WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU CAN’T PROVE ANYTHING?In the far south a young girl goes missing, lost without trace in the wilderness beyond her remote family cottage. A year later her father disappears in the exact same place . . .Then nothing. At all. Eventually the years grow over the grief. The decades wear away the questions, life flows past the forgotten tragedy. Until Finn moves into the abandoned … flows past the forgotten tragedy.
Until Finn moves into the abandoned home, looking for a fresh start.
A place to heal himself far from his old problems. But rebuilding life is complicated by chance encounters and odd occurrences leaving Finn with the growing suspicion that the people here are harboring a terrible, deadly secret.
Suspicion turns to obsession the deeper Finn digs while also facing steadily escalating dangers in the here-and-now. Soon Finn’s own journey of recovery becomes inextricably linked with his need to unravel the mystery. Past and present finally collide when Finn starts to learn the truth about this place and himself.
Now he must choose between exoneration and condemnation, justice and vengeance.
*Please Note: This book was originally titled ‘Dead Lemons.’
The stunning, debut crime thriller from award-winning Amazon bestselling author Finn Bell. A must read for fans of Stieg Larsson’s ‘Girl With The Dragon Tatoo’, Jo Nesbo’s ‘The Snowman’ and Robert Bryndza’s ‘Girl In The Water’ . . . This is a dark, graphic pulp thriller – tense amateur sleuth noir set against the backdrop of the unforgiving underworld of organized crime.
Read what reviewers are saying about THE KILLING GROUND:
‘A highly original, terrific debut’ – Ngaio Marsh Crime Fiction Awards
‘. . . definitely worth reading . . . exudes character . . . a compelling and accomplished story’ – www.Crimefictionlover.com
‘. . . easy to read, almost impossible to put down . . . you will love [it] . . . As a murder mystery, it is great and as contemporary literature, it is also excellent. I highly recommend this book.” – www.Readersfavorite.com
‘. . . an eclectic-yet-satisfying blend of hard-boiled noir and rural gothic . . . there’s no denying Finn Bell is extremely gifted . . . A likable hero, simmering suspense, and odd-ball history make it a tangy thriller.’ – www.Indiereader.com
‘This is the strength of . . . as the humour is presented shockingly side by side with all the heartbreaking details of the town’s murders. The dark is balanced with the redemptive light . . . an absorbing and disturbing window . . . any crime fiction enthusiast will enjoy’ – www.Austcrimefiction.org
‘. . . strong narrative voice and perfect pacing . . . effortlessly evokes the Deep South . . . both its array of modern rural personalities and intriguing history. I couldn’t put this book down and would highly recommend it. This is a fantastic contribution to the #yeahnoir genre.’ – www.thebookcouncil.co.nz
‘One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. Seriously good, and so much more than a thriller . . . fantastic and keeps you guessing – 5 stars from Purple, Reviewer on Amazon.com
‘Great characters. Great plot. Twists and turns. Plots unexpected. Excellent premise. Not just another “quick read”, I relished every chapter’ – 5 stars from Reba, Reviewer on Goodreads.com
Awards and accolades for THE KILLING GROUND:
Winner of the Ngaio Marsh Crime Fiction Award for Best First Novel
Winner of the Indie Reader Discovery Award for Fiction
Winner of the Readers’ Favorite Gold Medal for Fiction / Thriller / General
Amazon Bestseller in International Mystery & Crime
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Interesting plot. Entertaining. Different and original cast of characters. At times content was a little too stressful. Psychology lessons insightful.
All the action in the book lends itself to current movie tastes. The setting would be wonderful, the southern coast of New Zealand.
intelligent, beautiful writing, descriptions of the New Zealand landscape and people, brutal
5 stars
The book goes back and forth between the present with Finn hanging by his leg off a cliff to a few months earlier when he first moved to Riverton.
Finn Bell lived in Wellington until he had a drunken accident which left him in a wheelchair. He also lost his wife and his job. He moves to a little cottage outside of Riverton, New Zealand. This is as far south as he can be and still be on land. It’s on the way to Antarctica.
Betty is a seventy-something therapist who lives in Riverton. She is now Finn’s therapist. She puts forth the theory of “dead lemons” to Finn. Is he a dead lemon? Her therapeutic style is very unusual and unique.
Everyone in Riverton is related to everyone else. He meets Tai at Murderball. It’s a rough game, like rugby, but in wheelchairs. Tui warns him to stay away from his nearest neighbors, the Zoyls. Having a problem with his electricity, Finn goes to visit the Zoyls and wishes he hadn’t. They intimidate him and frankly scare the hell out of him.
While researching the history of his cottage, he learns of the murder of a twelve-year old girl. She was the daughter of the people named Cotter who lived in the cottage before Finn. She was brutally tortured before she died. The main suspects were the Zoyls, but despite being arrested, they were never brought to trial. A year later, the husband goes missing.
Finn goes on a journey of self-discovery and “investigates” a local crime at the same time. He meets new friends and learns how not to be a stupid drunk.
There are surprises in this book: about people and events. There is a major twist in the story at the end. It’s delicious.
Finn learns a great deal about the Maori culture from his new friends the Tuis. He describes the landscape and culture of southern New Zealand so that the reader is almost there. It’s wonderful. One usually reads about Australia, so it’s refreshing to learn about New Zealand as well. This book is very well written and plotted. Other than the moving back and forth between times, the book is written linearly and clearly. I liked Betty the therapist. Her unique style of therapy is both refreshing and it works! I immediately went to Amazon to look for others of Finn Bell’s novels. I truly enjoyed this book and plan to read more by this author. (I really could have done without what happened to the cats, however. I hate that kind of thing in books – or real life.)
I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read and enjoy.
Dead Lemons concerns getting back to a real life after becoming a paraplegic. In addition to a mystery plot, there is a life plot. Although some of the novel becomes a little preachy about true happiness, much of the story concerns a years long mystery including the home he is renting. There is plenty of mystery, acti on, and even some romance.
Was an enjoyable read.
A very different story line. Some cool characters, especially going to ancient therapist, with a very different approach which turns out to be brilliant. Wish I could talk with her. Complicated, interesting plot. Really enjoyed this read.
Unique
Finn Bell is both the author and the name of the protagonist, which is something I have never encountered in a book of fiction. First-person writing is common enough, but the same-name thing is a bit much. Nonetheless this is a really good story, tight and well plotted, with a lot of surprises. I have read two other books by this author, and he lives up to his promise.
A great read that has a twist
Different premise of a thriller keeps your attention a real page turner
Very relate-able as to the therapy.
Great read. Couldn’t put it down!
Loved this
Excellent book.
Pretty gory in spots, ex. the opening scene. But very interesting setting and culture frames this story. A lot of good psychological insight. If you open it, stick with it. The gore is very intermittent
A real page turner!!
Amazing read! I’ll be looking into Finn Bell’s other books now after reading this one.
Very very original and entertaining. Great characters and great depiction of the place (southern New Zealand). Will be reading more by Mr Finn.
I was hooked from the first page,