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The Danger Within
A seemingly straightforward domestic tragedy leads to something deeper and darker for DCI Vogel and his team in this gripping police procedural.
A man lies dead on the kitchen floor of his comfortable North Devon home, his body punctured by multiple stab wounds. Beside him sits his silent, traumatised wife.
DCI David Vogel reckons he’s seen it all before. A domestic an abused wife snaps after years of suffering within a deeply tormented marriage. Then again, as a police officer of long experience, Vogel knows it’s dangerous to rely on assumptions. As his investigations lead him in all sorts of unexpected directions, uncovering a number of shocking secrets in the dead man’s past, Vogel comes to realize that nothing about this case is as straightforward as it seems.
What really happened inside No.11 St Anne’s Avenue? And if Thomas Quinn’s wife didn’t kill him, who did . . . and why? Vogel is about to embark on the most unusual case of his career.
A man lies dead on the kitchen floor of his comfortable North Devon home, his body punctured by multiple stab wounds. Beside him sits his silent, traumatised wife.
DCI David Vogel reckons he’s seen it all before. A domestic an abused wife snaps after years of suffering within a deeply tormented marriage. Then again, as a police officer of long experience, Vogel knows it’s dangerous to rely on assumptions. As his investigations lead him in all sorts of unexpected directions, uncovering a number of shocking secrets in the dead man’s past, Vogel comes to realize that nothing about this case is as straightforward as it seems.
What really happened inside No.11 St Anne’s Avenue? And if Thomas Quinn’s wife didn’t kill him, who did . . . and why? Vogel is about to embark on the most unusual case of his career.
- GenresMystery
256 pages, Hardcover
Published December 7, 2021
About the author
Hilary Bonner
43 books30 followersHilary Bonner is an English crime novelist, best known for her psychological thrillers.
Almost all Bonner’s novels are inspired by real life events, often drawing on her journalistic past with The Sun, The Mail on Sunday, and Daily Mirror. The Times described her as ‘keeping on the public agenda the stories our masters would prefer buried.’
She shares her life with her partner, the actress Amanda Barrie, and, with their dog Coco. She divides her time between her house in rural Somerset and her flat at the heart of Covent Garden.
Almost all Bonner’s novels are inspired by real life events, often drawing on her journalistic past with The Sun, The Mail on Sunday, and Daily Mirror. The Times described her as ‘keeping on the public agenda the stories our masters would prefer buried.’
She shares her life with her partner, the actress Amanda Barrie, and, with their dog Coco. She divides her time between her house in rural Somerset and her flat at the heart of Covent Garden.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 8, 2021
This book is the fourth in the series and I’ve enjoyed each of the three prior books. This is an entertaining police procedural series and I really like the way DCI David Vogel and his team work together. Their latest case seems to be open and shut when Gillian Quinn, who is covered in blood, reports the death of her husband inside their home. However, there is more to this case than it first appears.
Another part of the book is told from the point of view of Lilian St. John whose abusive husband left London to return to his homeland in South Africa. Upon her release from the hospital after her husband’s last attack, she learns that his men are still trying to control her life. Many of the appalling things Lilian goes through are described in detail and are very hard to read. It takes a while to figure out the connection between Lilian and the rest of the book.I was able to figure out some, but not all of the plot twists in this book. I thought that a few things didn’t add up, but overall the ending was unexpected, but satisfying. I liked the book and look forward to more in this series.
I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of Severn House. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.
September 13, 2021
Thank you Netgalley and Canongate Books, Severn House for the eARC.
This mystery deals with domestic violence and the terrible fear and pain the affected spouses live with. It's very sobering...
DCI David Vogel and his team are called out to a house where a man lies dead, his silent wife, covered in blood, obviously in shock, sitting on the floor.
Then we go to 1997, where a woman, just out of a three-week stay in hospital, is desperate to flee from her wealthy, charismatic husband. She has nowhere to go, cut off from any money sources, so she returns to their home, knowing he has returned to his native S. Africa. But she knows he'll be back for her...
The two stories are both very compelling, but it's only towards about 3/4 in that you realize how they mesh. It's an excellent book, I loved it and thought it was really well done, plus the ending was superb.
Highly recommended!
This mystery deals with domestic violence and the terrible fear and pain the affected spouses live with. It's very sobering...
DCI David Vogel and his team are called out to a house where a man lies dead, his silent wife, covered in blood, obviously in shock, sitting on the floor.
Then we go to 1997, where a woman, just out of a three-week stay in hospital, is desperate to flee from her wealthy, charismatic husband. She has nowhere to go, cut off from any money sources, so she returns to their home, knowing he has returned to his native S. Africa. But she knows he'll be back for her...
