Vows to Kill

by Mark Capell

Detective Inspector Lee Eyre receives an email: 'I WILL KILL YOU ON YOUR WEDDING DAY.'

Is it a sick practical joke? Or an earnest threat? Who sent him the anonymous e-mail?

Lee is about to marry Lucy. They only met six months ago. But in the gusts of this whirlwind romance, Lee has avoided telling Lucy about his past. That past is the stuff of nightmares - gangsters with grudges, an obsessive ex-wife, and a mysterious stranger who can provide the link to a murder investigation that went tragically wrong.

Despite strange recurring dreams, Lee's approach has been to bury his head in the sand, pretending the past didn't happen. But that's not an option now.

Lee must investigate a crime that hasn't yet happened - his own murder - to prevent it from happening. But that investigation is complicated by twists and turns. It will cause Lee to question why he's a police officer and whether he can marry his perfect woman.

Will Lee and Lucy have a future? Or will it be obliterated by Lee's past?

Genres: Mystery, Crime

301 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 2012

About the author

Mark Capell is a former documentary television director. He made shows for the BBC, ITV and satellite. He got to meet all sorts of weird and wonderful people, including a gangster who offered, for 'cost price', to kill anybody who upset him. Needless to say, he never took up the offer.

Instead, he decided to take his storytelling skills to the world of fiction.

His debut novel, 'Run, Run, Run', became a number one bestselling crime thriller on Amazon.

He followed it up with a series of novellas about a failed actor who becomes a successful undercover cop because of his inordinate ability to lie - The Myles Morgan Mysteries.

'Vows to Kill' was his second full length novel and is about a detective who receives a death threat: I will kill you on your wedding day.

A compilation of all four Myles Morgan Undercover stories is now available in 'Myles Undercover'. The first story 'No Hero' can be downloaded here on Goodreads for free.

Capell's latest novel is Café Insomniac: 25-year-old Justin opens an all-night café, but is soon on a quest to find out how his insomnia is connected to the murder of a customer.

web: http://www.mark-capell.com
Twitter: @markcapell
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mark.capell.w...

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book very much, the book starts with the characters, as separate lives, Mark Capell, gently weaves their lives together, like a fine carpet maker.
The conclusion an explosive ending,that the reader knows is coming,which Mark Capell has jolted the reader with something that is unpredictable.
Mark Capell`s main character,Lee Eyre is a gentle soul with a big conscience,has the respect of the people who love him. He holds back truths,out of fear for the lost he might face and pain he may cause.
The character Lee Eyre,reminds me of the actor Bradley Walsh`s portrayal of inspector Ronnie Brooks in Law and order U.K and reading this book I always saw Ronnie Brooks in my mind.
I once read a review of this book and the person wrote that this would go down well as a two part made for television drama.I total agree with this review.
A book that has a good story line and characters that stand out individually on their own.The reader will find their own favourites amongst them.

[Lhenry · Rating 3 out of 5]

For an exciting premise - a cop with a past receives threats that someone will kill him on his wedding day, I felt a little detached from the story line. What kept me going is wanting to know more about the incident that haunted Lee. It wasn't a huge surprise when it was finally revealed, but it was satisfying. The characters, were well fleshed out and while some were likable and some weren't, they came alive for me.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

When detective Lee Eyre receives a threat to kill him on his wedding day, he doesn't tell his fiancee. But that's only one of many things he hasn't told her...

I enjoyed this more than I expected. A lot of different characters are introduced at the beginning and it takes a while to see how they connect up. But they do, and in the end there's plenty of explanation.

[Jack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Crime novel with an interesting plot, more of a psychological thriller.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Detective Inspector Lee Eyre receives an email threatening to kill him on his wedding day, he is on the hunt to find the culprit. At first he believes it might an interoffice joke, but then he quickly realizes if it’s not a joke, who sent it? Should he tell his wife-to-be, Lucy, or keep quiet as he investigates?

There’s one question we, as readers, will find ourselves asking: Is Lee Eyre guilty? There’s mention of an incident gone wrong and Eyre’s inability to move on from it. Mark Capell does an excellent job going over the details of “Southampton” (the place where the incident occurs). If Eyre is guilty, what is he guilty of? What I really enjoyed is how Capell reveals bits of information and it’s up to the readers to try to decipher and put all the pieces together. Some incidents may make no sense as well as the actions by some individuals; nevertheless, these are clues regarding Eyre’s past. There were a few moments I wanted to knock some sense into him and ask him to look at the big picture. Eyre was a bit too trusting in some aspects, especially with regards to Tim Bullard, the Chief Inspector, and Ozzy Welford, a hardened gangster.

Characters are fully developed and you’ll find yourself wanting to shake some sense into a few of them, particularly Lucy. I can forgive Lucy in her attempt to befriend Eyre’s ex-wife. In one key scene, Lucy’s sister, Vicky, talks to her regarding her actions and a little light is shed on Lucy’s past and you can’t help but feel sorry for her. You’re left heartbroken for Molly and wanting to know more about her role regarding Eyre’s life. What would drive Molly to the extreme and how does Ozzy fit into the picture? Then of course you have Eyre’s ex-wife, Kat, who is described as crazy and a bit obsessive with Eyre. Why did their marriage end and why is Eyre so intent on keeping his past a secret? If you’re the type who is bothered by more than one narrative, the chapter divisions may annoy you. However; all narratives in Vows are intertwined and serve a purpose. At no point did I find myself pulled away from a particular point of view even as it switched.

Capell has a done a brilliant job laying the foundation of this intricate story. By the time I reached the final chapters of Vows, I thought I had everything figured out, however; I was wrong! Mark Capell delivers a solid satisfying conclusion that I wasn’t expecting and I, for one, can’t wait to go through his backlist and look forward to reading more of his work.

Vows will have you asking, what would you do for love?

Please note: I received this book as a complimentary book won at LibraryThing and review appears on my blog, Literary, etc.

[Georgianna Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vows to Kill is a mystery/crime/romance novel taking place in and around London, England. Written in point of view style, different characters have point of view changes in chapters with the main story being the majority, until they all come together into the main story. This reminds me of Dean Koontz’s style of intertwining the lives of characters into a thrilling tale.
The story starts out with a bank robbery in progress. An off duty police officer about to retire and go on the vacation trip of a lifetime had come into the bank to arrange a small loan, during the robbery he feels bad for not doing more, then he gets killed trying to save an elderly woman.
The next chapter begins the main part of the story with Lucy and Lee skydiving, where he proposed via a banner held by the instructors while they were falling back to earth (very romantic idea).
There are also chapters on the mysterious Molly and her troubled relationship with her beloved Sam…interesting person.
We learn through the intricate weaving of the story that Lee is a police officer who has had a very bad experience six years or more prior and was married briefly then divorced from a woman named Kat. He has not mentioned any of this to his new love, including his brief marriage….he is guilt ridden and afraid of ending his seemingly perfect new relationship if he tells Lucy about his past. We’re pretty much in the dark about why he feels this way, as things come to light slowly.
As the story progresses and the wedding is getting planned, Lee receives a mysterious death threat which starts him investigating into his past on his own, with help of a detective friend.
I don’t want to do spoilers…so let’s just say the story winds and twists around through the events of Lee’s past and present with many surprising events. The characters are well written with many differences and quirks, and the ending is very twisted and surprising!
A most unusual tale with a most unusual ending!

[Traceys · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this 3 1/2 stars if we could do halves on this site.

So you have met the love of your life.....



Then someone threatens to



YOU!!!

This story is full of




This is about lee (who has a secret past) an English man in the police force - his met Lucy who seems so sweet, how she can take so long off work to plan the wedding amazes me! The story is set in England around London mainly, we also get to meet Going thru a life change Kat, Tim and Suicidal Molly along the way but you don't quite get how they connect till 50% thru but it keeps you interested enough to want to find out.

The writing style is different to many of the pnr and romance/erotica style books I read, how would I describe it clipped, to the point, not over descriptive. Saying that it was descriptive enough and allowed you to use your imagination.

So the question is what would you do to save yourself on your wedding day, if you had the police forces resources??

This is not a romance novel, it's a crime novel with romance at the centre of it.

I enjoyed reading this book and didn't know how it would end till the end!

[Ciska · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy from the author in return for an honest review*

Author
Mark Capell is a former documentary television director. He made shows for the BBC, ITV and satellite. His debut novel, 'Run, Run, Run', became a number one bestselling crime thriller on Amazon. "Vows to Kill" is his second full length novel.

