Cold Death

DS Hunter Kerr #2

by Michael Fowler

Taking a well-earned break from the 'Dearne Valley Demon' case, Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr's rest is suddenly shattered when he witnesses a violent argument involving his father, shortly followed by a murderous road-rage attack upon his parents. As he delves deeper, Hunter uncovers disturbing facts and suspects that his father is harbouring a sinister secret from his past; a secret, which he is desperate to keep buried. In his father's native Scotland a sadistic and violent killer is on the rampage. Three retired detectives are found tortured and butchered. Is there a link? Or, is it someone who just likes killing cops? Hunter pushes and pushes to learn the truth, never realising just how much danger he was placing himself, and those around him, in. In Barnwell, Hunter's working partner, DC Grace Marshall, recovering from her own psychological problems arising out of the 'Demon' serial-killer investigation, is 'acting sergeant' in his absence and soon finds herself in charge of her first major incident; a young woman's battered body is dragged from the freezing waters of the local country park.

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

385 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 8, 2012

About the author

Following retirement, after thirty-two years as a police officer, working mainly as a detective, Michael returned to the deadly business of murder, as a writer. His past work brought him very close to some nasty characters, including psychopaths, and gruesome cases and he draws on that experience to craft his novels: There is nothing gentle about Michael’s stories.

His landmark novel ‘Heart of the Demon’, published in 2012, introduced Detective Sergeant Hunter Kerr. He has since written eight novels featuring him. He also released the first of his DS Scarlett Macey books in 2016.

Reviews

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

DS Hunter Kerr is taking a few days off, leaving DC Grace Marshall in charge. Simultaneously, Grace investigates the finding of a woman's body, badly beaten, and left in a lake. Hunter sees his parents involved in a hit and run accident .... luckily his parents were only injured and not killed. But his father knows something about why and who .. but he's not talking..especially to his son.

With a pair of sadistic killers on the rampage, a father desperate to keep his secret buried, and danger getting near to home, Hunter finds himself in a race against time to protect those closest to him.

The plot is well thought out, and the suspense is maintained throughout. The characters are skillfully drawn. I like how Hunter's professional life blends with his personal life.

Many thanks to the author / Sapere Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cold Death is the second book in the DS Hunter Kerr series by Michael Fowler.

As DS Kerr takes a few days holiday, DC Grace Marshall is left in charge with supervisory responsibility at Barnwell Major Investigation Team, Yorkshire and soon finds herself at the helm of her first major incident. A young woman's beaten body is dragged from the freezing waters of the local country lake. Meanwhile Hunter Kerr is enjoying his break, painting a tranquil scene of fishermen's cottages. Gazing across the Beck in preparation for taking some photographs so he can complete the oil painting at home later, he spots his father arguing with someone. Then a murderous road rage attack takes place and his parents are the victims, but fortunately they are not killed. Suspecting that his father is harbouring a sinister secret from his past, and with sadistic killers on the loose, can Hunter uncover the truth before it is too late?

Although I haven't read the first book of this series, Heart of the Demon, I jumped into this book, Cold Death and I found it really compelling. I liked that all of the characters in the book played a good part whether it was grey, good or bad and I enjoyed learning about their professional and personal relationships. The finer points of the investigation were absorbing, giving me the incentive to read on. I recommend Cold Death to anyone who enjoys crime fiction.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel at my request from Sapere Books via NetGalley and this review is my unbiased opinion.

[Brigit (Cosy.horror.corner) · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 Stars - Admittedly a difficult, dry read. I forced myself through this one.

DC Hunter Kerr investigates the murder of a young Pakistani woman found in a lake. This is your typical police procedural, with a bit of car thrilling action, some daddy issues, and some fist fights. Yawn.

I will start with what I liked: The significance of outlining the cultural brutality of forced marriage, and the fact that the author based his experiences in the police force to express some of these unfortunate events - made it that little bit more endearing/understandable. Hence the extra half star.

However, from a readers point of view, this was overly-written, dry, mundane and lacking any kind of suspense. The writing needs to be punchier, to the point, and yet also leave some intrigue. There were moments where the main characters woes and thoughts felt so arbitrary, so inane.. it was painful. I didn't want to observe him having a few drinks while mulling over daddy issues. Then to find that the big daddy issue wasn't really that explosively game-changing after all... was a let down. Everything was off-kilter, and the spontaneous character backstories should never be dispersed throughout the story because it takes away suspense and drama. Character building should be woven cleverly into the theme of the story, as succinct and as early as possible. Ultimately, I was very bored and very disappointed.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Sapere Books for this free ARC for a review. Opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

[Margaret · Rating 1 out of 5]

I could only manage 30 something pages of this. It's horribly over-written; he chucks in adjectives by the handful & has his characters explain the bleeding obvious at tedious length. Several of his characters originate in Scotland so their 'soft Sottish lilt' must be referred to every time they open their mouths.

I was ready to give up on it when I got to the second description (within fewer than 30 pages, after all) of someone's "corkscrew curls". [And yes, utterly unsurprisingly, she's not white; how very modern & politically correct & in no way contrived-seeming.]

I finally lost patience when the author felt it necessary (still within the first chapter) to explain for what felt like the 50th time what the relationship was between his hero DS Kerr & 'his working partner' DC Grace somebody. I suppose he could not sustain his interest in this rubbish either & assumed his reader had the attention span and IQ of a goldfish.

[Alma (retirement at last) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am really enjoying this series and although I have read many police procedures and crime novels if I finish a book in no time at all without becoming bored it is worth 4 stars.
It didn’t have many unexpected moments in it and the murders were described rather graphically but I’m used to that and those are the reasons I didn’t give it 5 stars

[Martha Brindley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really tried to like this book but failed miserably. I gave up halfway through due to the predictability and over use of adjectives and grammatical errors. I did like the central character, a solid police officer, the book just failed for me. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

[Amy Rhodes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my second in the series and I like it. Good solid cop at the center; not overly damaged (for a change) and excellent plotting.

[Monique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read! I liked how all the stories intertwined. Think I’ll continue with the series.

[eileen sautner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real life adventure, great to the end

This book fills my need for experiencing good detective work. Michael’s work is not only intense and mesmerizing it also offers empathetic connections. Great work!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Second book in the series and was quite good. There are a lot of strands to pull together due to the various teams working but it happens without any confusion.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

DS Hunter Kerr is visiting his family after tying up the Dearne Valley Demon case when he says his father being assaulted by another man. His dad won't give any information about who the man is or what the problem is. Shortly after someone attempts to force his parents off the road . Still his dad won't give any information.

As Kerr is trying to get to the bottom of these attacks he returns to work and is faced with a dead body found in a river. The body is badly decomposed and there are no missing person reports. It is only when a facial reconstruction is publicised that a possible identity is suggested.

Another good story by Michael Fowler. It is refreshing to have a central character who is a happily married detective who is not an alcoholic!,,

[Pgchuis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

I'm going to have to quit this at 19% (after skimming for a while) - I just can't get into it. The prologue was gripping, but then after that it just wasn't. Pages and pages go by with no dialogue (mostly made up of potted histories of various characters' previous connections with one another) and then when you finally do get a bit of dialogue, it takes the form of very stilted conversations, such as never have occurred in real life.

[Tamara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. I like British police- procedurals and can't get enough of them. But this was all too predictable: a dumped body with few clues, the detectives struggling on, forensics to the rescue, and a back story involving the lead character's family. Then the grammatical errors which kept pulling me out of the story.... not the best introduction to this series.

[Michelle Debnam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a lot to take in ...Ds Hunter Kerr's parents involved in a hit and run and he is sure his father knows more than he is saying , a pair of killers on the loose and Hunter Kerr trying to have a few days off after his last case

You do quickly get engrossed in the plots and before you know its the last page and you can take a deep breath

[A.L. Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect Crime Read

This is my first book by this author but it won't be the last. He covered just enough details to not drown the novel with them. I am going back to read the first book in the series. Well done.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

The publisher should have mentioned that this is a re-release of a previous book in the serious., Decent police procedural - a good installment in a good series