Inside View

The DCI Jones Casebook #4

by Kerry J. Donovan

The explosive fourth instalment in the DCI Jones Casebook series of crime thrillers—this is CRYER’S VIEW.

For more than five years police operations in the southeast of England have been failing. Chief Superintendent Knightly, a senior member of the National Crime Agency, suspects that someone is selling police intelligence. When one of his junior officers dies before he can attend clandestine meeting with him, Knightly is certain—there’s a dirty cop inside his organisation.
Unable to trust anyone under his command, Knightly turns to an old friend for help—Detective Chief Inspector David Jones.
When Detective Sergeant Phil Cryer, answers his doorbell to find CS Knightly and DCI Jones on his doorstep, he knows things are about to get interesting—and dangerous.
Phil Cryer, on sick leave after suffering an injury in the line of duty, soon finds himself deep undercover inside the NCA hunting the dirty cop, codename Alpine. He faces his most difficult and dangerous assignment.
Alone, injured, and armed only with his phenomenal memory, Phil must identify the rogue cop before he escapes … or kills again.

Can be read as a standalone novel.

Other books in this series:
Book 1: Sean Freeman
Book 2: Raymond Collins (a novelette)
Book 3: Ellis Flynn

350 pages, ebook

First published October 24, 2016

About the author

#1 bestselling author with the US-based Lucky Shores romantic suspense series and the Ryan Kaine military action thrillers, and creator of the popular DCI Jones Casebook series of police procedurals, Kerry J Donovan was born in Dublin, before spending many formative years in West Wales.

Kerry earned a first-class honours degree in Human Biology and a PhD in Sport and Exercise Sciences. A former scientific advisor to The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, he helped UK emergency first-responders prepare for chemical and biological attacks in the wake of the 9/11 atrocities. This background adds a keen scientific edge to Kerry’s writing.

Kerry’s life experiences help him add an extra layer of realism to his stories and his characters. For example, readers will discover the water-borne adventures of his action hero, Ryan Kaine, a former member of the Royal Navy’s Special Boat Services, as authentic and exciting as a night-time dip in the Bay of Biscay.

As the owner of a “pristine” Honda NC750X, you’ll often find him touring the less well-known regions of Europe in search of interesting locations for his novels. A life-long sports enthusiast and open-water swimmer, the moment Kerry catches a glimpse of the ocean, it’s off with the bike leathers and on with his wetsuit.

A citizen of the world, Kerry recently returned from spending two decades living in the heart of rural Brittany and now lives with Margaret in a recently renovated bungalow in Nottinghamshire, UK.

When not writing, Kerry enjoys riding his motorbike, jogging, swimming, spending time with his four wonderful grandchildren, and travelling the world.

To find out more about Kerry’s books, read the first chapter of each book free, download his Press Kit, or get in touch via his contact page or social media.

Reviews

[David Wind]

The DCI Jones Casebook: Cryer’s View
By Kerry J. Donovan
The Best Procedural I’ve Read In A decade!
Cryer’s View, the newest of the DCI Jones Casebook series is a wonderful action packed read. Written with verve and style, Cryer’s View is the best [police] procedural I have read in a decade. Alive with intelligent humor and page turning prose, this inside look into the top levels of crime detection and security has a churning plot that kept me fully involved from the first page to the last. Oh, and for us American readers, let me warn you that nowt actually means naught, a British colloquialism. David Wind

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cryer’s View is a well told tale which kept me up late into the night to finish. It was an enjoyable read with well-developed characters I cheered for and worried about as the story unfolded. The plot had enough twists, turns, and surprises to keep me guessing and turning pages to find out whodunit. Throughout I wondered if Phil Cryer and his amazing memory would untangle things in time to stop “the bad guys”. Definitely want to read more stories featuring these characters. What more could a reader ask for? [I received an “Advance Reader Copy” this book.]

[john parry · Rating 4 out of 5]

don’t put down !

So good…great story line, outside characters loved the way Corky still involved…Freeman as well.
Part of the family…so well written by the author.
I hope theirs a book 5.

[Margaret · Rating 5 out of 5]

A complex undercover job

DCI Jones in a roundabout way had organised for DS Cryler to do an undercover job in London to find a bad cop, male or female yet unknown who has been passing information that resulted in many raids going wrong, though Phil is still on medical leave this is a desk job, so it only needs to be agreed by Phil as it means him working away from home. Brilliant book.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

You're going to love this one!

Wow, if you're looking for another fascinating and action packed read, then this is awesome and you'll be happy to continue this series! I love reading about DS Phil Dryer and his amazing gift of his eidetic memory recall. This is another superb story of intense, action packed and faster impatient page turner that keeps you up at night trying to anticipate the next and yes shocking end to a truly fantastic story!

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very good British police procedural which kept me engaged throughout. I've read the earlier books in the series, and this is just as good - but it's told from a different person's POV (DS Cryer, not DCI Jones). The characters are all believable and the storytelling is excellent. I will keep reading more by this author.

[Roz De-Layen · Rating 5 out of 5]

inside view

One of my top two favourite authors once again has me up all night - unable to put the book down. It was different this time, as David Jones was not the central character, although central to the story. Phil Cryer made for an excellent read. Kerry J Donovan scores again!

[John J Dutra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put it down…

I was reading another book that was all over the place and difficult to put together. The story dragged and for nearly three weeks I tried to keep reading it, but gave up.
Picked up this doozy from Kerry and read it in 3 days, while working! Love the author, the storyline and how it all relates and then still surprises me in the end. Fantastic book.=

[Jim Crowther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cryer's View is the 4th and best so far in the D.C.I. Jones police procedural series. A very well written novel that had me gripped to the end - one of those that keeps you reading to the wee hours. I will have read Mr Donovan's other offerings!

[Lee Lamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the best one so far. The plot twists and turns kept me turning pages. It was very hard to put down even when I had no choice. So many different characters you need a scorecard to keep track but that was never a distraction. Exceptional transitions from one to the other.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic series

This was a complex story with many unexpected twists that will keep you guessing until the very end. A definite must read!
I would definitely recommend this book, series, and outstanding author.

[Violet Robinson? · Rating 5 out of 5]

couldn’t put it down

Kept me up late, it was so good I couldn’t wait toreador it to the end. Loved all the twist and turns I always try to think who it is but when the wife showed up an acted beautifully that completely threw me off. Well done

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy the style of writing and the characters Mr Donovan has created. I hope there will be more in the DCI Jones Casebook series and I am waiting patiently for the next Ryan Kaine.

[barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great read loved every minute well written soo glad i have found this Author well worth a read .

[Mrs Linda A Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I do love this series and yet again another great read. Characters from the Ryan Kaine series are popping up so you are getting to know where they came into the stories.

[Gerald S Walton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Riveting!

An excellent read! DCI Jones takes a back seat in this book with Phil Cryer taking the lead. Lots of twists and turns with a revealing ending! Highly recommended.

[Sandra Berriman · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good read

Fantastic story, I will be reading more of the authors books. Didn't want to put it down. Thank you muchly

[wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

Seemed a bit slow to start, but after that it became an intricate and often intense rush to the finish.

[Norman Torr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely gripping

I have to say this is the first book I have ever picked up and "could not put down" from start to finish. DCI Jones Casebooks just keep me rivited

[Annestasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book.
I'm making my way thru this series and enjoying all of them. But this was the most interesting one. Kept me glued to the end intriguing with bit of humour and suspence. Loved it.

[lorraine vanderwaren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyable casebook

This was a good story, kept your interest. Lots going on with both primary and supporting characters as well as the ongoing criminal element l

[Gail · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great police action book that kept my attention from the very beginning. The characters are strong and the story believable. A Detective from an outlying town is sent undercover to a London precinct to find a bad cop.I recommend this book to anyone who loves police stories or a good action book. This is the first book I have read by Kerry Donovan . He tells a good story . I'd like to read more of his books.

[Bonnie Dale Keck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kindle Unlimited {some not all} film noir detective thriller, think Donovan invented a new sub-genre. Johnny Swift and Lucky Shores different than the DCI ones.

The DCI Jones Casebook Box Set: Books 1-3 in the Casebook Series not ku
The DCI Jones Casebook: Sean Freeman not ku
The DCI Jones Casebook: Raymond Collins free
The DCI Jones Casebook: Ellis Flynn ku
The DCI Jones Casebook: Cryer's View ku

On Lucky Shores: A Chet Walker Adventure ku

The Transition of Johnny Swift ku

look at amazon writer page for others

[Cathy Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detective Sergeant Phil Cryer is recuperating from a serious knee injury sustained in a rooftop chase during a previous investigation. He’s feeling frustrated and helpless at being on sick leave, so when he has a visit from Chief Superintendent Knightly from the National Crime Agency who has reasons to suspect corruption, Cryer jumps at the chance to go undercover.

When Detective Sergeant Richie Juno is killed in a hit and run while tailing a suspect, just after he arranged to meet with CS Knightly on an urgent matter, questions are raised. Was DS Juno targeted and murdered and, if so, why? Unable to place his trust with anyone in the NCA until the double-dealing is exposed, Knightly contacts his old friend DCI David Jones, Cryer’s boss. Jones believes Phil Cryer has the perfect talents for undercover work – incredible IT skills and an eidetic memory.

