Bad Sons

Booker & Cash #1

by Oliver Tidy

Bad Sons: a deadly new mystery

David Booker returns to Romney Marsh on the south coast of England for a holiday. He is expecting to spend time helping his aunt and uncle pack up the stock of their second-hand bookshop in preparation for a happy retirement.

He arrives in Dymchurch on a miserable April night to find his relatives missing without word or clue regarding their whereabouts.

As events unravel, the outlook of the local police pushes Booker to search for his own answers to the questions surrounding his family’s disappearance. To unravel the mystery he will have to put himself in danger.

Will Booker find the answers he needs and make it out alive?

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery Thriller, Amazon, British Literature, Thriller

305 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 23, 2014

About the author

Crime and thriller fiction.

My website is the best place to find me.

http://olivertidy.com

I enjoy communicating with readers of my books, so please, if you have any comments or questions, get in touch.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a 4.5 star read.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the writing, wit and fresh story and hope to read the follow up soon. The book opens with clever thoughts about beginnings and it ends in the same manner. The circumstances Booker is faced with on his arrival in his old home where his uncle and aunt run a bookstore are puzzling and then tragic. He has a wife and job back in Istanbul, but he has some family business to take care of before thinking of any return to Turkey. First he has to find his missing relatives.
"I see myself as a realist, not much of an optimist. I hope for the best but fear and expect the worst. Life and marriage has made me like that. I was the same with my uncle's continued absence."

I rather liked his description of a DI who brings him in for questioning. "Sprake was a cod of a man: indifferent, grey, protruding cod eyes; featureless cod face; a cod mouth with a natural inclination to gape; no chin to speak of and a forehead that slanted back from his weak brow a little too sharply. The overall effect was of something bred for the sea not the land: aquadynamic."

And to think I went ahead and prepared my Mediterranean Fish Stew using wild-caught cod!

The book had some great action and I am not sure how Booker survived... but I'm glad he did.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

So. You fly back into the UK from Turkey expecting to be met by your family. When they don’t arrive to collect you you make your own way home, imagining that they will be there to greet you. When you arrive at their home it is in darkness and they are gone. There is no sign of struggle. They have taken nothing with them. Everyone you speak to tells you how much they were looking forward to your visit. What would you do?

This is the premise of Bad Sons by Oliver Tidy and a very interesting one it is at that. Now, before you all feint in shock or jump down my throat at my next comment, understand that I do love books and bookshops and could quite happily spend an entire day perusing one. However, you kind of don’t expect a quite bookshop in a quiet town which is in the process of being closed down to be at the centre of such an intriguing mystery, but at the centre it is. And you know what? As a setting, it really kind of works.

This is not your full on, fast paced, action thriller of a read, but it’s not a cosy crime either. It is a fascinating kind of hybrid, at least that is how it felt to me. There are moments which will shock you, where you will go what the fudge if only because there appears on the face of it, at least at that point in the story, to be no rhyme or reason behind what happens. There are other moments, where David tries his hardest to investigate what has happened to his Aunt and Uncle which seem slower paced, if only because he does not have the resources your typical PI or Detective would have at his disposal, so he has to become more of a Miss, or rather Mr, Marple. And yet there are equally moments where the chase is on and David is in great peril, or so it appears and the tension ratchets up a notch.

It never quite reaches fever pitch for me and I could second guess a couple of the things that were going to happen, or at least deduce what David and DC Jo Cash are going to discover, but other moments which took me by surprise, including the ending. I don’t think it will be what people are expecting and fair play to the author for not falling into the trap of choosing the obvious.

In terms of the characters, there are only really a couple who we get to know in any great detail and they are David Booker and Jo Cash. Both are truly engaging characters who skirt around each other, there seeming to be some kind of attraction there, but it never quite blossoming. For a Detective, Jo certainly gives David a lot of leeway, and while he is already married, it is made clear from the start that the marriage is in trouble and but David still never acts upon his attraction. I did kind of feel sorry for him a little as he ended up in the wars more than once and he was certainly the kind of character it would be wise to keep a wide berth from if you valued your own safety. But both were extremely likeable and I’ll be happy to read more about them in the future, although given the ending I’m not quite sure what the future holds for Jo.

The writing is solid, often witty and thoroughly engaging. The descriptions of the locale in and around the Kentish coast and the town of Dymchurch were particularly vivid and I could easily picture the scene as I read along. I’d even be tempted to visit although in fairness, I may give Dungeness a miss… Definitely an author I will be looking out for more from.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was quite envious of Booker’s aunt and uncle having their own bookshop but sadly Booker is called upon to help them dispatch the remaining books as they are having to close due to the lack of financial gain from running it. It was actually nice to hear of a grown man still having quite a close relationship with someone other that the immediate family, sadly though his return to Romney Marsh does not quite go to how he envisions it.

Booker is a bit of an enigma. He seems to drift from place to place and into relationship to relationship. He doesn’t seem to think things through, preferring to get caught up in the whole moment and seeing where life takes him.

Fearing for the worst his fears are soon founded and Booker gets caught up in the whole investigation as to what happened to his aunt and uncle. He soon strikes up a relationship of sorts with DC Cash who is working on his relatives case. The relationship between both is very much a straight forward one to start with but then a deepening of respect for both starts coming through and Cash probably makes a few more allowances for Booker than she should.

Bad Sons is not your straight forward typical crime series. Told in the first person by Booker himself, this is a tension fuelled read full of suspense. Booker and Cash are definitely a force to be reckoned with and I can not wait to see what the author has in store for us next.

[PamG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book that I have read by this author. It is well written, the main characters are interesting and the plot was intriguing. The main character has a lot of faults, and recognizes it. He shows significant growth by the end of the novel. Overall, I liked the main characters and look forward to reading more about them in future novels in the series.

[Coco.V]

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[Alexina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Booker comes across as laid back in some senses and life is just passing him by, and he falls in and out of situations that aren't entirely to his doing. So it took a while to warm to him. However, he is a brilliant character and I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book through his perspective.
First person reads aren't always my favourite as they can be slow and too full of detail.  Oliver Tidy mastered this with tension, and plot scenes from the start. As well as a total mystery to what was going on. It kept me interested and brining in Cash and her fantastic personality, which you can't help warming too, even if you know she is caught in the middle between Booker and Sprake at times.
I thoroughly enjoyed the setting of Romney Marsh, and thought it played well as a character in the book itself, as well as the bookshop setting.

Where I wish I could visit, minus the deaths obviously. A great start to a series (I hope) and would definitely read more from Oliver in this series, slightly less graphic than the reads I usually go with, but not lacking in any form of wit, plot, or amazing set up for great characters to be read in future books.

[Meg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looks like the start of another great series. I truly enjoyed the Romney and Marsh files by Oliver Tidy and was pleased to see this new book available for free on the Kindle. It can be hard to read a new series by an author - you get to missing the characters you know. That distracted me a bit as I started, but by 40% (I wish Kindle would do page numbers!) I was completely engaged.
Daniel Booker and Jo Cash start off on opposite sides of a crime - he a suspect, she the investigator. Daniel's determination to solve the mystery of his Aunt's murder places him in danger, and in the way of Jo's investigation. As they begin their tenuous partnership the complexity of the crime grows. A good twisty plot, solid character development and a keen sense of place earn this book five stars.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic weekend read!!!

I've read all of the books published by Oliver Tidy and, I'm glad to say, this one lived up to and even surpassed the very high standard set by his Romney & Marsh and Acer Sansome books.

Others have given a good précis of the plot so I won't repeat that here. What I will say is that this book is brilliant in it's conception and plot line. The characters live and breathe off the page. The detailing is perfectly pitched without becoming tedious and the writing is crisp and clean.

The book is a very professional piece of work and if you hadn't guessed already, I thoroughly enjoyed it. As good as any Patterson, Cussler, Connelly that I've read lately (and I've read them all)!!!

Well done Mr Tidy. You made my weekend (again).

[Kath Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Booker returns from working abroad to help his uncle pack a big order from his bookshop. His uncle and aunt aren't at home when he gets there. The story starts with a great sense of wrongness and unease and gets worse. Booker meets Detective Jo Cash and the two follow clues. This looks like being a great partnership.

Oliver Tidy has created some memorable characters here, and an immense feeling of mounting tension. Because of one young man’s rashness there were potentially several deaths. It was brilliantly done. I enjoyed this very much and there's a promise here of a great series.

[Anne Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twisty

A good book. Lots of twists, tragedy and hope, everything you want in a good who donit. Definitely will look for the next in the series.

[Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Booker and Cash novel that would have been better without Booker. 2.5

[Dr_Gonzo · Rating 5 out of 5]

BAD SONS represents the first in a third distinct series by the getting-to-be-prolific Oliver Tidy, and is another corker of a story. The first in the Booker & Cash series sees Mr Tidy taking yet another new direction in the crime genre, this time down the oft-trodden path of private investigation.

This is not a world of dingy offices, reluctant trilby-clad gumshoes and chocolate-flavoured birds of prey, however. Chief protagonist David Booker arrives home in Dymchurch to help his aunt and uncle close up their bookstore business – only to find said relatives have vanished. Booker, motivated by the need for answers he can’t get from a slipshod police investigation, goes out on his own. The story snowballs from there, with buried secrets, curmudgeonly-and-possibly-crooked police inspectors and high-tide homicides aplenty.

The story itself is tight, pacy and packed with suspense. It follows a fairly linear structure – no red herrings or deus ex machina here – but the perhaps-expected last minute moustache-twirling twist of lemon is jettisoned in favour of the titular theme, and the end result is far more effective.

There are several elements that make this book stand out. First of all, the character of David Booker. Leaving a life of chaotic loose ends behind in Istanbul, he arrives in Kent in something of a fug of displacement. This is compounded when he finds the temporary rug he was hoping his aunt and uncle might provide has been pulled out from under him before he has even arrived. Thus, when we meet him, his equilibrium is already at zero, and rushes quickly into breathless negative numbers. This creates a strange, almost surreal instability about him, like returning home with extreme jetlag, or what it might feel like to come home after a long stretch inside. We never quite find out what normality looks like for him, and we are with him as he seeks answers in the name of justice.

Secondly, the ‘Booker & Cash story’ subtitle on the cover brought to mind half-formed notions of partnerships akin to Holmes/Watson, Tubbs/Crockett, Kenzie/Gennaro or (possibly) the Lone Ranger and Tonto. So when one discovers that Cash is a cop while Booker is a victim/witness/suspect/reluctant private investigator, it injects a romantic/sexual tension that positively simmers throughout. On the back of this is Cash herself, who is well-drawn and intriguing but whose motives and ambitions remain nicely ambiguous.

Finally, the physical setting. If you’ve ever been to Dymchurch, Hythe, Dungeness and the wider expanses of Romney Marsh, then you’ll recognise the atmospheric bleakness as painted by the author. If you haven’t, then this is as good a place to start as any before deciding if you want to visit. Couple that with the real sense of history and local knowledge in the book and you have a real depth to the setting that complements the story nicely.

BAD SONS is a gem. It has believable characters whose strengths and weaknesses are – sometimes reluctantly – brought to the surface when Fate lays events and obstacles before them; it has an intelligent and well-crafted story that excites without being sensational or gimmicky; it has an atmosphere you can almost taste and the title itself is weaved cleverly throughout as an undercurrent that gives the work a real depth. The future of the Booker & Cash partnership is wide open, and I am really looking forward to their next outing in whatever form it takes.

[Kelly Hobbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bad son's is a dark, broody insight into the life of Mr. Booker. Mr. Booker's marriage is falling apart so he decides to help his relatives close up their bookshop. When he arrives at his home town, his relatives are missing.With the help of D.C. Cash he tries to find out what happened to his Aunt and Uncle. In my opinion, this is Oliver Tidy's best novel to date. At first I didn't like Mr. Booker however, Mr. Tidy has a talent for making unlikable characters likable. The more the author delved into Mr Booker's personality,the more I grew to like him and the less dark and broody he seemed.I really enjoyed the interaction between the two main characters, the way the plot slowly formed, and the intense ending.I would recommend this book.

[Jo Jenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book as I live on Romney Marsh and it was quite exciting to recognise all the places.
Booker and Cash are a great combination and the fact she keeps him in check and makes him try and do thing by the book if far more realistic that the usual maverick loners who go off solving murders without the police worrying about them.
The action is fast paced and carries you through the book.
My one disappointment was the ending. The final scenes were exciting and action packed but the explanation for why people had been murdered throughout the book just didn't make sense. I think it was almost an after thought. I think it would have preferred for it to have remained a mystery.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series the many links to
Bookshops and books had me drawn in and the relationship between booker and cash worked better in some ways than romney marsh a new series for me of olivers work but a really enjoyable one i cant wait to find out what will happen next

[Caz C Cole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fed up with his marriage David Booker comes home to Romney Marsh, to his Uncle and Aunt, but they are nowhere to be found and David knows something is very wrong

— Introduction —

Booker & Cash #1

When expat and English teacher in Turkey David Booker visits his Uncle and Aunt in Romney Marsh he has no idea what awaits him. Although they have expected him, neither of them are at home and worse, they are nowhere to be found. The next day they are still missing and slowly, David realises something must be terribly wrong. They should have been waiting for him either in their bookshop or in the apartment above. As soon as David is witness to the Police dragging a body out of sea, he is sure that his Uncle and Aunt are both dead – murdered. He also knows that the Police are not convinced of it and that is when David sets out to investigate. He finds Detective Sergeant Jo Cash on his way – and by his side! If only David knew he would soon find himself in life-threatening situations …

— Storyline —

When David Booker finds himself on English soil again he is struck by the “dark, cold and wet” English Spring that somehow reflects his mood. Contrary to his expectations, neither Uncle nor Aunt is at the airport to pick him up, so he takes a taxi to their home above their bookshop in Romney Marsh, only to find out they are not there either. Nobody he can ask seems to know where they are and with each day that passes David’s anxiety is growing. When he spots police cars and an ambulance near the beach his gut tells him the body in the sea belongs to his Uncle or Aunt. That is when he first meets Detective Sergeant Jo Cash who, unlike her superior, believes in David’s innocence .. at least, she tries to keep an open mind. David, on the other hand, thinks his Aunt must have been murdered and feels the Police are not treating the case as such, especially since his Uncle is still missing and the Police regard him as a suspect whereas David fears he is another victim.

David decides to take matters into his own hands. He owes it to his Uncle and Aunt to thoroughly investigate their disappearance and his Aunt’s death. The Police are not happy with David interfering with their case It seems there are more people who object to him being there and poking his nose into their affairs. Meanwhile, David and Jo’s paths cross regularly. When Jo’s boss finds out David is the sole heir to his Uncle and Aunt’s legacy, suspicions and theories are formed implicating David in the disappearance of the couple and the murder of his Aunt, especially when the postmortem establishes that he was in Romney Marsh at the time of her death. Then there are strange things going on in the night … Will David ever know what happened and is he able to find his Uncle, who is still missing? David is tired of his life in Turkey and fears for his marriage, but soon his fears will be more substantial and he will find himself in life-threatening situations!

— My Thoughts —

An unhappy man with an almost irreparable marriage who loves books and comes back to Romney Marsh to help his Uncle and Aunt, you have got to love Oliver Tidy’s protagonist David Booker! He is almost philosophical in his description of the beginning – where to start because all life’s events are somehow connected. David has the right amount of stubbornness and an attitude that you know will get him into trouble, but also gain the attention of the other protagonist Detective Sergeant Jo Cash. She is a great character and she can hold her own in what is regarded as a man’s world. I loved their interaction and the way they set out to investigate – even if, because this thriller is a first person narrative, we are witness to the action, the dialogue and everything else from David Booker’s perspective which gives us the benefit of seeing long before David Booker himself, what is going on. Although David Booker sometimes wants to explain too much and it is already obvious what his motive is, the well-written thriller is fast-paced and comes with an exciting plot. The story is intriguing and very ingenious and I cannot wait for the next Booker and Cash thriller!

Read the review on my website: https://www.bitsaboutbooks.net/

[Karen Plummer · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Tidy's Romney and Marsh series and the Booker and Cash short story in "Three Short Blasts", I had to start the Booker and Cash series itself. This is really an awesome mystery, very well-written with lots of suspense and very intriguing characters.

David Booker is an English as second language teacher in Turkey who is bored with his troubled marriage and his job. His only living relatives, an elderly uncle and aunt, have asked him to return to England to help them close up their bookshop in Romney Marsh as they are retiring. He's looking forward to the break and excited to see his relatives again, but on his arrival he discovers his relatives are no where to be found. After asking around and finding no trace of his relatives, he phones in a missing persons report but is told he needs to wait 24 hours before the police can act on the report. This is frustrating, to say the least as David's worry grows with each minute.

It's only when the body of his aunt is discovered a few miles down the coast in suspicious circumstances that the police take an interest. And part of their interest is in David Booker as a possible suspect in the incident. Enter DC Jo Cash. She's a good cop and a very private person but she believes that David is innocent. She tries to keep him from investigating the case on his own, but is willing to take any information David turns up to help on the case and works as a shield between David's temper and her supervisor's overt suspicions of David's guilt.

With multiple murders, assault, kidnapping, and an old WWII connection, Tidy has constructed an edge of your seat mystery that kept me reading even when I was too tired to stay awake any longer. Highly recommended.

[Susan Hampson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the opportunity to kill two birds with one stone came about for David Booker, I think he sort of grabbed a half brick just to make sure. His life in Turkey was  disintegrating rapidly, so David didn't hesitate jumping on a plane to head for home turf just for a little break with his Aunt and Uncle and to give them a hand to pack up their business ready for retirement.  He really needed the quiet but not the sort that faced him when he got their house. It was like someone had cast a magic spell to whisk them away. There was no sign of them but coats, shoes and his aunt's  handbag were still in the house.
The story is told by David, whom I took to quite rapidly, I loved his quick humour thinking that at times over spilled into words and got other peoples backs up, including the police. Sometimes the only way to get something done though is to do it yourself and with the little help of a friend, so he turns his hand to a little investigating with DS Jo Cash, a police officer that is more hands on than paper work. She is quite a gutsy lady that will have a go at the biggest even if she gets knocked on her butt. Between them they make a balanced and formidable team.
The story is one of those that starts with a steady pace and adds layers of tension a bit at a time and before you realise it this pair are up to their necks and you can't turn the pages quick enough. I really liked this book but I am so looking forward to the next one where Booker and Cash can get straight into the action. Brilliant series introduction.

[Emma B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mystery and excitement in genuine locations

David Booker returns to England to help his aunt and uncle pack up their bookstore for sale, only to find them missing. His initial concerns soon turn to worry and fear as he finds himself implicated by the police and in danger too.

The story is told by David in the first person (I), as he recounts what happened to him from the moment he when first wondered why his usually reliable aunt and uncle didn’t pick him up from the station. As the mystery deepens and the reader follows every step of David’s story, so I began to feel I really knew him; at one point telling him on the page what to do! As the police become involved so David begins to bond with DC Cash and they form an unlikely, but excellent, team determined to solve the mystery. Along the way there are chases, scary characters, night time mysterious happenings and some interesting historical facts drawn from WWII, which all culminate in a breath-taking ending.

Set in Dymchurch a real village on Romney Marsh, South East England, the action moves to Dungeness and the North Coast of France, mentioning genuine places along the way.

5*s from me, as alongside being a great, and involving, thriller I loved the reference to real places, and the historical operation was fascinating to google. I’m sorry I don’t live near enough to Dymchurch to visit the village.

[Chandra Vice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Misogynistic drivel

This book was so bad. I'd demand my money back, except it was free. The premise seemed interesting but dear god it is narrated by the most unlikable protagonist EVER. Seriously he is such a douche. He talks about his wife suffering a miscarriage and his thoughts are that he wasn't there so it isn't his fault. He throws out lots of misogynistic cliches like women take forever to get ready and they can't drive. At one point he is actually disappointed that the female cop who kindly drove him home from the hospital didn't clean his kitchen. I am not making this up. In addition to all the misogyny, he's a pompous, callous jerk. No grief for his lost baby, no grief for his deaf relatives. Half the time he's more interested in cheating on his wife and how fortunate ghee is his dead relatives left him a bunch of money than he is anything else. I was rooting for him to die, that's how unlikable he is. I honestly don't understand how this got sequels. It's crap. Dry, boring, slow, stupid. I only finished by scrolling through and skimming parts that seemed vaguely plot related. I want those hours of my life back!

[June · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a 'veddy' British book in style and diction which does not bother me in the least. The characters were interesting, the plot intriguing and the suspense building the reader up page by page Why did I give it 2 stars? Because of the tremendous build up and mystery surrounding the whole plot the ending was like a collapsed balloon. I kept trying to see if I had missed something somewhere but no it was just an 'ending', a very disappointing one.
David comes back to help his aunt and uncle with their bookshop only to find them missing. It only becomes worse when he finds out they are murdered and no one anywhere seems to know why. David then decide he will try find out the who and why and in doing so starts to unravel other things going on He is joined on his venture by an English policewoman and together they seems to find a kind of common link among all the events taking place. It is when they take their trip overseas that the book just seems to fall apart and I will not go into detail since it would be a spoiler,

[Rick · Rating 1 out of 5]

Booker arrives in Romney Marsh expecting to help his uncle and aunt fill a large book order for a buyer from America. When he arrives he finds no one home and within a day or so his aunt is found dead. The police surmise that his uncle has killed his aunt and then has disappeared. They change their mind when the uncle is found dead. All this sounds like the making of a good story but in fact the opposite is true. The story is very slow moving to the point of boring. Booker is a fairly shallow person who tries to hit on the detective Cash in spite of the fact that he is in the midst of a marriage which he hasn't dealt with properly. We don't ever got to know Cash since the authors make no effort to let us know what she is thinking. We only get a glimpse of her personality through the frequent misogynistic thoughts that Booker blurts out to the readers. Worst of all, the ending is very weak. It happens quickly and makes no sense. I highly recommend that you look elsewhere for something to read.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A new author for me, highlighted by a friend marking this as a "want to read", this led to further investigation and the fact that the kindle version is free on Amazon at the moment. Written in the first person, David Booker has returned from Turkey to help his Aunt and Uncle box some books (the full collection of Booker Prize novels from inception to present day no less) and wind down the business as they retire. However, when he arrives, there is no sign of them. Disappeared without trace. The writing has shades of private investigator Mickey Spillane, but once I'd got that voice out of my head it was a damn fine read. Lots of wit, reflection and hope tinged with sadness and the ability to leap head first into a situation without engaging brain, which leads to an interesting relationship with DI Cash. First in a series, of which I'm looking forward to reading many more.

[Chris Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again I am indebted to Bloodhound Books for providing me with this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review, and once again they have discovered a talented author! This book is a very enjoyable read, well-written (apart from some errors in the French!) and entertaining throughout; the only reason for the four stars is that the ending is a little anti-climatic. When David Booker returns from Turkey to help his aunt and uncle in their bookshops, he discovers that they are missing and he sets out to discover what as happened, with some help from the local police, particularly Jo Cash, with whom he develops a bond. This is a very promising start to a new series and I look forward to further developments.

[Simon Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story follows David Booker as he returns to Dymchurch from Greece to help his uncle pack up his bookshop to retire, but when he arrives his aunt and uncle are both missing. He then has to investigate it himself as the local police are incompetent.

The story follows him as he unravels the mystery of his relatives disappearance and also a couple of murders along the way. The story covers Dymchurch and surrounding areas plus the final showdown in France.

The main thing that Dr me to this book was the locations as it is not far from where I live so could easily imagine where the author was talking about. I felt the story dragged me in from the start with all the descriptions and kept me hooked all the w.ay tnrough.

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked up this who-done-it because it involves a book shop (although that turned out to be a minor player) and takes place in Romney Marsh (memories of the Scarecrow thereof). The rather unpleasant protagonist returns from abroad to help out his aunt and uncle only they are missing. They are later found murdered and he wants to solve the case since the police seem to suspect him. The writing style is old-school detective type. E.g.: "The sky was a clear as a baby's conscience." "The roads were as quiet as a Christmas morning in a home without children." "With only a sliver of moon, [the night] was darker than a dirty secret. I won't read more in the series because the lead character just isn't likeable.

[Vera Mottino · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars only . . .

The plot of this book is good. The use of English is basically correct with just a few typos. The two main protagonist are believable. So why the stingy three stars ? Call me picky - and I am - but I found some of the secondary characters exaggeratedly gross, the precise details of every fight by hits, kicks and cracking bones gratuitous, and the comparison terms silly when not stupid, not necessary to the action. The comparison/similitudes actually spoiled the text for me throughout the book.
As a result I shall not read this author again. This is only my personal opinion, I see that many other readers did leave glowing reviews. . .

[Karen Blackburn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very different

Truly a book with a difference. What starts a fair!y normal mystery, albeit in an unusual part of Britain, rapidly becomes unusual with tentacles that reach back far into the past, not of the characters but the coastline. For those with an interest in the second war, or just that particular area of the country, this book will be both fascinating and informative. And also a disturbing insight into how a seemingly major criminal endeavour, with permanent repercussions, can in reality be something totally banal, rendered appalling by a fixation whereby the end justified the means. I look forward to reading more books in this series.

[Geraldine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was mainly drawn to this book because of its setting - several murders carried out only metres from my house, with very many locations totally recognisable.

Because this author self-publishes, I feared that it would be a cringey amateur hour, but it was far from that. The writing was syntactically acceptable, the pacing was decent, the characters were realistic, and although the plot was a bit far fetched it wasn't ridiculous or implausible. It isn't a great book but it's good enough, very readable, enjoyable and never boring.

I look forward to reading more in this series, partly because of the local connection but also because it's pretty good,