Crime Fiction – Page 2 – nigeladamsbookworm

The Hallmarked Man Robert Galbraith

I’ve been with this series from the start and with the exception of one of the books I’ve loved them all.

This is book 8 and quite possibly the best so far.

The hallmarked man in the headline is the body of a man found in a silver vault. His hands, ears and…….well other body parts are either missing or have been deformed.

Each of the missing or deformed parts could have been used to identify him but have been conveniently removed. Coincidentally several men could be the victim, all of which would have been identified by one of the missing, mutilated parts.

The police are convinced they’ve identified who the man is but his, but haven’t said they are 100% sure it is who they say.

The “alleged” victim has left behind a girlfriend and a baby. She wants to be sure it is him, because she can’t bear the thought that he’d just upped and left her and the baby.

It’s the girlfriend who employs Strike and Robin’s agency to prove that it was him in the vault.

The more the detectives investigate the more they become convinced that the body is not the woman’s boyfriend.

The victim had been killed during a silver heist. The police haven’t had any success in finding the perpetrators or whether the victim was part of the gang or just somebody who got in the way.

By digging deeper Strike and Robin start to uncover a very complex plot which makes up the main crime in this book.

The plot is excellent.

The other hook in this book is the ongoing will-they-won’t-they between Strike and Robin.

I would usually say this was tedious and irritating, usually. But I’m that engaged with these characters that I think it was actually this part of the book that kept me reading late into the night.

When I wrote about Ink Black Heart, the book I really didn’t like, I called the blog, Ink Black Heart. An Honest Review By A Fan, because I really didn’t want to sound like one of those haters who jump on the band wagon.

In the spirit of balance I should really say, as an honest review from a fan, this book is really good

It follows Galbraith’s usual formula. The agency is busy and the other investigations are a nice distraction from the main plot.

The main investigation is basically tagged onto an ongoing, or recently closed Police investigation, that realistically gives Strike and Robin the legal ability to take on the investigation.

Galbraith is very clever at pitching the story believably on the fringe of a proper criminal investigation

And of course there’s the ongoing Strike and Robin relationship. He, with his past has finally admitted he’s in love with his business partner Robin, but she’s in a steady, and growing relationship with with a senior Police Detective.

But, although she looks happy on the outside, in reality it’s not all happy families and roses.

As readers we begin to hear her doubt in her own mind. We begin to hear the inward battle she’s having with herself about the way she actually feels about Strike.

This book will have fans of the series on the edge of their seat for more reasons than one.

And the ending, well …………….

Pages 912 pages. Publisher Sphere. Audiobook length 31 hours 7 minutes. Narrator Robert Glenister

All the Colours of the Dark. Chris Whitaker

If ever the word epic was appropriate for a story, it’s for this book

At 580 pages it’s a tomb of a book but not one word is wasted.

Spread over three decades, and full of unpredictable but realistic twist, this is one hell of a story.

Two young misfit kids find themselves attracted to each other because they are almost outcast from the other children their age.

Patch, a one eyed boy who lives his childhood as a pirate, and Saint the geeky late developing girl.

A childhood friendship built on being two outsiders.

When Patch goes missing protecting a young girl from attack the police investigation soon peters out.

He’s alive and being kept in a dark cellar, but he’s not alone. There’s a young girl with him. A girl he can’t see in the dark, a girl that asks him to imagine her features by touching her face. She talks in strange quotes and try’s to educate him with her cryptic stories.

Her name is Grace.

Saint never gives up on Patch and through her amateur, childish investigations finally thinks she’s found him.

In the commotion that follows the Saint and the Police find Patch but there’s no sign of the girl he says was in the cellar with him.

Over the next three decades Patch devotes his life to finding Grace.

Over the same three decades Saint, who joins Law Enforcement tries to keep Patch out of trouble, and independently looks for Grace for her own reasons.

There’s no real spoilers in what I’ve written above. Patch’s abduction and his release happen fairly early in the book, the real story is what follows.

