Canelo Crime – nigeladamsbookworm

What The Dead Want. M.J Lee

DI Ridpath #10

This series is constantly one of my top two British crime thriller, police procedural, reads

M.J Lee has created a unique character. DI Tom Ridpath has two jobs. His main job is in the Major Investigation Team of Greater Manchester Police. But following treatment for cancer he was seconded to the Corner as her investigator, a job he is still doing four years later, although he is increasingly back in the fold of the police.

The uniqueness of the situation sees Ridpath investigating deaths for the Coroner that sometimes haven’t raised suspicions of the police.

In this case a high death rate at a Residential Care Home for the elderly.

At the same time Ridpath is tasked, by the police, to look at the case of a fourteen year old boy who went missing during the Covid lockdown, and was never found.

Why was the case so badly handled in the first place?

It’s a hot chalice for Ridpath, often seen as an outsider, and an ideal scapegoat, could this be somebody engineering his failure.

Covid took its toll on the police and they were slow to respond, officers went sick and the continuity of the investigation was shattered. So what can the new investigation find, without highlighting just how badly the police had messed up, without Ridpath taking the blame.

Meanwhile a serial killer is lounging in a high security hospital plotting his escape. Ex medical examiner Harold Lardner wants revenge on the people that put him in jail. That includes everybody at Greater Manchester Coroners Office.

The residential care home starts to crop up in Ridpaths missing persons case, and his inquiries for the Coroner are being thwarted by the care home management.

Surely the two cases can’t be related.

Lardner is plotting and pulling strings like a master puppeteer, but surely he can’t have been playing the long game and somehow be responsible for the disappearance of the boy four years ago.

This is a great story in a great series.

The main character, Ridpath, struggles with his work life balance. A a widowed father with a fourteen year old daughter his home life is fractious. As a cop with two jobs, which comes with often conflicting loyalties, work is also fractious.

Ridpath and the recurring characters, the background storyline running through the series, and the story within each book makes these books unmissable.

Pages:394. Publisher Canelo Crime

The Two Deaths of Ruth Lyle

Nick Louth

When one of your favourite authors ends a great series, and you wonder what they are going to come up with next, this is the type of response you really want.

Detective Inspector Jan Talantire and her team work in a Major Investigation Team of Devon and Cornwall Police. What they face in this story is a unique and baffling crime.

Ruth Lyle was a 16 year old girl when she was killed on the alter of a church 50 years ago.

When a woman is killed in the same way, in the now converted church, on the anniversary it is the start of an investigation that will span half a century.

It’s not just the location and manner of death which are identical. The woman killed today has the same name as the original victim, the same date of birth, and her birth certificate.

As far as debuts for a new series goes this is second to none.

The crime is clever and left me intrigued up till the very last page.

Talentire is a great character. Nearly 40, newly single and struggling with trying to establish a life balance that would actually give her a chance on the dating scene.

She is driven as a detective, and doesn’t take any heed of pressures from above, or below, when she is on the right track.

The supporting characters of her team, especially the newly appointed digital expert Primrose, are going to be great to watch develop over the series.

But what really steals the show is the setting. Small town crime on the North Devon coast needs all the skills of those investigated in the big cities. Without overlapping CCTV, with sketchy mobile phone coverage, and with the infrastructure difficulties of rural policing, it is more old school than some of the stories set in the cities, and for me that makes it all the more readable.

Let’s hope this is the start of another brilliant series.

Publisher: Canelo Crime. Pages: 326. Publishing date: 2nd May 2024 Audiobook 10 hours 9 minutes narrated by Mandy Weston

The Body In Nightingale Park. Nick Louth

Billed as the final instalment of the DCI Craig Gillard series I read this book with some trepidation. I’ve really enjoyed this series and didn’t really want it to end but Nick Louth has dealt with the ending brilliantly.

The frustrations of being a Police Officer and maintaining a personal life is depicted really well

As the SIO of some very high profile investigations Gillard has always put his family slightly behind his job whilst always being a loving and caring husband.

Now it’s different. Sam, Gillard’s wife is heavily pregnant, and even though he has been given reassurances that he can have leave to support her through the birth Gillard is called in again, and again.

The end of the series? I’m still not 100% sure we’ve heard the end of Gillard and his team. There is scope to have some of the characters move forward in their own series. But by the end of the book I was thinking how Gillard should really be left alone to enjoy faintly time as best as he can.

