenes, people, imaginary conversations and unusual situations in my head. I have always done so, ever since I was a child. Using the richness of the English language to set down these creations in words is a great joy.
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