My Review (5 stars out of 5) In January 1977, escaped prisoner Billy Hughes entered the home of Gill Moran and her family, threatening their lives. Keeping them in separate rooms, he secretly murdered five members of the family one by one. After three days, Hughes took Gill with him to flee, but by then…
Category: detective
‘Shamus Dust’ by Janet Roger
My Review (5 stars out of 5) A Christmas crib. A nurse lighting candles in a church. A dead body. In snowy post-war London, City Police has a murder to deal with, and a frightened councillor hires investigator Newman to look into the killing. But Newman soon finds he has more on his plate than…
‘The Infirmary’ by LJ Ross
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (audiobook) A serial killer stalks the streets of Newcastle, apparently targeting his victims at random. But when the female DCI in charge of the case goes missing, the ante is well and truly upped for DCI Ryan as he takes over the hunt for the killer. With each…
‘Who the Hell is Harry Black?’ By Jake Needham
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Eighty-six-year-old Harry Black dies while out walking on the beach. But his apparently quiet existence in a small town in the Gulf of Thailand isn’t quiet enough for whoever shoots him. What did Harry Black know that threatened his life, and who did he tell? Former police inspector…
‘A Darker Domain’ by Val McDermid
My Review (5 stars out of 5) The case of a woman and her baby son – kidnapped twenty-five years earlier – lands on DI Karen Pirie’s desk following a recent development in Tuscany. But Karen already has another case to deal with from 1984 – the same year of the kidnap. Risking her boss’s…
‘A Necessary Evil’ by Abir Mukherjee
My Review (4 stars out of 5) In 1920s India, Captain Sam Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee of Calcutta Police embark on a murder investigation after witnessing the assassination of a maharaja’s son. Journeying to the kingdom of Sambalpore, they find that, aside from its diamond mines and beautiful palaces, the region is torn by conflict.…
‘Wild Fire’ by Ann Cleeves
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Recent newcomers to Shetland—an English family with an autistic son—are shocked to find the body of a young nanny hanging in their barn. As the police begin their investigation, rumours quickly spread and the dead woman is linked to several individuals, prompting yet more stories and malicious gossip.…
‘The Distant Echo’ by Val McDermid
My Review (5 stars out of 5) When four drunken students discover the body of a woman in an ancient Pictish cemetery, they soon find themselves suspected of her murder. With blood on their clothes, they struggle to maintain their innocence as they try to move on with their lives. When a cold-case review is…
‘The Raven’s Mark’ by Christie J Newport
My Review (5 stars out of 5) (Audiobook) A brutal murder heralds the start of a cat-and-mouse game for Detective Chief Inspector Beth Fellows as she faces a case that could change her career – or bring it to a crashing end. Realising the killing could be linked to an earlier attack, gives Beth a…
‘Shatter the Bones’ by Stuart MacBride
My Review (5 stars out of 5) Aberdeen mother and daughter singing sensation Alison and Jenny McGregor make it through to the semi-finals of a TV talent show. But their growing popularity rockets when the pair are kidnapped. A ransom demand calls for money – lots of it – and if the target isn’t met,…
Colin Garrow 