Publishers Gumpth

The final instalment of the DCI Gillard Crime Thrillers,

Another impossible case for DCI Gillard, but this time the answers are very close to home…

With a baby on the way, a pregnant wife to take care of and a new home to settle into, DCI Craig Gillard seems to have found a life of domestic bliss.

But when retired police sergeant Ken Stapleford is found stabbed to death in front of his own TV while watching Saturday afternoon football, Gillard’s peace is once again disturbed.

Only a day later, just a short walk from his new home, Gillard is himself witness to the killing of a jogger in Nightingale Park. A strange forensic connection emerges between the two killings, something that seems impossible. As he digs into the evidence, Gillard uncovers two more attacks, and any chance of taking time off for the birth of his child disappears.

And all the time the killer is circling closer and closer…

Perfect for fans of Stuart Macbride, Mark Billingham and Robert Bryndza.

What I thought

As always Nick Louth has written a brilliant Police Procedural Crime Thriller.

The crimes in this series have all been original, well conceived, and realistic, and this one is no exception.

Effectively Gillard is investigations two unrelated crimes, a series of rapes carried out in a park near his house, and a prominent influencer killed in the same park.

But the connections between these crimes soon become obvious, as does a more tenuous thread to the murder of a retired Police Officer being investigated by one of Gillard’s colleagues.

As more crimes get linked it looks almost impossible for one person to have carried out the attacks, over such a vast area, in such a relatively short time.

Gillard’s thinking, and the logic in which he applies his thoughts are really well written and just like the rest of the series I was hooked before the end of the first chapter.

As I said earlier I can see spin offs from this series.

Whatever Nick Louth decides, I’ll be at the front of the queue for his next book.

Pages: 323. Publisher: Canelo Crime. Publishing date: 17 August 2023

Out Of The Ashes. Louisa Scarr

As a retired Fire Officer, and current Fire Investigation Consultant and Fire Procedures and Science Lecturer, I always open books which contain fire scenes with trepidation. However, I have to say that this book has got everything spot on. The Fire Scenes, along with the interaction between the Police team and the Fire Investigation Officer, is stunningly accurate.

This is the fifth outing for Detectives West and Butler and just like the four before it it is a great read.

Now working in two separate forces it takes a cross boarder crime to bring the two together as a team, which is not to everybody’s liking.

At first they are kept apart, West investigating a stalker, and Butler investigating an arsonist that has set fires in both force areas.

When the teams realise that they may be dealing with the same person committing both crimes it is inevitable that they start to work closely together again, and the old spark is rekindled, in more ways than one.

As with real fire setters the crime of setting the fire begins to escalate. And when the frequency of when they are set isn’t enough, the severity and dangers to others start t increase.

But when two people die in different fires are they randomly unlucky or is there a connection to the fire starter.

If the stalker is responsible is the target of his attentions in danger from an arson attack.

The tension mounts as the investigation continues, who is the fire setting stalker, and why are they not leaving any evidence that might identify them.

Meanwhile the relationship between West and Butler is also smouldering. The year working in different forces, and the fact that they are both in relationships hasn’t done anything to dampen that fire.

Can they both concentrate on the case, and keep each other at arms length.

The want the case over quickly. One of them will take unnecessary risks. This story might not have the happy ever after ending.

What a book. Without other commitments it would have been a one sitting read, what it was was a distraction when I should have been doing other things. Brilliant.

I was convinced I knew who the stalking fire setter was, and I’m sure that was because of some canny writing, but it wasn’t until they were revealed that I realised I was wrong.

A clever plot, completely realistic, and a brilliant balance of crime investigation and personal battles amongst the main characters.

Pages: 411. Publisher: Canelo Crime. Publishing date: 6 July 2023

Those Empty Eyes. Charlie Donlea

A teenage girl is the only survivor when her family are gunned down in the middle of the night.

A TV crew are at the house when she’s led out of the house in handcuffs.

The reporter, a young up and comer who is desperate to make her name, looks at her and says to the camera. Her eyes are empty.

Charged with the murder she spends two months in juvenile prison before the case is dropped. But the damage is done. The world knows Alexandra Quinlan as the girl with empty eyes, and with nobody else charged with the murder her guilt is assumed by nearly everyone

That leads to her life being made a misery by the “True-Crime-Junkies” who live their lives as armchair detectives.

