A Different Kind of Evil

DCI Danny Flint #3

by Trevor Negus

Sometimes evil hides in plain sight…

When the body of a young boy is discovered at a secluded beauty spot in Nottinghamshire, the post-mortem reveals he had been sexually assaulted and then suffocated.

Chief Inspector Danny Flint and his team are determined to find the perpetrator of this horrific crime and their investigation leads them into a murky world of child exploitation at Children’s Homes across the county.

But then, in the middle of this major case, a thunderbolt – Danny’s old enemy, terrifying psychopath Jimmy Wade, has escaped from a secure mental hospital. He’s out for revenge and only Flint and his team can stop him.

The two separate investigations set Danny and his team their toughest test yet, stretching them to the very limits.

Can they find Wade before he kills again? And can they get justice for the innocent boy found buried in a cold grave?
What readers are saying about A Cold Grave :

“… brilliantly written , dragging you in and not letting go. I found it hard to break away and couldn't wait to get back to continue reading.” –Goodreads Reviewer

“While fast paced , it wasn't one of those books that I felt like I had to rush through. I appreciate that in a novel. If you enjoy whodunits and dramas with a bit of thriller, look no further.” –Netgalley Reviewer

“This is a brilliant read . Wonderful well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start.” –Booksprout Reviewer

“… a wicked, unexpected twist and a satisfying resolution. Overall, a solid, interesting and well-constructed read.” –Netgalley Reviewer

“… there are some tense moments and a neat twist to finish it off.” –Netgalley Reviewer

“… will have you turning the pages to find out the answers.” –Goodreads Reviewer

“Trevor Negus once more presents a well written portrait of the violent nature of a cold hearted psychopath and the creation of a new one.” -Lovely Bookish Days Blog

Genres: Crime

428 pages, Paperback

Published April 1, 2018

About the author

During a varied thirty year police career Trevor spent six years as an authorised firearms officer and sniper, before transferring onto the CID. He spent the last twelve years of his career as a detective, becoming a specialist interviewer involved in the planning and implementation of interviews with murder suspects.

Reviews

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cold Grave is the third instalment in the DCI Danny Flint series, part of the Nottinghamshire Major Crime Investigation Unit. Nottinghamshire, June 1986. Danny has just returned from his honeymoon in Madeira and is immediately called to a gruesome scene. The body of an 11-year-old boy, identified as Evan Jenkins who was recently reported missing from Tall Trees Children’s home, is discovered at a secluded beauty spot in Haywood Oaks Lane, Blidworth, Nottinghamshire by dog walker Anne Parr. The post mortem reveals that the child had been sexually assaulted and suffocated. Chief Inspector Danny Flint and the MCIU begin an enquiry into the boy's death. As their investigation takes them into a murky world of child exploitation at Children's Homes across the county, they are also tasked with investigating the escape of psychopath Jimmy Wade from Rampton Hospital. Wade was assisted in his escape by an obsessed and troubled young woman and has remained in hiding at the woman's remote woodland cottage.

He is fixated on achieving revenge against the people who abused him at Rampton and the detectives who tracked him down and convicted him. The two investigations set Danny Flint and his team their toughest test yet and stretch their resources and nerves to the limits. As the detectives close in on their quarry the story hurtles towards a thrilling and breathtaking climax. This is a compelling and gritty police procedural that is full of intricate detail but is a little too long at over 500 pages. Although it is lengthy, I enjoyed the thrill ride but it is certainly not for the faint of heart as its graphic, violent and rather gruesome. Through determined police work and dogged investigation, the team chip away at both cases gradually building up their evidence. Alternating between the children’s home investigation and the hunt for dangerous fugitive Jimmy Wade, Negus caps it all off with a wicked, unexpected twist and a satisfying resolution. Overall, a solid, interesting and well-constructed read.

[Elaine Tomasso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank Netgalley and Inkubator Books for an advance copy of A Cold Grave, the third novel to feature DCI Danny Flint of the Nottinghamshire Major Crime Investigation Unit, set in 1986.

Danny comes back from honeymoon and has to immediately investigate the murder of an 11 year old boy. It soon becomes apparent that they are looking at a case of child sex abuse. In the meantime psychopath Jimmy Wade has escaped from prison and is hellbent on revenge.

