Creatures of Dust : A Crime Thriller Where the Line Between Justice and Betrayal Blurs

DCI Brendan Moran #2

by Scott Hunter

An unusual crime requires an unusual detective ... An undercover officer goes missing and the body of a young man is found mutilated in a shop doorway. Is there a connection? Returning to work after a short convalescence, DCI Brendan Moran’s suspicions are aroused when a senior officer insists on freezing Moran out and handling the investigation himself.

A second murder convinces Moran that a serial killer is on the loose but with only a few days to prove his point the disgruntled DCI can't afford to waste time.

As temperatures hit the high twenties, tempers fray, and the investigation founders Moran finds himself coming back to the same question again and can he still trust his own judgement, or is he leading his team up a blind alley?

Creatures of Dust is the second book in the popular DCI Brendan Moran crime series

REVIEWS

‘...a well-planned, well-written novel. The writer has a fertile imagination and an attractive narrative style.’

‘...one of the best reads I have had this year. Gripped by the grizzled Irish detective.....plenty of twists and turns Bravo!’

‘…I thoroughly enjoyed Black December - it's a very good "who done it" - and so often!’

--Amazon

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Detective, Suspense

333 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 2013

About the author

Scott Hunter was born in Romford, Essex. His writing career was kick-started after he won first prize in the Sunday Express Short Story Competition. He divides his time between writing and drumming. He has recorded with internationally renowned rock band 'Jethro Tull' and appeared in concert with 70's popsters 'Mungo Jerry'.

He is currently working on his thirteenth novel and has recently published 'The Cold Light of Death', number eight in the very popular DCI Brendan Moran crime series. 'Black December', the first DCI Brendan Moran novel, has also been released in audiobook format.

He was long listed for the Times/Chicken House Children's Novel Competition for 'The Ley Lines of Lushbury' and won the Sunday Express Short Story Competition a few years back for his historical entry set in the English Civil War. His second novel, 'The Trespass' is a top 20 Amazon Bestseller. He has recently been shortlisted for the 2016 Crime Writers Association (CWA) Margery Allingham short story competition.

Scott Hunter lives in Berkshire with his wife Katherine and his two youngest children

Reviews

[Frédéric · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this 2nd book better than the 1st one (which was not that bad, at least until the very end that spoiled it all for me).
Once again Hunter overstretches the limits of credibility (which prevents a better rate from yours truly) but manages excellent dialogues and an interesting supporting cast (actually more interesting than Moran himself) particularly Phelps and newcomer Charlie Pepper.
Fyi, even if not mandatory to get the whole picture I recommend reading Black December firstly.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was better than the first. The name of one of the characters is "Helen McKellar". I laughed every time I read it, and it came up a lot. Hunter has a habit where he will refer to male characters by their last name only but when he's referring to a woman character, he used both first and last names. Odd. I wonder why and if he even realizes that he's doing it.
Hunter also has no problem killing off characters -- good guys and bad.
Villain was very obvious despite attempts to make it less so.

[Martin Pingree · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again Scott and DCI Moran took us on another wild adventure. If you haven't been reading these books you need to start, they are well worth your time and money !

[Georgia Tumbleweed McNabb · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is OK, but perty depressing in that most everyone dies, or gets severely injured. Police work is dangerous at times and there is a lot of waiting, paperwork, with only moments of actual action.
Narrator does a good job with the entire storyline.

[Darcie Stanton · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many storylines going on in these books…. One left in my set

[Monica · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good second book in the series. Moran once again facing the fallout from past events. Intertwining plots, murder, and senseless death. Well written and fast paced.

[Becky Loader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am getting familiar with the characters in the series, and I like the way they are developing. I especially like Charlie, who is a very strong female supporting character.

I highly recommend reading these in order, as the reader would have trouble sorting out all the references to the first book.

The puzzle is excellent, and even though there is a lot of violence, it is not misplaced.

Good read.

[Lorraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much better than the first book, however the body count was unnecessarily high.

[David Knapp · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I mentioned in my review of the first entry in this series ("Black December"), I liked the characters of DCI Brendan Moran and his faithful, built-like-a-bull sidekick SDI Robert Phelps enough to read this second entry. And, overall, I'm glad I did.

In general, I thought it was a little better than the first book. The plot definitely was a sequel to the first novel, continuing a key story line from that work. As you know, I stick to jacket descriptions/marketing blurbs in these reviews to avoid spoilers - so here's the one for this novel:

"An undercover officer goes missing and the body of a young man is found mutilated in a shop doorway. Is there a connection? Returning to work after a short convalescence, DCI Brendan Moran’s suspicions are aroused when a senior officer insists on freezing Moran out and handling the investigation himself.

A second murder convinces Moran that a serial killer is on the loose but with only a few days to prove his point the disgruntled DCI can't afford to waste time.

As temperatures hit the high twenties, tempers fray, and the investigation founders Moran finds himself coming back to the same question again and can he still trust his own judgement, or is he leading his team up a blind alley?"

Hunter spins this plot into an interesting - albeit violent - thriller. Seriously, the body counts in these Brendan Moran novels are incredibly high. In fact, I almost didn't give this four stars (even though I thought it was better than the first Moran novel) due to the high number of deaths. It's not that I mind the violence per se, it's that some of the characters that get killed are not insignificant. So, I find myself trying not to get too attached to any character I think the author will knock off in a few chapters!

Still, I have enjoyed these first two entries and definitely will read numbers 3 and 4, which I've already purchased. It's not the best detective series I've ever read, but it is an entertaining one.

[Sean Duffy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Most Incompetent Police Department in Literary History

The Thames Valley Police force is corrupt, and even the few honest cops are incompetent, emotionally damaged, or just plain stupid. Small wonder there are so many collateral deaths. No one is safe with these bozos on the case. Has anyone ever heard of following procedure?? Simply going bythe book would save a lot of police and civilian lives. It strains credulity that any professional outfit, even a government sponsored one, could be so bad at its job.

The writing is OK, the author drags you along at a pretty good pace. But after a while the reader finds himself wondering, “What will these idiots screw up next?” It becomes difficult to suspend disbelief.

[Casey Mullin · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVE how we get to see how Gregory Neads turns out after his traumatic Charnford Abbey experience, coupled with the assault and near-death experience by the Ranandan brothers. I loved him in the first book so it was hard to see that he snapped from the traumas and became a murderer himself, but somehow I didn't see that plot twist coming (guess I wouldn't make a very good detective!). Would give it a 4.5 but there were a few grammatical errors that always take me out of the magic of a book. All in all, though, such an easy yet invigorating read, and I'm excited to see what happens in the next one!

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall an exciting end that I wish would’ve concluded before Mrs. Flynn decided to enact revenge. I missed Phelps, as he is by far my favorite character and can always be counted on for his wry commentary.
I am frustrated by the ineptitude of this police force. They often go off on leads alone (unarmed), get themselves kidnapped, leave each other during stakeouts, and simply get themselves killed. The new DI is female so she (of course) cries a lot. I hope they get it together in book 3!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good story

DCI Moran's team takes a definite hit in this story. DS Neads has not recovered well from the last case and he develops a serious case of revenge against the DCI. Meanwhile there's a murderer on the loose who seemingly doesn't care who winds up as collateral damage. It's a lot to take in and that is only the half of it. Very fast paced with several twists that make for an entertaining story.

[Bruce Retallack · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having bought the omnibus, I read this directly after volume one. Might have been a mistake, because the story clearly followed much of the same formla as the first - another deeply disturbed serial killer, another love interest who is not what she seems, another bloodbath of secondary characters, etc. So it was good enough to finish, but that's about it for me.

[Shirley Hartman-Rozee · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is apt; there are so many dusty creatures—humans—in this novel that it beggars the imagination. You cannot tell the bad guys from the good guys in this book and I lost count of how many were murdered, beat up, ended in hospital, suicided, and who was who. So many plots to follow, but I kept going to the end to at least find the outcome.

[Laura Poppenwimer · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting crime mystery. The characters are very different well defined, both good and bad. Each has their strengths and weaknesses and even phobias. The plot line doesn't go in a straight line and the ending is somewhat expected, but with an unseen twist. I have just read the 1st 2 in this series and it appears it is best to read them in order.

[Martha Sayre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprised that there were any characters left at the conclusion. 12 deaths, or am I forgetting a few? I’ll be taking a break, something with less detailed, gruesome murders. And not a psychopath as a perp.

[Trevor · Rating 3 out of 5]

DCI Brendan Moran after recovering from his injuries, is thrown back into action as a murder investigation lands on his desk. When another soon follows, ties to a drug ring, corrupt cops, a face from the past and his life becomes very complicated.

[Glyn Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

No 2 in the series and another good solid read, we have a new detective d.i. pepper and the usual crew with brendan. This involves an undercover copper going missing (no spoilers) and has many twists and turns . So read no 2 and ENJOY.

[E'Who'Reads'a'Thousand'Mysteries · Rating 5 out of 5]

This high quality mystery is loaded with edge of your seat suspense. The downtrodden perp and the religious mayhem grabbed my attention from page one, while the investigating was thoroughly exciting.

[Petra Willemse · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid entry in the series.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a real page-turner. No wonder police officers suffer from PTSD. On to book #3.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite entertaining but although I like a bit of gore there were bodies that were not necessary.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

much better than the first book. I liked the pacing and the people.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Suspenseful!

[Francine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm hooked on this mystery series. The characters are interesting and you can't predict the ending.

[Lucretia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since reading the second of this series, I feel a little more comfortable, but these thrillers are hard for me since I do not get kinbto the flow of the story. Something seems to be lacking here.

[Donna Mcnab · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book certainly didn't lack action. There seemed to be an awful lot of troubled police officers with a lot of problems in the book, surely more than usual.

[Terri Anstett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. A bit predictable though.

[Alina Klein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much too much violence

Read the first two books of this series but that is it for me.
Didn't like all the murders especially so many police.
Not for me.

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