Diary of a War Crime

DC Ruth Hunter #1

by Simon McCleave

London, 1997. A series of baffling murders. A web of political corruption. DC Ruth Hunter thinks she has the brutal killer in her sights, but there's one problem. He’s a Serbian War criminal who died five years earlier and lies buried in Bosnia.
When Detective Constable Ruth Hunter is called to the death of a pensioner in South London, she becomes convinced that it is not as routine as it first appeared. There are links to the death of another pensioner which suggest a link back to the Bosnian War of the early 1990s.

With the investigation thwarted at every turn, Ruth soon realises she may have stumbled upon a political cover-up in the lead up to the 1997 General Election. As she races against the clock, Ruth believes the man she is tracking is a Serbian War criminal who supposedly died in Bosnia five years earlier. Can Ruth find the notorious 'Butcher of Strigova' before he murders again to cover his tracks?

'Diary of a War Crime is the first book in the DI Ruth Hunter Crime prequel series. If you like chilling police procedurals, true-to-life characters, and psychological twists, then you’ll love Simon McCleave’s page-turning thrill ride.

Genres: Crime, Audiobook, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Procedural

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 14, 2021

Reviews

[Ingrid · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crime mentioned in the title is connected with the war in former Yugoslavia. Bosnian Muslims living in London find out that one of the Serbian war criminals has faked his death and is now living in London as well.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up (love Ruth)
I've read several of the DI Ruth Hunter books set in Snowdonia (love them) and this one goes back to when Ruth was a DC in London 1997. I believe there are 4 books in this series so far.
It's a really good crime/detective story anyway, but it's great for me to see Ruth in the early days of her career having already got to know her current day.
There are a couple of things that irked me procedurally, and Lucy is not a character I like but these are personal gripes. The overall story is compelling, fast-paced and absorbing.
A good mix of policework and personal life as is a feature of all the books in the series's.

[Mick Dubois · Rating 5 out of 5]

We’re April 1997, a few days before the general election that was won by Blair.
A Serbian war criminal who fakes his own death is spotted in London by one of his victims. Not much after he warns his friends, 2 of them are murdered in a manner that looks like natural causes or old age. But that’s counted without DC Ruth Hunter and her friend DC Lucy Henry who spot a few irregularities and ask for a PM. When they voice their theory about a link with the war in Yugoslavia, they’re ridiculed by their colleagues. Next thing they know is that they’re warned by MI6 to leave the case alone because Simo Petrovic (their suspect) is certified dead.

If you’re familiar, with Mc Cleave’s work, you know Ruth Hunter as DI in Wales. It’s a pleasure to read more about her younger years when she worked for the Met as a DC. At the start of the book, she’s still married to Dan who’s better lost than won. She’s also feeling more and more attracted to women and feels like exploring her own sexuality.
Her friend and partner Lucy Henry is also a likeable character. Although she should be careful about having an affair with her married boss. Those things seldom end well. I hope the best for her.
With a murder in the very first chapter, the book starts strong and keeps the pace up throughout. It’s an impressive start for a new series; you find lots of action a decent storyline and lots of suspense. The language is as rich and descriptive as we’re used to from this author. I love the way he describes the sights and goings-on of the streets of London, they’re just as detailed as those of the landscape around Mount Snowdon.
I must warn you that this story reflects the mood and social norms of the period and a lot of cat-calling and both misogynist and homophobic comments appear over the course of the story.
The war in Yugoslavia and the atrocities committed by all parties feature strongly in this story and it is not intended for people with a weak stomach. I appreciate the effort that the author takes to point out that all parties involved, not just the Serbs, are guilty of war crimes and very nasty, evil atrocities and murders. In the book, the war is only a few years in the past but still now and over here the same segregation and cold hatred between the various ex-Yugoslavian ethnicities. By importing the refugees, we also imported their unresolved problems. I think that everybody can also agree that for various reasons, the UN peacekeeping forces miserably failed in their duties.
I thank Simon Mc Cleave for the free ARC he provided and this is my honest and unbiased review of it.

[Eric Lloyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started well, but fizzled out.

The development of this book was good and was acted out in the wake of the Balkan wars of the 1990s in London : the seemingly unconnected murders of two Bosnians are investigated by two female detectives. The story was intriguing but my resolve to finish the book was tempered by the final third which bordered on fantasy and lacked imagination . What with dubious coincidences , unconvincing attempts at narrating violent action and woefully undeveloped dialogue had me so bored that I almost gave up on the conclusion, which was so contrived it was laughable. It appeared as if the author just resigned the story to the usual cliches.
Disappointing and dull.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good

[Phillip Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Solid crime and conspiracy thriller


Hamzar Mujic has been to hell and survived. Escaping the ethnic cleansing of the brutal Serbian War and relocating to London, Hamzar seeks to put the pain and memories behind him but is plunged back into the dark when he recognises his supposedly deceased tormentor and war criminal, Simo Petrovic alive and well on the streets of the Capital.

