What do you think?
Rate this book
Steel City #2
Angel of Death
Would you break the law to see justice done?
A former prostitute turns to murder in order to take revenge on the men who abused her.
Sheffield: a bankrupt businessman has murdered his family. It seems like an open-and-shut case: a desperate man resorting to desperate measures.
Middlesbrough: a woman named Angel is heading south. She is a woman alone. A prostitute. Now a murderer. And she has only one thing on her mind: revenge.
Two crimes, a hundred miles apart, but a terrible secret connects them. And although the courts may not agree, DI Jim Monahan has all the proof he needs to bring down justice on a group of particularly vicious criminals...
A former prostitute turns to murder in order to take revenge on the men who abused her.
Sheffield: a bankrupt businessman has murdered his family. It seems like an open-and-shut case: a desperate man resorting to desperate measures.
Middlesbrough: a woman named Angel is heading south. She is a woman alone. A prostitute. Now a murderer. And she has only one thing on her mind: revenge.
Two crimes, a hundred miles apart, but a terrible secret connects them. And although the courts may not agree, DI Jim Monahan has all the proof he needs to bring down justice on a group of particularly vicious criminals...
284 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 8, 2014
70 people are currently reading
187 people want to read
About the author
Ben Cheetham
44 books256 followersBen Cheetham is an award-winning writer and Pushcart Prize nominee. His writing spans the genres, from horror and sci-fi to literary fiction, but he has a passion for dark, gritty crime fiction. His short stories have been published in Swill Magazine, The Fiction Desk, Deadcore (Comet Press), The London Magazine, The Willisden Herald New Short Stories 3, The Grist Anthology of New Writing, Dream Catcher, Staple, Fast Forward: A Collection of Flash Fiction, Voice From The Planet (Harvard Square Editions), The Momaya Annual Review, Transmission, The Chaffey Review, and numerous other magazines.
Ben lives in Sheffield, UK, where - when he's not chasing around after his two-year old son - he spends most of his time locked away in his study racking his brain for the next paragraph, the next sentence, the next word.
Ben lives in Sheffield, UK, where - when he's not chasing around after his two-year old son - he spends most of his time locked away in his study racking his brain for the next paragraph, the next sentence, the next word.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
July 24, 2014
Sheffield's Rebus?
A young woman hell bent on revenge. A detective determined to self-destruct. A sinister cabal of powerful people who will keep their terrible secret, whatever the cost. Angel of Death is an accomplished thriller from author of Blood Guilt, Ben Cheetham. Fans of Rankin's Rebus will almost certainly enjoy this novel, where one of the main characters is a detective who feels so jaded by the job that he just doesn't care for authority any more. Retirement beckons and it's with bitterness that Jim Monahan goes about the job.
Another damaged character is the Angel of the title. A hooker's handle but one she lives up to in a deadly fashion. The chance to do a good deed for a young girl leaves her feeling powerful and alive for the first time in years. She comes to the terrible realisation that she can and must hit back at those that have mistreated her. She becomes the Angel of Death.
Cheetham tackles some big issues, and we are left feeling no small amount of empathy for the main characters as they both tread their separate trails of self-destruction. Trails that we know must at some point cross. The author has a rare talent for story telling and character creating. Expect more steel city thrillers. A gripping read for thriller fans.
A young woman hell bent on revenge. A detective determined to self-destruct. A sinister cabal of powerful people who will keep their terrible secret, whatever the cost. Angel of Death is an accomplished thriller from author of Blood Guilt, Ben Cheetham. Fans of Rankin's Rebus will almost certainly enjoy this novel, where one of the main characters is a detective who feels so jaded by the job that he just doesn't care for authority any more. Retirement beckons and it's with bitterness that Jim Monahan goes about the job.
Another damaged character is the Angel of the title. A hooker's handle but one she lives up to in a deadly fashion. The chance to do a good deed for a young girl leaves her feeling powerful and alive for the first time in years. She comes to the terrible realisation that she can and must hit back at those that have mistreated her. She becomes the Angel of Death.