The characters in the book weave in and out of the plot around Patch and Saint.

The relationship between Patch and Saint is never really a “will they, won’t they” get together, it’s more the story of two best friends who love each other unconditionally but more as brother and sister.

It’s all about what each of them will do to prove that Grace existed. Patch because he thinks he loves her, and Saint because she is on the trail of a long dead killer.

This is my first Chris Whitaker book but, coincidentally, whilst I was reading it he was recommending to me by a fellow book worm.

She was talking about a book I’d read, a gothic fantasy novel, and I had said the second in that series was the same story as the first. We both love crime fiction and she said to me, aren’t all crime stories basically the same.

Many of them are, but this one definitely isn’t like any I’ve read before.

She’d found it and pointed me in Chris Whitakers direction.

Now I’m looking at his back catalogue.

Pages 580. Publisher Orion. Audiobook length 14 hours 37 minutes Narrator Edoardo Ballerini

Little Children Angela Marsons

In one of my very first book blogs I said I didn’t like authors that published a book every 6 months or so. Well this series by Angela Marsons is the proof that I was very wrong to say that.

This series is the one I look forward to reading as soon as the book is available to me.

22 books in and this one is so original that I had no idea that this type of crime existed, but now that I’ve read about it I’m sure that was down to my own naivety.

In this book Stone and her team are seconded to another force, overtly to help with the search for a missing boy, covertly to hunt out bad practices, and a bad apple, in the major investigation team.

The investigation into the missing boy has been run badly and Stone and her team start to identify major issues within the other force.

The clash of personalities isn’t just based on the policing methods and it’s a fascinating read to see how the influence of one or two people can affect a whole team.

That alone as a story would have been brilliant, but throw in the actual crime they are there to investigate and you have one of the best crime books I’ve read for a long time.

Boys going missing around the country. Some of them are a bit rough around the edges and not unknown to the Police, but just because they’ve got a history, and have “run away from home” before, shouldn’t mean they should be treated flippantly.

When Stones team uncover a link it almost unthinkable about what these boys are going through.

The hard part for the team is proving it, and then finding out not only who is responsible, but where they are keeping the boys.

When it becomes evident that at least one of the boys has died, in a horrible manner, the investigation becomes even more highly charged.

And with the investigation getting off to a bad start in the other force Stone is playing catch up from the start.

There are not many books that sit this far into a crime series that I would recommend as a standalone story, but this one is a must read and can be read as a one off.

If anybody hasn’t read any of the others in the series, but picks this one up I’m sure they’ll go back to the beginning and start from book one. I’m almost jealous of the fact I can’t start over and read them all for the first time again.

Pages 371. Publisher Bookouture Audiobook length 8 hours 16 minutes. Narrator Jan Cramer

Good People. Patmeena Sabit

I think a better title for this book would have been Perspectives

Ultimately that is what this book is all about.

The story unfolds in a series of statements from numerous people who have known the Sharaf Family, or have been part of the investigation into a crime that centres around the family.

There is no narrative to string the statements together, the whole book is a story told through observations, thoughts, and hypotheses of the general community, an investigative journalist, and various professionals such as teachers, and attorneys. All looking back, with hindsight, into events leading up to…….I can’t really say without including a book spoiling, spoiler.

The “occurrence” doesn’t happen until about halfway through the book. But even then not everything is as it first appears.

So what can I tell you without spoiling the book.

The story centres around an Afghan family who escaped the violence of their country by moving to America

The father arrives in America with nothing but ambition and eventually works his way up to becoming a very successful business owner.

His family, two elder children, a son and a daughter, and two younger children are not just the apple of his eye, but also his status symbol of what he wants to achieve.

He tries everything to get them into the best schools and colleges, no matter what their ability.

In the Afghan community he is seen to be a normal parent with high ambitions for his children, outside of that community he is seen to be a pushy parent.

The eldest daughter Zorah is the fulcrum for the different opinions. To her friends she is the girl trying her hardest to live a normal life as an American teenage girl.

To the Afghan community she is a wild child that her father should reign in.

As the story continues people on both sides of that argument seem to change their perspectives on Zorah.

She is the catalyst for the events at the centre of the story.

Her “rebellion” against the aspirations her father has for her.

Her bucking of the traditions of the Afghan community.

Her families reactions

The opinion of her friends.

The opinion of the Afghan community, many of whom have never met her.

Opinions turn to reactions, as the chronological accounts reach the event the book centres around.

Throughout the book I was waiting for a narrator, somebody to stitch all of the personal accounts together. But the lack of the narrative is what held me, and kept me reading.

As far as books go this is as close as I’ve ever read to a voyeuristic experience.

I felt like I was in a room full of people gossiping.

It’s the fact that it’s written in hindsight, with everybody giving their thoughts having known what has happened, and all the time I was the only one in the room who didn’t know.

I have never read a book written in this manner before.

At first I found it frustrating, and dare I say amateurish.

But I was hooked from very early on.

I think Patmeena Sabit hit on a great, and to me original, way to hook the reader.

FOMO, fear of missing out, it’s that thing we all have lurking in our psyche. The fact I was the only one in the room listening to the gossip but having no idea hat people were on about.

In my working life I have dealt with similar situations. Parents living their life vicariously through their children.

Immigrants working hard for every hour they can to give their families the best life. Only to see their children become westernised, and ditch the beliefs and work ethos of their parents.

It’s a matter of opinion whether this is right or wrong.

Like I wrote at the beginning of this review it’s a matter of perspectives.

I think different people will get different things out of this book, depending on their perspective.

What I will say is that it’s a really good, thought provoking book.

Pages: 464. Publisher: Virago. Publishing Date: 12 February 2026

The Girl In Cell A. Vaseem Khan

To start this review I have to say that I really enjoyed this book, up until the last two or three chapters.

So to start with the plot is brilliant.

Orianna, the girl in cell A, has been in prison for 18 years. She was convicted of killing a member of the family that founded Eden Falls. A family that still lords it over the town.

The man she killed was, like the rest of the family, a law onto himself.

She maintains her innocence and claims to have no memory of the attack.

Annie Leddit is a Forensic Psychologist who is part of the prison team that is looking at the potential release of Orianna. But to be released she has to show remorse, and to show remorse she must first admit guilt.

It is Annie’s job to unlock the memories and let Orianna have to opportunity to show remorse.

The book is written from two first hand points of view, in two different times.

The present is written from Orianna’s point of view as she returns to Eden Falls four years after her release. She has gone back to confront the family of her victim, to find the truth and clear her name.

The past is written from Annie’s point of view as she conducts her interviews with Orianna, and tries to pick the locks which hold her memories repressed.

Both are brilliantly written. The story flies along and its one of those books where you have to read the next chapter, I found it really hard to put it down.

Until the last three chapters.

The book for me should have ended before those chapters.

There is an unexpected twist, its good, and it’s in context but…….

It left me with the feeling that the author had two endings in mind, and decided to add the alternative right at the end.

Did it spoil the book for me?

No, I just didn’t get see the point.

Would I recommend it?

YES.

Pages: 592. Publisher: Hodder Paperbacks

Hidden Daughters. Patricia Gibney

I used to worry about long series losing there impact or running out of ideas. The Lottie Parker series by Patricia Gibney is one I really don’t have to worry about

Every new addition to the series jut seems to get better, and the bar was high from the start.

I read this book as a recent story about the discovery of a lot of human remains, those of young children, was found in an old school in Ireland, run by the church for unmarried women and their babies

This not only brought a credibility to an already brilliant book, but somehow underlined everything about the story.

When two, seemingly unrelated murders take place, both involving young women with sad stories that include attending the Sisters of Forgiveness Convent Lottie Parker can’t help but get involved but the emotional attachment to this casenearly unhinges her.

Emotionally she has always struggled to keep her family, and partner, separated from her work. Although that’s hard when you’re in a relationship with another Officer.

