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Blood Runs Cold (DS Max Craigie #4)
Blood Runs Cold (DS Max Craigie #4)
Neil Lancaster | 2023 | Crime, Thriller
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wow ... just wow!!!

Once again, Mr Lancaster has written an absolute cracker in this brilliant series and whilst this is the fourth, it is quite successful as a standalone however, I would highly recommend you go back and read the other three because it will help with getting to know the main characters but also because they are just really good books!

DS Max Craigie and his team are strong characters that work well as a small but formidable team rooting out corruption within Police Scotland; Mr Lancaster has written them so well that I have found myself becoming really attached to them. Their relationship and dialogue feels authentic and I found myself tittering away to myself at times which helped to lighten what is, essentially, a very dark story.

This is a dark, gritty and fast paced police procedural that I was totally and completely absorbed by from the very start. The plot is scarily plausible and realistic with some excellent twists and turns which adds to the intensity.

Highly recommended and I urge everyone to read this excellent series; I can't wait for the next instalment and I must thank HQ, an imprint of HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of the brilliant Blood Runs Cold.
  
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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2414 KP) rated Record Store Reckoning in Books

Mar 9, 2023 (Updated Mar 9, 2023)  
Record Store Reckoning
Record Store Reckoning
J. C. Kenney | 2022 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder of a Mentor
Darcy Gaughan has just returned home from a wonderful vacation. On her first day back at work, she makes a horrible discovery, the body of her boss and mentor in his office. The evidence seems to point to suicide, or at least that’s what the police think. Darcy doesn’t buy it for a minute and starts to investigate to learn the truth. Can she figure out what really happened? Or are the police right?

I couldn’t resist a music store set cozy, and this one introduced us to some great characters. I liked Darcy and the rest of the staff, and the suspects were strong as well. I appreciated the fact that they still had motives even though the victim was generally a well-loved person. I did feel the pacing was off, including a small data dump early on, but it did build to a strong climax. I also found a lot of typos in the physical copy I bought soon after it came out. The book is still very readable, but they were annoying. Things build to a logical and fun climax. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens to Darcy next.
  
Dance Hall of the Dead
Dance Hall of the Dead
Tony Hillerman | 1973 | Mystery
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Murder Crosses Tribal Lines
It’s early December on the Navajo reservation. Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn, who works for the Navajo Tribal Police, has been called to work on a case involving two missing boys. There is a huge pool of blood at the last place they were scene. One of them, a Navajo, was seen the next morning and is wanted as a witness, although some suspect he might be the killer. The other is a Zuni youth, and that just complicates the case for Leaphorn since that tribe has their own police department. As Leaphorn investigates further, he finds many things that just don’t add up for him. Can he make sense of it, find the missing boys, and catch a killer before the killer strikes again?

Leaphorn is much more of the main character this time around, but we still haven’t met Chee. It’s interesting to see how this series evolves over time. The mystery is strong here, especially since there is a thriller element to it that kept me engrossed. I did feel the discussion of Navajo culture slowed things down at times; those passages can be a double-edged sword. Still, this is a book that fans old and new will find entertaining.