What is the link between bloody graveyard murders, a former mental asylum, a young girl’s suicide and an enigmatic priest?The Liverpool murder investigation unit runs into a series of horrific murders, which begins as the horribly mutilated body of Matthew Remington is found in the graveyard of St. Matthew’s Church. Soon after, the body of Mark Proctor is found similarly dispatched in St. Mark’s … dispatched in St. Mark’s churchyard.
Detective Inspector Andy Ross and Sergeant Izzie Drake must lead their team in a race against time to prevent further atrocities, but what links the dead men with an old mental hospital, now an orphanage, and the scarcely reported suicide of a teenage girl?
Somehow, all clues seem to point towards the enigmatic priest, Father Gerald Byrne, who has recently returned to the city of his birth. Can it be possible that the events that took place thirty years ago in Speke Hill Orphanage are connected to the murders?
All Saints, Murder on the Mersey is the second book in Brian L. Porter’s Mersey Mystery series.
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It is high praise for me to state that ‘All Saints: A Murder on the Mersey’ is as good a read as the popular ‘Inspector Rebus’ murder mysteries written by Ian Rankin. Harry Porter weaves a complex tale that begins with a murder that takes place shortly after the return of Father Byrne to his Liverpool birthplace. D. I. Ross and his team of detectives begin their investigation of the brutal murder in which a mutilated body had been discovered on display in a churchyard. When a second even more horribly butchered body is found in a different churchyard, the hunt is on for serial killers and what if anything connects them to the churches. Ross’ methodical investigation gradually reveals the murders’ connections to a former Roman Catholic orphanage (where Father Byrne had been a resident as a child) and both recent and historical rapes. Do former orphans have anything to do with murders? Is it too much to think Father Byrne could be a killer? The story has enough twists and turns to keep anyone interested in finding out ‘who done it’. Time for me to read the first book of the series to see where the Mersey Murder Mysteries series began.
Murder is always an awful way to go, but when your killer is bent on revenge and has a taste for the thoroughly vicious and insane, it won’t be pretty. Such was the case for several men (who deserved it) in the second installment of the ‘Mersey Murder Mysteries’ series by Brian L. Porter. All Saints: Murder on the Mersey is a graphic tale where violent deaths are brilliantly depicted and religious hypocrisy is exposed. Kudos to Porter for making his characters come alive and his story stand out in the series.
In this book, Ross, Izzie and the rest of the gang are called to a cemetery when the naked, mutilated body of an unknown man is found. Certain parts have been cut off and stuffed in his mouth. Obviously, the crime is going to be of a sexual nature, but this is only the beginning. More bodies surface and none have a connection to one another — at first. Then the chapters begin to alternate with the murderer(s) discussing the crime, events from ~40 years ago coming to light, and hidden dreams of a priest who’s suddenly appeared back in town after a very long time. What do they have in common and how will they eventually lead to discovering the true intentions of a killer with a taste for the macabre and gory endings?
Porter’s imagination is explosive. He balances horrific crimes with poignant steps in the main characters’ lives (marriage, love, children). Each book handles a gruesome social issue vividly and with a punch to leave you thirsting for the next one. The way in which the victims die reminds you of thrilling and suspenseful horror films where a serial killer goes mental / berserk. Watching it unfold, realizing the relationships, and experiencing the connections to various gospels and names is entertaining and page-turning. I finished this one in just a few hours over a quiet afternoon. It’s gotten me very psyched for his upcoming release in which a haunting image is on the cover – can’t wait til he shares it. Bring it on soon, Porter! For now, I’ll be content to finish the one remaining in the series I haven’t gotten to… six in total so far — you’ll enjoy them all.
All Saints: Murder on the Mersey (Mersey Murder Mysteries Book 2) is yet one more excellent book from author Brian L Porter in his detective murder mystery series based in and around Liverpool.
This is Book 2 in the series. I have already read Books 1 and 3, respectively A Mersey Killing: When Liverpool Rocked, And The Music Died and A Mersey Maiden.
Allow me please to declare this: I lived on Merseyside for the first twenty something years of my life and I was also at one time a detective on Merseyside. These books are authentic. They may be fiction, but the author captures the very essence of police work and the unique nature and character of all things ‘Scouse.’
I’ll give an example of the author’s realistic writing when it comes to police officers and ‘Scouse’: Young D.C. McLennan says to his boss, D.I. Ross, “Yeah, well, I’ve been learning from the best, haven’t I, sir?” That is in response to the D.C. using his initiative and some deviousness when making a phone call to Exeter University. He implied that a student’s sister had been murdered. That wasn’t the case, but he urgently needed to speak to the student. The clever use of words persuaded the secretary to summon the potential witness from his lecture, bring him to the phone so McLennan could expedite the inquiry. D.S. Izzie Drake was impressed too as she commended the D.C. by saying, “You can be as sly as a Scottie Road scally when you want to be Derek McLennan… You worded that so she’d think just that, you clever little detective, you. Well done.”
The dialogue is real, crisp, and effective. Indeed, the dialogue in all his books I have read so far, is excellent. In many ways it drives the plot along at a fair old pace. Rarely is there a lull in these Mersey Murder Mysteries.
If you combine all that with Mr. Porter’s writing skills, you end up with a fine novel and a brilliant read. I did read a review of one of his books where the reader criticized the informal banter between detectives. Poppycock! Detectives are not much different than many other occupations. They laugh, joke, go home and tell their wives what they are doing (mostly). This author covers all of this but is a master of getting his characters to switch into serious mode. The home life of DI Andy Ross is a particularly good device of this author’s. One, it shows Ross as perfectly normal; a likeable husband and human being. Two, it introduces the thought processes of Ross when faced with investigating complex and gruesome crimes. It moves the plot along.
The author also creates other great characters besides police officers. Father Byrne plays an important role in the plot and we are introduced to him at the beginning of the book. Mr. Porter fleshes out the character to make him believable.
He also uses a criminal profiler character and does it well. With some fiction writers, I think ‘oh oh,’ as soon as I read about a profiler because off they go into an unreal world. That can really spoil a book for me. But this author has researched and creates a totally credible criminal profiler who acts appropriately always.
It’s difficult to put Brian L Porter’s books into a category and I’m unsure that’s wise anyway. They are not cozy like Ruth Rendell. In fact, parts of this book are not for the squeamish. They are far more realistic than anything by L J Ross, both in terms of plot and the characters.
I say very little about the plot in this review to avoid spoilers. You are in for a surprise or three! As a former detective, I thought I knew where it was going. Wrong! Matthew, Mark, Luke and John seem too obvious but it isn’t. Great read!