When one of the notorious Johnson brothers is murdered and a bag of money goes missing, a deadly game of cat and mouse is set in motion.

DS Allie Shenton and her team are called in to catch the killer, but the suspects are double-crossing each other and Allie has little time to untangle the web of lies.

As she delves deeper into the case, things take a personal turn when Allie realises she is being stalked by the very same person who attacked her sister seventeen years ago and left her for dead.

Set over forty-eight tension-filled hours, Only the Brave is the latest gut-churning police procedural from acclaimed author Mel Sherratt.

Thanks to Mel Sherratt and her publishers, Thomas & Mercer, for the chance to read Only the Brave through Netgalley.

Only the Brave is the third novel in the Allie Shenton series. It picks up events after Follow The Leader and concludes the story arc first established in Taunting the Dead. I believe that Only the Brave could be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone novel (Ms Sherratt covers all the background required) however, reading all three books in order would be beneficial to get the full impact of the story. It would also be a good way to enjoy three cracking books.

Minor spoiler there – Only The Brave is indeed cracking. The story plays out over a two day period, the cast of suspects is relatively small and they all interlink in some way. Everyone has a secret, everyone is working to protect themselves and (it seems) everyone is prepared to lie to the police.

Seeking to unpick the lies is Allie Shenton, however, Allie has her own share of personal problems – not least the unwelcome attentions of a stalker who has previously attacked her sister and now has his sights set on Allie. Juggling the pressure of murder investigation and the challenge of being there for her family is taking its toll on Allie and the cracks are starting to show.

The suspect pool in this novel are a particularly nasty lot and Mel Sherratt has done a masterly job of highlighting their worst traits, their neurosis, anxiety and deceitful natures. There is no love lost between the characters and they will gladly sacrifice friendship or loyalty to save their own skins. All this makes for fun reading and you cannot help but feel more than a little smug as each get a dose of their own medicine.

I raced through Only The Brave and enjoyed every second. I like Mel Sherratt’s writing style which is nicely grounded: gritty and believable stories that are fun to read. I hope that Allie Shenton will return in the future, she is a character I want to read more of.

Mel Sherratt is on Twitter: @writermels

And is online at : http://melsherratt.co.uk/