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The Price We Pay
Two people consumed by grief.
One seeks salvation.
The other, revenge.
DI Carrie Tyler has been on desk duty since she killed her husband two years ago. When tragedy strikes again, Carrie must take the lead on what appear to be drug-related gang killings.
Then the letters start to arrive.
A million and one people interacted with my daughter while she was alive.
It took only six to kill her.
One by one, they will pay the price...
Time’s running out before the third murder. Carrie and her team are in a race against the clock to find out whose daughter died, who killed her, and more importantly…
Who’s handing out the receipts?
One seeks salvation.
The other, revenge.
DI Carrie Tyler has been on desk duty since she killed her husband two years ago. When tragedy strikes again, Carrie must take the lead on what appear to be drug-related gang killings.
Then the letters start to arrive.
A million and one people interacted with my daughter while she was alive.
It took only six to kill her.
One by one, they will pay the price...
Time’s running out before the third murder. Carrie and her team are in a race against the clock to find out whose daughter died, who killed her, and more importantly…
Who’s handing out the receipts?
358 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 16, 2024
About the author
Roy M. Burgess
16 books17 followersWriters are strange
Well, if you’ve ever read a book, that will not come as news to you, but hear me out. We (and after many years of doubt I now put myself in that category) can happily produce 100,000 words expressing intimate thoughts and actions of a fictional character. Tell us we have to write 1,000 words to introduce ourselves and we’ll look at you as if you’d just suggested climbing Everest in flip-flops. You want me to do what? Can’t I just write a new eight-part series about …
You get my point. I dread to think what my mum would’ve made of it all. Probably something like — ‘Stop showing off. You’ve put weight on. Do you want a sandwich? Have a biscuit.’
My writing journey
Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Roy, and I make stuff up. I write that stuff down and publish books. In other words, I write British Crime fiction — humorous cosy mysteries in The Fifth Series and darker police procedurals featuring DI Carrie Tyler. The books are set in a fictional city in West Yorkshire called Arthwaite. Some areas of Arthwaite may have certain similarities with neighbouring Leeds and Bradford. They say write what you know!
It’s a far cry from my days in IT when I sat in a cubicle, made stuff up, and promised I would finish it by Friday (I just never said which Friday). Now I sit in the tower of a converted Victorian mill, stare at the Leeds and Liverpool canal and dream up ridiculous ice cream flavours, tales of sixties pop idols, and various ways to murder people. Again, the similarities to a career in IT are frightening.
The global population in 1997 was around 5.9 billion people. I apologise for not being more exact, but counting them all is tough. I believe the number as that’s what Google says. (Always diligent with research). Who would’ve thought that of all those people, my soulmate would work in the office next door. So began over twenty years of laughter, adventure and pure joy (despite the aforementioned career in IT). Then it ended. A week short of my 58th birthday, Ruth lost her brave struggle with cancer. We knew it was coming, but no amount of preparation can mitigate the devastation for anyone in that situation.
I’d already left work to care for Ruth. When the end came, I did what a lot of men do and withdrew to my cave. I cut myself off from the world. After a full year, friends finally coaxed me back to reality. I tentatively accepted a couple of social invitations and decided I could see a way forward. The route back to a career was to refresh my skills and get back to project management. I studied, got new qualifications and started applying for jobs. Then the pandemic hit. It took little for me to decide that going back to an office environment was maybe not the brightest thing I could do.
Thoughts turned to the manuscript I’d started several years earlier, and a promise I’d made to finish it. In my mind there were about 40,000 words — a fair start. When I finally opened the document, it was less than 10,000 words. I had work to do.
The Fifth Series
Several months later, I had The Fifth Tweet. Job done. Promise fulfilled. What’s next? A couple of people asked me what happened to Frankie after the story ended. It was no good. I was hooked and started playing with ideas for the next in the series.
The Fifth Thunderbolt followed in 2022, The Fifth Man a year later, and The Fifth Door at the start of 2025. I’m delighted that people seem to love the characters as much as I do. I’m often asked if Frankie is me. I can exclusively reveal, that no he’s not. I’m much taller and not as successful, but we do share a love of music, wine, and pizza. It’s fair to say, a lot of the conversations between Frankie and Jen are based on real life. Similarly, Frankie’s chats with his mum have a lot in common with me. The story of Roddy going for a walk and not being able to remember a direct route home was based on one of the most stressful afternoons of my life!