Meanwhile, as DC Ruth Hunter juggles misogyny, and the death throes of a relationship, a simple call to a deceased pensioners flat rapidly takes an unexpected turn when it’s revealed the man- Hamzar Mujic-was murdered in mysterious circumstances. Alongside her colleague DC Lucy Henry they run into dead ends and grim warnings to drop the case but emboldened by the tragedies described in the Mujic’s diary they forge on against the wishes of superiors, faceless government bureaucrats and sinister threats in an attempt to prove Simo Petrovic is alive, but unknowing of the repercussions proving such will cause.

Simon McCleave’s ‘Diary of a War Crime’ is a nostalgic throwback to events leading up to the 1997 general election as New Labour bid for power. It follows a younger Ruth Hunter, who we’ve come to know though the Snowdonia Mysteries, as she cuts her teeth as a young DC and for me was reminiscent of Lynda La Plante’s ‘Prime Suspect 1973’ which follows a young Jane Tennison. The book conjures up a moment of change in the UK and for Hunter and her colleagues, showing the challenges and the changes that help define a great character.
I really enjoyed ‘Diary of a War Crime’ and how it subtly throws the spotlight on what it takes to survive in the aftermath of conflict and the greed that can breed in the void of a failed state, and it does all this while not detracting from what is a solid and fast paced crime and conspiracy thriller.

Wholly recommended.

[Lisa Clift · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good flashback to Ruth's early career in the Met, and explains well her past relationship with Dan and their daughter Ella. Good investigation involving war criminals and the murders of elderly men linked to Bosnia and Serbian war crimes. Good to see the echoes of what Ruth dealt with and how she ends up in the series that she is now in.

[Lesley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rachel Hunter murder case #1

We were first introduced to Hunter as a detective leaving the Met for a quieter life in North Wales, so this is a prequel series of her earlier days set in 1997
🎧audio version. Firstly the narrator Rachel Atkins is excellent, love the atmosphere she gives it and the accents for the different characters.

The title and the topic didn’t instantly grab me. However it’s a light easy, entertaining listen. A lot lighter than the title suggests.
After attending the death of an elderly man Rachel becomes suspicious that it’s not an natural death. It leads her on the trail of a Serbian war criminal who is supposedly dead.
It’s fast paced. It kept my attention well as there is plenty going on.
Lucy I feel is the more likeable of the two main characters.
I can see why this author has become so popular.

[Molly Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this one a bit slow, not that much of a page turner.

[CR Spencer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure about this book. We have a high profile Serbian war criminal on the loose in London murdering all and sundry and two detective constables on his trail. One would suggest that this is unlikely to say the least. One of the detectives is having an affair with her married boss whilst the other is indulging her lesbian fantasies after her wastrel husband has left her. It gets worse....

It turns out that the Serbian actually killed one of the detective's father when he was serving with the U.N. Coincidence or what? This detective manages to sign out this criminal on her own and take him down to her father's grave so she can kill him only to be rescued by her lesbian friend before she can commit this heinous crime. Ridiculous or what? This ruthless killer sits meekly in the back of the car whilst she drives him to his death....contrast this to when the two of them are handcuffed in the back of a car and they managed to cause the vehicle to crash so they can make their escape.

Perhaps the author didn't know much about police procedure when he wrote the story. Detective constables are the lowest of the low. They do grunt work and do not go around catching war criminals in the face of the security services.

But cudos to the author for getting his book published. I won't be reading any more...

[Mrs Margaret Bray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad - could do better!

Gives an important insight into the atrocities of the Serbian conflict which has been overshadowed by subsequent wars.
I feel the author is still learning his craft and needs to work on his style. Sometimes I felt like I was reading a first attempt at A level creative writing .
Again, I am perplexed by the abundant use of the name of Jesus as a swear word. There are many other expletives in the English vocabulary. On one occasion , a character used the name of Allah -- but the character is a Muslim and his use of this name is reverent and appropriate.
This book wasn't as satisfying as I hoped from the precis, and don't know yet if I will read any more by this author. (Read books by people such as John Grisham to see how a compelling, complex story can be told without a single blasphemic use of the name of Jesus.)

[J Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't put it down!

I've read all of the previous Ruth Hunter books so when I saw there was a book about her earlier life I bought it on the launch date. As I've said in the title, I couldn't put it down. The plot moved along rapidly, and in the breaks in the action we got to know more about Ruth and clues to how and why she came to be what she is in the North Wales stories. The book deals with the after effects of a particularly nasty event in recent history. As ever Simon's books are well researched and well written.

[Star Gater · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had the audiobook. The narrator did a good job with the voices.

I enjoyed the story, plotline, and the characters.

I did not like the senseless, trashy profanity. With some reasonable editing, I would have rated it higher and would have read the author's other works. Leave God and the ridiculously named F-bombs in your house, not public areas.

FYI: I like to listen through a blue tooth speaker while I puzzle (jigsaw). This is not appropriate for that basic hobby.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book 1 in the DC Ruth Hunter series. Ruth is married with a young daughter. She is a DC in London 1997. She’s trying to solve a series of murders with her partner Lucy, she’s having marital issues and wondering if she is actually gay.
Overall it was a decent start to the series although I have to say I’m not a fan of either Ruth or Lucy’s characters. I hope they evolve a bit over the course of the series.

[Goran · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most of the references, names, places and bosnian/serbian words mentioned in this book are wrong. Cannot understand that the author did not let anyone with knowledge of bosnian/serbian language read the book before publishing it. All the errors just made me more and more irritated and after first couple of chapters I felt that it was enough.

[Bryngel · Rating 2 out of 5]

So, I was given a copy of this book and I thought I might as well read it, even though I haven't read all the DI Ruth Hunter books yet. It's a fairly (meh) story, but I got fed up with all the cringe love stories and an over the top (contrived) story. Had I read this book first, of all the Ruth Hunter books, I'm fairly sure that I wouldn't have continued with the series.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Didn't love this book, in part because the narrator (I "read" the audio version) made the two women cops featured seem shrill and a little silly. I like McCleave's work, but this wasn't a wonderful effort.

[Johan Roux · Rating 2 out of 5]

Looked Thin and Remained So!

Against my better instincts, I persisted with this novel, but it never got above my initial impression of mediocrity. I won't be taking on Book 2. No nuggets to bookmark, no compelling sentences, and no real plot surprises.

[Karl Waktare · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice idea with characters but cheesy plot

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a gripping story and the Bosnian/Serb references were very interesting, but some of the writing felt rather simplistic.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Not sure how I feel about this detective. I will try the next book.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up in the hopes of discovering a new British police procedural series that was halfway decent. Unfortunately, this first in the "DC Ruth Hunter" series falls well short of the halfway mark. Set on the eve of the 1997 elections, it revolves around the deaths of several Bosnian refugee immigrants -- whose fates the title of the book tells you are tied to events from several years previously during the Bosnian War. The plot is set in motion when a Bosnian spots someone he recognizes as a Serbian war criminal on the street of London (reminiscent of the famous scene in the 1970s book/film The Marathon Man where a Holocaust survivor spots a former camp officer in the streets of Manhattan).

In any event, DC Hunter and her female partner DC are called out to the scene of a man who appears to have passed away in his home. When they pick up on a small clue, further investigation reveals that he was poisoned with fentanyl, sparking their inquiry as to who would do such a thing and why. I kept thinking I'd read it already until I realized I was thinking of series 6 of Prime Suspect, whose plot is, um, quite similar... In any event, what follows is a very pedestrian, paint-by-numbers plot, as they poke into the Serbian expat community, and discover possible ties to oil money and shady backhanders to Tory politicians. Along the way, they have to endure the predictable childish harassment by their male colleagues, which gets old quickly.

It's all pretty mediocre stuff, including the procedural elements, and then near the end there's a really clunky attempt at a major plot twist. Bearing in mind that the catalyst for the story is a coincidental spotting in a crowd, the suspension of disbelief required to go along with the late-breaking plot twist would be enough to hold up at least two Brooklyn Bridges. It's really laughable and trite, and as much as I liked the two lead characters and the fleshing out of their private lives, it really spoiled the book. All in all, a disappointment, and I think it's one and done for me with this series.

[Mirrordance · Rating 2 out of 5]

Un libro fiacco. Credo sia un prequel scritto dopo, delle indagini di DI Hunter quando ancora non era stata promossa a Detective Inspector.
La storia potrebbe avere degli spunti interessanti, due anziani bosniaci vengono trovati morti nelle rispettive abitazioni per apparente morte naturale. Sul caso del secondo dei due si trova ad indagare l'unica squadra di poliziotte di Londra (molesta e inutile per come viene trattata la parte che dovrebbe sottolineare il sessismo e maschilismo della polizia, il tutto ridotto a stereotipo e macchietta) composta dalla Detective Constable Ruth Hunter e dalla sua partner Lucy. La loro attenzione si focalizza su piccoli particolari che appaiono strani nella casa dell'uomo deceduto e presto verificano che è stato un delitto, compiuto in modo abile. Contattando gli amici del morto scoprono che uno di loro è morto pochi giorni prima in modo analogo. Da qui inizia a delinearsi una "pista" che spinge a indagare nel mondo degli esuli della ex Jugoslavia.
Il libro procede parlando in modo ripetitivo ma sempre di passaggio della guerra dei Balcani. L'argomento non viene mai approfondito, non fornisce mai uno scenario o un contorno definito alla vicenda e alla fine si ha la sensazione che più che un libro sia una sceneggiatura in cui si lasci poi alle immagini e alle azioni il compito di riempire la sostanza narrativa. Poco credibile e e coeso in molte sue parti.

