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Lethal #2
Lethal Justice
It’s time to finish what he started…
James Guy has just been paroled from prison, after serving a sentence for abducting DI Tara Grogan.
A sex offender with an affinity for drugging his victims, he now reports to a parole officer, and pretends to be trying to pull his life together.
But all he really wants is to buy a van, get back to what he loves best, and finish what he started with Tara Grogan.
When a headless body is discovered, splayed on a wooden pentagram with a quote from the Book of Proverbs attached, Detective Superintendent Harold Tweedy has a flashback to a crime committed 25 years earlier, one that claimed the life of his friend, Alistair Bailey.
Harold knows he was mixed up in a cult, called the Church of the Crystal Water, and that Alistair had left his wife after she begged him to leave the church. But he refused and shortly after turned up dead, his head missing.
Tara Grogan responds to a call after a head is found on a spike in Stanley Park. Soon, headless bodies begin showing up all over Liverpool, and Grogan and her partner realise it’s all connected to Bailey’s murder a quarter century earlier.
They start to dig into the secretive church, only to discover another, more sinister church, known as the Vera Deitate. Tales of orgies and drug use are connected to the church, as well as some famous names.
When Dinsdale Kirkman, child of a priest and priestess in the church during the time of Alistair Bailey’s murder, Tara knows she is on the right path, and is determined to solve the case.
But the more she digs, the more convoluted it all becomes. And with James getting closer and closer to Tara, time is fast running out for the young Detective.
With twist and turns worthy of Dan Brown, Lethal Justice is an unsettling crime story that will leave you wondering if anyone is as they seem…
Robert McCracken has a PhD in Food Chemistry and has worked for thirty years in research and development relating to issues of global food safety. He has published many papers in scientific journals, and acted as both peer reviewer and editor.
James Guy has just been paroled from prison, after serving a sentence for abducting DI Tara Grogan.
A sex offender with an affinity for drugging his victims, he now reports to a parole officer, and pretends to be trying to pull his life together.
But all he really wants is to buy a van, get back to what he loves best, and finish what he started with Tara Grogan.
When a headless body is discovered, splayed on a wooden pentagram with a quote from the Book of Proverbs attached, Detective Superintendent Harold Tweedy has a flashback to a crime committed 25 years earlier, one that claimed the life of his friend, Alistair Bailey.
Harold knows he was mixed up in a cult, called the Church of the Crystal Water, and that Alistair had left his wife after she begged him to leave the church. But he refused and shortly after turned up dead, his head missing.
Tara Grogan responds to a call after a head is found on a spike in Stanley Park. Soon, headless bodies begin showing up all over Liverpool, and Grogan and her partner realise it’s all connected to Bailey’s murder a quarter century earlier.
They start to dig into the secretive church, only to discover another, more sinister church, known as the Vera Deitate. Tales of orgies and drug use are connected to the church, as well as some famous names.
When Dinsdale Kirkman, child of a priest and priestess in the church during the time of Alistair Bailey’s murder, Tara knows she is on the right path, and is determined to solve the case.
But the more she digs, the more convoluted it all becomes. And with James getting closer and closer to Tara, time is fast running out for the young Detective.
With twist and turns worthy of Dan Brown, Lethal Justice is an unsettling crime story that will leave you wondering if anyone is as they seem…
Robert McCracken has a PhD in Food Chemistry and has worked for thirty years in research and development relating to issues of global food safety. He has published many papers in scientific journals, and acted as both peer reviewer and editor.
282 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 12, 2017
46 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
About the author
Robert McCracken
19 books32 followersBorn in Belfast. Spent some of my childhood in Australia. Back in Northern Ireland I attended Dundonald Boys High School. Studied Chemistry at University of Ulster, gained a PhD in agricultural food science from Queen's University, Belfast. Worked for thirty-four years at Department of Agriculture, latterly, Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute.
My first novel, An Early Grave, was published in 2015. I am married and live in County Down.
My first novel, An Early Grave, was published in 2015. I am married and live in County Down.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 3, 2021
A good read
A series of gruesome murders shocks Tara, but she doesn't even know why they were killed in such a manner. A very different story that seems to have no obvious suspect. Great characters that interact well together.
A series of gruesome murders shocks Tara, but she doesn't even know why they were killed in such a manner. A very different story that seems to have no obvious suspect. Great characters that interact well together.
September 14, 2021
Gripping stuff, as we've come to expect from this prolific author.
December 4, 2021
Brilliant
This is the best so far in the series. A continuation from the previous book mingled together with a twist.
Throughly enjoyed it!
This is the best so far in the series. A continuation from the previous book mingled together with a twist.
Throughly enjoyed it!
March 16, 2022
A real page turner
Great book. The 2nd in this series. A little gruesome at times but what a story! Great read but make sure your doors and windows are locked.
Great book. The 2nd in this series. A little gruesome at times but what a story! Great read but make sure your doors and windows are locked.
June 7, 2022
Another great story
Another great story in the Inspector Tara Grogan series. Lots of the usual characters and quite a few bodies in this one. Made for gruesome reading at times.
Another great story in the Inspector Tara Grogan series. Lots of the usual characters and quite a few bodies in this one. Made for gruesome reading at times.
June 12, 2022
Brilliant
The second Tara book I've read and not disappointed. The storyline is brilliant and believable, the characters are also real
The second Tara book I've read and not disappointed. The storyline is brilliant and believable, the characters are also real
October 7, 2023
Another great book in the series.
Great characters and well researched stories in this series.Glad I discovered this author, looking forward to next in the series.
Great characters and well researched stories in this series.Glad I discovered this author, looking forward to next in the series.
July 22, 2025
DI Tara Grogan has a particularly macabre case on her hands when the semi-naked body of a man is found on a circular wooden frame, arms and legs stretched out, hands and feet nailed to the wood. Initial feeling is that this has all the hallmarks of some sort of ritual but who is the victim and why has this method of death been chosen?
This is the fifth in the Tara Grogan series and I am finding that as the series develops, the plots are becoming much more gritty, dealing with some very gruesome deaths! The plot is detailed and gripping and with numerous red herrings, I found that I had to really think about who the killer could be and what was their motivation behind doing what they did. The author poses a moral dilemma, leaving the reader (and Tara) really pondering the reasons why they did what they did.
In Lethal Justice, Tara meets someone from her past and not in the way she would expect. This was a very clever plot twist and really helped to see who Tara is as a character.
I am really enjoying this series and look forward to reading the next.
This is the fifth in the Tara Grogan series and I am finding that as the series develops, the plots are becoming much more gritty, dealing with some very gruesome deaths! The plot is detailed and gripping and with numerous red herrings, I found that I had to really think about who the killer could be and what was their motivation behind doing what they did. The author poses a moral dilemma, leaving the reader (and Tara) really pondering the reasons why they did what they did.
In Lethal Justice, Tara meets someone from her past and not in the way she would expect. This was a very clever plot twist and really helped to see who Tara is as a character.
I am really enjoying this series and look forward to reading the next.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews