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Haverscroft – S.A. Harris

Kate Keeling leaves all she knows and moves to Haverscroft House in an attempt to salvage her marriage. Little does she realise, Haverscroft’s dark secrets will drive her to question her sanity, her husband and fatally engulf her family unless she can stop the past repeating itself. Can Kate keep her children safe and escape Haverscroft in time, even if it will end her marriage?

Haverscroft is a gripping and chilling dark tale, a modern ghost story that will keep you turning its pages late into the night.

My thanks to Salt Publishing for my review copy and the chance to join the blog tour.

A halloween blog tour and what could be better than reaing a chiller about a haunted house? Haverscroft is the house in question and Kate Keeling and her family have just moved in. It’s not long before Kate begins to feel unsettled in their new surroundings.

Haverscroft is an old home which had been owned by the same family for many years. Circumstances forced the last surviving family member to sell the property yet the elderly lady who reluctantly parted with the house has been actively deterring families from moving in. Kate’s husband arranged the purchase as Kate hadn’t been in the best of health. He sheltered her from the warnings and it is only after they move into Haverscroft that Kate begins to realise their home may not be the sanctuary they sought

The author does get the chill factor right. Strange noises, doors which will not stay closed, a loft filled with memories and belongings of a family long gone and a room which nobody can stand to spend any time in.

If the chilling house isn’t enough foe Kate to contend with, her personal life is also going through the wringer. Kate’s husband is a junior member of a successful law firm. He has been asked to work away on a big case and is not around when Kate needs him. Kate is convinced he is having an affair with one of his colleagues and his increasingly erratic behaviour fuels her fears.

As events in Haverscroft start to escalate we see Kate’s mental health start to suffer. Her focus remains keeping her kids safe but she can’t watch them around the clock and the house holds many dangers.

Haverscroft is a cracking read, an atmospheric chiller and compelling family drama. Perfect halloween reading.

Haverscroft is published by Salt and is available in digital and paperback. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1784632007/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 22

The Snow Killer -Ross Greenwood

‘Fear the north wind. Because no one will hear you scream…’

A family is gunned down in the snow but one of the children survives. Three years on, that child takes revenge and the Snow Killer is born. But then, nothing – no further crimes are committed, and the case goes cold.

Fifty years later, has the urge to kill been reawakened? As murder follows murder, the detective team tasked with solving the crimes struggle with the lack of leads. It’s a race against time and the weather – each time it snows another person dies.

As an exhausted and grizzled DI Barton and his team scrabble to put the pieces of the puzzle together, the killer is hiding in plain sight. Meanwhile, the murders continue…

My thanks to the publishers for my review copy which I received through Netgalley

The blurb announces that The Snow Killer is the first in a new series – a welcome confirmation as the lead detective, DI Barton, comes across very well and I would absolutely seek out the next titles as they release.

First things first…The Snow Killer. A police procedural but one where the reader gets to see the murderer from the outset. We know what motivates the killer, what he is thinking and why he has chosen the path he has. We also get to see the police trying to make sense of the murders as they occur (and there are plenty of them).

The Snow Killer is targeting local drug dealers. Not just the street pushers but the two sisters who run Peterborough’s drug network. Police have not been able to get close to a conviction on the two young women who took over their father’s empire but they know full well who controls the flow of illicit substances in the city. The Snow Killer does too and is on a mission to resolve matters to his own satisfaction.

Protecting potential victims becomes part of the investigative process and Barton and his team will be stretched. The tension and frustration comes through and this feeds well into the urgency Barton feels to identify their killer.

Very importantly for any police procedural is not just the lead character but the supporting cast in the squad room. This is where I was sold on the The Snow Killer – I loved the good guys. They have character, depth and are fun to read about. I was happy to leave the murders and the investigations to hear about their private lives too – relatable and engaging characters make for a better reading experience.

A couple of minor niggles around dialogue becoming a bit too formal and forced mid conversation. It just took a little pace out of some scenes. Also I got the impression the author is a big fan of Peterborough, lots of positives about the town were peppered through the story which was a wee bit unexpected. Minor issues as this was a damned good read and it caught me with the good surprises which were set up very well.