Cheetham tackles some big issues, and we are left feeling no small amount of empathy for the main characters as they both tread their separate trails of self-destruction. Trails that we know must at some point cross. The author has a rare talent for story telling and character creating. Expect more steel city thrillers. A gripping read for thriller fans.
December 28, 2019
Audio version of this book 📚- Brilliant!! Loved this book! Gripping, couldn’t stop listening, A great listen and narration excellent
August 22, 2025
Definitely not what I was expecting based on the title but I really enjoyed it. The first of Cheethams books that I've read but I thought he did a fantastic job.
July 14, 2014
Ben Cheetham has released a number of books and short stories, however the only one I had read was entitled Blood Guilt. When I heard that he had this new one coming out I was keen to read it and see if it was as good as the last one. Not only was it just as good, it was even better! The covers are pretty appealing too for those that are still reading the paperback or hardcover copies. From Page 1 to the very end my attention was held, and my emotions played with. It seemed that Cheetham was determined to up the ante in terms of plot, characters and sheer pace.
Angel is a young girl with a severely tragic and broken past. She is now a prostitute and she finally snaps leaving her with only revenge in her mind. She was a great character and I empathised with her immediately. The book highlights in graphic detail the horrors she has been subjected to, and as a reader it doesn’t take too long for you to get behind her and almost begin to understand how people cross the line of the law.
Jim Monohan is a DI who has been round the block a few times. I liked Jim although he was a little on the clichéd side. He is investigating a crime where a bankrupt business man has murdered his family. Although seemingly a simple case to the police, Jim knows there is more to the case than meets the eye. The first few chapters alone were incredibly interesting and I was drawn in from the get go. I read this in a day and a half and was gutted to finally finish it.
The story and pace alone deserves a fantastic rating, but adding in the characters and plot threads it made for an absolutely fantastic read. I dithered over what rating to give it and was going to give it 5/5 but because the copper character just didn’t cut the mustard I had to drop it down to a 4/5. However, the book had everything else I would want from a book like this and more. This was an outstanding read and one that I think deserves a bit more exposure. If you haven’t read Ben Cheetham, I would highly recommend both the books I have read. Another great book and I will definitely look forward to the next one!
Angel is a young girl with a severely tragic and broken past. She is now a prostitute and she finally snaps leaving her with only revenge in her mind. She was a great character and I empathised with her immediately. The book highlights in graphic detail the horrors she has been subjected to, and as a reader it doesn’t take too long for you to get behind her and almost begin to understand how people cross the line of the law.
Jim Monohan is a DI who has been round the block a few times. I liked Jim although he was a little on the clichéd side. He is investigating a crime where a bankrupt business man has murdered his family. Although seemingly a simple case to the police, Jim knows there is more to the case than meets the eye. The first few chapters alone were incredibly interesting and I was drawn in from the get go. I read this in a day and a half and was gutted to finally finish it.
The story and pace alone deserves a fantastic rating, but adding in the characters and plot threads it made for an absolutely fantastic read. I dithered over what rating to give it and was going to give it 5/5 but because the copper character just didn’t cut the mustard I had to drop it down to a 4/5. However, the book had everything else I would want from a book like this and more. This was an outstanding read and one that I think deserves a bit more exposure. If you haven’t read Ben Cheetham, I would highly recommend both the books I have read. Another great book and I will definitely look forward to the next one!
August 10, 2025
Another great and well put together story by Ben Cheetham, his story writing and plotting are extremely good as are his characters and he is also very easy to read. Some may disagree but that is my opinion.
Angel is a prostitute who is an addict who is both physically and sexually abused by her despicable pimp. She, one day, has a dream which she somehow knows is a memory of a night which changed her life down in a seedy cellar where, not only her but a young boy were horrifically abused. She vows vengeance on the people who were involved.
Mark is a man who has had his memory suppressed without even knowing and who's father has just killed his wife and shot Marks young sister, leaving her for dead, and after a deadly fight, left himself dead and Mark badly injured with gunshot wounds. Now everything is slowly coming back to Mark, of that same horrendous night as Angel, when he was just a very young teenager.