But the one has always been a refuse from the other.

This case seems like its make or break for her career and her relationships

Lottie will do anything to get justice, and in this case get news of the women’s demise to any family that they might have.

All the time the threat of another murder hangs over her and her team.

This is a timely and very suspenseful story, told by one of the best crime fiction writers on the shelves at the moment

It’s also one of those books I would only pick up if you’ve got nothing else to do for a couple of days because once you start it you are not going to want to put it down.

Pages: 464. Publisher: Bookouture. Audiobook length: 13.25. Narrator Michele Moran

What The Dark Whispers. M.J Lee

The DI Ridpath books are right up there in my favourite reads, and are always the next-to-read, as soon as they are available to me.

Ridpath is a brilliantly conceived character. Employed by Greater Manchester Police, and posted within the MIT, he has, from the start of the series, been on secondment to the Coroners Office, allowing him a greater range of deaths to investigate.

His secondment was intended to give him an easy ride back to work following a battle with cancer, but over the years he has been involved in some serious murder investigations. He has become a single parent who is struggling to bring up his now teenage daughter, and balance his home life with work. A typical cop his work often comes first.

Now, with GMP under increasing scrutiny , and with staff shortages being exacerbated by increased crime levels the Police want more and more of Ridpath’s time.

So when he is called in by his boss (police) to look at a serious crime that another DI and his team have already wound up Ridpath is put into conflict with one of his peers.

The crime, a young girl accused of killing her mother, a seemingly open and shut case following the girls confession. But she is a minor, and the interview was not carried out well.

Did she really killer mother.

In a separate case Ridpath is tasked by the coroner to look into the death of a man who set himself on fire on a petrol station forecourt.

Suicide? Everything points to it.

But why did both victims, who died hours apart, say the same thing insinuating they are dying in order to save others.

As the investigations continue more similarities are uncovered.

Add to this another team investigating the murder of a family of four, which in isolation seems unrelated. And that’s the problem if these crimes were looked at in isolation nobody would ever get caught.

Can the connections be made.

Are there more deaths to come.

The pace of the book is none stop. M.J Lee’s cadence in his writing just keeps me hooked every time I pick one of his books up.

This one, in my opinion, is one of the best in the series.

Could it be read as a standalone, yes, there is enough mention of previous happenings to leave new readers with no doubt as to how Ridpath, and his family, have got to where they are.

Nicely, for those of us that have read the previous books there’s not too much rehashing and it certainly doesn’t detract from the story, it more reminds us of what has gone before.

But, if I was to be asked, I’d say read the series in order. It really is that good.

Pages: 351. Publisher: Canelo Crime. Release date: 03/07/2025

The Secrets Of Forest Lane. Sian Morgan

The first few chapters of this book are scene setters so please don’t think you’ve stumbled across an urban romance, because that’s the last thing this book is.

This is a psychological thriller, and it’s a very good one.

Based around three families living in close proximity to each other this story could be happening on any street in the U.K.

Lily is a single mom to a young girl. Only 22 herself she is wondering what happened to her dream of a successful career and a university degree.

When her little sister Jasmin, 18, goes missing after a night out her mother spins into a panic.

Meanwhile two outwardly happy couples, both with children in the same nursery class as Lily’s girl are hiding troubled relationships.

Katherine and her controlling husband are in a destructive relationship. He’s controlling and increasingly heavy handed with her, she wants to go back to work and have her own life.

Tom and Carol appear to be the ideal couple, she’s a successful doctor and he’s a stay at home dad. So when he goes out after an argument and gets drunk and stoned it is out of character. So is the fact that he had drunken sex with an 18 year old girl in the toilet of the pub.

The problem is the girl he had sex with turns out to be the missing girl Jasmin, and he appears to be the last one to see her.

The story revolves around these three families and particularly Lily trying to find out what happened to her sister.

All the women like Tom and he’s that central overlapping part of the Venn Diagram made up of the sexual relationships between the three families.

