In November of last year, I read Silent Crimes by Michael Hambling as an ARC from NetGalley. The book was #8 in a series featuring DCI Sophie Allen, and although I had not read any of the previous books, it worked well as a stand-alone.
I like police procedurals, so I ordered and read the first in the series Dark Crimes: Sophie Allen #1.
from description: A young woman’s body is discovered on a deserted footpath in a Dorset seaside town late on a cold November night. She has been stabbed through the heart.
It seems like a simple crime for DCI Sophie Allen and her team to solve. But not when the victim’s mother is found strangled the next morning. The case grows more complex as DCI Sophie Allen discovers that the victims had secret histories, involving violence and intimidation.
I just realized that I didn't review it at the time, but I did keep Hambling in mind because I wanted to read more.
Kindle Unlimited
This month, I went back to the series and read books 2,3, and 4. They read quickly and are full of puzzling investigations.
from description: A young man’s mutilated body is found on top of the Agglestone, a well-known local landmark on Studland Heath
It seems that he was involved in a human trafficking and prostitution gang.
There is also a thread concerning Sophie's father. It was believed that he deserted her pregnant mother, but when a body is found down a mine shaft, Sophie and her mother realize he was murdered.
Kindle Unlimited.
from description: The body of an attractive festival-goer is discovered on the rocky shoreline at Peveril Point
But the young woman’s injuries arouse suspicion. Who was the man she met? Is there a history of suspicious deaths at other music festivals across the area?
Sophie is still dealing with the effects of the previous book and her own involvement. She has had therapy and is now trying to get on with her life.
A new character is introduced. Transgender detective constable Rae Gregson joins the team--hoping to fit in, but aware of potential problems.
Kindle Unlimited
from description: A family move into their dream home in Dorchester: it seems perfect, particularly for their two children, but when Philip and Jill Freeman decide to move a buddleia bush, what they find buried beneath its roots will haunt them forever.
Decades old murders are short on clues, but the team works at all of the twists presented. Kept me a bit off-center and guessing about two possible suspects.
Kindle Unlimited.
I'll eventually get to the other books in this series. :)
The Wives by Tarryn Fisher was a provocative and slightly uncomfortable book for me. Three women, one "husband." How can I sympathize with a woman (Thursday) who chooses to marry a man who continues to live part of the time with his ex-wife and then adds a third woman (with her apparent approval)? The women live in separate homes and don't know each other, but they know of each other. Each loves "her" husband and each would prefer to have him to herself, but have agreed to the polygamous relationship.
The implicit rules are that you never meet the other wives. But what if circumstances arise that make your curiosity too powerful to resist? Interesting premise.
A coincidence provides Thursday the name of one of the other wives. Now she must seriously examine her commitment to the arrangement she agreed to.
But not all is as it seems and how reliable a narrator is Thursday?
In the end, I didn't care much for The Wives. The first half was intriguing, but for some reason, my interest dimmed in the latter half, especially since I could never quite believe in the situation and behaviors. Note: I am certainly outvoted on Goodreads. Most folks loved it.
NetGalley/Harlequin
Psychological Thriller? Dec. 30, 2019. Print length: 336 pages.
In 2018, I read two books by Gretta Mulrooney and enjoyed them, so when NetGalley offered the first in a new series by Mulrooney, I was pleased.
DI Siv Drummond, still grieving over the loss of her husband, finally decides to get back to work. Her new job thrusts her immediately into a double murder, and she hopes she is ready.
A photo of a child left on one of the bodies provides the only clue. The killer left no other evidence for Siv and her team to work with. The interviews with the husband of the murdered woman and and her coworkers leave questions and quite a few interviews are interspersed with lies or omissions.
In much the same way as the previous books I've read in Mulrooney's other series, These Little Lies focuses on the investigation, the interviews, the lies and deceptions. Mulrooney also begins developing the characters that will carry into the next Siv Drummond book--a nice beginning to a new series.
NetGalley/Joffe Books
Police Procedural. Nov. 5, 2019. Print length: 284 pages.
Dark Crimes (DI Sophie Allen #1). I read Silent Crimes by Michael Hambling and liked it, so I went back and picked up the first book in the series.
A young woman is murdered on her way home from work, and the autopsy reveals evidence of past abuse. Initially, the case seems straight-forward, but when the victim's mother is discovered murdered in her home, the investigation becomes more complicated.
Sophie Allen is an unusual main character because she is happily married, supportive of her team, clever and insightful, lacking in the flaws that often accompany the protagonist in this genre. How good she is may be a tad overdone in this first book in the series, but otherwise, the plot and characters were well done.
Police Procedural. 2013. Print length: 281 pages.
Silent Crimes is the eighth book in Michael Hambling's series, but the first book I read--after reading it, I picked up Dark Crimes, the first book. And yes, I'll be catching up on the other books when I can.
Silent Crimes works well as a stand-alone. Jade Allen, DCI Sophie Allen's daughter, has been keeping an eye on a homeless man and his dog. When the man doesn't show up for several days, she seeks him out in a wooded area where he sometimes camped--and finds his body.
Other than his first name, Jade knows little about the man. There is no identification on him, and the police have a difficult time even finding his surname much less a motive for his murder. However, someone had been around asking about a tramp fitting his description before he disappeared. Who was he trying to avoid and why?
Piecing together the man's identity and background and why he left a profitable job to live off the grid is a slow process for Sophie Allen's team, but eventually a connection is made to a former commune and a missing woman.
My favorite kind of mystery is the gradual unraveling of information, and Michael Hambling does this well. While waiting for the next book, I can catch up on previous entries in the series.
NetGalley/Joffe Books
Police Procedural. Oct. 30, 2019. Print length: 229 pages.
I like police procedurals, so I ordered and read the first in the series Dark Crimes: Sophie Allen #1.
from description: A family move into their dream home in Dorchester: it seems perfect, particularly for their two children, but when Philip and Jill Freeman decide to move a buddleia bush, what they find buried beneath its roots will haunt them forever.