I enjoyed A Cold Grave to a certain extent, as it carefully builds its plot, but it is a violent novel with a lot of description. I like to think I have a strong stomach, but I found this novel a bit too much in its cruelty and inhumanity.

The narrative alternates between Danny’s investigation and Jimmy Wade’s quest for revenge. I have no doubt that this latter portrays his mindset accurately but I would have preferred a bit more inference and less detail. It made me loath to pick up the novel at times, worried about what was coming next. I ended up skim reading those parts and for this reason I have rated it 3.5* rather than 4*.

Apart from the gruesomeness of the murder the investigation is a good, interesting police procedural. I like the way the detectives start with a vague idea about the perpetrator and gradually solidify this idea through smart thinking and determined effort. It culminates in the final quarter of the novel where everything is resolved. I must admit that this is my favourite part of the novel as the sadism is dialled back to almost zero, there are some tense moments and a neat twist to finish it off.

A Cold Grave was a mixture of good and a high yuk factor for me. 3.5*.

[Heather Flores · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I started reading this book I didn't realize it was the third book in a series. Having not read the first and second book, I was reluctant to dive in to this one, assuming I would be lost on some parts. I am happy to day that A Cold Grave is a fantastic read, even as a stand alone.

This book alternates between two narratives, two separate plots. I kept expecting them to intersect at some point, but they never did, which was slightly disappointing. The only commonality was that they were being investigated by the same district.

DCI Danny Flint returns from his honeymoon and is immediately thrown into an investigation into the murder of an 11 year old boy. The investigation moved at the perfect pace, never feeling dragged out or rushed. Not long into the story it becomes clear that there is much more to this case than just homicide.

Jimmy Wade has broken out of prison and is on the run. He skillfully evaded capture with the assistance of Melissa Braithwaite - a prison romance that turns into a nightmare.

Negus does a good job depicting the devolution of Melissa's psyche as Jimmy continues to use and abuse her on his murderous quest for revenge. With the exception of Melissa, I did not feel invested in any of the characters - not even DCI Flint.

What the book lacks in character development, it makes up for in plot twists and surprises.

I would recommend this book, and plan to circle back to the first two books.


*I was given an ARC in exchange for my honest review of this book.*

[Nadishka Aloysius · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book will be enjoyed by those who love police procedural suspense series such as Wire in the Blood
I have not read books 1 and 2 but I was able to get into the flow of the story and understand the characters from the get go. The story was fast paced and interesting, flowing between two plot points. One is the death of an 11-year-old boy. A trigger warning: the rape and murder of a child is never easy to read about. The brutal killings by a psychopathic serial killer was the other sub-plot and that too had its difficult moments.
There was a good balance of male and female characters especially in the CID. There was an interesting ending that hinted at a "bad guy" waiting in the wings to make a comeback...
Overall, a good read, but not for those who like light hearted cozy mysteries alone.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot to this book was extremely well created as it managed to combine a new case for Danny Flint and the team, but also intermingled it with the previous case involving the escape of psychopath Jimmy Wade. Both plots were very dark and chilling with several murders being committed and causing the MCIU a great deal of work and commitment to help them solve both cases. The whole story is very macabre, but the pace picks up in the last few chapters, where we are treated to a chilling and tense finale which completely prevented me from putting the book down until I reached the very end. The author has been extremely clever in the way that he manages to get inside the heads of both violent killers and paedophiles.

As expected, we reach an extremely satisfying conclusion. We learn a bit of what the future holes for Danny Flint in both his personal and professional life, and at the same time we are given yet another hint as to what we can expect from the next book in this series. The more of these that I read the more I enjoy them.

[Jayasree B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Triggger warnings - Sexual abuse, Child abuse, Child sexual abuse, drugs, rape.

An absolutely thrilling read. A police procedural with very disturbing events unfolding through out the book. Perhaps not for the faint hearted reader.

[Hazel · Rating 1 out of 5]

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Inkubator Books for the electronic copy.

This is Book#3 in the DCI Danny Flint series but can be read as a standalone. I have not read the previous books.

March 1986 - Jimmy Wade, a psychopathic killer, accompanied by Clive Winstanley, a paedophile, escape from Rampton secure hospital in Nottinghamshire, brutally beating four or the staff there. Clive is recaptured but Jimmy's trail goes cold. DCI Danny Flint had already postponed his honeymoon but had to leave the case in the hands of his DI. On returning, no progress had been made.

