Death Circles

by A.D. Fox

It’s high summer in Wiltshire - crop circle capital of the world - when a stunning new design is discovered in a wheat field by a party of dog walkers.

With a dead woman in the centre.

It looks as if the victim took her own life, but with another body found in a second crop circle, DI Kate Sparrow is beginning to fear a death cult sweeping her home county.

In ley-line central, many will believe it’s something altogether freakier, and after her recent adventures with dowser Lucas Henry, Kate’s no stranger to dark energy patterns.

But as Lucas is currently on the run for murdering her sister, she’s not going to be calling for his help any time soon.

Which makes it all the more shocking when a distress signal arrives for her from the very man she has learned to hate…

The fourth instalment in the darkly twisted and gratifyingly quirky Henry & Sparrow crime thriller series.

316 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 5, 2021

About the author

Making her crime fiction debut in the pandemical pandaemonium of 2021, AD FOX has been published for fifteen years and won a plethora of awards as children’s author Ali Sparkes.

‘I have always loved writing for children, but for many years I harboured the dark secret of really wanting to murder people,’ confesses Ali. ‘Happily, only in print. Well, as far as the authorities know…’

Having despatched quite a few characters in her bestselling Shapeshifter Series, Ali had always nursed the urge to take it up a gear for her readers beyond school age - and the cancellation of scores of festival and school event bookings in 2020 provided that silver lining. Time.

‘It’s been hideous for so many people,’ she says, ‘and I wouldn’t wish a global pandemic on anyone. Obviously. But the extra time has finally allowed me to scratch that crimey itch. Henry & Sparrow is the result. I can only hope both the police and the dowsing community will one day forgive me…’

Before becoming an author Ali worked as a reporter in local newspapers and later as a BBC broadcast journalist and a comedy writer for BBC Radio 4. Prior to all of this she was a bit of a luvvie and a singer in bands - and a Pontin's Bluecoat for one memorable summer season. Her experiences in all these fields have provided a rich background tapestry for the Henry & Sparrow series.

She lives in Hampshire, England, with her husband, occasional boomeranging offspring and a highly porous labradoodle who loves too much. She likes to go running. Not quite so often in the woods since writing The Dying Dolls.

Reviews

[Mary Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another great book in the Henry and Sparrow series. It starts with the discovery of a dead woman in a crop circle, closely followed by more dead bodies being found in the same manner.

At the same time, Lucas is making his way across Europe, on the trail of the real killer of Kate's sister and friend. We are introduced to a woman in Greece whose husband dies while they are at sea on their yacht. What links each separate thread?

As usual, I just tore through this book in a day. So easy to read, great characters, good story and you just want a good ending. Without going into any spoilers, all I can say is Wow, I didn't see that coming, when the full story comes together.

As for the ending.... you will just have to read it for yourself. Brilliant!

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Death Circles by A D Fox is book 4 in the Lucas Henry and DI Kate Sparrow series. What a great read. A group of dog walkers discover a body in the middle of a crop circle. That is keeping Kate busy. Meanwhile Lucas has escaped to Europe to hunt for the killer of Kate’s sister and her friend 17 years ago, for which Kate tried to arrest him. He is picking tomatoes, when good fortune shines, but this means he has to move on. A few different threads run through the story but what a terrific ride with a couple of shocks thrown in. Loved it. The characters do it for me every time. Great characters and a great story.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book 4 in the Henry & Sparrow series is published on 5th August. I would recommend reading them in order as the nuances in their relationship would then make sense.
I love these books & the characterisation of all involved, not just Henry & Sparrow.
A woman is found dead in a crop circle, closely followed by others. Kate’s story.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Lucas is trying to ascertain who killed Kate’s sister & friend many years before. Other threads also present themselves, weaving their way through an easy to read , yet twisting plot.
Good story. Good characters. Good writing. Brilliant book.

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

There's a certain knack to this series: the twists are fairly solvable early on, circumstances are sometimes a little too coincidental, and yet... yet I continue to devour chapter after chapter, easily able to lose myself in this world and these characters.

I immediately bought Death Circles the moment I was notified of its release date and I've only now put it down at midnight after picking it up earlier this evening. What a rush! Now to sit and wait eagerly for the next installment (fingers crossed there'll be more installments!)

[a d bromley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Editing becoming rather less 'tight' as series progresses. And the story line SO obvious and simple - and rather too unrealistic. The first book in the series was quite, er, novel, and carefully written. However, now I'm feeling as though I have eaten too much chocolate.

[Lynne · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave this book a lot longer of a shot than it deserved as I had previously enjoyed the books in this series. This book couldn’t get me to care enough about what was going on and after actively avoiding it for a number of days I decided to call it a day. Will not be finishing this series.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! A real page turner! It was so good to be back with Henry & Sparrow. OMG though! What an ending!!!