SHOTS FIRED: Detectives must find a murder weapon to close a cold case

by Ian Robinson

Suspenseful and exciting! A specialist murder team track a deadly weapon.When a ballistics report shows that a gun used in a Glasgow shooting is the same as the one used in a London murder three years previously, DI Nash and DC Moretti are quick on its heels. But they are met with little support from their Scottish colleagues.Back in London, Nash’s team are disgruntled with their superior’s apparent jolly and the general course of the investigation. And cooperation is scarce. Even the London victim’s wife appears reluctant to help. The rare Beretta is the only clue to the murder, and Nash must find it.A breakthrough is made when the weapon is connected to an incident in Northern Ireland. Once again Nash must leave her team to their own devices. But will Moretti, left in charge and finding a little too much solace in the bottle, deliver the support she needs?SHOTS FIRED is the third book by Ian Robinson in a thrilling crime fiction series centring on a specialist London murder team.The full list of books, FREE with Kindle Unlimited and in paperback is as LATENT DAMAGE2. COVER BLOWN3. SHOTS FIRED4. EVIDENCE POOLThis is a fast paced and realistic police procedural that you won’t want to put down.Look out for CRIMINAL JUSTICE, also by Ian Robinson!

179 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 13, 2021

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Hobart · Rating 4 out of 5]

★ ★ ★ 1/2 (rounded up)
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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WHAT'S SHOTS FIRED ABOUT?
Oddly for a London-based series, we start with a murder in Glasgow. The gun used is quickly tied to a three-year-old murder case in London. This connection reinvigorates the investigation into the old case.

A theory or two comes up about the gun—the leading theory involves the idea that the gun is rented out, and if they can follow the gun back to the source they can solve both crimes—and maybe more.

Nash and Moretti look into shootings in Glasgow and Northern Ireland to look at the evidence around them to see if they led to the gun's provenance and maybe shed some light on the London murder.

A CULTURAL DIVIDE
I'm very, very carefully and intentionally not making an evaluation of any set of laws here, I'm simply describing the experience from the point of view of an American raised and living in one of the "reddest states" and a watcher/reader of a lot of US Crime Fiction.

But wow...it is so weird for an American to read about the police so focused on one gun as it is used in multiple crimes over a long period of time in different countries. This is the kind of thing that would be tossed in a river or a dumpster and easily replaced in a US-based police procedural. And the travel involved in tracing the gun's whereabouts is mind-boggling to me, if only because it suggests that the gun did that at least that much traveling, too.

SO, WHAT DID I THINK ABOUT SHOTS FIRED?
I'm still mystified by the way that Nash treats Moretti—hot and cold at the same time, and with little to provoke a change (from my perspective). Pretty much everything I said about Cover Blown applies here*—although there's at least one moment where she seems to notice that she's not treating him quite the way he deserves. So maybe she'll come around.

* I actually had a couple of paragraphs more to say on this point, but before I hit publish, I glanced at my Cover Blown post and realized it was largely the same.

Compared to the previous volumes in this series, the procedural nature of this novel seemed a bit light—as did the realism. But maybe that's just me. Either way, it's a fun read with a solid cast of characters. I'm hoping a fourth Nash and Moretti is arriving soon, and I'll be jumping on it as soon as I can.

[Doug Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

DI Pippa Nash has renewed hope for solving a three-year-old murder when the gun that was used in that murder is identifed as the weapon used in additional killings in Glasgow and Northern Ireland. But how will she and DS Nick Moretti find the weapon and the person or people who used it, especially when they can't seem to get any cooperation from Glasgow or Northern Ireland? They soon find out that these murder cases are part of something much bigger.

This police procedural is fast-moving and fun.

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant addition to the series.

If you haven’t read this series by Ian Robinson you are missing out. This intricate plot takes the team from London to Scotland and Ireland following a missing gun from a cold case. Every character, scene and police procedure is realistic. A thoroughly enjoyable series.

[Erik Empson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid police procedural about good cops trying to work within a cracked system. Keeps you entertained!