Down to Sleep

Ellery & York Whodunit #1

by Clare Revell

DC Zander Ellery isn't sure which he dislikes the most: New partners, rookie female officers, or cases he can't solve. Right now he has all three.

DC Isabel York is fresh out of uniform and out of the proverbial frying pan into the fire as her personal and professional lives clash with her first case—ten stolen works of art.

When a postcard arrives addressed to Isabel with a cryptic message on it, it's just the beginning. The mystery deepens as the first of the stolen paintings is found alongside a dead body—bound and gagged and left posed in prayer at the place depicted in the postcard.

Are nine more murders coming? Can Zander and Isabel find the missing paintings and solve the murder before another victim falls?

Genres: Mystery

190 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 7, 2020

About the author

Clare is a British Christian author. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, their two of their three grown up children, unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the cat and new addition Ty the dog.
Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.
Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.
Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English.
The first draft of every novel is hand written.
She has been a Christian for more than half her life. She goes to Carey Baptist where she is one of four registrars.
She can be found at:
http://www.revell124.plus.com/clarere...
https://www.facebook.com/ClareRevellA...
https://twitter.com/ClareRevell
http://telscha.blogspot.co.uk/
https://uk.pinterest.com/ClareLRevell/
https://www.instagram.com/clarerevell/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B005NZT2O2
https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005NZT2O2
http://pelicanbookgroup.com/ec/index....

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a little crazy jumping into a new series, but with Revell’s thrillers, you’re at home in Headley Cross, a place in the English countryside her fans have come to know and love well. Revell tackles a dark series of murders based of all things on a prayer tied to frightening imagery supposed to represent the bedrock of faith in gruesome artwork. Learning the ins and outs of British police departments is almost as intriguing and frustrating as trying to dig newly promoted Isabel York’s in-basket. No longer a beat cop, she’s a detective assigned to work with male colleagues who are a bit unsure of themselves and act out inappropriately. One prank they play is stuffing her desk mail with dozens and more junk, making it a chore to paw through. Missing a crucial piece of evidence makes it harder to start on a long and irksome, challenging case to beat a killer who is always one step ahead.

Alezander Ellery, Zander for short, is in need of a new partner, though he hopes not for long as he studies for a test that will give him a career boost and a potential move to a new department. He’s willing to give Isabel a chance, but eventually learns that trust and respect have to be mutual to work. Things are going so well, and the pressure is on when the victims become people they know.

Told in alternating viewpoints, readers get an inside look at the pressure of solving a case of serial murders in a small community. This is a true series, and plays out over four books.

[Cinnabug · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I’ve read by this author, but it definitely won’t be the last.

I really enjoyed how in depth the mystery was. There was a lot of time spent on the police procedures and the interactions between the detectives, which really seemed to give more credibility to the story and helped me feel like I knew the characters better.

I loved how Zander and Isabel both tried to follow God and considered Him in their actions. And I really liked the way their relationship grew as they became more comfortable with each other.

I was disappointed to realize that the murders would not be solved by the end of the book. That being said, I realize that with as descriptive and involved as this story was, including side stories about Isabel and Zander, this story is going to take longer to tell them what one book would permit.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book doesn't end

A lot of characterization. Took awhile to get into the mystery which might have been good except there's no resolution in this book and you'll have to get the next one.