Review
I love to read good mystery novels and puzzle along. The author of "Vows to Kill" does understand what people are looking for when they are reading a mystery.
The book introduces Lee, a detective who is planning to get married to Lucy soon and receives an email saying he will get killed on his wedding day.
The possible suspects are Kat, a woman with wild thoughts and a somewhat weird attitude who could be a total psycho. There is Molly who obviously has serious psychological damage after her wedding was canceled for one reason or another. There was a situation in Southampton where something obviously went wrong with a suspect who issued a threat at Lee's address before. Though the connections are not always clear you can feel from their stories that they all have a ground to send the email wanting to ruin the wedding. Still I felt like the characters could have been developed more.
I did miss that moment of real tension where I wanted to pull out my hair and yell "NO" at some random stranger but the whole book was a proper mystery/crime puzzle.

[Toni Osborne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Right from the start this thriller had me hooked. It provided one of those exciting plot that teases you on the first page, grabs you in the intensity of its suspense and never lets go till all the pieces are neatly wrapped. Based during the 6 weeks leading up to the wedding it is a race to see who wants the protagonist (Lee Eyre) dead. The pacing is non-stop and lets you ponder while the story moves on. At no point during the book was I able to guess the outcome and was rather baffled by the discovery at the end.

This is an intricate layered story which interweaves a myriad of characters' lives. We follow a police officer, his fiancé, his ex-wife, his co-workers and some shady characters. Each adding their touch to the puzzle, a puzzle that kept on getting better and better as it was pieced together. "Vows to Kill" is a wonderful crime novel with skittish romance that is quite entertaining.

The premise of the book is the following:

Lee Eyre is a detective who receives an email saying: "I will kill you on your wedding day". Is this a joke or a threat? Lee is about to marry Lucy but has avoided telling her about his past, a past stuff with nightmares. Lee's approach has been to bury and pretending the events never happened. He now must investigate a crime that hasn't happened yet...his own murder......

"Vows to Kill" was my first experience reading this author and it was an excellent one.

[Melysah Bunting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vows to Kill by Mark Capell is the story of an English police officer desperately trying to move forward. Lee Eyre has a couplet of disgraceful secrets that his fiancée doesn’t know about. Days before Lee is set to marry Lucy, he receives a death threat via email that he’ll be killed on the day of his wedding. Who sent this message? How can Lee tell Lucy about his past just days before they marry?

Lee has undisclosed secrets like an ex-wife. Lucy expectantly befriends Kat, Lee’s ex, much to Lee’s dismay. Kat knows about Lee’s past. Did she send the death threat?

Lee finally decides to ask a friend at work for help. Tim has connections that figure out who sent the message, but is it too late? How is a girl named Molly, a town called Southampton, and a top gangster connected?

I love seeing the differences in spelling from US and UK books. I thought, “What is humous?” Once I Googled it, I found out it’s hummus. Colour, favourite, tyre, car parks, Sellotape, and the sort are not typos. There are a lot of other interesting words I learned. Kudos to the judicious author.

Mystery and crime are my favorite things to read about. The pace is steady. The plot is interesting. The characters are thought-provoking. It’s definitely worth a read.

[Dalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted at A Date with a Book

Get ready to get hooked on this book from page one. I was slow in reading it due to personal life that kept me busy and sure wished I would have read it when I didn’t have anything going on. It was so fast paced and kept you going.

I liked how the author clipped the stories together in the beginning and the finally pieces everything together at the end. As I was reading, I kept thinking back to the first few chapters and wondered how and where they would fit. It was amazing when it all came together.

This thriller does contain some romance. I liked that aspect as well. Softened it up a little for the female reader in me. Men, however, should not think it was all gushy because it definitely was not. There is a visit to a strip club :) Lee and Lucy are a perfect couple, despite what is happening. Lucy is very strong and I think that is what makes the relationship work.

I highly recommend this book to any reader who loves a thrill. Be prepared to be blown away!
And again, this is why I read the Indie Authors.

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not my normal genre but I was given the opportunity to read this and sat down with mixed thoughts of what I might find. Well… I’m a convert and will be spreading my reading tastes wider as a result! It’s a mystery, crime and romance novel that is written with style and intelligence. I liked the way the author breaks the book down into small chapters that each tackle a particular theme or revolves around a particular character. The characters are interesting and well-defined, and all are complex.

I wasn’t able to deduce what would finally happen and saw each of my theories gradually get whittled away – the ending was surprising, sad and conclusive. The main thread of the book is that Lee, the main character, has a secret, one that only a handful of others share. I was slightly confused as to why this particular secret caused such problems though… other readers may disagree but for me it didn’t quite add up. I thoroughly enjoyed the book though, despite this one criticism and would not hesitate to recommend.

[Sue Merrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read, not over-the-top but entertaining. Lee Eyre, a British cop, is getting married but someone has threatened to kill him on the wedding day. Counting down the weeks to the wedding creates automatic tension that builds right up until the moment the bride walks down the aisle. The threat is related to an incident that happened in the past but the author is way too cagey about this event, referring to it only as "South Hampton" but refusing to give any details to his bride-to-be or the reader. When it's eventually revealed, it's not that big a deal. About half way through the book, the killer becomes obvious because there's this character who's equally mysterious with too many gaps in her reason for being. As the wedding approaches, we know who's going to shoot, why, and a good guess as to who will end up dead, but you keep reading just to be sure you're right. I think Mark has a good story here, but it could be a lot better with a little adjustment of what's revealed when.

[Miranda Cain-Morton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vows to Kill by Mark Capell is an intricately layered story of a myriad of characters’ lives, at one point in time, all intersect. It felt like I was reading a sup-upped, crime version of Love Actually, which actually made this a pretty fun read.

The book follows the intersecting lives of a police officer, his fiancé, his ex-wife, his co-workers, the mob, and some shady characters that have been imprisoned and more than should have been imprisoned.

The first few chapters were slightly confusing; it took a little bit of time for my brain to fit the puzzle pieces of the characters and the different chapters together. At the end of the book though, it was a great looking puzzle (once everything was put together) and as I kept reading the puzzle just got better and better.

Overall, Vows to Kill is a good book, especially for a rainy day, when you’re looking to get lost in someone else’s life.

[Jo Notary]

304p Detective Inspector Lee Eyre receives an email: 'I WILL KILL YOU ON YOUR WEDDING DAY.'
Is it a sick practical joke? Or an earnest threat? Who sent him the anonymous e-mail?
Lee is about to marry Lucy. They only met six months ago. But in the gusts of this whirlwind romance, Lee has avoided telling Lucy about his past. That past is the stuff of nightmares - gangsters with grudges, an obsessive ex-wife, and a stranger who can provide the link to a murder investigation that went tragically wrong.
Despite strange, recurring dreams, Lee's approach has been to bury his head in the sand, pretending the past didn't happen. But he can't do that now. Twists and turns will cause Lee to question why he's a police officer and whether he can go ahead and marry his perfect woman.

Will Lee and Lucy have a future? Or will it be shot down by Lee's past?

[Cheryl M-M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A main character with an internal conflict. Is he guilty? Perhaps a question each reader will have to decide for themselves.
The plot and storyline develops around an incident the main character left behind him years ago. Although the individual threads are seemingly unconnected at the beginning the author brings them together flawlessly within the book.
I found Mr Eyre was almost naive in his actions, somewhat unusual for a veteran police officer.
Pleasant aternoon read. Perhaps a little flighty for my taste and with a quite a few quick fix scenarios to link certain characters to one another. However is was still an enjoyable read.

[Lisa Wightman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book opens with an armed robbery, but we don't find out how that ties into the main story until well into the book. A seemingly perfect couple are planning a wedding, so far so good... That is until the groom receives an email threatening to kill him on his wedding day. We then find out various secrets the groom is keeping from his bride to be. The plot is well thought out and does keep you guessing at times. I had nearly worked it all out by half way through, but had a few points incorrect. An enjoyable read, although it did lose momentum at times and could have been a little tighter.

[Clarissa Draper · Rating 4 out of 5]

The premise drew me in and the action didn't stop until I finished the book.

It starts out with an exciting bank robbery where a policeman, on the verge of retirement, gets shot and killed.

Then the main characters, Lee and Lucy, go skydiving where he proposes to her. Shortly after, he receives a death threat. Lee, a police officer, decides to investigate himself.

Although the story is exciting and has twists and turns until the end, the only problem I had with it was the amount of characters. I, on occasion, got mixed up.

I would read more by this author.

[Gerri Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this complimentary e-book from www.LibraryThing.com.

There are many facets to this nove by Mark Capell, who has cleverly woven them into a thrilling mystery that has a bittersweet aspect to it. The story is a fast paced page turner that keeps you guessing. I truely enjoyed the entire story!

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 4.5. I totally enjoyed. this book. It was well thought out and well planned. A few of the characters I could not have stood to have around me in my real world but I think being irritated by the literary persona must be the sign on a talented author. Good work, Mark. When can I expect your next novel?

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great read. The story was well thought out. With so many characters, I wasn't sure how they would all come together. But that is part of the suspense. The characters were good. Even with their own flaws, it really worked. The story itself was great. Well written. Recommended. A must read

[Sandi]

It's on my IPad.