Sins of the Father

DS Jimmy Suttle #3

by Graham Hurley

DS Jimmy Suttle investigates a murder in a house haunted by the past in the latest from 'one of the UK's finest crime novelists' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY), author of LAST FLIGHT TO STALINGRADA rich old man, Rupert Moncrieff, is beaten to death in the silence of his West Country waterside mansion, his head hooded and his throat cut. His extended family are still living beneath his roof, each with their own room, their own story, their own ghosts, and their own motives for murder. And in this world of darkness and dysfunction are the artefacts and memories of colonial atrocities that are returning to haunt them all.At the heart of the murder investigation is DS Jimmy Suttle who, along with his estranged journalist wife Lizzie, is fighting his own demons after the abduction and death of their young daughter, Grace.But who killed Rupert Moncrieff? And what secrets is the house holding onto that could unravel this whole investigation? The enquiry takes Suttle to Africa and beyond as he slowly begins to understand the damage that human beings can inflict upon one another. Not simply on the battlefield. Not simply in the torture camps in the Kenyan bush. But much, much closer to home.

Genres: Crime

353 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 1, 2014

About the author

Graham Hurley was born November, 1946 in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. His seaside childhood was punctuated by football, swimming, afternoons on the dodgems, run-ins with the police, multiple raids on the local library - plus near-total immersion in English post-war movies.

Directed and produced documentaries for ITV through two decades, winning a number of national and international awards. Launched a writing career on the back of a six-part drama commission for ITV: "Rules of Engagement". Left TV and became full time writer in 1991.

Authored nine stand-alone thrillers plus "Airshow", a fly-on-the-wall novel-length piece of reportage, before accepting Orion invitation to become a crime writer. Drew gleefully on home-town Portsmouth (“Pompey”) as the basis for an on-going series featuring D/I Joe Faraday and D/C Paul Winter.

Contributed five years of personal columns to the Portsmouth News, penned a number of plays and dramatic monologues for local production (including the city’s millenium celebration, "Willoughby and Son"), then decamped to Devon for a more considered take on Pompey low-life.

The Faraday series came to an end after 12 books. Healthy sales at home and abroad, plus mega-successful French TV adaptations, tempted Orion to commission a spin-off series, set in the West Country, featuring D/S Jimmy Suttle.

Launch title - "Western Approaches" - published 2012. "Touching Distance" to hit the bookstores next month (21st November).

Has recently self-published a number of titles on Kindle including "Strictly No Flowers" (a dark take on crime fiction), "Estuary" (a deeply personal memoir) and "Backstory" (how and why he came to write the Faraday series).

Married to the delectable Lin. Three grown-up sons (Tom, Jack and Woody). Plus corking grandson Dylan.

You're very welcome to contact Graham through his website: www.grahamhurley.co.uk

Or direct on seasidepictures@btinternet.com.


Series:
* D.I. Joe Faraday

Reviews

[Liz Barnsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first introduction to the Jimmy Suttle series and indeed my first introduction to the author and I have to say that it will definitely not be the last book I read from him, this was terrific top notch crime fiction.

This is one of those books that grips you from the outset even if you can’t quite work out why – there are two main threads running through this tale, that of the murder investigation and that of some very personal issues for Jimmy’s family since the loss of their child – both equally compelling and extremely readable.

It didnt seem to matter that I had not read the other books in the series, although I will certainly be doing so now, the writing is brilliantly addictive and there is more than enough “pre” information given to keep you in the picture without spoiling the opportunity to go back and read them later. I loved Jimmy as a character, but my favourite part of the book was following Lizzie along as she tries to understand, come to terms with and write about the loss of their daughter.

The “mystery” element is well conceived and unravels in perfect harmony with everything else going on – there were some intriguing characters involved in the case, not least of which is the dead man himself, a seeming horror of a man who it is hard to feel any sympathy for.

Overall then a really excellent read, great writing, great plot and character development and very engaging. Highly Recommended for fans of Crime Fiction.

Happy Reading Folks!

