“They burned it down once…they should burn it down again.” Once the star of Scotland Yard, burnt out East London detective Jack Sheridan is now a washed up cop working a low end station, estranged from his family and haunted by his past. The discovery in woodland of a young woman nailed to a wooden cross sends Jack spiralling into a direct confrontation with that past when the woman is identified … with that past when the woman is identified as the daughter of a murdered cop he once knew. With a serial killer the media are dubbing the ‘Crucifix Killer’ slaying working girls on his patch, Jack must face his own demons and uncover a series of terrible secrets if he is to find the twisted killer.
On his way to the Tunisian border, Alex Dorring is informed that his sister has been murdered. Dorring is Agent 192 of Uriel, a clandestine assassins wing of MI6. With revenge on his mind, Dorring makes his way to London and begins investigating her death in his own special way. As he moves like a ghost through the underbelly of the city, he meets Chloe, a troubled nineteen year old trying to escape the very people Dorring has come to hunt. Could this girl be the key to leading him to the killer?
As both men operate under entirely different rules, the death of one girl sees a bed of lies, sexual violence, murder and corruption come rising to the surface as East London descends into chaos.
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I love a good detective mystery book and this is one of those. The story had lots of threads and twists and kept me intrigued to the end. so much so I immediately bought book two in the series, which I read in two sittings. I enjoy Jack Sheridan’s character, tough on the outside but soft in the middle. An honest cop who doesn’t mind bending the rules a little, but also showing he is human. I recommend this book to any detective/thriller/mystery lover.
Great story, well worth the read
Very well written with so many layers. The only part I figured out in advance was the step-father. Other than that it had me awake at night with blurry eyes page turning. Thank you so much for an excellent read!
Note: A Cross to Bear is listed twice on bookbub. Until they correct it, one should check both for reviews.
It’s been a long time since I’ve found a book so amazing that I immediately bought the rest in the series! It took me a long time to write this review and to find then right words it’s that good. I had to force myself to put book down otherwise I wouldn’t have slept and kept on reading! The characters and their storylines intermingle beautifully. The author gives just enough backstory about a character, so the reader can relate and be invested in them and it’s done without losing sight of the main plot, whilst bringing in side-stories. I can’t believe how many characters and developments were in this plot-twisting unputdownable novel. What’s more, is the pace and timing of each new introduction was perfectly executed.
When purchasing Clay House, I noticed that Alex Dorring has a spin-off series and I snatched them up to read more about who I’ve found to be most memorable and interesting character in this book. After reading only three of his novels, Vince Vogel is in my top five new authors.
I could actually picture this story as an action-packed thriller movie. I like how the gives bits and pieces of the Jack Sheridan character throughout the book instead of laying out his complex story and involvement to the characters and the case all at once. This is a first read by this author but I will definitely check out more of the Jack Sheridan books.
I liked this book in a weird sort of way. It was a real page turner.
A Cross to Bear
A Jack Sheridan Mystery
by
Vince Vogel
The first book in a series about a washed-out, aging DS, banished to the peripheries of London’s policing, once a star detective of the Yard.
The book is a smorgasbord of whatever one wishes to read in thrillers, suspense, whodunits, and PI sagas: torture, murder, pedophilia, incest, every which depravity one can imagine or never wishes to imagine. The story is richly infused with police incompetence, and corruption at the highest places, mass gang warfare with scores of casualties, international intrigues and executions, across the globe, sanctioned by a special section of MI6 in the interest of the Crown. We also have an assassin, an amalgam of James Bond, the Bionic Man, and Bruce Lee, who can perform do-yourself-eye-surgery, a specialist of all weapons invented by man that can be carried in a suitcase, and a cyber-space master.
We also have murderers who are victims and victims who are murderers. But, above all, we have Jack, who is hunted by his demons for which he overcompensates by chain-smoking, in closed places, much to the dismay of his attached PC, the young George Lange, the Sancho Panza to Jack’s Don Quixote.
All this is told in cop-speak, Irish Gypsy slang, gangster talk, and stuff shirt, public school lingo, as and when the venue, the characters, or the plot makes it fit and appropriate. Although the twists and turns of the story can make the readers’ eyebrow in times jump to the top of their heads, Sheridan navigates with a steady hand and with a DNA imprinted crime-solving logic through the tangled web of a story, leaving at the end but just a couple of strands hanging. But, perhaps, even that is calculated and intentional. All in all, despite many of my reservations about the hyperbole and the going-for-the-jugular Hollywood-style, I read the book cover-to-cover, putting it down only because of physical necessities. Not for the fans of Jane Austen!
Wow this book blew me away great read.!
I cannot believe that this is Vince Vogel’s first novel. It is amazing! I can hardly wait for his next one. I breezed through page after page and did not want it to end. The Jack Sheridan series is going to be a hit if this book is its beginning. Loved it!
This was a well written, suspenseful book. I thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to the end. I’ve recommended it to a few of my friends who also enjoyed it. I don’t usually give a novel a 5 star rating, however, this one earned it.
Vince Vogel is a great storyteller – I love his books.
Lots of winding tales but interwoven together well. A bit too much descriptive detail for me on some gory scenes. Also, some thesaurus vocabulary was forced, like when “ejaculated” was used as a synonym for “said”. Overkill, and no one uses that word that way.
Great mystery plot using the religious backdrop. Author moves main character to uncover the truth of his background with very interesting plot twists. The books theme is well thought out and in sync with author characters.
Great book but because it takes place in Europe one needs to pay close attention at times to the language to realize the meaning of content.
I can’t honestly say that I recommend this book. It is very well written and humorous at times. Characters are interesting and well-developed. This book is dark. Even the protagonists are deeply flawed. In the end, justice prevails, but given the nature of the characters, a just ending cannot also be a happy one.
This book would have been just as good without a lot of the extra twists
Believeable characters.
It started pretty ugly with people killed and nailed to a cross. Once I got over the horror of that, the story of finding the killer and the history of the families was a good action mystery read.
Characters were true to form; you could feel their emotions and flaws that make us human. Liked how the book came together.
frightening premise of ‘big brother’.