Devil's Game

Ackroyd and Thackeray #15

by Patricia Hall

Journalist Laura Ackroyd has a lot on her plate. Having recently discovered she is pregnant, she must now gather her courage to tell her partner, DCI Michael Thackeray. So she could have done without the task of profiling Sir David Murgatroyd, the wealthy venture capitalist taking over a local school, especially as, apart from learning from learning of the tragic suicide of his mother, Laura finds him to be an elusive subject.Gradually, Laura discovers more about Murgatroyd, his beliefs, and his power to persuade those around him to his way of thinking. But is there a more sinister side to him that Laura has yet to discover?Meanwhile, Thackeray, in the dark about his impending fatherhood, is busy with the disappearance of Karen Bastable, a young woman who went missing after an illicit meeting in the local forest. As the two parents' careers collide, a web of secrecy is revealed, and Laura must think of her own safety as she becomes entangled in a reality that is far darker than she could have ever imagined.

135 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Patricia Hall is the pen-name of journalist Maureen O'Connor. She was born and brought up in West Yorkshire, which is where she has chosen to set her acclaimed series of novels featuring reporter Laura Ackroyd and DCI Michael Thackeray. She is married, with two grown-up sons, and now lives in Oxford.

Reviews

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very enjoyable read. I couldn’t be sure who the murderer was until the last quarter of the book. Great for casual reading on the beach.

[John Lee · Rating 1 out of 5]

Only got a quarter way through this before ditching it. Others must like it as it is the thirteenth of the Thackery and Ackroyd series but it didnt 'grab' me and, after living in Yorkshire for over 20 years and never hearing it, " ..t'yorkshire accent" was starting to grater a bit.

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 3 out of 5]

More of the same. As I understand it this is the next to last book. I will be interested to see if the author brings the series to a close in the next one.