As he recovers in hospital, he will only trust Jim Monahan, the detective who is trying to piece everything together but is struggling to do so. Jim is a rugged and determined copper with years of hard service to his credit and is vowed to find justice for Mark and Angel.
This was another of Mr Cheetham's books that I couldn't put down it was full of grit with for me, many teeth gnashing and 'oh no!' moments. I now look forward in the future to reading #4 of the 'Steel City' series.
For this one I can't give any less than 5/5
Angel is a prostitute who is an addict who is both physically and sexually abused by her despicable pimp. She, one day, has a dream which she somehow knows is a memory of a night which changed her life down in a seedy cellar where, not only her but a young boy were horrifically abused. She vows vengeance on the people who were involved.
Mark is a man who has had his memory suppressed without even knowing and who's father has just killed his wife and shot Marks young sister, leaving her for dead, and after a deadly fight, left himself dead and Mark badly injured with gunshot wounds. Now everything is slowly coming back to Mark, of that same horrendous night as Angel, when he was just a very young teenager.
As he recovers in hospital, he will only trust Jim Monahan, the detective who is trying to piece everything together but is struggling to do so. Jim is a rugged and determined copper with years of hard service to his credit and is vowed to find justice for Mark and Angel.
This was another of Mr Cheetham's books that I couldn't put down it was full of grit with for me, many teeth gnashing and 'oh no!' moments. I now look forward in the future to reading #4 of the 'Steel City' series.
For this one I can't give any less than 5/5
June 30, 2018
For me, this is better than his first book, Blood Guilt. I like that the books are set in Sheffield, where I worked for a few years, and it’s quite down to earth. The plots in both books were very good but this one was a little more refined and it shows that the author has improved on his very first novel. Both are standalone reads, each with completely different characters. My one and only dislike is that the author has chosen to make the leading detective in each book to be a sad, miserable person who continually feels sorry for himself due to personal events from the past. It’s so difficult to engage with someone like this and I end up liking and disliking the person in equal measures.
Rant over, the plot is good, easy to read, not too long and a few twists and turns along the way. Based on the improvement of this over his first book, I look forward to his next. Just give the main character a bit of Yorkshire backbone!!
Rant over, the plot is good, easy to read, not too long and a few twists and turns along the way. Based on the improvement of this over his first book, I look forward to his next. Just give the main character a bit of Yorkshire backbone!!
February 23, 2018
Cliche central here, but it works. We have a drug-addicted prostitute called Angel and a grizzled/jaded/resigned/really can't be arsed as close to retirement and dealing with the breakdown of his marriage Detective Inspector Jim Monahan. Dinosaur Monahan inevitably clashes with DCI Garrett who is one of those younger progressive sorts. Angel comes out of her drug-induced numbness long enough to kill a man and turn vigilante, with the suicide of a local businessman bringing up past abuse.Is Jim Monahan helping the avenging Angel? If so, should he be? She is going after paedophiles for historic crimes, crimes that weren't investigated by the police due to the social standing of the perpetrators.
Well-paced and tense, with hard moral questions.
Well-paced and tense, with hard moral questions.
April 6, 2019
Pretty good
I really enjoyed this book, I know it's not fair to make comparisons as this is a cracking read in its own right, but it did remind me of early Martina Cole (before she went downhill).
It's got that gritty, edgy feel. The characters were well written, I liked the good guys and hated the bad guys. Some bits were a bit far fetched, but let's not forget it's a work of fiction.
I will definitely be reading more books by this author. 👍
I really enjoyed this book, I know it's not fair to make comparisons as this is a cracking read in its own right, but it did remind me of early Martina Cole (before she went downhill).
It's got that gritty, edgy feel. The characters were well written, I liked the good guys and hated the bad guys. Some bits were a bit far fetched, but let's not forget it's a work of fiction.
I will definitely be reading more books by this author. 👍
January 2, 2020
Sheffield forever
This the third book I've read by ben but the first one set in his home town .As I'm also from Rotherham I know Sheffield well so I thoroughly enjoyed this . A good read though I'm not sure a police woman being shot outside the Northern General hospital wouldn't cause uproar. The character of Jim the gruff northern detective was spot on and reminded me of my dad and his dad
This the third book I've read by ben but the first one set in his home town .As I'm also from Rotherham I know Sheffield well so I thoroughly enjoyed this . A good read though I'm not sure a police woman being shot outside the Northern General hospital wouldn't cause uproar. The character of Jim the gruff northern detective was spot on and reminded me of my dad and his dad
August 11, 2017
Quite entertaining and very readable, but rather like many police based TV thrillers, it eventually becomes a bit over-the-top and loses some of it's credibility. Major plot junctions are fairly obviously signposted and the violence is sometimes unbelievable, with characters able to over achieve despite injuries. I might come back to the series, but I doubt it.
January 12, 2020
DI Jim Monohan was a peripheral character in the first book in the series but is front and centre in this one, as a tired and demotivated detective with an unhealthy lifestyle. He finds a DVD of child abuse in the fire wreckage of a house where the owner tried to slaughter his family and cuts corners to seek retribution.
October 5, 2017
Second in the series. I enjoyed this book. The character were well defined and the storyline a bit different. It didn't take me long to read it even though the dates show it did, this was an e book from the library and during loan period decided to change the system so couldn't access the book.
November 6, 2019
Glad I found Ben . Finished this book and wasn’t disappointed. He’s an underrated author. He’s not up with the big guys but he’s well worth a read . To me some authors are given a lot of hype because they are well know and don’t always deliver. That’s my humble opinion anyway.
January 13, 2020
Gripping!
Wow! Well done Ben Cheetham, that was a thrilling read. Had me gripped from the start. Loved the characters and what a great storyline. Have just told my friends they have to read it.
Wow! Well done Ben Cheetham, that was a thrilling read. Had me gripped from the start. Loved the characters and what a great storyline. Have just told my friends they have to read it.
January 26, 2020
Brilliant
An excellent story. This was a gritty and unpredictable read. The characters are believable and I totally emphasised with the main character - a disillusioned detective. Highly recommended
An excellent story. This was a gritty and unpredictable read. The characters are believable and I totally emphasised with the main character - a disillusioned detective. Highly recommended
August 24, 2020
I came upon this book by accident and for the first half (at least), I was thinking Wow! I'm so glad I found this. It's 5* crime novel. Towards the end, it became less driven with more discussion and less action - then suddenly it was over.
December 31, 2021
What an absolutely fantastic book!!! It's gory in parts and the child abuse content isn't great but I was hooked and couldn't wait to see how the stories linked and whether the abusers would be punished.
August 14, 2018
Thrilling!
This was a fast paste read, I absolutely love the way in which Ben Cheetham, gets straight to the point and keeps you hanging on to the last. Wow, top marks
This was a fast paste read, I absolutely love the way in which Ben Cheetham, gets straight to the point and keeps you hanging on to the last. Wow, top marks
August 5, 2020
Another excellent read from Ben Cheetham who really gets you on side with his characters. Harrowing in parts but leaving you with the feeling justice was served in the only way it could be.
April 23, 2021
This book kept me on the edge of my seat great suspense cant wait to start the next one
January 19, 2022
Another wow . Brilliant has always
August 26, 2025
Excellent thriller 👌
December 26, 2020
A great series! It kept me on edge! I would love to read more books in this 'Missing Ones Trilogy' series by Ben Cheetham! Would truly recommend this series for everyone to read! DI Jim Monahan is one of the best main characters! Really sad that his wife got murdered by a child kidnapper and rapist!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2015
Angel of Death explores what happens when people in different walks of life reach the end of their tether. A policeman, his marriage over, facing retirement and no longer believing the law can fully extend justice where it may be required. A prostitute, sick of her dependency upon drugs, of being used and abused by clients and of her perpetual cycle of misery. A businessman who has a dark secret and is facing bankruptcy who decides to end it all.
