Complicit

by Gillian Hamer

'On the beach stood the adverse array (of Britons), a serried mass of arms and men, with women flitting between the ranks. In the style of Furies, in robes of deathly black and with dishevelled hair, they brandished their torches; while a circle of Druids, lifting their hands to heaven and showering imprecations ...' When Roman historian, Cornelius Tacitus, recorded the invasion of the small island of Mona Insulis off the North Wales coast in 60AD - the beginnings of a propaganda war against the Druidic religion began. Two thousand years later, that war is still being fought. For two millennia, descendants of a small sect of Anglesey Druids have protected their blood lineage and mysterious secrets from the world. Until members of this secret society are murdered one by one. Detective Sergeants Gareth Parry and Chris Coleman, along with new girl, DC Megan Jones, must stop this killer at all costs. What they discover will shock the whole police team and leave consequences which have an impact like no crime in the history of the force. Set along the dramatic Menai Straits, Complicit is a story of greed, loss and obsession.

360 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Crime and thriller writer, founder member of author's collective Triskele Books, and regular contributor to Words with Jam Magazine.

For blog updates see -http://triskelebooks.blogspot.co.uk/

Reviews

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a ride! This book is the author's best one yet! First, I love the setting of Ms. Hamer's books. I can see them in my mind's eye from her descriptions. I love the way she blends two stories into one. My personal opinion is that it take a great author to do something like that. Her characters are amazingly well rounded. I felt connected to them. A great book. Highly recommended.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve written before about this wonderful series by Gillian Hamer. I was hooked by the first in the series, The Charter - well-drawn characters, a strong sense of place, good dialogue, a rattling good story, a murder mystery, a touch of the supernatural, a treasure hunt, a thriller and adventure story, and well researched history backing it all up. The second, Closure, was even better. Two separate story threads to begin with – a serial killer targeting students at Bangor University, and the work of North Wales CID to track him down, and the seemingly disconnected story of Jake, a child experiencing horrifying dreams triggered by a past life.

This third in the series had me equally hooked. 60AD and the attempts of the Romans to overcome the Druids of Mona, and a modern serial killer on the loose, all linked by a secret society protecting ancient secrets. Detectives Gareth Parry and Chris Coleman are joined by a new girl, DC Megan Jones, and the story twists and turns with twists, turns and many heart in mouth moments and really unexpected shocks. As this series builds, the characters of Gareth and Chris are developing nicely, and Megan is a great addition – keen to shine, sometimes clashing with the others in her eagerness to make her mark, but with an edge of softness in her developing new relationship and her caring for young Anna Brown. These books are all complete, stand-alone stories, but the background stories of the detectives do mean that they benefit from reading in sequence.

The settings are really well drawn – this is a part of the world I know well – and the Welsh voices have just the right touch of authenticity. While the setting is what originally drew me to this series, I’d highly recommend it to a whole range of readers – there’s police procedure and crime investigation, a strong historical back story, touches of magic and mysticism, all wrapped up in a flowing and readable style along with a thrilling adventure story. Very highly recommended – I loved this book, and can’t wait for the next one.

[Caren ~ the misfit geek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another nail-biting thriller that grabs you and doesn’t let you go. They just keep getting better and better. I continue to be most impressed with Hamer’s ability to weave historical facts into a modern crime story. The historical element was a Roman invasion of the island Mona Insulis, an attempt to destroy the Druids. The parallel stories are expertly interwoven and independently compelling.

This is the third book that features the team of detectives in North Wales. They are a wonderfully flawed bunch but their investigative skills are exceptional. The supporting characters were intriguing and essential to the plot. I found I was able to identify the killer fairly early, which is unusual for a Hamer book, but the ending surprised me none the less.

There is always an element of historical fiction in Hamer’s books but it was far more prevalent in this book than in the others. I felt it really gave us a look into the true nature of the ancient Druids. It was also a very vital part of the plot as a whole.

This is a book I would definitely recommend. Hamer’s knowledge of the region of North Wales and its history shines through in her writing. She has a talent for making the reader feel like they are a part of the landscape. I am anxious to see what comes next.

[Chris Curran · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third of Gillian E Hamer’s books I’ve read and I think it’s the best so far. It’s fitting that a treasure-trove features so prominently in the plot because Complicit is stuffed full of wonderful things. As the beautiful cover suggests the Anglesey landscape plays a central role in a novel where historical events, a contemporary police investigation and hints of the paranormal are threaded together with enormous skill.

The police procedural elements of the book feel totally authentic: this is an author who really seems to know her stuff. Add to that hints of romantic entanglements and professional jealousies and you have a modern crime story that is very satisfying indeed. But that’s not even the half of it. It’s common for crime writers to show detectives revisiting past evils, but rarely has an investigation been so closely entwined with events as far back as the Roman invasion and the druids. In a thrilling twist we actually meet these druids and their Roman adversaries. Druid priestess Awen and Roman centurion Marcus may exist centuries apart from eager beaver DC Megan Fox and her colleagues in the Anglesey police, but Gillian Hamer brings them all to vibrant life.

