A killer is sending a message. But who is it for?DI Annie Delamere and her colleague DS Zoe Everett are off duty and enjoying a walk on the Peak District’s vast moorlands when they stumble across a mutilated corpse. The victim is unclothed and his tattoos indicate an affinity with the occult.While Annie is put in charge of the case her long-term partner, MP Sheena Pearson, is confronted by a … group of far right extremists. Rather than back down Sheena chooses to stand her ground – and almost pays for it with her life.As more bodies are found, Annie is under pressure to prove her worth. But with one eye on her personal affairs can she catch a murderer and still keep her loved ones safe? And are the killings the work of a deranged mind – or a cover for something even more chilling?Don’t miss this first novel in a compelling new detective series that fans of Stephen Booth and Ann Cleeves will love. Praise for Small Mercies‘Accomplished storytelling and perfectly meshed plot strands combine in this intriguing new series from Alex Walters’ Margaret Kirk, author of Shadow Man‘Small Mercies gets Alex Walters’ new series off to a cracking start with a blend of police procedural and conspiracy thriller set in the atmospheric landscape of Derbyshire.’ Martin Edwards, CWA Diamond Dagger winner 2020’Evocative, well plotted, with interesting characters and three concurrent mysteries. A definite 5 star read.’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘The storyline weaves all the seemingly unrelated threads together into a nail biting finale. I held my breath more than once, and couldn’t put the book down in case something terrible happened!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Three plots swirl around each other, intersect and dance away again until the very end of this thriller where everything moves quickly to a totally unanticipated, breath-taking conclusion. I’m looking forward to the next in the series!’ NetGalley review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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SMALL MERCIES by Alex Walters is first book in the Detective Annie Delamere British crime / police procedural and is set in England. Detective Inspector Annie Delamere and a co-worker, Detective Sergeant Zoe Everett are walking on some remote moorlands when they find a mutilated corpse. Annie is put in charge of the case. Soon, two other story lines are introduced; one involving Annie’s partner, MP Sheena Pearson, and another involving a fringe journalist and researcher.
The plot is complex, but I felt like it was somewhat slow and I had to trudge through some mud before the pace picked up in the last 30 percent of the book. While the main characters were individuals you could root for, they didn’t have as much depth as I expected and the secondary characters definitely needed more depth. Perhaps this will improve in book two of the series. However, the stakes were high and that kept me interested in what was going to happen next and the ending is very dramatic. A lot of themes ran through this novel including ritualistic murders, cults, coercion, politics and much more.
Overall, this was an interesting read that was slow-paced and it was not a page-turner until near the end. I want to read book two before I make any decisions about reading more of this series.
While enjoying an off-duty day, DI Annie Delamere and her colleague, DS Zoe Everett while doing a bit of hiking, comes across a man’s corpse. He’s naked with no identification found, but he’s covered in tattoos.
Annie’s long term life partner, MP Sheena Pearson, confronts a group of extremists and almost loses her life to a bullet.
A second man’s body is found in much the same condition as the first … no clothes, no identification, covered in tattoos.
Three cases …all important … all need to be solved …pronto before any more lives are lost.
This intricate plot weaves all the unrelated threads together that leads to a surprising, unexpected conclusion. The characters are deftly drawn and the blend of their professional lives along with their personal lives give them more substance. There’s plenty of action with lots of suspects to follow. This is the first in a compelling new detective series.
Many thanks to the author / Canelo / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
This is the first book in a new series by this author. It is more like a British police mystery which is good if you enjoy that genre. It was a bit slow to start but once you got into the story it kept you going to see how it would actually turn out! All in all well done characters and storyline worth reading if you enjoy more of the British police books.
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3 and 1 / 2 stars
DI Annie Delamere and DS Zoe Everett are out for a hike on the moors when they come across a young man who was murdered and mutilated. Annie and Zoe catch the case and set out to discover who committed the murder.
So begins an interesting tale of murder and mayhem as Annie and Zoe investigate the case. Also going on at the same time is a parallel investigation into attempts on Annie’s partner, MP Sheena Pearson’s, life.
This is a rather convoluted tale. We have several plots working at the same time. In one, a man who styles himself a journalist and researcher begins to look into a self-styled religious group on the far right side of politics. Another is the attacks on Sheena and finally, of course, are the murder(s). It is well written and plotted. The events logically follow one another. The book is a fast read and easy to understand. Some of the characters were a little difficult to understand. Perhaps they were too shallow. It’s almost as if the author was trying to put too much into too little a space. All in all, I liked the book and will certainly look into reading the next in this series.
I want to thank NetGalley and Canelo for forwarding to me a copy of this book for me to read, enjoy and review.