[Anne Ingram Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about the pursuit and capture of a war criminal, Simo Petrovik, who committed atrocities against Bosnian Muslims and Croats in Bosnia. Detective Constable Ruth Hunter and Detective Constable Lucy Henry are investigating the murder of a Bosnian Muslim expatriate, Mersad Advic, living in London. They discover that two of his friends, Hamzar Mujik and Safet Dudic have also recently died under suspicious circumstances. These three men and a woman named Katerina Selimovik all grew up together in the same town in Bosnia. The four meet in London periodically, and when one of them claims to have seen Simo Petrovik in Waterloo Station, the others tell him he is crazy because Petrovik committed suicide in Bosnia to escape being tried for war crimes and they had seen his grave. One by one, the men are killed until only Katerina is left. DC Hunter and DC Henry are determined to find out who killed these men and prevent Katerina from being the next victim.

[Marty Langenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating premise

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The twists and turns and evil machinations of the bad guys are very believable. The main characters, not so much. Ruth and Lucy have their problems - a wayward husband and some shenanigans with one's superior officer and the other's possible gay leanings - but they seem trivial at best and shallow characterisation at worst. Why are female detectives so disliked by their male counterparts? The childish pranks add nothing to the story. The high speed excursions with the "blues and twos" flashing I found hard to believe. When I was in London a few years ago, the crazy traffic would never allow it. Then, a flimsy reason for kidnapping their own prisoner, and their superior lets them off??? It's more like the Wild West than modern day English policing. Nevertheless, a great story. You'll enjoy it.

[JP · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness, this was so good! I love British crime shows and it had that feel. This checked off the boxes for me. Rachel Atkins narrated this audiobook and was excellent. I highly recommend listening to this.
Lucy and Ruth are detectives that have worked hard to get where they are. They prove that women can definitely do what was once only a mans job. Their partnership brought fun to the story and I was excited seeing them solve this mystery.
People were dying and it almost goes undetected as murder. Very entertaining with all the excitement of solving a mystery. Really good stuff.
Thanks W. F. Howes Ltd via Netgalley.

[James Oates · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the first book I read by Simon McCleave and it won't be my last. In fact I have already downloaded and started reading book 2 in this series.

The two main character are Ruth and Lucy who are DC's who don't command much respect particularly where there women in a man dominated "world"

The story line's was excellent as it revolves a series of murders tied to a Serbian War criminal thought to commit suicide years ago. What starts out as a simple "normal" death quickly evolves in tracking down the war criminal while all around them put up barrier after barrier to stop the investigation.

Nice ending, excellent read, you won't be disappointed in reading this book.

[Gordon Johnston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in 1997, Diary of a War Crime introduces a young Met DC Ruth Hunter and her partner DC Lucy Henry. The novel is well written and has a good sense of place and time.

When two Bosnian Muslims are found dead in London, it seemed like a coincidence. But that soon turned to murder and links to a terrifying figure from Bosnia, thought to be dead but apparently alive and well in London. The two DCs investigate, not always sticking to procedure, but making progress. Which brings them to the attention of the wrong people ...

This is a good first novel and provides an origin story for Ruth Hunter, with some good character development, ex=specially around her personal live==fe.

[Mary Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into the younger Ruth with the story featuring a Serbian war criminal , supposedly dead, but actually living in London.

The story moves rapidly and had me hooked immediately so I read it in the 1 day. The backdrop of the atrocities in the Balkans was fascinating. It was also great to read about Ruth's younger days in the Met, along with her relationship with Dan and the very young Ella.

Can't wait for the next one in this series, as well as the next one in the Snowdonia series.

[Michael Bellamy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ruth Hunter in her pre-N Wales days. She is a lowly DC working in the Met. Story highlights how male officers treat and think about their female colleagues. Ruth helps catch a Bosnian war criminal
( murderer) Not only are they dealing with Bosnian killers but also MI6, the foreign office and members of Parliament who are happy to allow this murderous group to exist in the UK. While dealing with all this Ruth's adulterous husband leaves her and she has to deal with discovering her sexuality. A lot of content in one book. Extremely readable and enjoyable.