A great read that should appeal to lovers of historical fiction as well as fans of crime.

[Sylvia Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Gillian Hamer successfully combines a modern day detective story with the paranormal to create a novel full of nail biting suspense.
This time the paranormal element has its origins in a real historical event, the invasion of the Anglesey Druids by the Romans in AD60.
The narrative alternates between the Druid/Roman activity and present day events, the connection becoming apparent as the action unfolds.
Descendants of the Druids still live on the island and some of their number are being brutally murdered by a serial killer who tortures his victims and must be stopped before further harm is done.
A teenage girl, Anna Brown,who knows more than is good for her own safety, plays a prominent part in drawing together the threads of the story.
The author paints a realistic picture of Anglesey and the people who live there,tossing in a few Welsh words and phrases for authenticity.
A revelation towards the end of the book, apart from that of the identity of the killer, came as a great surprise to me and could perhaps provide a link to a further book.
I highly recommend this to anyone who likes a good mystery with plenty of suspense, human interest and an unusual twist.

[Barbara Scott-Emmett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gillian Hamer writes like a cross between Stuart Pawson and Barbara Erskine. Her real world police team are human, flawed, and so well-fleshed out the reader is genuinely concerned when they get into trouble. Her otherworld characters are steeped in the mysterious past, often being ghosts or reincarnations and, in this novel, descendants of Druid seers.

In Complicit we get two story strands - one is the present day search for a killer, who is in turn searching for lost treasure; the other is the story of that treasure and how it came to be where it is.

Although I had an inkling fairly early on who the villain was, this in no way detracted from my enjoyment of the story as there was still the important question of why the murders were taking place.

Well worth a read.

[Liza Perrat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I greatly enjoyed this author’s first two crime novels––The Charter and Closure––set along the wild and beautiful Anglesey coast, so much so that I’ve put the north Wales coast on top of my to-visit list. Her third novel––Complicit––set against that same backdrop of stunning scenery certainly did not disappoint either.
Detective Sergeants Gareth Parry and Chris Coleman, along with the feisty and determined new DC, Megan Jones, must stop a murderer who is torturing and killing people for information.
Interwoven with the modern-day crime story, the narrative also explores the ancient Druid culture of this region. And, after a series of suspenseful, page-turning scenes, it becomes increasingly obvious that these parallel narratives are closely connected.
I would highly recommend Complicit for lovers of crime stories with an historical and “otherworldly” slant.

[Ciclochick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a compelling story that kept my nose firmly between the pages…I did actually guess ‘whodunnit’ before the revelation, but it didn’t mar my enjoyment at all, although I felt ten chapters dedicated to a war some two millennia earlier were rather boring and unnecessary. The relevance of the war to the plot could have been woven into the story in other ways.

Descendants of the Druids involved in that war hold secrets that one person wants to know…badly. So badly, in fact, that serial killings become the urgent focus of three detectives. A killer is at large who will stop at nothing to unearth these very closely guarded secrets.

It was a surprise to me to discover that this book is actually the third in a series, so I was particularly impressed how well it stood alone. The characters and plot are well developed (perhaps just a tad muddled towards the end). I also had to suspend disbelief…Druids might have had ‘seers’ in their midst in 60 AD…but in the twenty-first century? I don’t think so.

For all that, it was a gripping book and deserves a five-star rating, but sadly, the editing wasn’t up to scratch. Grammatical errors, some odd phrases verging on Malapropisms and a bunch of punctuation faux pas (too much reliance on software editing) means I have to knock a star off.

Notwithstanding, I like this author and will certainly hunt out more of her books.

[Kym Hamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a reading challenge prompt for an author with the same name as me and what a great read this turned out to be. The novel shifts between the time of the Druids in AD60 and the current day where local police try to find the killer behind a spate of murders in Anglesey, North Wales and the mix of mystery, history and mysticism makes this a gripping and absorbing crime thriller. Complicit is definitely a surprising 4-star discovery.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent crime story that blends modern day events with ancient Druid tradition. A treasure of Roman gold is rumored to have been buried during the first century A.D., and the quest to find it leads to a series of gruesome murders of women believed to possess knowledge of its location. The characters are well developed, and there are multiple credible culprits, making it difficult to know who is responsible for the murders until the author reveals the identity.

[crystalline · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters were weird. Difficult to relate to and seemed like their personalities were too good to be true. They didn't really have any faults.

The story itself was fascinating and I really enjoyed the historic connections to the present day mystery.

[Alexander Hawley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complicit by Gillian Hamer

Gillian Hamer's Druidic tale is enjoyable thanks to its dark humour. The clues in the book make it eminently solvable and I'm thankful that I've got another book by this author on my TBC reading list that I can directly compare. There were a few surprising twists at the end of the book and these made it different from other books that I have read. Although the format of the chapters was somewhat confusing, as the two elements of the story were given their own chapter numbering, this made it difficult to concentrate when you are not reading it yourself so therefore not having to concentrate as much, manages to close your eyes due to relaxation and because of this the separate chapter headings can be confusing if you wake up at the wrong time. Once I've compared the two books on the list by Gillian Hamer I'll be able to work out if I've been justifiably fair with the four stars, but at the moment I'm unsure as I've only ever read this book by this author.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Echoes of the past resonate throughout this cleverly constructed murder mystery which flips effortlessly between the story of the Roman invasion of Mona Insulis and the effects on the Druids of Anglesey two thousand years ago, and the seemingly inexplicable and torturous deaths of a group of individuals who may or may not be part of a secret organisation in present day North Wales.

Like Gillian Hamer’s previous two novels, the stalwart investigative skills of detectives Gareth Parry and Chris Coleman are again stretched to the limit as they seek to uncover this serial killer’s modus operandi, but it is in their bemused relationship with new girl DI Megan Jones, whose enthusiasm for crime solving can sometimes seem to be a hindrance, where the contemporary police procedural story really comes alive.

As with the author’s previous two crime novels, the plot never falters and moves along at a cracking pace, the writing is as always crisp and clear and the intertwining of both past and present and the gradual connection between the two is done with real skill.

The wild and beautiful history of Anglesey comes gloriously alive in the hands of this talented writer, I’m now completely hooked on this series and only hope that Gillian Hamer can write really quickly, as I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next.

[Francis Guenette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book and simply couldn’t put it down. If it takes a special reader to enjoy bouncing from AD60 in Northern Wales to a police investigation in 2013, then I must say, I am that reader.

No spoilers in this review – the book is a mystery wrapped in layers of history and I won’t give any of that away. What I can say is that Hamer has the rare ability to make characters come alive with thoughts and emotions that ring true. The reader truly cares about what’s going to happen to these people. I was also left somewhat breathless by setting descriptions done with stunning and swift clarity – be it a windswept cove or the inside of an older woman’s home. Thinking back on the novel, it is almost as if I had been watching a movie rather than reading a book, the images remain so clear.

Be warned, this author pulls no punches. Be prepared to gasp more than once and feel a few body blows as the story progresses.

Without a doubt, I am on the lookout for more of this author’s work. Bravo, Gillian Hamer.

[Paul Trembling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The intriguing central premise in this well paced murder mystery is that events of the deep past can have repercussions today. So there are in fact two stories, both centered round the island of Anglesey and the Menai strait (beautifully described throughout). In one story, a Druid priestess faces a bloody invasion by the Roman legion. In the other, Detectives try and solve a series of horrendous murders - all involving women with hidden connections. The author moves between different times, developing both stories to their linked climax. Fast paced and well structured, this was generally a well written story, though let down in my opinion by some failures in detail. For example, Police procedure at a murder scene wasn't accurately portrayed, and a pike was a medieval weapon, not one that would have been used by a Celtic warrior. However, this may just be nit-picking on my part. I doubt if most readers would be concerned over such minor points, and it was still a good, well-written story, with a tense and powerful climax.

[Catriona Troth]

Third paranormal crime novel from Triskele stablemate Gillian E Hamer. This time the historical element of the story goes back to the Roman invasion of Anglesey, when the island was the centre of Druidic learning for the whole of Europe. The Romans sought to wipe out the druids, but never wholly succeeded. Certain traditions have been passed down from mother to daughter for generations. And even today, it would seem, some of those secrets are worth killing for.

One of the pleasures of reading these books is the opportunity to reacquaint yourself with Hamer’s team of North Wales detectives. They are a flawed lot, but all the more likeable for that. And in this novel, events threaten to strike at the heart of the team.

Once again, the landscape of Anglesey is wonderfully evoked as a setting for ancient history and modern skullduggery.

[JJ Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third book I’ve read by this author and this is another edge-of-the-seat nailbiter which does not disappoint. Once again, the setting is the glorious north coast of Wales. But this time, an ugliness blights the landscape. Someone is torturing and killing older people for information. The contemporary crime story is threaded through by a second narrative, illustrating the long-lost indigineous culture of the Druids. As these two threads grow increasingly intertwined, we come to understand much more about the place and its people.
Central character, new girl DC Megan Jones, is a terrific creation reminiscent of Clarice Starling. This girl’s a grifter and determined to be a good detective. But one of the first lessons to learn is who, and who not to trust. A cracker of a read, and just perfect for a wild and windy Sunday.

[Sarz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I guessed the murderer far too quickly, which made the remainder of tbe book much less interesting. There was also at least 2 more deaths than there needed to be imho. The flashbacks were interesting though.

[Michelle TheOtter · Rating 4 out of 5]

having read and enjoyed The Charter by Gillian Hamer I thought I'd try another of her novels.
Again set in Anglesey, and Bangor, this is a tale of greed and murder.
Well written, with historical inserts about the Druids and Romans, this is a thriller with quite a few murders.
Good read.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third of Gillian's books I've read and I have to say I was gripped. Tight plotting, good characterisations and clever twists to keep me guessing. I thought I'd sussed this one but I got it wrong! Yet the clues were all there. Good work!