[Suzan Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 3rd of the DS Jimmy Suttle series and there is enough back information included for this to be read stand alone. The plot centres around the murder of an elderly man. Running alongside this is a very personal investigation (any more about this would spoil it for the reader) being carried out by Jimmy's wife, Lizzie, who is a reporter.

Additionally the theme of mental illness is explored and through Hurley's detailed writing it gets you to think about how the signs are not recognised, or if recognised can be ignored; how this affects how a person thinks plus the difficulties that professionals providing support are up against.

Having read the previous two novels in this series. with the last leaving an impression that Jimmy and his wife were back on track, I was totally unprepared for the opening twist in the Prelude and Chapter One which was written so cleverly. I went back and re-read these straight away and of course the clues were there.

So why 4 stars and not the usual 5 stars that I give to Hurley's novels? Well, Suttle thinks to himself "Life as he knew only too well could take you by surprise". As a reader this is how I feel about his character - that he is a surprise to me (particularly his sexuality in the last 2 novels) and I don't feel that I know him that well. On the other hand Lizzie's character is so well drawn and the pain that she feels is expertly conveyed. Even the victim and his family were easy to relate to than Jimmy.

Overall, this is an excellent read, written superbly with a continuous pace so that you want to keep reading.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series especially as I know most of the places the action takes place. Twists and turns all the way through.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I say this is a good holiday read, it's not meant to be a put-down. What I do mean is that it's a good page-turner. I enjoyed Hurley's Joe Faraday series, and his Jimmy Suttle novels are not proving to be a disappointment.

As is usual with Hurley, two linked plots run side by side, in this case involving Jimmy Suttle and his estranged wife Lizzie, each coping in their own way with the death of their child. What makes these books so readable is Hurley's light but believable touch on police procedures, good dialogue, and good research - in this case on mental health - lightly worn. The major characters in this plot are well fleshed-out and believable.

I'm not convinced the visit to Africa brought much to the plot, but overall, an absorbing read.

[Wendy Hearder-moan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like a series such as this with good plots, characters with whom you become engaged, and on top of that, information to make you think about various social issues. When it comes to Jimmy Suttle’s love-life, i can’t decide if I want him to get back with Lizzie or settle down with one of the other women who seem to want his body, but I wish he would stop being so promiscuous, LOL. That aside, this is a great series. This particular book has a lot to say about the challenges to the mental health system and its failures (Hurley says in his acknowledgements that he was shocked during his research for the book). Very topical today!

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really good book. It is police procedural with a lot of threads, particularly about madness and how it is recognised and dealt with in this country. I was wary because I had not read the earlier two books, but Hurley weaves the back story into this new investigation quite brilliantly. The lead characters are engaging as are the supporting cast of investigators. The plot is intricate and fascinating. I have read a few Graham Hurley and up until Finisterre i was a little underwhelmed, but now he is very high on my "to read" list.

[Sall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved how complex the Moncrief family were and how that meant the prime suspects were very unpredictable. I enjoyed how the investigation took them across to Africa but for the let down was Suttles ex wife writing a book about the murder of their daughter Grace. I can understand wanting answers, I cannot understand putting that information in the public domain or acquiring monetary gain from it. It feels unsettling and almost a little queasy that there should be a profit in the death of any child let alone your own child.

[Gord · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’d say it was a pretty good book, but I just held back from a four star rating. The story itself was quite interesting and I liked most of the characters but IMO, not a lot happened? After the initial incident the next large majority of the book was just talking to this person, talking to that person, then talking to someone else again etc. Don’t get me wrong, I realize that it’s a big part of a detective/ crime novel but other authors seem to squeeze in some other interesting parts.
Still an enjoyable read that kept me sticking with it and engaged til the end!

[Jackie Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quality of writing 8
Pace 9
Plot development 9
Characters 8
Enjoyability 9
Insightfulness 9
Ease of reading 10

A jimmy Suttle series

I really enjoyed the realistic police procedural process in this book

[Martin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Was this a script for ' Midsommer Murders' ???

[Sarah Bird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable, not too long ticked off a reading challenge prompt

[The Villan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read. Lots of possible suspects till the end.

[Mark Boniface · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book . Another cracking read . Love all the books in this series . But I did expect more about the killing of his own daughter .

[Martyn Legg · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoroughly distasteful plot with a subplot which seems somewhat irrelevant. The words written in my school reports spring to mind; could do better!

[Kerrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I was convinced it was not so, my records tell me that this is the first novel by Graham Hurley that I have reviewed in this history of this blog.

The structure is similar to what we have seen in recent years in British crime fiction: two independent stories connected by a common factor, in this case a married couple, and then threading their way through the manuscript, more or less in step. Almost, in this case, two novels in one.

The murder investigation, undertaken by the team that DS Jimmy Suttle is part of, explores how British colonial administrators treated the local inhabitants, in this case in Kenya, whom they regarded as racially inferior. In fact Suttle and his boss go out to Africa to work out whether a local who recently visited England could be responsible for the gruesome murder, or whether the answer is much closer to home. Meanwhile Suttle's wife Lizzie is trying to make some sense of the death of their four year old daughter Grace. She has been offered a book contract to write about the impact on their lives. Should she take it?

As with novels with similar structure the novel's narrative hops almost without warning from one story to another, making sure the reader stays alert.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a powerful book and is probably worth three and a half stars. I had read the author's Joe Faraday series and apparently Jimmy Suttle had featured in that series but I did not remember him. There are two stories in this book - the story of Suttle's estranged wife trying to comes to terms with the death of her daughter and the story of Suttle's investigation of the murder of a man hacked to death with a machete. The author is pretty mean to his main characters (he killed off Joe Faraday) and at times things do not look good either for Suttle and his estranged wife in this book. I will seek out the earlier books in this series and also the short stories which apparently provide background to the Faraday books.

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Straight to it --- the twinning of the story line around mental health is interesting but I think tidying up the narrative and especially tidying away a child in this way feels too much like a plot device. I get a feeling that Lizzie is a more complete character than Jimmy. Luke still needs some fleshing out too. With these small criticisms, I truly & thoroughly enjoy these books to await the next installment with excitement and I hope the author does find his new Winter... sometimes it just takes a few books. *smile*

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've not kept up to date with Jimmy Suttle's progress, but always highly rated the earlier Joe Faraday novels. This is a hugely impressive handling of the dove-tailing of police procedures in a complex murder investigation, further complicated by Kenyan politics and the dealing with the mentally dysfunctional. The research Graham Hurley admits to is lightly and effectively handled.

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book, although I thought the first portion was stronger than the last. Quite a bit has happened since the previous book. I thought perhaps I had missed one but one of the two story threads in the book is Lizzie teasing out that story. Hurley has returned to the format he used in most of the Faraday books with two mostly independent stories although they share a common theme.

[Christopher Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book in the Jimmy Suttle series. A lot of revisiting the events of the previous in the series but a strong story in the present when the old but still tyrannical father of a local family is found brutally murdered. The dominant theme is actually mental health and related services in examining the events in the past and those surrounding the story in the present.

[Lysergius · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third in the Jimmy Suttle series of Graham Hurley police procedurals. Two parallel narratives which involve Jimmy Suttle and his wife Lizzie. The conclusion to both cases is "shit happens". Life is random, get used to it... A bit bleak, but there you go, this is the 21st century after all...

[Suzanne · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just couldn't develop any interest.

[Andy Bowditch · Rating 4 out of 5]

another gig read by Hurley, I may be biased due to living in Exmouth and having grown up in Pompey so the local settings added another enjoyable layer the the two good threads in the story

[Sue Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read but still prefer the Joe Faraday set.

[Nancy Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. So many questions so many legitimate suspects. Real but unusual characters. Great plot, did not know until the last page who did it.

[Sue Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Would like to read more of this author.

[Robert Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just OK. Not much action to keep you interested. The trip to Africa was a waste of time and did not add anything to the story. The Jimmy Suttle stories are not as good as the Joe Faraday ones.

[Brenda Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book,now read all the Jimmie Suttle books .Waiting for next in series.Will certainly try more Graham Hurley books .I love the way he puts two stories in one book.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another cracker from Graham Hurley.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this guy. More