A grotesque killing. A killer without mercy and out for revenge. Can Inspector Marco capture the madman before he exacts his final act of vengeance?

The death of Frank Armsby is no ordinary hit and run especially when his links to organised crime suggest a gangland killing. But two failed prosecutions of Armsby for rape and a recent case where the charges were dropped paint a different picture.
When a man is brutally killed in a sadistic attack nothing immediately suggests that both deaths are connected. Detective Inspector Marco is convinced that one killer is at work despite the pressure from his superiors to believe otherwise.

Once an executive in the TV world is found dead in his luxury apartment Marco and another body turns up brutally mutilated Marco is more determined than ever that a single killer is at work.

When he finally determines the culprit, a kidnapping has taken place and Marco has a race against time before the victim is killed.

I write crime fiction based in Wales and about Wales. The rural landscape of north Wales provides the backdrop to the Inspector Drake novels. And Cardiff the capital of Wales provides the setting for the Inspector Marco novels set in a modern urban environment.

I love the novels of Raymond Chandler, Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Henning Mankell, Val McDermid – the list could go on! And I enjoy watching detective series on the television the recent Hinterland series based near Aberystwyth in Wales was great. One of my favourites is the French series Spiral but The Bridge and Broadchurch and the Rebus series with Ken Stott and Kenneth Branagh in Wallander are great too.

I have been on writing courses at the Welsh Writers Centre in Llanystymdwy, North Wales tutored by Matt Whyman and Marcus Sedgwick as well as crime writing courses with Peter Robinson and Andrew Taylor at the Scottish Writers centre.

I was born in Anglesey an island off the north Wales coast and after leaving school in Holyhead I went to University in London before training as a solicitor/lawyer. I practised in a small family business doing criminal work in the magistrates and crown courts, divorce and family work.
I still live on Anglesey, North Wales near the beach and the mountains of Snowdonia

MY REVIEW:

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 out of 5

I love a crime and suspense story that holds my mind captive while trying to find the criminal in the story. This story did that through the entire book. At first, I thought it was one character and then I thought it was another, but I did not entirely suspect the correct criminal. I had a feeling I was correct, but then something would come up and I would discount them. A story like this keeps my interest entirely and makes the book so much better for me. I love Detective Marco and Lydia, they are a great team, and they respect each other. This shows towards the end of the book when Detective Marco is having a difficult day. He may be Lydia’s superior, but they have a mutual respect and a great working relationship.

Detective Inspector John Marco is called to a murder scene while he is in the middle of a Taskforce Forum for Domestic Violence. He knows that the speaker, Chief Superintendent Harper, did not appreciate interruptions while he was talking, but Marco also knew that he needed to go to the scene as he would be the lead investigator. He has multiple scenes throughout this book and a few will hit him, Lydia, the CSI Team, and the Coroner pretty hard. This case would be a tough one for DI Marco as the scenes that he has to go to are brutal and depraved, and little to no leads as to who they are looking for.

This story was intriguing and dark, but it was a great read. It pulled me in early on and the suspense and intrigue kept my attention through the entire book. DI Marco is a man that looks at all angles to find his suspect and he has a hard time curbing his snarky side, but he works on it. Lydia seems to be worried at times as to how he will react and respond to some situations. I loved the story and I love the characters. I give this book a 5-star review and look forward to more DI Marco stories. Hopefully there will be more with Alison Swan as well.