The Rock. Gibraltar. 1966.In a fading colonial house overlooking the Straits of Gibraltar, the dead body of a beautiful woman lays dripping in blood. The steel handle of a knife protrudes from her chest, its sharpened tip buried deep within her heart.The Rock. Present day.Detective Sergeant Tamara Sullivan arrives on The Rock on a three-month secondment from the London Metropolitan Police … Metropolitan Police Service. Her reasons for being here are not happy ones and she braces herself for a tedious and wasteful twelve weeks in the sun.
After all, murders are rare on the small, prosperous and sun-kissed sovereignty of Gibraltar and catching murderers is what Sullivan does best.
It is a talent she shares with her new boss, Chief Inspector Gus Broderick of the Royal Gibraltar Police Force. He’s an old-fashioned cop who regards his new colleague with mild disdain.
But when a young police constable is found hanging from the ceiling of his apartment, Sullivan and Broderick begin to unravel a dark and dangerous secret that will test their skills and working relationship to the limit.
“Elegant storytelling, an original location and a fine sense of place. Robert Daws is an exciting addition to the canon of 21st Century crime writers.’
Peter James. International bestselling author of the Inspector Roy Grace series.
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I found this surprisingly enjoyable for a first novel. The main characters are developing nicely, leaving room for them to grow and deepen with future books in the series. There is little violence and no sex, so it is a welcome break for me from the ‘detective’ novels of today.
Never thought about the coroner being involved! A nice twist.
Slow, ridiculous premise,
A good read
Never thought about the Rock of Gibraltar as being inhabited. Ignorance on
my part. This is a good book, kept me reading, twist at the end.
Good description of area.
The best character was “the rock,” Gibraltar.
Loved the historical references
Interesting characters and setting. The writing is professional and the story unfolds at a good pace. It is a quick, short read–more of a novella in length than a book. I’m hoping it will become a full length book series or tv series, because I’d liked it that well.
holy cow this was a page turner…very sad in some parts..
Having been to Gibraltar, I was keen to read a book set there.
It was interesting, but the story line was very bland. I was disappointed; however, I will try another of Robert Daws’ books in case The Rock was just not one of his better efforts.
Good, quick read.
Couldn’t put it down
Location unusual…British police…
Sharp and witty language play.
Well done story. Look forward to reading more from this author and storyline.
Stopped reading half way through. Just didn’t hold my interest. Slow paced.
A young police officer is sent to the Rock of Gilbrater due to a toss up with her captain and he thinks she is a screw up. So he sends her there to thinking they will straighten her up or just to piss her off. He has a few things to learn about her. She is more than just a cop.
She is very good police officer. He sent his best officer. She does her best like she always did every day at her previous job. Men do not always know what they think they do. This is one police officer who tries her best and proves it no matter where she is.
Good book. Jargon was a bit different and the story was good but not very imaginative.
Enjoyable book, a good read. Appears to be well researched and consistent in location and layout. Typical of the newer generation of police detectives, the protagonist is deeply conflicted and beset with inner demons, but manages to overcome the difficulties and pulls through the difficulties.
The plot was OK but the writing was sooo English, it took too much effort to figure out what they were talking about.
Learned about a place I don’t know (Gibraltar)