The two stories are both very compelling, but it's only towards about 3/4 in that you realize how they mesh. It's an excellent book, I loved it and thought it was really well done, plus the ending was superb.
Highly recommended!
October 9, 2021
This was absolutely brilliant. Huge fan of this series and can’t wait for the next one.
October 27, 2021
Spousal Abuse Proves To Be A Difficult Case
The novel opens with DCI David Vogel arriving at the crime scene. A dead man was lying in a pool of blood down in the kitchen. An uninjured woman but covered in blood is sitting nearby on the floor. She is incoherent and probably in shock. The woman is the man’s wife and is taken to the hospital. It appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder by an abused spouse except that she has a rock-solid alibi. Then, a second thread starts 170 miles to the east in London and back in 1997. Lilian St. John is leaving a hospital after severely beaten again by her husband. The husband has left as there is a warrant out for his arrest. Lilian, even though her mobility is quite limited because of her broken ankle, tries to disappear and escape from her husband. The novel takes off with these two main storyline threads.
The DCI Vogel thread is spend first looking at family members with motive, means and opportunity. While with some there always seems to be a piece of the puzzle missing until an event that brings the investigation into focus. Vogel and his team’s efforts to unravel this Gordian knot of a case captured my interest. The Lilian thread essentially and cat and mouse chase between her and her husband. The tension concerning will Lilian be successful in her repeated attempts to evade her husband and her being handled by police and courts was my attention getter for this thread. The strength of my attention’s capture is my major criterion for a high star rating.
The B-storyline centers mainly on Vogel and Saslow who was his partner in London. Her promotion to Detective Sergeant was to incentivize her moving with Vogel from London to Barnstable, North Devon. Her social life has changed Vogel’s relationship with Superintendent Nobby Clarke has changed. There is a little more of Vogel’s feelings and family than I remember in previous novels in this series. My knowledge of these two characters continued to deepen. With the change of location, Vogel has an almost entirely new team. Even while reading this novel, when these new members came into the scene, I knew who they were. They all were well-rounded characters. The B-storyline contributed to my reading enjoyment of this novel.
As for the common detractors for some readers, there is a scene of spousal abuse and clearly portrays the terrible circumstances the women find themselves. While definitely adult content, it was not gratuitous in my opinion. As for language, it is quite minimal. Violence generally is described in the less edgy after the fact, but violence for the above woman is described as it occurs. While I’m becoming better with British informal, especially used in British Police Procedurals, I used the easy Internet access on my e-reader to look up a handful of words.
First of all, the literary tsunami in this novel changed my understanding of what had happened is a up to that point and brought a smile to my face. On the downside, I did not find anything that was a problem for me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. If you like reading police procedurals, I strongly recommend reading this novel even if it is the first in the series that you do read. I rate this novel with five stars. It appears that this book is the last in the series. If so, I am looking for the start of the next series from this author.
I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Severn House. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Severn House for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.
The novel opens with DCI David Vogel arriving at the crime scene. A dead man was lying in a pool of blood down in the kitchen. An uninjured woman but covered in blood is sitting nearby on the floor. She is incoherent and probably in shock. The woman is the man’s wife and is taken to the hospital. It appears to be an open-and-shut case of murder by an abused spouse except that she has a rock-solid alibi. Then, a second thread starts 170 miles to the east in London and back in 1997. Lilian St. John is leaving a hospital after severely beaten again by her husband. The husband has left as there is a warrant out for his arrest. Lilian, even though her mobility is quite limited because of her broken ankle, tries to disappear and escape from her husband. The novel takes off with these two main storyline threads.
The DCI Vogel thread is spend first looking at family members with motive, means and opportunity. While with some there always seems to be a piece of the puzzle missing until an event that brings the investigation into focus. Vogel and his team’s efforts to unravel this Gordian knot of a case captured my interest. The Lilian thread essentially and cat and mouse chase between her and her husband. The tension concerning will Lilian be successful in her repeated attempts to evade her husband and her being handled by police and courts was my attention getter for this thread. The strength of my attention’s capture is my major criterion for a high star rating.
The B-storyline centers mainly on Vogel and Saslow who was his partner in London. Her promotion to Detective Sergeant was to incentivize her moving with Vogel from London to Barnstable, North Devon. Her social life has changed Vogel’s relationship with Superintendent Nobby Clarke has changed. There is a little more of Vogel’s feelings and family than I remember in previous novels in this series. My knowledge of these two characters continued to deepen. With the change of location, Vogel has an almost entirely new team. Even while reading this novel, when these new members came into the scene, I knew who they were. They all were well-rounded characters. The B-storyline contributed to my reading enjoyment of this novel.
As for the common detractors for some readers, there is a scene of spousal abuse and clearly portrays the terrible circumstances the women find themselves. While definitely adult content, it was not gratuitous in my opinion. As for language, it is quite minimal. Violence generally is described in the less edgy after the fact, but violence for the above woman is described as it occurs. While I’m becoming better with British informal, especially used in British Police Procedurals, I used the easy Internet access on my e-reader to look up a handful of words.
First of all, the literary tsunami in this novel changed my understanding of what had happened is a up to that point and brought a smile to my face. On the downside, I did not find anything that was a problem for me. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. If you like reading police procedurals, I strongly recommend reading this novel even if it is the first in the series that you do read. I rate this novel with five stars. It appears that this book is the last in the series. If so, I am looking for the start of the next series from this author.
I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Severn House. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Severn House for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.
December 1, 2021
This is book 4 of this series and, as per usual, I am going to recommend you start from book one and read in order. If for no other reason than they are all cracking reads. But also cos you'll get the best from the characters, their backstories and development if you do this.
So... a man lies dead in his kitchen. Many stab woulds festoon his body. His wife sits next to him, traumatised. She is the one who called the emergency services but she claims she had nothing to do with his death. DCI David Vogel isn't convinced. But his feelings are based on gut and supposition and not fact and that just won't cut it. So he and his team begin their investigations in earnest. Opening up cans after cans of worms about the man's life. Exposing secrets and lies and more than a slice of duplicitous behaviour. But... if the wife didn't do it? Well then... who did...?
And to top all that, we also hear from another person. From back in 1997, a woman trying to flee from her dominating and dangerous husband. Quite how these storylines fit together... well... you'll have to find that out for yourself but, it's all a bit clever!
I do love this series. Mainly cos the main cops aren't stereotypical. Yes they have stuff going on in their personal lives but the main focus of the book is always on the cases at hand. We have had a location move and with that came a new cast of characters and a new challenge for Vogel - but that just serves to keep thing fresh for me.
The storyline is, well, just superb. Well plotted and that plot extremely well executed. It also goes along at a fair lick as there is no superfluous padding or waffle. It had me running round chasing my tail for the majority, wondering how the two threads would eventually merge - if indeed they did! And I just had to sit back and applaud the author for a job well done.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
So... a man lies dead in his kitchen. Many stab woulds festoon his body. His wife sits next to him, traumatised. She is the one who called the emergency services but she claims she had nothing to do with his death. DCI David Vogel isn't convinced. But his feelings are based on gut and supposition and not fact and that just won't cut it. So he and his team begin their investigations in earnest. Opening up cans after cans of worms about the man's life. Exposing secrets and lies and more than a slice of duplicitous behaviour. But... if the wife didn't do it? Well then... who did...?
And to top all that, we also hear from another person. From back in 1997, a woman trying to flee from her dominating and dangerous husband. Quite how these storylines fit together... well... you'll have to find that out for yourself but, it's all a bit clever!
I do love this series. Mainly cos the main cops aren't stereotypical. Yes they have stuff going on in their personal lives but the main focus of the book is always on the cases at hand. We have had a location move and with that came a new cast of characters and a new challenge for Vogel - but that just serves to keep thing fresh for me.
The storyline is, well, just superb. Well plotted and that plot extremely well executed. It also goes along at a fair lick as there is no superfluous padding or waffle. It had me running round chasing my tail for the majority, wondering how the two threads would eventually merge - if indeed they did! And I just had to sit back and applaud the author for a job well done.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.
December 25, 2021
The danger within by Hilary Bonner.
A David Vogel Mystery Book 4.
A man lies dead on the kitchen floor of his comfortable North Devon home, his body punctured by multiple stab wounds. Beside him sits his silent, traumatised wife.
DCI David Vogel reckons he’s seen it all before. A domestic tragedy: an abused wife snaps after years of suffering within a deeply tormented marriage. Then again, as a police officer of long experience, Vogel knows it’s dangerous to rely on assumptions. As his investigations lead him in all sorts of unexpected directions, uncovering a number of shocking secrets in the dead man’s past, Vogel comes to realize that nothing about this case is as straightforward as it seems.
I did enjoy this book. Great story and characters. Will be looking at the first books in series. 4*.
A David Vogel Mystery Book 4.
A man lies dead on the kitchen floor of his comfortable North Devon home, his body punctured by multiple stab wounds. Beside him sits his silent, traumatised wife.