DI Carrie Tyler
I’m
Well, if you’ve ever read a book, that will not come as news to you, but hear me out. We (and after many years of doubt I now put myself in that category) can happily produce 100,000 words expressing intimate thoughts and actions of a fictional character. Tell us we have to write 1,000 words to introduce ourselves and we’ll look at you as if you’d just suggested climbing Everest in flip-flops. You want me to do what? Can’t I just write a new eight-part series about …
You get my point. I dread to think what my mum would’ve made of it all. Probably something like — ‘Stop showing off. You’ve put weight on. Do you want a sandwich? Have a biscuit.’
My writing journey
Anyway, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Roy, and I make stuff up. I write that stuff down and publish books. In other words, I write British Crime fiction — humorous cosy mysteries in The Fifth Series and darker police procedurals featuring DI Carrie Tyler. The books are set in a fictional city in West Yorkshire called Arthwaite. Some areas of Arthwaite may have certain similarities with neighbouring Leeds and Bradford. They say write what you know!
It’s a far cry from my days in IT when I sat in a cubicle, made stuff up, and promised I would finish it by Friday (I just never said which Friday). Now I sit in the tower of a converted Victorian mill, stare at the Leeds and Liverpool canal and dream up ridiculous ice cream flavours, tales of sixties pop idols, and various ways to murder people. Again, the similarities to a career in IT are frightening.
The global population in 1997 was around 5.9 billion people. I apologise for not being more exact, but counting them all is tough. I believe the number as that’s what Google says. (Always diligent with research). Who would’ve thought that of all those people, my soulmate would work in the office next door. So began over twenty years of laughter, adventure and pure joy (despite the aforementioned career in IT). Then it ended. A week short of my 58th birthday, Ruth lost her brave struggle with cancer. We knew it was coming, but no amount of preparation can mitigate the devastation for anyone in that situation.
I’d already left work to care for Ruth. When the end came, I did what a lot of men do and withdrew to my cave. I cut myself off from the world. After a full year, friends finally coaxed me back to reality. I tentatively accepted a couple of social invitations and decided I could see a way forward. The route back to a career was to refresh my skills and get back to project management. I studied, got new qualifications and started applying for jobs. Then the pandemic hit. It took little for me to decide that going back to an office environment was maybe not the brightest thing I could do.
Thoughts turned to the manuscript I’d started several years earlier, and a promise I’d made to finish it. In my mind there were about 40,000 words — a fair start. When I finally opened the document, it was less than 10,000 words. I had work to do.
The Fifth Series
Several months later, I had The Fifth Tweet. Job done. Promise fulfilled. What’s next? A couple of people asked me what happened to Frankie after the story ended. It was no good. I was hooked and started playing with ideas for the next in the series.
The Fifth Thunderbolt followed in 2022, The Fifth Man a year later, and The Fifth Door at the start of 2025. I’m delighted that people seem to love the characters as much as I do. I’m often asked if Frankie is me. I can exclusively reveal, that no he’s not. I’m much taller and not as successful, but we do share a love of music, wine, and pizza. It’s fair to say, a lot of the conversations between Frankie and Jen are based on real life. Similarly, Frankie’s chats with his mum have a lot in common with me. The story of Roddy going for a walk and not being able to remember a direct route home was based on one of the most stressful afternoons of my life!
DI Carrie Tyler
I’m
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 20, 2024
An engagingly dark thriller mixed with humour and warmth.
You won't recognise this as coming from the pen of Roy Burgess, other than by the high quality of the work.
Whilst containing humour and, at times, painful character storylines, you could just as easily be reading a script for a television detective programme. It is that well written.
There are popular references, unexpected twists, likeable and unpleasant characters mixed in with believable scenarios that a reader could have encountered in everyday life - murders aside hopefully.
An excellent first for an author whose other series got me hooked with my preferred fictional theme of escapism and humour. Now I find myself enjoying detective thrillers, something I thought I'd left behind a couple of decades ago.
I'm now waiting for the next installments of the Fifth and DI Carrie Tyler. You're going to be a busy man Mr Burgess.
You won't recognise this as coming from the pen of Roy Burgess, other than by the high quality of the work.
Whilst containing humour and, at times, painful character storylines, you could just as easily be reading a script for a television detective programme. It is that well written.
There are popular references, unexpected twists, likeable and unpleasant characters mixed in with believable scenarios that a reader could have encountered in everyday life - murders aside hopefully.
