A murdered mother… A failing police force…A detective looking for justice.When drug addict Dawn Piper is found dead in her own home, her neighbours are far from surprised. Dawn’s habit led her to mix with some dangerous people. But this quiet mother of one was small fry …would anyone want Dawn dead? Inspector Drake knows there is more to Dawn’s murder than a simple drug deal gone wrong. As … drug deal gone wrong. As he digs deeper, he discovers that Dawn hoped to clean up the streets of her community that are being overrun by drugs and the dangerous County Lines gangs that sell them. And it cost her her life. Have the police force failed the community they serve?
Drake is used to the murky world of organised crime groups. He knows the dirty games they play to evade arrest. But in his toughest case to date Drake is determined to make the guilty pay.
This time, they will have nowhere to hide”
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4 stars
Ian Drake’s relationship with his girlfriend is going well and his daughters like her. Drake catches himself now and then seemingly ignoring how his girlfriend feels about things. Fortunately, he catches this where he might not have before.
Dawn Piper is the victim. She was stabbed before her body was returned to her filthy house. Evidence shows that she was a drug user, although lately she has been involved in fighting drug pushers according to her family and friends.
The biggest drug pusher in the area is the Beltrami family. The police have been watching them for a long time and DI Ian Drake believes that the Beltramis or their minions look good for Dawn’s murder.
As the painstaking police investigation continues, it all becomes personal for Drake. That is the hallmark of Mr. Puleston’s writing. The investigation is detailed in every aspect as the team talks over different suspects and theories. It is a thorough and careful sifting through the clues and folllowing leads. The characters are human in this book. They all have the little foibles and points of view. I appreciate that very much. I don’t like my cops to be wooden or have no personality. Mr. Puleston balances the work to personal life ratio very well. We learn about the main characters’ personal lives a bit, but not so much that it intrudes on the story.
Books that focus on drug running or drug taking are not really my thing. I prefer to not have anything to do with it. (Give me straightforward murder and mayhem please.)
I want to thank Mr. Stephen Puleston for forwarding to me an advance copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review.
Inspector Ian Drake and his partner Sara are in Wales investigating a series of stabbing deaths and discover 2 missing girls who are missing. Everyone blows it off as runaways but he knows differently! This story touches on some important topics like drug addiction and human trafficking! This book gets personal when his ex wife is injured with his daughters in the car! This book was nonstop action and plenty of twists and turns! I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it! It is part of a series but can be read as a stand alone!
When Dawn Piper’s body is found in her apartment, it’s very evident she was stabbed to death, but somewhere else.
Ian Drake and his team have been called in to investigate. What they discover could have some severe consequences for the entire community.
Dawn and a small group of friends have tried to get out from under the thumbs of two major drug empires. As with most drug lords, once in, in forever.
Drake has been trying to take down the drug empires for a long time, but hasn’t managed to get very far. It looks like Dawn was trying to either blackmail the drug dealers, or not at the very least, turn them against each other.
Just when Drake thinks he has things under control, one of Dawn’s friends is found murdered… in the same way as she was killed.
As all of this author’s books, this one is action packed with suspense that just doesn’t let up. The characters are memorable. I especially liked to see a blend of Drake’s personal and professional life. He and his team relate well to each other.
Many thanks to the author / Books n All Book Promotions for the advanced digital copy of this well written crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, the opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
I’ve read and loved all of the Inspector Drake books, and will continue to read them as they come out. I’m part of his Advanced Readers Club and was able to get a copy for free. So I did feel obliged to read it.
The author lives on Anglesey, in Wales. The same island I live on and many of his books are based around here. This one wasn’t. It was based in the Deeside area.
The story was the investigation into drug running. Not too much said about the personal side of the characters, which is always the bit I like most. It was all a bit too procedural for me.
It has 85 reviews and he has a big following and most of them are four and five stars.
But I just couldn’t get into it and found myself flitting past paragraphs to just get the gist of the story so I could write a promised review.
I would still recommend all his other books if you are looking to get into a series of crime novels.
I finished this at 2:00 a.m. Drake must solve murders, which may involve two organized crime groups. He has plenty of suspects. This case intrudes on his personal life. I like how technology is used to aid in the investigation.
What an amazing read! This is much more than a police procedural/thriller. It is a complex story about people you learn to care about over the series; people you love and people you love to hate. Mr. Puleston writes natural-sounding dialogue, great action with plenty of twists and turns, great suspense, and characters who could be people you actually know. What I really like about the series is that while some details from previous books may be mentioned, the stories are mainly stand-alone and can be read in any order without feeling you have missed out. I highly recommend them. I definitely can’t wait for the next one to be released.
Drug dealing murderers lead Drake and his team on a merry chase
July 26, 2019
3.5-4.0 stars
This is the second Ian Drake police procedural I’ve read and I preferred the other (Written in Blood). It took me a number of chapters to settle in to the story.
The string of murders and the nuts and bolts of the police investigation were good and I think realistic, showing that police work can be repetitive and mind numbing at times but that modern technology, especially DNA-driven forensics and the omnipresence of CCTV throughout Britain, is a vital tool to catching the bad guys these days. I also like that the action covers Drake’s whole team, not just him and his partner.
On a less positive note, there’s padding that does not add to the story. The glimpses of his personal life with Annie and his daughters are too brief and only surface-level. And repeatedly mentioning where Drake wears or hangs his jacket is just “sigh, not again”, worthy. I also felt it took this bunch of trained investigators way too long to zero in on the murderer. The author left clues early on that should have been followed up; I enjoyed the wide ranging investigation that hit so many elements in the victims’ movements and lives but it left me a bit disappointed in Drake and his team.
I read a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.
Well written and hard to put down.
This is the first book I have read in the Inspector Drake series. It works fine as a standalone but I’m going to have to go back and read the other books. It was that good. The author does a good job of showing the often times tedious and repetitive side of police work as well as the darkness. I thought it was very well written and I will be reading more by this author.
I received an ARC. This is my honest review.
Ian Drake and his partner Sara are the detectives investigating the crimes. A series of murders where the victims are stabbed to death. The disappearance of two young girls. A black Audi is seen near where the crimes were committed. This novel will keep you guessing. It will not disappoint.
I was lucky enough to have gotten a ARC copy of this book from the. I am volunteering to leave this review. Great book plenty of twist and turns.
This is a great read detailing another dramatic episode in the career of Inspector Drake. This time he is going up against the so-called ‘county lines’ drug dealers who will stop at nothing to protect their ‘businesses’.
Alongside the really well written police investigation by the team, there is the more personal story of Drake and his family and for me this is equally well written and provides a lot more depth to the story as a whole. I like that his OCD is becoming less of an issue as he gets more settled in his private life, and also better at man-management, never his strongest suite in the past. As always with this series the landscape of Wales takes a central role and is described with a real flair and an obvious passion for the area.
There are lots of twists and turns and false starts to the investigation and a lot of excitement as well, making this a thoroughly enjoyable read for anyone who loves mysteries and police procedurals, but with more depth than is usual in these genres.
I received a complimentary advance copy of the book and have voluntarily written this honest review.