Over 100,000 copies sold in the series.A skeleton and a missing woman. A doomed romance. A mystery spanning two generations.Liverpool, 1961. A group of young men come together seeking fame and fortune, as the fledgling sounds of the Swinging Sixties take root in the city. Soon, Liverpool becomes synonymous with the music that shapes a generation.Liverpool, 1999. Skeletal remains found in the … generation.
Liverpool, 1999. Skeletal remains found in the docklands lead Detective Inspector Andy Ross and Sergeant Izzie Drake into a journey through time, as the investigation takes them back to early days of the Mersey Beat.
Whose bones laid beneath the mud of the River Mersey for over thirty years, and what links them to a young woman, missing for the entire time?
Praise:
★★★★★ – “Had me hooked from the beginning.”
★★★★★ – “Brilliant plot… mystery writing at its best.”
★★★★★ – “A trip across time… well done, Mr. Porter.”
★★★★★ – “Solid crime series with likable protagonists and a great story.”
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Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to download the fourth book in the Mersey Murder Mysteries by Brian L. Porter. I enjoyed the book a great deal, and so, I’ve decided to go back to the beginning of the series and read them in order, starting with A Mersey Killing: When Liverpool Rocked, And The Music Died. Porter has kicked off a fantastic collection of novels involving the various detectives and police beginning with Detective Inspector Andy Ross and Sergeant Izzie Drake. If you’re a fan of British crime fiction and methodical investigation, you’re sure to love these books.
In this series debut, a body is found in the Mersey River. It’s often difficult to obtain clues when the water can wash away evidence, but what about if the body has been there for over 35 years? Izzie and Ross have their work cut out for them, but as readers, we’re privileged to know a little bit more. Porter’s weaved alternating time periods in this story by showing us what happened in the past to a group of Liverpool musicians in the 1960s. As we get to know about 6 to 8 talents, we wonder… which one falls prey to a killer? As the story unfolds, we learn who it is, but there’s also someone else missing, too. Did they escape to America to form a band? Are they hiding out from someone dangerous? Izzie and Ross solve the case but not before tearing apart a family who’s been devastated one too many times in the past.
Porter’s a definite talent. While his books are mysteries with a touch of suspense, love and thrills, they often wisely focus on the relationships between characters as the catalyst to drive the story. Whether it’s getting to know the current day investigators, the past musicians, or who they’ve all become today, the plot and writing forces readers to care about what’s happening to everyone. We see them going thru their days on all levels — sometimes focused on the investigation, sometimes dealing with a personal issue. As the stories all begin to intersect, we begin to develop our own instincts as to who’s guilty of murder and who’s guilty of leading us astray.
Porter’s style is very strong, clear and direct. His main investigator team works with different departments to determine the murder weapon, to check passports from 35 years ago, and to learn how to interpret clues that no longer make sense. We see the leads meet with their colleagues and form their own opinions, but hold back a bit of reserve knowing they haven’t unearthed everything they still need to know. And when it all comes to a crashing finale, we worry whether the punishment fits the crime. That’s the sign of a good storyteller — to make us think critically.
Kudos to Porter for proving why building the right characters and setting can lead to a very promising and worthy book series. I’m looking forward to picking up the next one this fall… and getting invested in a series with 4 books already in the author’s pocket. I’m sure there will be more just as sure as I am that I’ll love them all!
Detective Inspector Andy Ross and Detective Sergeant Izzie Drake have been called to a scene where construction work uncovered skeletal remains. Finding out the remains are at least 30 years old, the detectives at the Merseyside Police Headquarters have a mystery to solve. But where do the detectives begin?
This is a great murder mystery story that will keep you guessing until the end. The story is engaging and well-paced. It takes the reader on a journey back to the 1960’s in Liverpool, England where up and coming rock and roll bands strive to make it big. And then to the 1990’s where detectives from the Merseyside Police try and solve a 30-year-old murder and the disappearance of a young woman.
I recommend this to anyone who likes mysteries, and even if you don’t, give it a try. It’s an intriguing read.
To use the vernacular of 1960’s Liverpool, this book by author Brian L. Porter was fab, gear and sound! I believe these days Scousers would also call it boss!
As a former detective who served on Merseyside in the 1960’s I simply delighted in this novel. My enjoyment was heightened even more so owing to my long-ago teenage memories growing up in Huyton who used to “sag” off school to attend Cavern lunch time sessions at the height of the Mersey Beat days.
This book has those days as a back drop to the tale of murder, intrigue, suspense and Porter deftly weaves his work bridging three decades in the telling of the tale.
The characters feel so real. The author clearly has Merseyside roots and accurately depicts the city of Liverpool, its folk, geography, the old docks and the terraced houses.
As a former detective, I found Detective Inspector Andy Ross and his sidekick “Izzie” to be entirely credible. I felt I knew them from my past. The way the cold case investigation unfolds is also a credit to the author and so realistic. He even includes a little internal police politics to add an authentic feel to the proceedings.
Porter has a feel for real people. It comes through in all his characters particularly Connie,
the God-fearing long-suffering wife of James, the bigoted Irishman. There are brief references to sectarianism in the “old days” in Liverpool but with respect to the author it is down played and contains, for example, no reference to the Orange Lodge parades, an annual event in the city often the source of flare-ups between Catholics and Protestants. Notwithstanding that, the author does a fine job of portraying an authentic “feel” to the times in the city.
Porter is a master at using dialogue to tell his story. He allows the characters to live, breathe and inform.
All in all I found this novel thoroughly enjoyable, easy to read and it has its element of surprises to keep the reader guessing.
A final word – you don’t have to have Liverpool connections to enjoy this book. It stands alone as a very good piece of writing and is highly recommended reading.
Just off to order Book 2 in the ‘Mersey Killing’ series! Well done, Brian, and thanks for the good read.
This well written, juxtaposed story deals with both the `present´ and the past.
It´s 1999, and bones are found which date back more than thirty years. Detective Inspector, Andy Ross and his sergeant, Izzie Drake are on the case, and find themselves thrown into a world of forbidden romance, religious bias and rock and roll. As their investigation progresses, there are flashbacks to a group of friends and a murder which took place in the 1960´s.
The plot is well researched and the reader can easily immerse themself in the world of the swinging sixties, with constant allusions to the pop culture of that time: The Beatles, Gerry and the Pacemakers and even Cilla Black , plus the political and cultural references of those bygone days.
The story keeps you guessing from beginning to end as the writer drops little clues into the storyline which will tie your mind in knots! And believe me, you will never surmise the final outcome. (I was nowhere near!)
Don´t miss out on this intriguing read. Well worth the 5 stars.
A Mercy Killing
Ross and his crew are up against a thirty-three year old murder case. A skeleton of a young man with his knee caps blasted off and a huge hole from a bashing is in the skull. The author provides just enough meticulous police work and a couple of lucky breaks to start an investigation into not only what happened to this young man, but the disappearance of the lovely young woman he loved. They are able to track down his friends and her family. The appearance of a nun will hover in the background and then they discover the young woman’s father’s relative is not only from Ireland, but is involved with the IRA, the Irish Rebellion Army. There’s one problem. Someone kills the man before they are able to go to Ireland and question him. Why after all these years, has someone killed their main suspect? Then the phone call from the mysterious Miss Jones comes in detailing what she claims to have seen that night so many years ago. Follow these crime fighters as they put to rest the last of those involved in this heinous crime.
Could have been much more interesting, but lagged in spots
Solving a murder, 30 years old, with only bones and a boot. Fun!
Plot was okay, although it did stretch belief. Grammar could have used work. Won’t read another by this author.
This book is about a very cold case from the 1960’s when a body is discovered near an old canal. It turns out no one reported the person missing because they thought he immigrated to the US. However, 2 brothers tell them the body is linked to their sister who disappeared around the same time. The sister turns out to be alive and living as a nun. She kills her father and her uncle when she finds out they killed her boyfriend. She then commits suicide.
I enjoyed reading this book but the errors really annoyed me. The author needs a good proof reader as the same thing applies to the later two books. Words missed out, wrong words used etc. I can’t be the only person to find this irritating. Good interesting story though.
Good storyline and historical background
It wasn’t something I would normally read, but I wanted to give it a try. It was difficult for me personally to understand the plot. To be honest I didn’t even finish the book.
I thought this was a very interesting book as it went back and forth from the 1960s to the 1990s. I pretty had much of the mystery figured out, though not all the way, as enough hints are given, way before the end. I wasn’t into the 1960 characters too much as for some reason they didn’t seem real to me, and that was my time! I thought the characters in the ‘90s were fleshed out better. But all in all it was a good book and I would read another book by this author
This is a wonderfully told story alternating between events happening in the 1960s and their aftermath 30+ years later. Well-developed plot and characters.
Another Interesting maritime mystery rom the author
The plot was interesting but the gratuitous sex and the over the top descriptions of torture were a bit much. Also, the characters are little unbelievable. All of the cops work together in harmony, they are all totally dedicated, and no one has a bad word to say about anyone. And all the witnesses are cooperative and want to do all they can to help the police. I am not a particular fan of the extremely gritty, hyper reality of some books but this went too far the other way in characters development but still had the horrible torture! I thought it an odd approach.
Cool premise with 2 different time settings
As an American, I enjoyed the look into Liverpool and the story line that touched on the early days of rock & roll
The story developed nicely, with a twist that stayed hidden for most of the book
Part of one of the best series I’ve read. Each book adds to the characters & the squad changes as it would in life. Each book can stand alone but there is a very nice feel as a series. Plots are not rehashed nor are you left hanging at the end.
writing is clunky; story and characters are OK
I’m like 50 pages in. Blah. Can’t make myself go further.