The Snow Killer is published on 12 November 2019 and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XLFWZ7D/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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October 6

Many Rivers to Cross – Peter Robinson

Monday 7 October is the First Monday of the month and readers who can easily get to London will have the chance to hear Peter Robinson join a fabulous panel of authors at

Peter will (I assume) be discussing his latest DCI Banks novel: Many Rivers to Cross

You can see Peter along with Nicci French (both of them) and the terrific Marnie Riches (there’s only one Marnie Riches) if you follow this link: https://www.firstmondaycrime.com/

Want to know a little more about Many Rivers to Cross? Read on…

Many Rivers to Cross

A skinny young boy is found dead – his body carelessly stuffed into wheelie bin.

Detective Superintendent Alan Banks and his team are called to investigate. Who is the boy, and where did he come from? Was he discarded as rubbish, or left as a warning to someone? He looks Middle Eastern, but no one on the East Side Estate has seen him before.

As the local press seize upon an illegal immigrant angle, and the national media the story of another stabbing, the police are called to investigate a less newsworthy death: a middle-aged heroin addict found dead of an overdose in another estate, scheduled for redevelopment.

Banks finds the threads of each case seem to be connected to the other, and to the dark side of organised crime in Eastvale. Does another thread link to his friend Zelda, who is facing her own dark side?

The truth may be more complex – or much simpler – than it seems . . .

My thanks to the publishers for my review copy.

Many Rivers To Cross is the 26th volume in the hugely successful DCI Banks series. 26th!!! I have been reading this series for more years than I can keep track of and it is always a treat to return to characters I feel I know well.

In this outing Banks and his colleagues are investigating the murder of a young boy who has been found stuffed into a bin. The callous dumping of this child’s body adds further frustration for Banks and team who are struggling to identify their victim. He appears to be of Middle Eastern origin and, as is pointed out in the story, should be more likely to be noticed in Yorkshire. Yet despite this the police will struggle to trace him to a family.

Running alongside this investigation is a story about Banks’s friend Zelda. She is helping authorities identify criminals from old CCTV footage as she has the rare ability (or curse) of never forgetting a face. Zelda has previously been forced to work as a prostitute and knows more than she would ever want about the abuse of vulnerable children and women by gangs of traffickers and organised criminals.

Zelda arrives at her workplace and is shocked to be met by the police who are investigating the sudden death of her boss in what appears to be an unfortunate household accident. Zelda is not convinced and starts to ask questions – a dangerous path to take as she will potentially put herself into harms way in order to uncover the truth.

In a novel which reflects ongoing social issues and real-life issues it is inevitable that the UK’s political turmoil will also get a few mentions. The author makes a few pointed comments about the current political travails which are sure to upset readers who take an opposing viewpoint. I agreed with the comments made and am encouraged that authors are not shirking away and ignoring an issue which has dominated discussion in this country for the last 3 years (and more).

Fans of the series will enjoy this latest Banks adventure. Peter Robinson can tell a good story and keep the readers guessing. Many Rivers To Cross was slightly slower paced than some of my recent reads but perhaps that reflects my own reading choices. More Banks will be very welcome, I do love these characters.

Many Rivers To Cross is published by Hodder and Stoughton and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Many-Rivers-Cross-Peter-Robinson/dp/1444787047/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=peter+robinson&qid=1570312301&sr=8-2

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October 3

One By One – D. W. Gillespie

The Easton family has just moved into their new fixer-upper, a beautiful old house that they bought at a steal, and Alice, the youngest of the family, is excited to explore the strange, new place. Her excitement turns to growing dread as she discovers a picture hidden under the old wallpaper, a child’s drawing of a family just like hers.

Soon after, members of the family begin to disappear, each victim marked on the child’s drawing with a dark black X. It’s up to her to unlock the grim mystery of the house before she becomes the next victim.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the chance to close out the One By One blog tour. I received a review copy from publishers, Flame Tree Press – my thanks to them too.

October does bring out my craving to read creepy books so huge thanks to Flame Tree Press for the opportunity to read DW Gillespie’s latest release – One By One. As you will have picked up from the blurb (above) this one sounded a proper chiller…new family move into big old house. Haunted? Unusual for sure and the child’s stick drawing of a family and their pet dog (uncovered by 10 year old Alice when she peeled away a strip of wallpaper) has a sinister element rather than the cute cheery image the picture *could* have had.

Alice is the main focus for One By One, indeed it is her story we share for the most part. Though for reasons which partly fall into the “spoiler” category there are some necessary parts of the story which are told through the eyes of another.

Alice, her parents and her elder brother, Dean, have moved into their new home. It has very unusual design features, quirky and peculiar interior planning and it really needs a lot of work done. A “fixer-upper” and a bargain…but bargains usually come with a story which Alice’s father seems happy to ignore. Soon after the family move into the house things begin to change and tempers become frayed.

Alice, as the youngest, is scared by the new house not helped by the “face” she saw at her window on the first night. Her imagination runs wild but as a natural daydreamer her parents are not listening to her worries. But they cannot ignore the reality of a death in the household and a large black cross painted over the corresponding figure from the child’s drawing of the family.

I don’t want to share too much more detail about events in One By One but for Alice the danger is very real. Her family are disappearing and more crosses are appearing on the picture – can Alice save herself?

Small cast of characters, isolated location and a child terrified and unsure who to trust. A tense chiller which I zipped through in two fully captivated sittings.

One By One is published by Flame Tree Press and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07X3Q89JS/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ETV6WWVV5DDU&keywords=one+by+one+dw+gillespie&qid=1570124437&s=digital-text&sprefix=one+by+one+%2Cdigital-text%2C759&sr=1-1

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October 1

A House of Ghosts – W.C. Ryan

Winter 1917. As the First World War enters its most brutal phase, back home in England, everyone is seeking answers to the darkness that has seeped into their lives.

At Blackwater Abbey, on an island off the Devon coast, Lord Highmount has arranged a spiritualist gathering to contact his two sons who were lost in the conflict. But as his guests begin to arrive, it gradually becomes clear that each has something they would rather keep hidden. Then, when a storm descends on the island, the guests will find themselves trapped. Soon one of their number will die.

For Blackwater Abbey is haunted in more ways than one . . .

An unrelentingly gripping mystery packed with twists and turns, A House of Ghosts is the perfect chilling read this winter.

My thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for the chance to join the blog tour. I received a review copy of the book from the publishers.

A House of Ghosts is exactly that…Blackwater Abbey has many spitits roaming its halls and one or two of the guests during the course of events in the book can see them. However (important info incoming) the ghosts are not malevolent spirits intent on destroying the characters in the tale, they are passive characters. Do not pick up A House of Ghosts and expect it to be the next Amytiville Horror – it’s not that type of read.

What A House of Ghosts can offer is (I felt) closer to an espionage adventure or a puzzle in a old stately home set during the latter period of The Great War.

There are some supernatural elements to the tale, a seance to contact Lord Highmount’s sons who died in the conflict. A mirror which reflects more than the viewer but there are also undercover agents working for British security and a houseguest with murder and menace on their mind.

The characters residing at Blackwater Abbey seem to have secrets they are to keep. The house is remote and cut-off from help as a storm rages outside. The finger of suspicion points at different people throught the book and the author keeps the mystery element twisting nicely through the chapters.

I have worked my way through a few stories this year with unlikeable lead characters and they haven’t been to my liking. I found I enjoyed A House of Ghosts much more I as I became engaged with the events in Blackwater Abbey and wanted to read more about the characters in the book. More importantly I wanted to keep reading as I enjoyed the world W.C. Ryan was spinning for me. I much prefer when a story entertains rather than has to be endured.

Not the ghost story I had anticipated from the title but a great period mystery which I thoroughly enjoyed.

A House of Ghosts is published by Zaffre and is available in paperback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/House-Ghosts-gripping-mystery-haunted-ebook/dp/B07DDL8KKQ/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1569880277&refinements=p_27%3AW.+C.+Ryan&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=W.+C.+Ryan

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September 26

Bone China – Laura Purcell

Consumption has ravaged Louise Pinecroft’s family, leaving her and her father alone and heartbroken.

But Dr Pinecroft has plans for a revolutionary experiment: convinced that sea air will prove to be the cure his wife and children needed, he arranges to house a group of prisoners suffering from the same disease in the cliffs beneath his new Cornish home.

Forty years later, Hester Why arrives at Morvoren House to take up a position as nurse to the now partially paralysed and almost entirely mute Miss Pinecroft. Hester has fled to Cornwall to try and escape her past, but surrounded by superstitious staff enacting bizarre rituals, she soon discovers that her new home may be just as dangerous as her last.

My thanks to publishers, Raven Books, for my review copy which I received through Netgalley.

Now that the nights are “fair drawing in” it is very much the time to start looking for the best of the creepy, gothic stories to read on the dark and stormy nights. While I cannot deliver on the appropriate weather conditions I *can* bring a good wee story to your attention which very much meets the creepy gothic criteria.

Laura Purcell’s Bone China takes the reader to Cornwall back in the days when large residences had housekeepers, ladies maids, butlers, coachmen and a plethora of other staff to keep a household ticking over. The families who owned these homes seemed to be measured by the size of their staff, the skill of the cook etc. So when we meet Hester Why as she travels to Cornwall the reader is not sure why she is leaving a good role in London to take on a position in a rundown old home in one of the remotest parts of the country.

From the very outset it becomes clear Hester is not in a good place. Sneaking drinks of gin from a flask which she tries to conceal from other passengers and trying to ensure she does not draw any attention to herself. However, her attempts to remain unnoticed will be dashed when her carriage is involved in an accident and her skills are needed to help save the life of a fellow traveller.

Arriving at her new place of employ in a muddy and bloody state Hester is surprised to find she will be sharing room (and bed) with another staff member – a marked comedown from her previous role in one of the most illustrious homes in London.

The narrative jumps back to Hester’s former life when she was known by a different name and when her previous mistress treated her with favours and comfort above societies norms of the time.

Back to Hester in her new role at Moroven House. It is a constantly cold place. Her new mistress is near invalid who has an unhealthy obsession with sitting by her china collection and appears terrified to leave her plates and cups unattended.

Her new mistress has a young ward in her care but the two never spend any time together and the ward is watched by another servant who has little time for Hester. The mysterious pair spend time in a different part of the house and Hester finds that the child plays in a the middle of a ring of salt – a ring which should not be broken. Hester scorns their backward belief in sprites and fairy-folk but as the story unfolds it does seem that there are strange goings on at Morvoren House.

As the blurb above indicates there is another character to feature prominently in Bone China…Louise Pinecroft. The author takes us 40 years into the past to see the mistress of the house as a young woman. Her father is a brilliant doctor who is devoting his time to find a cure to the terrible disease consumption. Louise is convinced her father is on the path to a major breakthrough but at what cost to his own health?

Laura Purcell is, without doubt, one of the best of the current crop of newly published authors who are making a real name for themselves. Few can match her when it comes to penning gothic chillers as she captures the atmosphere and feeling needed to carry off these stories. If you get the chance to pick up her terrific debut, The Silent Companions, then grab it – that one was special.

Bone China. Clever, unexpected and thoroughly enjoyable – watch out for it.

Bone China is published by Raven Books and is available in Hardback, Digital and Audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1526602539/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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September 21

Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life and Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd – Daniel Hardcastle

As Daniel Hardcastle careers towards thirty, he looks back on what has really made him happy in life: the friends, the romances… the video games. Told through encounters with the most remarkable and the most mind-boggling games of the last thirty-odd years, Fuck Yeah, Video Games is also a love letter to the greatest hobby in the world.

From God of War to Tomb Raider, Pokémon to The Sims, Daniel relives each game with countless in-jokes, obscure references and his signature wit, as well as intricate, original illustrations by Rebecca Maughan. Alongside this march of merriment are chapters dedicated to the hardware behind the games: a veritable history of Sony, Nintendo, Sega and Atari consoles.

Joyous, absurd, personal and at times sweary, Daniel’s memoir is a celebration of the sheer brilliance of video games.

My thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours who invited me to join the blog tour – also to the publishers, Unbound, for my review copy.

First things first…the title. Now I am no prude and, as a person of Scottish persuasion, I throw out expletives like punctuation. But I feel the F-Bomb in the title isn’t really needed and may put some folk off picking up what is actually a good wee book. I hope I am wrong as Hardcastle’s love letter to around 30 years of gaming is well worth your attention. Also when I think about my interactions with gamers on platforms such as Twitter and Mixer – they swear like fuck too so perhaps the swearyness will draw them in.

Fuck Yeah turned out to be a tricky book to review. Not because it is hard to follow or because it is poorly written. It is neither of those things. There are many short sections and bite-sized discussions which make it perfect to pick up and put down. It is well written with many laugh out loud moments. Clearly Hardcastle and I have experienced similar frustrations and enjoyed the same big moments in several games so the personal nostalgia his observations brought ticked all the right boxes for me.

