Last year I read Cause Of Death and it was amazing so I was thrilled to be offered a chance to be on this tour, and to make it even better when the book arrived through my letterbox I noticed that I had a little mention which added to my excitement…
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Billy Nelson is back home in battle-scarred Belfast. But the Troubles have cut this ex-Army Loyalist hard man deep – and now that his city’s allegiances have shifted, nothing is quite the same.
An outbreak of gang violence forces Billy to move on. This time to Edinburgh, where he muscles in on the capital’s drug trade and the family who run it. As the balance of power tips, underworld rivalries between Edinburgh, Glasgow and Belfast spill out onto the streets.
With a spate of horrific incidents and a trail of victims, the pressure is mounting for Grace Macallan, new superintendent of the Crime & Counter Terrorism Directorate. Troubled by her own demons and with everyone baying for the blood of Billy Nelson and his old paramilitary contacts, can Grace hold her nerve?
Amazon | Goodreads | Black & White Publishing
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I was so excited to get reacquainted with Grace and the team and see what they would be up against this time and it didn’t disappoint.
This was a little bit slower to start as it focuses on Billy’s backstory and how he ends up in Edinburgh, not that it lost my attention but I knew that the action would start to ramp up at some point and I was impatient for it. However, the detail that has gone into the characters and their origins was wonderful, I felt like I could really get into their headspace and it helped to build up just how scary Billy and his crew were, I found it easy to believe the fear they could instil in the people they came across.
Grace was every bit as brilliant as she was in the first book, this time though she’s dealing with the politics of the job and the games of her superior and I loved the way she handled herself even when facing a lot of undue pressure in that regard. This time though we don’t just get to see the hardworking and clever Grace we also get a little bit more of a peek into that more vulnerable side and it’s nice to see her open up and find someone so that she isn’t so lonely.
The plot is complex and intriguing, I’m not going to say much about it because there are so many different storylines that intersect that I couldn’t possibly do it justice even if I tried. What I will mention is that this one has a lot of violence, I think it is reasonable for the subject matter in the book, but be prepared if you are squeamish.
Yet again the attention to detail involving the procedures of the cases that the team deal with keep you totally gripped and once the action kicks in I couldn’t put it down desperate to see how it would all unfold.
That ending!!! All I can say is I am looking forward to the next book and seeing if Grace manages to conquer her next set of challenges. This is a perfect read for any crime fans and one that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
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Don’t just take my word for it, have a look at some of the other stops on the tour…
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Peter Ritchie is a retired senior police officer. The real-world authenticity in his novels comes from vast experience gained working in CID, murder squads, Serious and Regional Crime Squads and Europol. He is a regular lecturer and commentator on the subject of transnational organised crime. In his spare time, Peter also enjoys writing poetry and short stories, painting and volunteering at St Columba’s Hospice and the Bethany Trust.
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Reviews for other Peter Ritchie books
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