An excellent first for an author whose other series got me hooked with my preferred fictional theme of escapism and humour. Now I find myself enjoying detective thrillers, something I thought I'd left behind a couple of decades ago.
I'm now waiting for the next installments of the Fifth and DI Carrie Tyler. You're going to be a busy man Mr Burgess.
August 23, 2024
The Price We Pay by Roy M Burgess is the first in the DI Carrie Tyler series and I will definitely be reading the next in the series. The character of DI Carrie Tyler is of a flawed woman who has made many mistakes after the death of her husband and only now is she regaining some control of her life. Her daughter Kelly is now living back with her and she is now back in front line policing after working in a desk job.
The storyline is of a serial killer determined to follow his dead wife’s instructions to kill all those responsible for his daughter’s death.
An interesting and quirky police story with flawed and fascinating characters.
Highly recommended
March 28, 2025
Cracking first of series - can't wait for the next!
Great story! Fast paced, action packed, and extremely hard to put down. Although a completely different genre, I love Roy's 5th Tweet series, and this is just as good in a totally different way.
Highly recommend, it is a cracking read!
Great story! Fast paced, action packed, and extremely hard to put down. Although a completely different genre, I love Roy's 5th Tweet series, and this is just as good in a totally different way.
Highly recommend, it is a cracking read!
October 30, 2024
This is a great book. It is well-written and has a good plot. You can see that it is setting the scene for a good series.
a cop with a murderer and family to deal with. its got real depth
i liked how the team comes together
a cop with a murderer and family to deal with. its got real depth
i liked how the team comes together
September 29, 2024
Excellent… a great read from start to finish. Just like The Fifth series I loved the local references.
Well done Roy, looking forward to the next instalment 🙂
Well done Roy, looking forward to the next instalment 🙂
July 17, 2026
The Price We Pay completely blew me away. I’m a huge fan of fast-paced, action-packed thrillers, and this one delivered on every single level. The plot moves at lightning speed, but Roy Burgess still takes the time to build fantastic, memorable characters that you genuinely care about.
It was so good that I couldn't even take a break—I immediately dove right into the second book because I just have to know what happens next.
If you want a thrilling, high-energy read with great character dynamics, do yourself a favor and pick this up. 5 stars all the way!
It was so good that I couldn't even take a break—I immediately dove right into the second book because I just have to know what happens next.
If you want a thrilling, high-energy read with great character dynamics, do yourself a favor and pick this up. 5 stars all the way!
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February 3, 2025I enjoyed this book
I am an avid reader of detective stories and have read most
Of the top authors,I am very pleased to add Roy M Burgess to my list of excellent authors. Congratulations Roy The Price We Pay is an excellent start and I look forward to following Carrie and her adventures.it
I am an avid reader of detective stories and have read most
Of the top authors,I am very pleased to add Roy M Burgess to my list of excellent authors. Congratulations Roy The Price We Pay is an excellent start and I look forward to following Carrie and her adventures.it
September 22, 2025
although quite a good story line it was predictable and formulaic
This is my first read from this author and although the plot suggested it would be a good read, it all felt a little predictable with the DCI who’s a drunk; if I’ve read one, I’ve read 50 books with the main character who doesn’t cook, doesn’t eat properly, drinks far too much and neglects their family. Particularly the career woman! In this case, her drinking adds NOTHING to the story.
The plot just unfolded itself. The perpetrator was posting letters with great detail to/about the victim and went to lengths to explain why. I’m not really sure what the police did to identify the suspect other than to receive and follow up on the letters.
If I decide to read the second in the series, which is unlikely, I hope the author gives the drinking a miss.
I also spotted several annoying punctuation errors. As a proofreader and self-confessed nerd when it comes to the detail, this is so annoying!
This is my first read from this author and although the plot suggested it would be a good read, it all felt a little predictable with the DCI who’s a drunk; if I’ve read one, I’ve read 50 books with the main character who doesn’t cook, doesn’t eat properly, drinks far too much and neglects their family. Particularly the career woman! In this case, her drinking adds NOTHING to the story.
The plot just unfolded itself. The perpetrator was posting letters with great detail to/about the victim and went to lengths to explain why. I’m not really sure what the police did to identify the suspect other than to receive and follow up on the letters.
If I decide to read the second in the series, which is unlikely, I hope the author gives the drinking a miss.
I also spotted several annoying punctuation errors. As a proofreader and self-confessed nerd when it comes to the detail, this is so annoying!
March 3, 2025
Really enjoyed this book - look forward to next one 😊
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews