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Phil Leader (619 KP) rated A Kill for the Poet (Chaser on the Rocks #2) in Books

Nov 18, 2019

Burdening your detective characters with personal problems has a long tradition. Alcoholism, messy relationships and lack of respect for authority are common. But Maltman delivers a cut about all of these with Brian Caskey, a fiction author with mental health issues which mean he really shouldn't be getting out of his depth.

Yet that is what happens when a mysterious surveillance job turns into something far more sinister and despite himself Caskey can't help but try to unravel the mystery. Like picking at a scab this is something he feels compelled to do but it's really only going to make things worse. The main story is woven through with Caskey composing his latest novel featuring his 1940s detective Billy Chapman investigating a murder.

Despite the complexities Maltman creates for himself in both his main character and the book within a book, both plots work well together. The Billy Chapman sections serve to break up the main story, like sorbet between a twelve course meal. Caskey, despite his problems, is an engaging character and very believable even when the plot he gets caught up in veers towards being wilfully obscure. There is an obvious comparison to Bateman's Mystery Man, another Nothern Irish detective with mental issues. But where Mystery Man is often a tragic and self-defeating character, Caskey is nothing like that and embraces his flaws.

Above all this stands up as a good solid detective story (indeed two of them). Maltman has a flair for producing interesting and very readable books and this is no exception

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Christine A. (965 KP) rated A Cut for a Cut (Detective Kate Young #2) in Books

Jul 21, 2021

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review. The opinions are entirely my own, and any quotes are taken from the ARC and may be different in the final published copy.

Detective Kate Young is back in the second installment of Carol Wyer's Detective Kate Young series, A Cut for a Cut. To give a fair review, I read the first book in the series, An Eye for an Eye. Some books in a series can stand alone. With this one, you would benefit from reading the first book.

I am a fan of Wyer's two police procedural series, her DI Robyn Carter series and the Detective Natalie Ward series, and was excited about a new series.

Young is a damaged but determined detective who works with a small team. She is struggling to come to terms with her husband's murder, and her team begins to notice she is not on the top of her game when they are tasked with finding who is sexually assaulting then killing young women. The investigation hits home when one of the victims is a woman the team all know through work. All through this, Kate continues an unsanctioned investigation started in the first book.

Let me just say, if you are a fan of British police procedural and strong women characters, then this or either of Wyer's other two series are ones to read.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com.