A pleasure to read
I feel very privileged to have been invited to review this book by the author and duly received my copy from Netgalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer/Amazon Publishing and, yet again, I was most definitely not disappointed and I thoroughly enjoyed getting lost amongst the words of Mel Sherratt.
This is the 3rd installment in the DS Allie Shenton series and although you don't have to have read the previous 2 novels, I would certainly recommend reading at least 1 of them as there is a thread that runs through all 3 novels and I feel that you would miss out on the understanding of Allie and her motivations and character development. Having said that, don't let that put you off; I have only read 1 previous novel "Follow the Leader" and I was able to become totally engrossed very quickly which is a testament to the skill of Mel as the author.
This story is different to the previous novel in that you don't know who the murderer is. There are many clues and red herrings thrown in which keeps you guessing and on your toes and I just love that in a book especially when I guess wrong. It is also told over a 48 hour period which, for me, lent an authenticity to the way in which the police investigation was told and meant the pace was fast and constant from the beginning to the very end ... and what an ending!
The characters in this book are fabulous; particularly the more colourful residents of the flats and despite some of them being a tad shady, you quickly become drawn into their world. I admit that there were a few notable male characters that I took an instant dislike to and a couple of the female characters that irritated me but this only added to my enjoyment and total immersion into the story.
DS Allie Shenton is an excellent female character. She is strong yet vulnerable and not afraid to show both sides. She is driven to find justice and has a "nose" for rooting out the answers. I believe Mel has found a truly distinct and interesting character that has reams and reams of potential for further development and some fantastic storylines to come and I, for one, look forward to reading more.
I would most definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy a fast, paced, thriller with interesting and believable characters which just flows and is a pleasure to read.