The action kicks off right from the start of the story and Ben Cheetham does a great job of keeping the pace flowing. We follow Angel, a prostitute with a drug dependency. She is concerned that a girl, new to the streets, may have taken a potentially dangerous client to a remote part of town. Angel persuades one of her clients to try to find the girl before she comes to harm, however, she arrives too late to save the girl from receiving a beating. In an act of retribution Angel kills the girl’s client before taking the injured girl to hospital. From this point on Angel is on course to taking a degree of control back in her life.
While Angel is struggling to regain some independence the story switches to a struggling businessman who has decided that suicide is the only option he has left. Before he can end his own life he has a few loose ends to tie up first – the resultant fall out comes to Angel’s attention when it is reported on the news. For Angel, seeing the businessman on the news, one of her worst memories resurfaces and she decides to visit old haunts with a view to settling old scores.
Cheetham has created an attention grabbing thriller which kept me reading well into the wee small hours. Angel is a flawed character yet believes she is following the correct path in her attempts to punish those who have taken advantage of her. She is aided, indirectly, by DI Jim Monahan who is prepared to put his career on the line to see ‘justice’ done but he does not believe that the due process of the law will be able to punish the guilty. Can Monahan use a vengeful prostitute to bring down a few corrupt individuals? If he does then what may the consequences be? All becomes clear as the plot unfolds and, in keeping with the tone of the book, there are not always happy endings to be found.
On the strength of Angel of Death I would be more than willing to read more from Ben Cheetham. This was a well written and action-packed read. Great characterisation and more than a few unexpected twists kept me entertained to the end. I would award Angel of Death 4/5 and add Ben Cheetham to my list of authors to watch out for.
The action kicks off right from the start of the story and Ben Cheetham does a great job of keeping the pace flowing. We follow Angel, a prostitute with a drug dependency. She is concerned that a girl, new to the streets, may have taken a potentially dangerous client to a remote part of town. Angel persuades one of her clients to try to find the girl before she comes to harm, however, she arrives too late to save the girl from receiving a beating. In an act of retribution Angel kills the girl’s client before taking the injured girl to hospital. From this point on Angel is on course to taking a degree of control back in her life.
While Angel is struggling to regain some independence the story switches to a struggling businessman who has decided that suicide is the only option he has left. Before he can end his own life he has a few loose ends to tie up first – the resultant fall out comes to Angel’s attention when it is reported on the news. For Angel, seeing the businessman on the news, one of her worst memories resurfaces and she decides to visit old haunts with a view to settling old scores.
Cheetham has created an attention grabbing thriller which kept me reading well into the wee small hours. Angel is a flawed character yet believes she is following the correct path in her attempts to punish those who have taken advantage of her. She is aided, indirectly, by DI Jim Monahan who is prepared to put his career on the line to see ‘justice’ done but he does not believe that the due process of the law will be able to punish the guilty. Can Monahan use a vengeful prostitute to bring down a few corrupt individuals? If he does then what may the consequences be? All becomes clear as the plot unfolds and, in keeping with the tone of the book, there are not always happy endings to be found.
On the strength of Angel of Death I would be more than willing to read more from Ben Cheetham. This was a well written and action-packed read. Great characterisation and more than a few unexpected twists kept me entertained to the end. I would award Angel of Death 4/5 and add Ben Cheetham to my list of authors to watch out for.
January 25, 2016
What a read! Angel Of Death is a fast paced novel with plenty of twists and I admit to having my heart in my mouth a couple of times. It starts with two plot strands. In the first Stephen Baxley faces bankruptcy and takes the tried and true method of taking his family with him when he kills himself. Fortunately he doesn't kill his children and they survive. In the second strand Angel, a prostitute and junkie, kills a punter who has seriously beaten a young girl. How these plot lines come together forms the meat of the novel.
Jim Monahan is a veteran DI with his own ideas on how to run the case and often finds himself at odds with his boss, DCI Garrett. Yes, he is that cliche, a dinosaur out of touch with modern policing but an effective one who is more interested in getting the perpetrators than politics and political correctness and I couldn't help rooting for him - his actions make for an exciting read.
Angel's actions and her desire for revenge on the paedophiles who abused her raise many interesting questions. The way the novel is written it is easy to see her point of view and support her actions, as Monahan does to a certain extent, but you have to ask yourself if vigilantism is ever acceptable or does the murder of paedophiles so benefit the rest of the population that it is justified? I don't know the answer but it's certainly food for thought, as is the senior police officers' refusal to suspect respected members of the community. Just what does that say about policing in this country, especially given some of the recent sex scandals?
Angel Of Death is a cracking, fast paced read with a difficult subject matter and a certain level of violence. If you are not put off then I heartily recommend it as a good read.
Jim Monahan is a veteran DI with his own ideas on how to run the case and often finds himself at odds with his boss, DCI Garrett. Yes, he is that cliche, a dinosaur out of touch with modern policing but an effective one who is more interested in getting the perpetrators than politics and political correctness and I couldn't help rooting for him - his actions make for an exciting read.
Angel's actions and her desire for revenge on the paedophiles who abused her raise many interesting questions. The way the novel is written it is easy to see her point of view and support her actions, as Monahan does to a certain extent, but you have to ask yourself if vigilantism is ever acceptable or does the murder of paedophiles so benefit the rest of the population that it is justified? I don't know the answer but it's certainly food for thought, as is the senior police officers' refusal to suspect respected members of the community. Just what does that say about policing in this country, especially given some of the recent sex scandals?
Angel Of Death is a cracking, fast paced read with a difficult subject matter and a certain level of violence. If you are not put off then I heartily recommend it as a good read.
March 2, 2015
An enjoyable (if that's the right word*) thriller. In Middlesbrough a heroin addicted prostitute shoots a man dead, in Sheffield a man shoots his family and burns down the house - two different crimes but what links them?
As crime novels go this was at the good end of the scale. It had a lot of the 'usual' - cop at the back end of his career, doesn't get on with his superior etc but there was also enough freshness to keep things interesting. The 'bad guys' were truly vile and the character of Angel was written well, making her 'kind of likeable' for a killer.
I think what impressed me most was the tying up of loose ends at the end. Without giving too much away most got what they deserved (apart from one, which I wasn't expecting) and the final, final twist, I will admit, caught me out. Jim Monahan is certainly an old time copper with a few tricks up his sleeve.
I had a few niggles with the story but nothing that I would bother you with, just a Sheffield lad reading a book set in Sheffield.
This is the second in the Steel City Thrillers series. There is a third, Justice For The Damned, due out this week. I intend reviewing each one on this site at some point.
7.5/10
* I wasn't sure if you could really describe a book as dark, gritty and at times disturbing as Angel of Death as 'enjoyable' but I enjoyed the read so I have (My Blog, My Rules ;-D)
As crime novels go this was at the good end of the scale. It had a lot of the 'usual' - cop at the back end of his career, doesn't get on with his superior etc but there was also enough freshness to keep things interesting. The 'bad guys' were truly vile and the character of Angel was written well, making her 'kind of likeable' for a killer.
I think what impressed me most was the tying up of loose ends at the end. Without giving too much away most got what they deserved (apart from one, which I wasn't expecting) and the final, final twist, I will admit, caught me out. Jim Monahan is certainly an old time copper with a few tricks up his sleeve.
I had a few niggles with the story but nothing that I would bother you with, just a Sheffield lad reading a book set in Sheffield.
This is the second in the Steel City Thrillers series. There is a third, Justice For The Damned, due out this week. I intend reviewing each one on this site at some point.
7.5/10
* I wasn't sure if you could really describe a book as dark, gritty and at times disturbing as Angel of Death as 'enjoyable' but I enjoyed the read so I have (My Blog, My Rules ;-D)
November 16, 2014
A fast-paced stand-alone novel that kicks off a three-book story-arc.
The charred remains of a married couple are discovered in a burning mansion on the outskirts of Sheffield, their children barely alive. Was this the desperate act of a bankrupt businessman? Maybe, but this house fire belies a terrible secret that is partly revealed on a video found amongst the wreckage. The footage depicts a sickening fifteen year old crime, one that has devastating consequences for all concerned.
The second of Ben Cheetham’s Steel City series follows Angel, a prostitute focused on revenge most unlawful. She flees Middlesbrough after killing a violent punter and returns to Sheffield with his gun and murderous intent. Picking apart the carnage is DI Jim Monaghan. Like many a fictional veteran detective he has martial and boss issues, sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of putting away the bad guys. In this case the criminals are hiding the darkest of crimes behind their authority and facades of respectability.
Parental influence and the damage caused by abuse is examined in this entertaining, violent and gritty tale. A thriller and a whodunit (just who is the Chief Bastard?) in which the nature of justice and its moral ambiguities are cleverly explored.
The charred remains of a married couple are discovered in a burning mansion on the outskirts of Sheffield, their children barely alive. Was this the desperate act of a bankrupt businessman? Maybe, but this house fire belies a terrible secret that is partly revealed on a video found amongst the wreckage. The footage depicts a sickening fifteen year old crime, one that has devastating consequences for all concerned.
The second of Ben Cheetham’s Steel City series follows Angel, a prostitute focused on revenge most unlawful. She flees Middlesbrough after killing a violent punter and returns to Sheffield with his gun and murderous intent. Picking apart the carnage is DI Jim Monaghan. Like many a fictional veteran detective he has martial and boss issues, sacrificing his own happiness for the sake of putting away the bad guys. In this case the criminals are hiding the darkest of crimes behind their authority and facades of respectability.
Parental influence and the damage caused by abuse is examined in this entertaining, violent and gritty tale. A thriller and a whodunit (just who is the Chief Bastard?) in which the nature of justice and its moral ambiguities are cleverly explored.
May 18, 2016
Another gem from this author. I greatly enjoyed it. It was certainly a gripping and page-turning read. And again with his books hardly a mistake which is marvellous these days with the lacklustre attitude to spelling and grammar you're usually presented with !! The only thing this picky reader spotted was tic spelt as tick. Oh, and one passage baffled me a bit-"...she wondered how many young minds he'd closed his sadistic hand on".....it didn't seem 'right'. He also wrote about a scene of the crime team which I've never seen written like that before.
I really enjoyed the characters of Jim, Grace and Mark in this story. All very different but all very likeable in their own ways-good people at heart.
I'm looking forward to the third in this series although bear in mind that they're a series due to their setting, each is a stand-alone story.
I really enjoyed the characters of Jim, Grace and Mark in this story. All very different but all very likeable in their own ways-good people at heart.
I'm looking forward to the third in this series although bear in mind that they're a series due to their setting, each is a stand-alone story.
October 12, 2015
As I was waiting on a number of book arriving in the mail, I had to take a trip to London and so to pass the time, I picked this one up. I'd never heard of Cheetham before, but having read this in the space of a day or so, I'm curious to check out his other work. The story itself is quite brutal and hard to read in some places (the subject matter is difficult, but kudos to Ben for writing about it) but I found myself rooting for 'Angel' (and I don't usually condone violence). I wasn't overly impressed by the ending, although something tells me there will be, or is, another book that continues the story. If that's the case, I certainly want to read it.
September 16, 2015
I've read the first two of Ben Cheetham's "Steel City" books, and enjoyed both. He tells an interesting and intriguing story, with some good twists and turns. Also, as a Sheffield lass, I recognise and appreciate the people and locations he writes. What puzzles me, though, is his claim for each book of "a unique premise"; I have no idea what he means by this, and it seems an odd way of labelling one's own books. Maybe I'm missing something, and someone will enlighten me? Regardless, I'd recommend his books to anyone who enjoys crime fiction.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews