A Place of Blood and Bone

DS Minter #2

by Mark Peterson

As a brilliant young biochemist studying at Oxford, Martin Blackthorn had a bright future ahead of him. And then in the course of a behavioural experiment, he met a boy called John Slade, and in a moment his life took a very different and infinitely darker turn. On the surface John appeared quite normal, but when it came to inflicting pain, his behaviour was off the scale. Here, Martin recognized, was someone who had no inhibitions and no moral qualms: the perfect subject for a series of experiments he had never quite dared to try...

Twenty years later in Brighton, and DS Minter is faced with the most bizarre and disturbing murder of his fledgling police career, when the dismembered body of a local woman is casually dumped on a station platform. And then another body is discovered, and soon Minter has to face the possibility that Brighton now has its very own serial killer at work. A killer who seems to combine an off-the-scale IQ with a chilling brutality the city has never experienced before.

320 pages, Hardcover

First published April 25, 2013

Reviews

[Elise March · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wish you could give half stars because this is a 3.5. Really good potential for a great crime novel because the idea was unique but it just felt a bit geiansgdikw you know and a little simple. Nice holiday read.

[Paul Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but a little amateurish on the writing

[C E · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty poor on the science and Oxford research

[Mike]

Did not like.

[Andrew Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting story. Two different stories are running at the same time.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

NO SPOILER

I'm glad I continued to follow Minter. Definitely an improvement on the first book. I genuinely think Peterson will earn himself a place amongst the great crime writers. The writing is still a little on the raw side and the backstories need refinement but it is definitely got a lot of potential.

This book has good twists and draws you in.

[Victoria · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have given the book 4 stars if it wasn't for the excessive use of animal cruelty. Incredibly off-putting. Overall, a good story, well written and DI Minter is a interesting character with lots of potential.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This didn't engage me quite as thoroughly as the first in the series, but it was still very good. I hope he is busy on #3.

[Joanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book, all the more because it was set locally too, very well written.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good follow-up to the initial story of DS Minter