This is a cracking story.

I can almost guarantee that you will never look at families doing the school run the same again. Yet as shocking as the murder is, the relationships and the characters are very, very believable.

Pages: 352 (paperback) Publisher: Mind Brief Publishing

The Seven Robyn Delvey

43 Dead, 24 injured. Two bombs devastate a London Theatre.

The Seven are the survivors of the gang that took the audience hostage during the celebration of a famous actress, before detonating two bombs.

The Seven are on trial at the Old Bailey, in what should be a slam dunk guilty verdict case.

Eve Wren, a young Solicitor is now working for the CPS and is trying to keep a low profile. She had been touted as one of the brightest defence solicitors in the country, until she spotted a mistake by a senior Barrister at the midland law firm she worked at. Her reward for pointing it out was to have the blame turned on her, which led to her firing.

She is young, she is diligent and she is very good at her job. Good enough to have been noticed by her new boss. Good enough to be pulled of a case she is working on to help the prosecution team in the trial of the seven. But the case has already begun, so why move her now.

The credibility of a member of the investigating team has been brought into doubt following mistakes in another case.

They had been responsible for logging evidence.

Some evidence in trials is never used. It’s things that were discovered during an investigation but are deemed irrelevant to the case, and therefore undisclosed to the defence.

Wrens job is to go over the evidence deemed irrelevant, just in case there is something there that should have been disclosed.

As you would imagined the Police Officers who investigated the incident are not happy. But the SIO and his boss have to accept that Wren needs to do her job.

The political wranglings of who Wren should inform of any discoveries first, the lead Barrister or the Police, as well as the moral dilemma of what she should do if she discovers evidence that may conflict the case are central to the plot.

I really enjoyed this book. At first I did have a problem with the now-and-then plot, switching between the night of the incident and the time of the trial. I thought some of the “then” sections were spurious, but actually the knitted the plot together nicely.

Book two in the series The Bait is also available and is now on my TBR list.

Pages: 364. Publisher Thomas & Mercer. Audiobook length: 10.36. Narrator: Moira Quirk

The Devil’s Code. Michael Wood

The second in the Dr Olivia Winter series.

Her father is still alive and in prison but has no big part to play in this book, except that a TV series based on his killings is about to be aired on prime time television. Bringing Olivia back into the unwelcome spotlight.

The main story in this book centres on the investigation into a series of murders. Isaac McFadden is in prison for one murder. He was stopped by the police for a faulty light on his car, but they discovered a dismembered body in the boot.

Throughout his arrest and questioning he replied no comment to all questions. In court he was found guilty of one murder. But when his daughter started to clear out his house she found a note book with some coded entries, and an eclectic mix of items she’d never seen before, hidden in the bedroom.

The police now think there may have been more than one murder and turn to Olivia to help her crack the code in the book, and McFaddens code of silence.

Moving to Newcastle to help the police she has to interview the daughter, a woman that is going through what Olivia went through, finding out the father she loved is actually a killer. She tries to help her emotionally, but the spotlight from the TV series has an adverse effect.

I have to say the plot in this book is brilliant. I love the characters, the way it’s written, the story, the cadence, everything.

I think the code in the notebook is clever, and most of it I’d never have got, but the two parts the team really struggle with, for me, were the most obvious. It didn’t detract from my enjoyment, but I think most people will suss it quite quickly.

The fears at the end of my review of the first book didn’t transpire. Olivia Winter is a brilliant Forensic Psychologist, who was the only survivor when her father killed her family, the latest in a series of his killings.

My fear was that it would be another of those series where the incarcerated father would be the go too expert relied on by the law abiding daughter. Apart from the TV series he has little part to play and is hardly mentioned, but when he is ……..

The second book in a series can often be “the difficult second book” but if anything this one is even better than the first, and now I can’t wait for number three.

Pages: 477. Publisher: One More Chapter. Audiobook length: 13.48 hours. Narrator: Olivia Mace