This is number four in the DCI Jones series and an excellent addition. The story begins in the third person with Ritchie Juno, then moves to the first person from Phil’s perspective as he takes centre stage. The covert operation gets off to a bad start with an antagonistic attitude directed at Phil from one of the members of the NCA team. Added to that he has to downplay his skills while keeping his cover intact. With no immediate back up, Phil faces a difficult and dangerous task.

I’ve enjoyed all the books in the DCI Jones series and this is no exception. The story unfolds with a timeline heading each chapter, giving an awareness of the increasing tension and suspense. Kerry Donovan creates a very credible and convincing picture of the procedures within a specialist police unit.

I liked Phil Cryer from the start and enjoyed getting to know him, and David Jones, more. It’s a refreshing change to have a well-adjusted, easy-going and easy to relate to family man as the protagonist. And one who is able to voice his feelings, whether they are for his wife and children, or apprehension and concerns about the situation he’s in. He and DCI Jones compliment each other, both are engaging in their own ways and are developed skilfully, creating an attachment with this reader. I also very much enjoyed the addition of the ‘villain’ from the first book.

The storyline is written and structured extremely well, character driven with lots of action offset by Phil’s surreptitious desk investigations into the team members using his formidable skills via the internet. The explosive culmination was a complete surprise. A really strong addition to the series.

I chose to read and review The DCI Jones Casebook: Cryer’s View for Rosie Amber’s book review team, based on a digital copy from the author.

[E.L. Lindley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cryer’s View by Kerry J Donovan is the fourth story in the DCI Jones Casebook series. It is an exciting police thriller centred around the character of Phil Cryer.

From the onset it is clear that Donovan is a safe pair of hands and the story is both engaging and gripping. There are references to incidents and characters that have obviously featured in the earlier novels but Cryer’s View can be very much enjoyed as a standalone story. Indeed it is the only one of Donovan’s books that I’ve read although it certainly won’t be the last.

The structure of the novel lends the story an added layer of tension as it is set out almost like a police report with each chapter chronologically dated. The whole case takes just over a month to solve which heightens the sense of urgency. Donovan also uses devices such as watching the action play out via TV screens which again lends authenticity and makes the story seem more visual, almost like a TV serial. Donovan switches from third person narrative which allows him to move the action forward to first person which creates a connection between the reader and Phil Cryer.

There are lots of likeable characters in this novel but Phil Cryer is at the heart of it. By giving us a character who is ‘ordinary’ rather than a larger than life hero, Donovan makes us believe in Cryer. He’s a Detective Sergeant based in Birmingham whose only extraordinary feature is his exceptional memory which makes him the perfect choice for an undercover job in London, rooting out a corrupt cop. Just as important as his abilities as a detective, Cryer is a devoted family man which humanises him. He also expresses his fears and insecurities as he feels isolated in a big city away from home. The fact that he feels out of his depth makes the reader connect with him and care about him.

In addition to Cryer’s mission to expose the “bent cop”, he has to play the role of newbie in the National Crime Agency. Taking on cases he has to underplay his memory and abilities, enabling others to take the credit for his investigations. He gains the nickname “Lucky” and wins over his colleagues with the exception of Billy Hook who becomes his nemesis. Their relationship provides much of the tension during the course of the story.

Donovan’s skill as a writer is apparent in the way he allows his story to unfold piece by piece, almost like a jigsaw puzzle. There are quite a few red herrings which build the excitement and the big reveal at the end left me reeling as I never saw it coming.

Donavan uses his novel to present a very realistic and sympathetic view of law enforcement agencies. His knowledge of police procedures is convincing and the story is all the more interesting for it. Reading the story made me appreciate what a dangerous job police work is and how vulnerable they are. We are also shown how political the job can be and the tensions between detective work and the CPS who don’t always choose to prosecute.

I really enjoyed Cryer’s View, it’s pure escapism but with a thoughtful underbelly. If you like a character driven thriller with lots of action then this one will suit you.

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the latest in the DCI Jones Casebook series, a British police procedural written by an Irishman living in France, and read by an American living in Mexico.

I really like this author and this series, and while I enjoyed the others in the series, I think in this one, Donovan really hit his stride. Instead of featuring DCI David Jones, it features his Sergeant, Detective Sergeant Phillip Cryer. Cryer is recovering from a fall through a rotted roof in a previous book, at home on forced medical leave, nothing to do and is bored out of his gourd, when the top cheese Knightly, comes to visit, and offers him a chance to use his rather spectacular IT skills and his eidetic memory (shades of Criminal Minds) by going undercover with the British equivalent of the FBI in London, the NCA (National Crime Agency) to ferret out the dirty cop who has been operating out of that agency, and has caused the death of one of its officers. Although Cryer is not cleared for street duty, he can sit at a desk and review files and do some serious IT snooping.

One reason I liked this book more than the others is because Cryer is a lot more interesting than DCI Jones. Jones is an older fart, dour and particular, with a tragic past. For me, this does not make him interesting, only makes him dour and sour. Maybe that is because I am on the downward slope of Elderly, and by this time, everybody has a tragedy in their past and I am, like, get over it and get on with it, because there are only so many miles of the tarmac left in front of us and I don't intend to spend those miles weeping or feeling sorry for you.

Written in the first person, Cryer is funny, genial, and intelligent, all excellent qualities in a male, I always think. The plot is good, the mystery gripping, and....... sound the trumpets!!! ... I actually guessed correctly on the who dunnit, but not because it was too simplistic but because I am getting better at this, and that is my story and I am sticking to it.

So anyway, loved the book, and frankly am hoping that (a) there are future volumes, and (b) that DS Cryer plays a more prominent role in future volumes, and maybe that DCI Jones will cheer up a bit.

[Emilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an Advanced Readers Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed the book. Police procedurals are not my usual read, but this had a lot of interesting twists and turns, and was mostly in the viewpoints of sympathetic characters. Detective Sergeant Phillip Cryer had been injured in a previous book, The DCI Jones Casebook: Raymond Collins, which is available for free. Cryer was the main narrator in this book, as he worked to recover from a bad leg injury and then went undercover working at a desk and still doing a great job as a detective.

Something that caught my interest was that it was difficult even for police to access guns in the UK. That's so different from the U.S. The author notes that some of his police locations and jurisdictions, like DCI Jones' jurisdiction, are fictional, and though there really is a special unit like Cryer went to work for, Donovan does not know their internal procedures. Nevertheless, it sounded convincing to me. There was some elaborate world-building there.

Of course, there are tense moments, and Cryer does not spend all of his time behind a desk. The climax of the book was exciting, but I also liked that Cryer could solve crimes just using his intellect. Those cases were interesting to me, too.

Recommended for those who like police procedurals.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The DCI Jones Casebook: Cryer's View by Kerry J Donovan

Chief Superintendent Knightly suspects that someone is selling police intelligence. He is certain there is a dirty cop inside his organisation, and trusts no one. So he calls on his old friend Detective Chief Inspector David Jones.

DCI Jones then calls on his friend Detective Phil Cryer to help in this investigation. Cryer is on sick leave for an injury, but welcomes the offer of helping to find this dirty cop. Things get intense and dangerous and this by far is Cryer's most dangerous case yet.

The plot is intense, with a lot of action and suspense, leaving you on the edge of your seat. DCI Jones and Cryer are both very likable. They work well together, and both are dedicated to their job. Cryer will do what ever it takes to find the killer. Overall I found The DCI Jones Casebook: Cryer's View exciting, intense, suspenseful, a great read. I feel those who love murder/mystery/suspense will enjoy it as well.

[Sophie Bristow Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had the great pleasure of reading all of Kerry J Donovan's novels up to date, I have thoroughly enjoyed them all. "Cryer's View" is the 4th in the DCI Jones series, a superb addition to it.
Sergeant Phil Cryer takes the main lead in this book, he is uprooted from Birmingham to go secretly undercover in London to try and crack the mystery identity of a certain assailant.....
I really enjoyed getting to know Cryer, discovering more about his personality and his skill of a very high memory recollection.
In this book we also gain a little more knowledge of DCI David (Never Davie) Jones's background, we learn of a great tragedy that befell him, which in turn made him even more endearing.
Kerry writes clearly, yet informative novels which I highly recommend. I spent a good few evening devouring "Cryer's View". I'm always sad to finish books by this author, waiting with patience now for his next!

[J.E. Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book in the DCI Jones series that I've read and now I must read the others. Cryer's View was an engrossing tale which kept me interested from the first page.

Philip Cryer, injured in the line of duty is off work recouperating.. DS Juno, an officer, is killed and there is a question as to whether he was murdered. DCI Jones seeks the help of Cryer to go undercover to determine the dirty cop believed to be within the police force. His skills of good memory and reasoning lead him into more than he bargained for. After all, he was supposed to be on desk duty.

This story has lots of exciting turns which keeps you guessing and the pace is very fast . I loved the sarcasm and sense of humor of the character of Phil Cryer. The plot of the story was so engrossing and kept me entertained until the last page was turned. I would highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys well written suspense with lots of fast paced action.