Driven to change her name and move abroad she becomes Alex Armstrong and joins the armchair detective brigade as she tries to find out who killed her family.

This story looks at the problems caused by over zealous reporting hanging tags on people before guilt is proven, with the struggle to find the real murderer the only way of ever having peace.

Whilst looking into the death of her parents Alex uncovers some crimes which run parallel to her investigations.

Eerily similar to Jeffery Epstein and his celebrity sex rings there is an undercurrent of abuse that reaches high levels.

This s a cracking story.

It is realistic in every way. U.K. crime fans will be more aware of the problems that have besieged some innocent people in the States since the Nicola Bulley debacle.

This forms the spine of this story, which spreads over 10 years.

The transformation from Alexandra Quinlan to Alex Armstrong is mesmerising.

The interactions she has along the way, friendships formed, allegiances made and characters met are compelling.

I’ve been struggling of late to stick with a book. Most readers go through these phases and it only takes one good book to kick you back into the reading habit.

Those Empty Eyes was that book for me. It’s the first book I’ve picked up for months that I’ve read in one go, cover to cover, and enjoyed every page.

Pages: 384. Publisher: Canelo Crime. Publishing Date 4th May 2023

What The Shadows Hide. M.J Lee

Ridpath is back for another instalment of this Police Procedural series with a twist.

Ridpath is a DI in Greater Manchesters Major Investigation Team, but following a brush with cancer he has been on secondment to the Coroner, acting as her Head Investigator.

But with staffing, and budgeting issues within the Police he is increasingly been brought back to his old team to add his expertise and experience,.

With Greater Manchester Police in Special needs, and with a follow-up inspection by the Inspectorate of Constabularies only days away, the last thing the force needs is a high profile case that has gone unsolved for over 6 months, but that’s what they’ve got.

Two bodies found bricked into a hidden room in an office block by demolition contractors.

With the original investigation team failing to identify the bodies, or make even the smallest step forward in the murder investigation, Ridpath is given the poison-chalice of solving the crime in seven days.

To make matters worse a new temporary Coroner is appointed, following an attack on sitting one, and he’s flexing his muscles in an attempt to get Ridpath to concentrate his time on working solely for the Coroner.

Ridpath, and his very small team are bolstered by a DNA and Genetic Research specialist who gives the team hope but seven days is a small time span to solve what is effectively a cold case, and most likely his Police career.

M.J Lee has created a great Detective in Ridpath, and by combining his duties as a Coroners Officer, with his Police duties has developed character that has the scope to carry out investigations in a relatively unexplored way.

The book can be read as a stand-alone story, but this is a cracking series and well worth reading from the beginning.

Pages: 382. Publisher: Canelo Crime Publishing Date 23/03/2023

The Body In The Shadows. Nick Louth

The latest in the DCI Craig Gillard series and another great read.

A series of events, including an attack on Gillard’s wife when she tries to intervene in a pick-pocket incident, starts to uncover rumours of a crime about to take place.

The consistencies in the rumours are only the date and the value of the gains £1.5 billion.

With not much else to go on several police forces become involved in the investigation into a crime that has not yet happened.

To say what that crime is would be a bit of a spoiler, as much of the first 3/4 of the book is taken up with the team identifying the players and what crime is about to be committed.

This is not a unique way of telling a story but it is less common these days and I found that I really enjoyed that aspect of the book.

Gillard and his colleagues build various hypotheses of what is about to happen, and each one of them is a possibility.

So if they know a crime is about to take place, and they have an idea of some of the people involved, what could go wrong.

Actually quite a bit. The problem is a minor crime, in comparison, is leading the team a bit of a dance.

This is a great story that I find it hard review without letting spoilers slip.

The basis of the story is great, the characters are brilliantly written, and the pace of it is perfect.

All in all, a really good read.

Publisher: Canelo Crime. Pages: 287. Publishing date: 19th January 2023

Sudden Death. Rachel Lynch

A sleazy MP and his “fixer” are on a helicopter flight over the Lake District piloted by two former RAF pilots.

It should be a safe journey. The helicopter is top of the range, luxurious, and relatively new.

So why did the tail rota come off.

The ensuing crash kills all on board and people on the ground who are taking part in a Fell Run

DI Kelly Porter is just finishing off in a high profile court case which has seen her pitched against her “ex” boyfriend.

When the call comes in about the crash they are thrown together by circumstance. She’s SIO for the Police investigation, and he’s part of the mountain rescue team.

Porter conducts her investigation and attempts to keep other agencies in line, whilst dealing with the inevitable political pressures which are brought to bear on the investigators.

The conundrum of which of the four dead people on the helicopter was the intended target is the major factor. They all have secrets in their past.

I really enjoy this series. Rachel Lynch gets the mix just right for me. The investigation takes centre stage, but the lives of the characters, and the ongoing story of Porters private life leads to great read.

The setting of the Lake District is perfect. Close enough to big towns and cities, but remote enough to cause the difficulties found in tackling rural crimes, and disasters in almost inaccessible places

Pages: 355. Publisher: Canelo Crime. Release date: 10th November 2022

The Body In The Stairwell. Nick Louth

The latest in the DCI Craig Gillard series, and a great story. I just think that if you’re a Gillard fan you are going to be a bit disappointed, as although he’s the lead Police Character, he doesn’t actually appear much in the book.

The story is one of revenge. An English accountant has just served 6 months in an American jail for laundering drugs money for an American gang.

He got a short sentence compared to the gang bosses because he gave evidence against them. Now two of them are dead and one, the fiercest of all of them, has sworn revenge.

The Reptile, as he is known because of a skin condition, is out of segregation and plotting his revenge. Still locked in a maximum security jail in the middle of the desert he shouldn’t be a threat.

But he gets his hand on a smart phone, how hard should it be to find the English Accountant.

Meanwhile the Accountant is in serious financial difficulties. He had a life style funded by his cut of the laundered drug money and was living well beyond his means.

He has a wife and a teenage daughter, they both know, and are both trying to fly below the radar, staying off social media and out of the headlines.

The Reptile is determined and working with the slimmest slither of information starts to use his smart phone to track down the Accountant.

The story centres on the naivety of young teenagers and the information they share. The dogged determination of a desperate man, out for revenge.

Ultimately it’s a bit of an eye opener. It’s a psychological thriller based around internet stalking and grooming.

Young girls desperate for an internet presence, sharing hat they think is trivial information. All of this acting as a mosaic letting the Reptile gradually build a picture of a lifestyle and ultimately a location.

Then it’s time to wreak revenge, and he’s really going to make somebody suffer.

I really enjoy this series. Nick Louth brings a lot of realism to his books and although I mentioned Gillard is not in this book very much, it doesn’t distract from what is a very good story and a cautionary tail.

I wondered how easy it is to dig into a persons life, via social media, whilst I was reading this book. So I gave it a go. Believe me it’s scary.

Pages: 274. Publisher: Canelo Crime. Publishing date: 22nd September 2022

Stay Awake. Megan Goldin

It might sound a familiar plot, woman wakes with no memory and is in the middle of a murder mystery, but it is much better than anything along similar lines that I have ever read.

To start the amnesia is not the common forgot everything type.

32 year old Liv Reece wakes up tipsy in the back of a taxi. When she gets home she finds it occupied by strangers. Catching herself in a mirror she realises she has long hair several shades darker than the short hair she thought she had.

On the back of her hand, her wrist, and up her arm are scribbles in pen.

Stay Awake, Remember to wake up, Don’t sleep, I forget everything when I sleep.

There’s also the address on a nightclub. People know her there but she doesn’t remember them.

As she starts to put things together she realises the last thing she remembered, taking a phone call at her work desk, was actually over 2 years ago.

Waking up on a park bench the next day her memory is gone again, all she remembers is everything that happened in her life up till the phone call at her desk.

A murder takes place and New York Detectives Halliday and Leville are assigned. A man with a stab to the heart and slashed feet lies naked on a bed. The words Wake Up! Written in blood on the inside of the window, backwards so the can be read correctly from the outside.

Liv sees this on the news and realises she must have had something to do with it. But why.

The story is brilliant, Liv’s fear and frustration as she tries to piece together her life, and work out if she killed somebody.

Halliday and Leville investigating a stranger murder with a suspect who appears to have fallen off the grid over two years ago.

The plot twists around will the Police Investigators find Liv, whilst Liv is going through psychological torture, and trying to stay any awake is only increasing her pain.

As both parties creep closer to the truth, and each other, it become a breathtaking ride of a story that you found myself deeply engaged by.

A great book by a new author to me.

Print Length: 353 pages. Publisher: Canelo. Publishing date U.K. 18th August 2022.