I was completely gripped throughout this story and fascinated by the details. It’s a longish but easy read police procedural which easily hooked me in from the very beginning. Full of suspense and short chapters which add to the tension. There was no way I could just read a couple of chapters at a time. Once picked up it was a difficult one to put down. I highly recommend and look forward to book 2.
Kerry Parsons
J.F. Burgess is a new-to-me and local-to-me author. He came along to one of our Stoke-on-Trent Book Blogger/Author meet ups which was how I was introduced to his work. The fact that this book is set in Stoke-on-Trent made it all the more appealing to me. I was born in Stoke-on-Trent and have lived in Newcastle-under-Lyme for most of my life. I love it when I read a book featuring place’s I know so well as I can literally picture the characters there.
This book pretty much has it all if you love a police procedural crime thriller, as I do. When a man is murdered in the men’s toilets in a local pub it kicks off an investigation which leads to all sorts of criminal secrets being uncovered. The investigation also gets very personal when DI Tom Blake’s daughter is kidnapped. I loved the clever twist in this part of the story and totally empathised with Blake as he had no choice but to prioritise his daughter over his job. Blake is a very likeable character who has had his fair share of grief, having lost his wife and son already in a tragic car accident. He can’t lose his daughter too and I was praying with him that she would be okay.
This story features some seriously devious career criminals who don’t really care who they stamp on to get what they want. Some are more charismatic than others.
An elaborate plan is devised to steal the Staffordshire Hoard from Hanley Museum and sell it to a collector. Quite clever and ballsy to be honest. I was fascinated to follow one of the thieves around the museum, describing everything he saw, as it is a place very familiar to me. I almost felt like I was there with him, although I don’t fancy wandering around at night! If you haven’t been, I highly recommend a visit.
Anyway, will they pull off their risky plan and how do those involved link back to the murder and the kidnapping of Blake’s daughter?
This book is so full of surprising twists and turns I had no idea where it was going to lead, but I was as determined as Blake and his team to find out. I was completely gripped throughout this story and fascinated by the details. It’s a longish but easy read police procedural which easily hooked me in from the very beginning. Full of suspense and short chapters which add to the tension. There was no way I could just read a couple of chapters at a time. Once picked up it was a difficult one to put down. I highly recommend and look forward to book 2.