FROM THE #1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF HOLY ISLANDWhen you sell your soul, the devil gives no refunds…When an old man is burned alive in a sleepy ex-mining village, Detective Chief Inspector Ryan is called in to investigate. He soon discovers that, beneath the facade of a close-knit community, the burn from decades-old betrayal still smoulders. When everyone had a motive, can he … betrayal still smoulders. When everyone had a motive, can he unravel the secrets of the past before the killer strikes again?
Meanwhile, back at Northumbria CID, trouble is brewing with rumours of a mole in Ryan’s department. With everyone under suspicion, can he count on anybody but himself?
Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape.
“LJ Ross keeps company with the best mystery writers” – The Times
“A literary phenomenon” – Evening Chronicle
“LJ Ross is the Queen of Kindle” – Sunday Telegraph
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I’ve read and thoroughly enjoyed every one of the DCI Ryan series from Holy Island through to Penshaw, which is one of the best. It’s rooted in the miners’ strike of 1985, which cast a shadow over many communities. Move forward to the present and the death of a former union activist in a fire. Was it an accident or murder? When the activist’s son also dies, DCI Ryan’s suspicions are confirmed.
But these deaths are almost a distraction for Ryan, who’s leading a task force to combat organised crime in the north east. His main target is Bobby Singh, who seems to have enlisted a few police officers to help him stay one step ahead of the law. Ryan’s also tasked with rooting them out, but soon discovers the problem is closer to home than he would like.
These strands are woven together in a fast-paced and intriguing story that gripped me from the first page to the last. There are touching moments, heroic moments and everything in between. You can’t help but care for the characters and the challenges they face.
Everything that is good about the series is here – the characters, their relationships and camaraderie, the humour and an occasional touch of romance. The stories are easy to read, entertaining and filled with intrigue and great settings.
If you haven’t started from the beginning, you’re missing out on so many character developments and the intimate knowledge that only comes from following a series. While this is the thirteenth book in the series, the writing is still fresh, exciting and entertaining.
LJ Ross is an author at the top of her game and I can’t recommend her novels enough.
I’m going to read the entire series.
OMGoodness! There is a LOT going on in Northumberia and we all need our running shoes on to keep up with it. Ryan and Lowerson are placed in untenable and dangerous positions, dead bodies are turning up in Penshaw, a dangerous villain from previous books turns up, and it appears there is more corruption within the constabulary. OH! MY! As always, the fast-paced, can’t-put-it-down mystery is filled with twists-and-turns that will keep your head spinning.
There has been a marked increase in crime and at the same time, a decrease in successful apprehensions and prosecutions. Because of his sterling reputation, DCI Ryan has been tasked with heading up a task force consisting of all of the various units such as drugs, fraud, major crimes, digital forensics, organized crime, etc. His task is to foster information sharing across agencies so that they can all help each other catch, prosecute, and imprison the culprits responsible for the mayhem. At the same time, Ryan is approached by his boss, Chief Constable Sandra Morrison, and DCI Andrew Blackett, of what is known as the Ghost Squad. They are sure that the policing forces have been compromised – at all levels – and that there is even a mole in Ryan’s own team. OH! MY! Ryan’s task is to figure out who, throughout the policing forces, have been compromised. Ryan is sure nobody in his squad would be compromised – one of them cannot be a mole on this very task force. Or, can they?
While all of that is happening, we are learning about the sad death of Alan Watson in Penshaw. Alan had been a robust, active, dedicated miner for years – until the great strike in the fall of 1984. Alan had been a major organizer and leader of the union and the strike, but when it failed, a rumor started, and it accused him of providing information to the government about the union’s plans. It broke him for his close-knit community to think that of him and he took to drink. Now, over 30 years later, his charred remains have been pulled from their burning home by his wife. She’s seriously burned, but Alan didn’t survive. Was he murdered or did he die of a heart attack and drop his cigarette, thus causing the fire? MacKenzie and Lowerson catch the Watson case and something about it just seems ‘off’ to MacKenzie. As they investigate, and more deaths and betrayals occur, they figure out that there is something much bigger going on.
You’ll love the mystery and you’ll see Ryan’s angst and dismay at dealing with yet more corruption within the constabulary. He thought they’d taken care of all of that two years ago and yet it is back again. It was good to see, and hope, that Lowerson is finally finding himself and realizing what is really important in life. I also liked seeing the growth in Trainee Detective Constable Melanie Yates and look forward to seeing more of her in future books.
Great read. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
I love this series, and have read them all thus far and looking forward to more!
This is one book in a series they do stand alone. But if you enjoy crime series books, with characters that you feel that you know.
These are books for you. You really can’t wait for the next book in the series.
Gritty murders but with whit and not sensibility. Not gore for the sake of it. Brilliant read.