No the problem I had with reviewing Fuck Yeah was that my son decided he wanted to read it too and my book vanished to places unknown whenever I set it down. Sometimes tracking it down was easy. Son would be heard guffawing with laughter and I could trace him that way. Other times he would wander through the house, book in hand, reading sections out loud to me (an audiobook experience that Audible are yet to fully master). The failsafe way of recovering my review copy was to wait for the child to fall asleep and then liberate the book from beside his bed. We got there in the end!

So two generations in the one family have enjoyed (or are still enjoying) Fuck Yeah. Definitely a good sign and reflects well that the selection of games Hardcastle discusses is appreciated by a teenager and a man in his mid 40’s.

Before the book arrived I did wonder how the selection of games the author selected to focus on may fare. Pretty well as it turns out. The games I have played which are discussed are very well covered. My kid has not played most of the games but is currently contemplating picking up one or two of the titles still available on current platforms. Even if I hadn’t played some of the games under discussion Hardcastle’s observations on the titles in question were still enjoyable so my biggest concern over how much I may get from the book were quickly quashed.

In between discussions on particular games are some additional chat points about life in games in general. These were fascinating too. I particularly enjoyed learning how badly Nintendo seemed to have botched the launch of the Wii. Trivia and gaming gems which I have missed over the years made the pages fly by.

When I first heard about Fuck Yeah I thought that’s a book I am definitely going to enjoy. Reader – I was right.

Fuck Yeah, Video Games: The Life and Extra Lives of a Professional Nerd is available in hardback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fuck-Yeah-Video-Games-Professional/dp/1783527870/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1569011760&refinements=p_27%3ADaniel+Hardcastle&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Daniel+Hardcastle

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September 11

The Quiet Ones – Theresa Talbot

If only someone had listened…

When the supposed suicide of famous Scottish football coach Harry Nugent hits the headlines, the tabloids are filled with tributes to a charitable pillar of the community that gave so much back to sport and to those less fortunate. But something isn’t right. Normally celebrities are queuing up to claim to have had a very special relationship with the deceased, but investigative journalist, Oonagh O’Neil is getting the distinct impression that people are trying to distance themselves from Harry.

Oonagh’s investigation leads her to uncover a heartbreakingly haunting coverup that chills her to the core…and place her in mortal danger from those willing to protect their sadistic and dark secrets at any cost….

I received a review copy from the publishers.

A new Oonagh O’Neil book is very much a cause for celebration. After a debut appearance in The Lost Children (which I review here as Penance) and a return in Keep Her Silent (reviewed here) I was dying to see what Theresa Talbot had in store for investigative journalist Oonagh.

The appeal of these books is that Theresa Talbot puts a real (and distressing) story at the heart of Oonagh’s fictional adventures. The story is fictional but that core of reality and the way the author conveys the hurt the characters experienced makes the books utterly compelling.

In The Quiet Ones Oonagh is confronted with the possibility that a murdered sporting hero may have been killed because of a dark secret from his past. Can Oonagh find a way to get vulnerable strangers to open up and discuss their past horrors? Even if she can, will there be evidence she can pass to the police to ensure justice can be done?

The Quiet Ones opens with a murder. It has the appearance of a professional hit and the police are baffled. The victim is a prominent figure in Scottish football circles, he supports a number of charities and good causes and his death is a headline writer’s goldmine. Particularly when it is obvious the police have no leads, suspects or can even work out a motive.

Oonagh gets suspicious when “friends” of the deceased seem keen to distance themselves from him. She follows her instincts knowing there is a story to uncover. Her boss is not keen to give her time to chase a story which he doesn’t believe is there to be found so Oonagh is forced to play politics in the office to cut herself the leeway she needs to uncover the truth.

There are very sensitive subjects incorporated into The Quiet Ones and the author handles these superbly. In the acknowledgements Ms Talbot thanks David Gordon who “shared his story with such quiet dignity” that reflects perfectly how the more upsetting elements of The Quiet Ones are addressed within the book. It is a deeply emotive and moving read.

Despite being the third book in the series The Quiet Ones can easily be read as a stand alone thriller. It is highly recommended and once you have finished it I am sure you will seek out the first two as well. Top stuff.

The Quiet Ones will be published on 12 September 2019 by Aria and you can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1788545346/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

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September 5

Sleep – M K Boers

A marriage made in heaven, a murder made in hell.

Why kill the man you love?

Lizzy was struggling, everyone knew that.

He shouldn’t have done those things.

He shouldn’t have pushed her so hard.

And now, her children, her marriage, her hope – gone.

It was all her fault, she knew that, but was there a chance of redemption?

Lizzy Dyson’s on trial for her life. She knows she must pay for what she did, even if it wasn’t planned, but will the jury believe her?

Sleep is a domestic thriller but through the story there are many courtroom scenes giving it a nice cross genre feel. While I am not normally a huge fan of domestic noir (where a story follows a troubled relationship) Sleep takes a more unusual approach in telling Lizzy’s story which really caught my attention.

Lizzy, returning home from work early one afternoon, finds her husband in her bed with his lover. She kills them both. The book opens at the point between the crime and the subsequent discovery by the authorities…the opening chapter is deliciously dark in that regard.

Once the reader becomes aware of Lizzy’s crime they are then taken through how she came to this point in her life and M K Boers slowly unpicks layers of trouble and upset which Lizzy has endured prior to that fateful day. I found myself constantly reviewing my opinion of Lizzy with each new “layer” we uncover – while you can’t condone the action she took, the reasons behind her decision become clearer.

In the courtroom scenes Lizzy is confronted with figures from her life who are initially introduced by the prosecution to build the case against her. As she hears a distortion of past events she starts to find an inner strength to push back and get the correct version of events into the open.

M K Boers spins this story brilliantly and the balance between human drama and courtroom interrogations hit the spot for me.

Sleep is published in both paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sleep-M-K-Boers-ebook/dp/B07TRGHHQ2/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1567631231&refinements=p_27%3AM+K+Boers&s=digital-text&sr=1-1&text=M+K+Boers

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August 27

The Alphabet Murders – Lars Schutz

FOR THIS KILLER, IT’S A GAME OF A B C

When the body of a man is found brutally murdered in a wildlife park and tattooed with a letter A, criminal profilers Jan Grall and Rabea Wyler are thrown into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

Later, two more mutilated bodies are found, again with tattoos on their skin – B and C – and it becomes clear that Grall and Wyler are dealing with a brutal serial killer. One who won’t stop until his set is complete.

When Grall’s hotel room is marked with a Z and his girlfriend kidnapped, the race is on to find out who the killer is.

Before it’s too late . .

My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers for inviting me to join the blog tour and to the publishers who provided my review copy.

A serial killer tale from Germany which had a distinctly claustrophobic feel despite the action unfolding thick and fast.

The story opens with the reader witnessing the attack on a woman who is being held prisoner by an unknown assailant. He is tattooing something onto her skin and the violence of the “branding” lets us know this book falls firmly into the gritty classification.

Readers are then spun away from this horrific attack to a murder scene – a badly mutilated body has been found in a field of bison. The beasts are unsettled but not as much as the attending officers who cannot fail to notice a large letter A marked on the victim’s body.

Criminal profilers Jan Grall and Rabea Wyler are on the scene to assist with the inevitable investigation. The pair, despite being partners, appear mis-matched. Grall is the key figure in The Alphabet Murders and most of the story will be focused on Grall and his involvement in the case. However, this is a difficult assignment for Grall as he is returning to his home town after a number of years absence and he has to face memories he would rather forget. Events from long ago have shaped the man he became but now he has to share too much information with his partner so the pair can work to apprehend a killer. The stakes are raised even higher for Grall when it appears the murderer has targeted Grall himself as a future victim.

I referred to The Alphabet Murders as being claustrophobic, I feel this was partly down to the dark wintry setting. It gave off a distinctly Se7en vibes at times. Yet some scenes were unfolding at a rapid pace which seemed at odds with the claustrophobia so the action pinged along and the body count quickly increased.

Pacing issues aside (a minor niggle) I am a sucker for a serial killer story and this one has a good few twists which I certainly enjoyed. Definitely a story for the reader who doesn’t want their crime fiction to be sugar-coated…well worth looking out for if “nasty” floats your boat.

The Alphabet Murders is published by Zaffre in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Alphabet-Murders-Lars-Schutz/dp/1785768638/ref=sr_1_2?qid=1566929609&refinements=p_27%3ALars+Schutz&s=books&sr=1-2&text=Lars+Schutz

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