June 1986 - eleven year old Evan Jenkins is reported missing from Tall Trees Children's home. His body is found by a dog walker some days later and Danny takes on that case - allocating the ongoing enquiries into Wade to two female detectives. He just knows Wade will kill again.

Meanwhile Wade is hiding in plain sight, plotting his revenge on certain people at the hospital.

There is a good deal of torture/ violence and malevolence in this story and when it's realised that Evan was sexually abused and drugged, Danny is considering they have a paedophile ring on their hands.

However - this is an extremely detailed police procedural - it read really dryly, almost like a report of the investigation. I found the police characters one-dimensional - they didn't have any "personalities" - Danny just doled out orders, allocated resources and used his two DIs to organised their staff; no-one ever argued or dissented - come to that no-on (except on the odd occasion the 2 female detectives) ever had a laugh - this is really weird in a busy major investigation team. Nevertheless the characters of the perpetrators were well-drawn and menacing within the two main story-lines.

And, there are lots of inconsistencies within the story-line (and in this book's description also) which I found rather irritating, having to back-track to make sure I was reading this properly.

So, I'll have to say sorry to fans of this author; I didn't like the writing style or the accuracy of the storyline.

[Bookishdays · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this exciting and fast paced thriller, DC Danny Flint is back from his honeymoon, when a body of a small child was found, victim of a brutal murder. At the same time Jimmy Wade a cold, vicious killer evaded the hospital where he was incarcerated. Trevor Negus once more presents a well written portrait of the violent nature of a cold hearted psychopath and the creation of a new one.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[DJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just —- WHY?!
Why? And how close to the truth is the ineptness of our legal system.

[David Prestidge · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had not come across Trevor Negus and his DCI Danny Swift novels, and it was only a browse through Netgalley that brought it to my attention, and I am glad I found it - but sorry to come late to the series, which began with Evil in MInd, and was followed by Dead and Gone. The three books all came out in May this year from Inkubator Books, but A Cold Grave was first published in 2018 with the title A Different Kind of Evil, from Bathwood Manor Publishing, which seems to be no more. I am glad that Inkubator have picked up the torch and are running with it.

I have to say that the police procedural genre is my absolute Alpha and Omega in crime fiction, and chancing upon a new (to me) series is a 'punch the air' moment. The acid test of course, is deciding if the book is any good. I think police procedurals are harder to get wrong than most genres, but it does happen. I am happy to say that Trevor Negus does most things right in this novel, and so he hasn't dropped the Ming vase to shatter into a thousand pieces. The book is set in 1986, so in one sense it is Historical Crime Fiction, but only the absence of mobile phones stands out as a major difference between then and now. One of the elements that make this novel work so well is the sense - and continuity - of place. We certainly aren't in the most romantic or obviously atmospheric part of Britain, but Negus knows Nottinghamshire like the back of his proverbial, and so he should; his bio reveals:

"In 1975 Trevor joined the Nottinghamshire Constabulary as a Police Cadet, becoming a regular officer in 1978. As a uniform constable he learned his craft in the pressure cooker environment of inner city Nottingham which at that time had one of the highest violent crime rates in the United Kingdom.

During a varied thirty year police career Trevor spent six years as an authorised firearms officer and sniper, before transferring onto the CID. He spent the last twelve years of his career as a detective, becoming a specialist interviewer involved in the planning and implementation of interviews with murder suspects."

One of the most notorious places in Nottinghamshire is Rampton Secure Hospital, and it is here that the story begins. Two prisoners escape, after inflicting serious violence on several staff. One is quickly tracked down, but the other, Jimmy Wade, gets clean away, almost certainly helped by a member of the public with a car. Wade is a seriously deranged psychopath, and every day he remains at large is a day of anxiety for Detective Inspector Danny Swift and his team.

Swift has something else on his plate, though. That ever-reliable participant in murder enquiries (real and fictional)  - a dog walker - has discovered the decomposing body of a boy. The boy is soon identified as Evan Jenkins, who has been removed from the 'care' of his mother, a drug addicted prostitute, and placed in a care home called Tall Trees.wift has a bad feeling about the couple who run the home - Carol and Bill Short - and he connects them both to a drug ring and - even worse - a ring of paedophiles  whose members include several civic dignitaries and influential businessmen. Meanwhile, Wade's whereabouts remains a mystery.

