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DCI Marlin #1
Ashes and Bone
Dr Aldous ‘Al’ Andrews is psychologist famous for a book he’s written on serial killers…
In 1998, he helped DCI Peter Marlin catch Mark Rennie, a serial killer, who targeted young women at the University of East London.
Now Dr Al spends his time in the company of prostitutes and drinking far too much.
Then one day, DCI Marlin reappears, needing help.
A series of murders is rocking London, and the only thing they have in common is how cleanly they have been executed.
Thinking he might get a book out of it, Andrews agrees to help.
Al is having a hard time putting a profile together due to the lack of clues.
At first it looks like there have been seven deaths in seven days, and he wonders if there is a connection to the religious meanings for each day.
It’s all he’s really got to share with Marlin.
Then he gets an email from a man called the Phantom. It brings back memories of the Phantom of Texarkana, a serial killer from 1946 who was never caught.
With the Phantom taunting him, now Dr Al is a target, and Marlin arranges for a patrol car to sit outside his home, where he is holed up with Lara, a prostitute who is now his girlfriend.
The body count rises as Al remains behind locked doors, meanwhile, something is not adding up.
Marlin doesn’t think the prostitutes who are being murdered are connected to the Phantom’s victims.
Neither does his girlfriend, Detective Sue Scott, who is becoming more and more convinced that besides being a criminalist, Dr Al might also be a criminal.
And when Lara’s roommate is murdered in her flat, the case comes close to home.
Dr Al’s fingerprints are at two murder scenes, but is someone trying to frame him, or is he a serial killer, too?
Marlin's not buying that and Sue Scott is certain the Phantom is not the only killer, but will either one be caught?
Ashes and Bone is a chilling psychological thriller that makes you question everything you think you know.
In 1998, he helped DCI Peter Marlin catch Mark Rennie, a serial killer, who targeted young women at the University of East London.
Now Dr Al spends his time in the company of prostitutes and drinking far too much.
Then one day, DCI Marlin reappears, needing help.
A series of murders is rocking London, and the only thing they have in common is how cleanly they have been executed.
Thinking he might get a book out of it, Andrews agrees to help.
Al is having a hard time putting a profile together due to the lack of clues.
At first it looks like there have been seven deaths in seven days, and he wonders if there is a connection to the religious meanings for each day.
It’s all he’s really got to share with Marlin.
Then he gets an email from a man called the Phantom. It brings back memories of the Phantom of Texarkana, a serial killer from 1946 who was never caught.
With the Phantom taunting him, now Dr Al is a target, and Marlin arranges for a patrol car to sit outside his home, where he is holed up with Lara, a prostitute who is now his girlfriend.
The body count rises as Al remains behind locked doors, meanwhile, something is not adding up.
Marlin doesn’t think the prostitutes who are being murdered are connected to the Phantom’s victims.
Neither does his girlfriend, Detective Sue Scott, who is becoming more and more convinced that besides being a criminalist, Dr Al might also be a criminal.
And when Lara’s roommate is murdered in her flat, the case comes close to home.
Dr Al’s fingerprints are at two murder scenes, but is someone trying to frame him, or is he a serial killer, too?
Marlin's not buying that and Sue Scott is certain the Phantom is not the only killer, but will either one be caught?
Ashes and Bone is a chilling psychological thriller that makes you question everything you think you know.
- GenresCrime
222 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 14, 2013
34 people are currently reading
96 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 18, 2017
Book received from NetGalley.
I read this quite a while ago and really don't remember much about it. I know I liked it, but it didn't really stick with me.
I read this quite a while ago and really don't remember much about it. I know I liked it, but it didn't really stick with me.
May 31, 2017
Stunning new author discovered via a freebie on Kindle, I was glued to the pages of what was a well written, fast paced read. The whole psychology of the crimes had me hooked even though you knew from the start there was definitely something hinky about the Doc. Reading the second in the series to find out what happens next is a must. So entertaining and definitely recommended.
May 18, 2019
Back in 1998, Dr Andrews helped the police and P.C. Peter Marlin catch Mark Rennie, a serial killer. When in the present day a series of seeminly random killings appear D.C.I. Marlin contacts Dr. Andrews for his help. Concurrently there are a series of prostitute killings. In this the same serial killer.
A very enjoyable well-written crime story. Look forward to the next in the series.
A very enjoyable well-written crime story. Look forward to the next in the series.
May 30, 2020
Excellent
Another new author for me during lockdown, picked this book up by chance and thoroughly enjoyed it. I shall certainly be looking out for David McGlone in future and his character DCI Marlin. The book is about a serial killer on the loose so the police request a psychological profiler called Dr Andrews to assist in the case.
Another new author for me during lockdown, picked this book up by chance and thoroughly enjoyed it. I shall certainly be looking out for David McGlone in future and his character DCI Marlin. The book is about a serial killer on the loose so the police request a psychological profiler called Dr Andrews to assist in the case.
September 3, 2023
As soon as I read the back cover I was hooked. Loved how you got a sense of the characters from the beginning. This is a book you won’t want to put down. Absolutely brilliant. Cannot wait to read the next one.
May 24, 2017
This was a freebie so I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised!! Looking forward to the next in the series
October 9, 2017
Good until the end
I was thoroughly enjoying this book until the end. This may be the worst ending I have ever read and I have read thousands of books.
I was thoroughly enjoying this book until the end. This may be the worst ending I have ever read and I have read thousands of books.
April 23, 2020
Loved this story
A worthwhile read. Enjoyed everything about it. The characters were realistic an relatable. And not overly complicated either. Definitely worth reading this.
A worthwhile read. Enjoyed everything about it. The characters were realistic an relatable. And not overly complicated either. Definitely worth reading this.
September 25, 2018
When DCI Peter Marlin was on patrol, he was involved in the capture of a serial killer who targeted young women at the University of East London. He personally chased down the man later convicted of the crimes, the man who fit the profile created by Dr. Al Andrews. Thus began a friendship of sorts. Fast forward to current times and Marlin is faced with a baffling series of murders with no obvious connections, and mounting pressure to solve them. He calls on Dr. Andrews, who now spends his time in the company of prostitutes and his favorite whiskey. Andrews thinks this case might be his ticket back to the big time.
I was intrigued by the plot (I am a huge fan of British police procedurals), but initially found this kind of boring. Andrews and Marlin seemed to both be stock characters – Andrews, aging, riding the backside of fame, a shell of what he once was; and Marlin, middle-aged, vaguely disillusioned, frustrated, and no life but The Job. Three-quarters of the book is formulaic slogging – Andrews looking at his whiteboard, obsessively going over the details of the crime, Marlin talking to Andrews and getting more frustrated with Andrews, Marlin getting upbraided by his supervisor for relying on Andrews and not making progress, blah-blah-blah. The book is told in alternating view points (Andrews, Marlin, the victims, the killer), and that kind of annoyed me too.
I mostly stuck with it because I was on the elliptical and I didn’t want to slow down to choose another book. Something happened in the last quarter, however, when Marlin made a connection with one of his team, and Andrews found himself in peril. I was suddenly interested in seeing Marlin’s human side, and in the burgeoning relationship between him and Detective Sgt. Sue Scott. That relationship made him more interesting to me. I don’t like to see characters I care about in peril, but I didn’t really like Andrews, and him being in peril moved the plot along tremendously.
The Amazon blurb describes this book as says this is a “ … chilling psychological thriller that makes you question everything you think you know.” I don’t think I’d go that far, but the ending was non-stop action, with surprising twists and turns. No spoilers here, but people did turn out to be other than what I first anticipated, and I was surprised by the finale. Would I read this again? No, but the ending was such that I decided I was interested enough in what happens next to buy book 2 in the series.
I was intrigued by the plot (I am a huge fan of British police procedurals), but initially found this kind of boring. Andrews and Marlin seemed to both be stock characters – Andrews, aging, riding the backside of fame, a shell of what he once was; and Marlin, middle-aged, vaguely disillusioned, frustrated, and no life but The Job. Three-quarters of the book is formulaic slogging – Andrews looking at his whiteboard, obsessively going over the details of the crime, Marlin talking to Andrews and getting more frustrated with Andrews, Marlin getting upbraided by his supervisor for relying on Andrews and not making progress, blah-blah-blah. The book is told in alternating view points (Andrews, Marlin, the victims, the killer), and that kind of annoyed me too.
I mostly stuck with it because I was on the elliptical and I didn’t want to slow down to choose another book. Something happened in the last quarter, however, when Marlin made a connection with one of his team, and Andrews found himself in peril. I was suddenly interested in seeing Marlin’s human side, and in the burgeoning relationship between him and Detective Sgt. Sue Scott. That relationship made him more interesting to me. I don’t like to see characters I care about in peril, but I didn’t really like Andrews, and him being in peril moved the plot along tremendously.
The Amazon blurb describes this book as says this is a “ … chilling psychological thriller that makes you question everything you think you know.” I don’t think I’d go that far, but the ending was non-stop action, with surprising twists and turns. No spoilers here, but people did turn out to be other than what I first anticipated, and I was surprised by the finale. Would I read this again? No, but the ending was such that I decided I was interested enough in what happens next to buy book 2 in the series.
July 16, 2013
A psychological crime thriller that kept me gripped from start to finish.
July 7, 2014
Great story, fast paced and I couldn't put it down...looking forward to the follow up "death's Lacuna" which I believe has now been released.
April 16, 2017
I will definately have to read more from the author. Really enjoyed the book.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews