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I Know Your Secret – Graham Smith

“What would you do if your most intimate secrets got into the wrong hands?”

Set in modern day Cumbria, I Know Your Secret is a police thriller in which a priest is found crucified to the stone floor of his church. Fearing more attacks on the clergy, DI John Campbell and his team of misfits race to find the killer before he strikes again.

Meanwhile, DI Harry Evans, spends his days attending the trial of his wife’s rapist and his nights interfering in the investigation.

Can they catch the killer before he strikes again?

My thanks to Caffeine Nights for my review copy

DI Harry Evans has featured in two previous Major Crimes books and also in Graham Smith’s Snatched From Home. He is very much master of his home patch in Carlisle but is facing the prospect of imminent retirement and with that he may well lose the last thing that is important to him.

As the description above mentions Harry is also having to contend with the trial of his wife’s rapist. Previous books outlined events leading up to this confrontation but you do not need to have actually read them to keep up with the events in I Know Your Secret, it stands up well as a jumping on point for new readers.

I Know Your Secret opens with a very powerful murder. A priest is crucified on the floor of his chapel. Cumbria’s finest are called to investigate and Harry’s replacement (DI John Campbell) is leading the team. I like Campbell, he is battling against the demands of being a supportive new father, battling the influence of the outgoing Harry Evans who does not want to give up his patch and battling against the constant pressure of understaffing and minimal resources.

Graham Smith balances the central characters well. We switch between Campbell’s investigation, Harry’s interventions, the court case and….did I mention a Killer and Blackmailer? As you may have guessed from the title I Know Your Secret is a tale about secrets. With secrets comes knowledge and with knowledge comes power – or sometimes blackmail.

There is loads going on in I Know Your Secret and Harry Evans is determined to be at the centre of everything. It will take its toll, physically and mentally Graham Smith is putting DI Evans through a personal Hell – it makes for intense reading.

Dark in all the right places, I Know Your Secret is a nicely constructed police procedural with some clever twists that caught me off guard.

I Know Your Secret is published by Caffeine Nights and releases on 17 October and can be ordered by clicking here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Know-Your-Secret-intimate-secrets-ebook/dp/B01LSVRL5G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1476224783&sr=8-1&keywords=i+know+your+secret

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September 5

Matching The Evidence (Major Crimes Vol 2) – Graham Smith

Carlisle United are playing Millwall and the Major Crimes Team are assigned to crowd control as punishment for their renegade ways. Typically, DI Harry Evans has other ideas and tries to thwart the local firm’s plans to teach Millwall’s notorious Bushwhackers an unforgettable lesson.
Meanwhile an undercover cop is travelling north with some of the Millwall contingent. His mission is to identify the ringleaders and gather evidence against them.
Three illegal immigrants have been transported to Carlisle and are about to meet their new employers.
Nothing is as it seems for Evans and his Major Crimes Team as they battle to avoid a bloodbath while also uncovering a far more heinous crime.

My thanks to Graham, Caffeine Nights and the indefatigable Noelle Holten for the chance to join the blog tour.

Last summer I reviewed the first volume of Graham Smith’s Major Crimes Team (Lines of Enquiry) and despite not being a fan of short stories I found that I liked that collection which were bound by a common thread. Lead character Harry Evans had a tough time of it in that book and it seems that life is not getting easier from him.

Between Major Crimes volumes 1 and 2 there was Graham’s Snatched From Home events from Snatched and Lines of Enquiry are mentioned in Matching the Evidence and some spoilers will present themselves for those who plan to read all three books. However, Matching the Evidence can be read and enjoyed as a stand-alone.

The bloody football and the clever title may have been a clue that there is a football theme to Matching the Evidence. A North vs South head to head with notorious Millwall fans heading to Carlisle intent on causing a ruckus. As punishment for events that took place prior to MtE Harry Evans and his team are roped into duty to thwart any trouble. With his soon-to-be replacement shadowing his investigations Harry has his work cut out to identify and locate the local football socials who feel they need to show their Southern counterparts that North is better than South.

Away from the football we read of three illegal immigrants who have arrived in England for new employment opportunities. This was the element of the story I particularly enjoyed, their journey and employment prospects made for concerning reading and I loved how Graham Smith handled their predicament and reflected their excitement at a fresh start in a new country.

Two very different stories in one nicely worked book.

Matching the Evidence is published by Caffeine Nights and can be ordered here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Matching-Evidence-Major-Crimes-Team-ebook/dp/B01JJ5D1AC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473101031&sr=8-1&keywords=matching+the+evidence

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