Unlike Danny Swift, we know that Wade is living in a remote cottage on a country estate, aided and abetted by his girlfriend Melissa Braithwaite, who is drawn to him by a poisonous mixture of fear of his violence and the worst kind of sexual attraction. Wade has a revenge mission he hatched while under lock and key - the abduction of two prison officers who had given him a particularly hard time in Rampton. Danny Swift's hunt for Wade and the paedophile ring responsible for Evan Jenkins's death is played out against an impressively authentic geographical background - the Nottinghamshire towns of Retford, Newark and Mansfield. A police procedural this may be, but Dixon of Dock Green it certainly is not. It is dark, and sometimes frighteningly violent, but always compellingly readable. A Cold Grave is out now.

[Melissa E. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Cold Grave is a police procedural that focuses on 2 cases at once - one a boy who goes missing and the other 2 criminals that break out of a hospital. One of these criminals is a serial killer.

The story starts with a dog hunt/man hunt for the two men. That was interesting and sucked me right in.

Evan, the boy lives in a boys home run by Caroline. She says he’s run away before. The first part of this storyline was brutal… but felt abruptly cut off and moved to the main part of what happened. I feel like there could have been a little more information here (about the weight(s). But the rest of this plot line was good.

The main bad guy is Jimmy and he has moved in with Melissa . This storyline is pretty gruesome and Melissa is party to some heinous acts. In she a victim or his accomplice?

This was a very fast read for me - 2 sittings. I just kept wanting to know what happened next - well, except the gruesome parts… I did skip any, but was concerned I might need to.

Overall, it was a great book. It is the 3rd in a series, but it was my first book by this author. I was concerned about that, but this book can standalone,IMO. The only other point to note was that I didn’t care of much of the dialog between people. It felt rigid or something, not quite natural.

I’m giving this a 4.5 stars rounded down to 4 only because I don’t feel like it’s quite 5 stars. I will look at this author’s other books.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy. .

[Mrs B Proud · Rating 5 out of 5]

BRILLIANT Except...

Hi the third book in the series and what a fantastic entertaining read it was. All the old team back together, with Danny returning from his belated honeymoon to start another brutal murder investigation of an innocent young lad from a care home. Definitely not for the faint hearted with an evil paedophile gang. A couple of little niggles for me between chapters 30-44 the events were happening on the same day 25th June 1986, however the last chapter should have taken place the following day after a meeting the previous evening. Secondly chapter 80 Danny was asking his sergeant about the SECOND missing nurse who in fact was the first to go awol. I know it's petty but it's something that should have been picked up by Mr Negus's proof readers. Moan over I've downloaded book which I'll be starting tonight. BP Sheffield x

[MikeR · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third novel of the Danny Flint series, and Trevor Negus just keeps getting better. Following the 2nd novel when psychopath Jimmy Wade escapes, this novel centers around the attempt to recapture Wade as he takes revenge on those that did him wrong while incarcerated. As an adjunct to this case Flint and his team Nottinghamshire Major Crime Investigation Unit investigate the case of a murdered young boy, reported missing from Tall Trees Children’s home, a victim of child exploitation.

Trevor Negus uses all the tricks to keep the reader enthralled and it is difficult to put down. A very good police procedural novel though it does have dark overtones, especially with the pedophilia aspects, and the abuse of Melissa Braithwaite, Wade's prison romance. The epilogue leaves the reader anticipating the 4th novel.

[Gary Dowden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Set in the summer of 1986, book three in the DCI Danny Flint series is effectively two stories in one as his team are investigating the death of a young boy after he absconded from a nearby boys home whilst in the background, the disappearance of the brutal Jimmy Wade, who was widely featured in the first two books, is still haunting Flint following his recent marriage and honeymoon.
As with the first two, it's a fast paced story with great characters and some hard to stomach descriptions as Flint and his team juggle their resources between the two cases and culminating in a very tense last few chapters which doesn't fall foul of some familiar crime fiction tropes.
A very good read and while I'd recommend reading the first two before this one, it's not necessarily essential. Highly recommended though.

[John Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

The DCI Flint series are compelling and brilliant and this is the third book in the series and the second I have finished today. Trevor Negus has crafted a brilliant but harrowing story around the escape of the serial killer Jimmy Wade and events centred on a care home in which a young boy has been abused, murdered and dumped in nearby woods. The story builds momentum throughout to it's spell binding conclusion and my only criticism is that having only initially purchased the first three of the nine books in this series I will now have to wait a few days to purchase the rest. These books are worth your time and if you like crime fiction while they are gritty they will be enjoyable to read. Very well written and recommended.

[Liette · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is part of a series and having not read the previous instalments, I was somewhat confused by the relationship between some of the characters. The story is in fact 2 parallel stories and one was fast paced and resolved without too much fuss but the other one seemed to drag and get lost in details that ended up grating on my nerves a little, especially with the too much description of the snipers’ guns. The last 10% of the book seemed to drag on for too long thus spoiling my appreciation of what could have been an enjoyable read.

[Siddarth Gore · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Discretion’s my middle name, boss.’

The details of the police work are very believable. The real police have to do much more than just solve a mystery. They have allocate time and scarce resources, manage workloads, decide the time and charges while they are arresting someone, follow instinct yet know all the rights of the suspects, etc.

Deep down, he knew it was her spirit and courage that meant he would never be able to own her in the way he wanted to.

By killing her. Yes serial killers kill and get caught. But sometimes the police side of things is more interesting.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

a disturbing series of twists and turns relsted to a sick murderer and to the body of a young boy who had been in care of the state

Triggers for child rape and various violent assaults

Intense police team pursuit - seeking both any related offenders, and greater clarity about the case and care of the young man- or the lack of care

emotion and drama packed psychological thriller

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Nicky Mottram · Rating 1 out of 5]

The first book I’ve read by this author and the third book in the DCI Danny Flint series. Unfortunately I just couldn’t finish this book 😕 it was extremely dark and the storyline I found to just be too graphic and upsetting for me, I will read more by this author as it was just the storyline that i didn’t like .

Thank you to NetGalley and Inkubator for the arc of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Joyce Rigg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this is the third in the series about Danny Flint it is my first. It has great characters, a believable plot and frankly it is almost impossible to put down. If you enjoy a good detective story with a lot going on you could not fail to enjoy this. I am off to buy books one and two in the series.

[Eirlys · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Dark Story

An enthralling book that continues with the escape of Jimmy Wade and the fallout that ensued. Danny and his team become embroiled in the disappearance of a young boy. There are twists which, combined, make an impact on Danny's team. There are some details that are very disturbing.

[Toni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Danny and his team are called to a murder dump site where 11 year old Evan Jenkins is found. The team now not only has to keep looking for escaped convict Jimmy Wade but must all discover who murdered and did other terrible things to Evan
Jimmy Wade is capturing prison guards to torcher and kill as well as abusing his girlfriend. Thanks netgalley for another new author to read.

[Keith R · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent read...

Trevor Negus has a slightly smarmy, ingratiating tone as a narrator, but his books are easy to follow and interesting. The differences in policing between the UK and the USA are interesting to note. I would read his next book for sure.

[Lisa Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!!!!

Another brilliant read. Same as the last book in the series I couldn’t put it down. Kept me up at night to read just another chapter.

Without revealing any spoilers I’m disappointed that I won’t be reading about a certain character anymore!

[christine arlott-clay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read, a clever mix of new case and old one

Danny Flint has to investigate the death of a young boy, meanwhile an escaped convict from a psychiatric hospital is trying to settle old scores

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy enough to read and I do enjoy the continous story line but do they have to be so violent at times?

[Tony Warren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Trevor's writing is getting better and the stories more involved. The characters are more believable and the story quite disturbing, its a book that I could not put down until the end.

[paulette dismang · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

The story of Danny Flint continues to remain highly thrilling to read and holding your complete attention It is a good read Enjoy

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories and developement of the characters gets better and better as they go one. Book 3 was very gripping, such a page turner.

[Edward McCrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the suspense and the story was unique. I thought it was fast-paced at the start, but then it really accelerated into the climatic end. Also a most interesting, and realistic end, came in the final stages.