DCI David Vogel reckons he’s seen it all before. A domestic tragedy: an abused wife snaps after years of suffering within a deeply tormented marriage. Then again, as a police officer of long experience, Vogel knows it’s dangerous to rely on assumptions. As his investigations lead him in all sorts of unexpected directions, uncovering a number of shocking secrets in the dead man’s past, Vogel comes to realize that nothing about this case is as straightforward as it seems.
I did enjoy this book. Great story and characters. Will be looking at the first books in series. 4*.
December 4, 2024
DCI Vogel #4. For starters, I'm not a fan of heavily DV-oriented stories, such as this. Various women have been abused by husbands who have been killed, and of course the women are suspected, and even convicted. There are plenty of other suspects in one case. The dead husbands are extreme examples of abusers, both being involved in criminal activities, and therefore with resources to use against their wives (who cannot escape). That provides clear motive.
There are two timelines in these cases which were confusing. They seemed to be concurrent, but weren't.
There was some careless editing where a fellow called Wynn later became Wayne.
The ending was a bit of a deus ex machina and not really satisfying. I did not think this was a great story, and although I might consider reading one of the earlier ones (perhaps I already have), this one is just a rating 2.9.
There are two timelines in these cases which were confusing. They seemed to be concurrent, but weren't.
There was some careless editing where a fellow called Wynn later became Wayne.
The ending was a bit of a deus ex machina and not really satisfying. I did not think this was a great story, and although I might consider reading one of the earlier ones (perhaps I already have), this one is just a rating 2.9.
September 12, 2021
What's happened at 11 St Anne's Avenue that's what DCI David Vogel needs to find out.
He arrives to find Thomas Quinn laying dead in the kitchen with multiple stab wounds his wife Gina is cowering in the corner covered in blood.After he finds out Gina'has suffered domestic abuse by her husband for many years it seems an easy case but he knows things are never as they seem.
As he tries to solve the case it leads him in many directions.
I'm a big lover of Hilary Bonner's books and this new book didn't dissapoint it was a great read and highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Severn Books for the ARC.
He arrives to find Thomas Quinn laying dead in the kitchen with multiple stab wounds his wife Gina is cowering in the corner covered in blood.After he finds out Gina'has suffered domestic abuse by her husband for many years it seems an easy case but he knows things are never as they seem.
As he tries to solve the case it leads him in many directions.
I'm a big lover of Hilary Bonner's books and this new book didn't dissapoint it was a great read and highly recommended.
Thanks to Netgalley and Severn Books for the ARC.
September 28, 2024
I first came across this author's books in 2003 and I read five of them back then. I have also recently read the first book in this police procedural series set in Devon (four books so far) as well as another standalone thriller.
To be honest I don't find this author's plots convincing and I don't like Detective Chief Inspector Vogel much. However a large part of this book deals with domestic violence and people who are trapped in controlling relationships and I found this part very moving. Accordingly I have given this book three stars even though the story itself is not up to much.
To be honest I don't find this author's plots convincing and I don't like Detective Chief Inspector Vogel much. However a large part of this book deals with domestic violence and people who are trapped in controlling relationships and I found this part very moving. Accordingly I have given this book three stars even though the story itself is not up to much.
December 3, 2021
This is a difficult read due to the subject matter of domestic violence. DCI Vogel is investigating the murder of a local business man, found dead by his wife. The book is told from two points of view and is very cleverly written. It kept me interested from the beginning, right to the cliffhanger ending and the many unexpected twists. I would highly recommend this read, it's brilliant. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.
December 10, 2021
It's not an easy read even if it's gripping and entertaining. There's plenty of parts about women abuse and you cannot help feeling for the women involved.
David Voegel and his teams are back and the mystery is twisty and gripping.
It's a twisty, dark and gripping story that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
David Voegel and his teams are back and the mystery is twisty and gripping.
It's a twisty, dark and gripping story that I strongly recommend.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine
March 14, 2022
very good plot. amazing ending
October 21, 2023
Good read
December 26, 2023
Interesting and twisting plot. Book was borrowed from the library but the copy had many errors and grammatical mistakes. Overlooking these the book was entertaining and read over a day.
February 21, 2022
Riveting D C I Vogel police procedural set in Somerset UK. Two seemingly unconnected stories which of course come together at the end. Also a vivid depiction of the horrors of domestic abuse.
This is #4 in a series that’s new to me so I’m looking forward to the first 3.
This is #4 in a series that’s new to me so I’m looking forward to the first 3.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews