Mik lives in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, but travels the length and breadth of the UK as a Project Manager. He's a long-time crime fiction fan, with bookshelves groaning under the weight of signed copies from some of the greats of the genre. He's also a reviewer, and an aspiring crime writer, with hopes of joining his literary heroes on a shelf near you in the not too distant future.
People disappear around Max Brennan. First his estranged father, then his girlfriend vanishes in the space of twenty-four hours. He turns to his friend, Detective Jake Porter for help when bodies start to appear, along with a list of 12 names including Max’s dad, Porter and his partner, Nick Styles; but are chasing shadows?
So, is Max’s dad involved in something well over his head, or is the one leading them a merry dance? Either way, they need to find him before more corpses start to be added to the pile.
This is the second outing for Porter and Styles, picking up six months after Robert Scragg’s debut. It throws you in the middle of an interesting mystery, right from the first chapter. We’re drawn along through two timelines that are growing closer together, drip-feeding enough to keep us guessing, but holding back just the right amount of detail, to keep things out of view.
The Porter/Styles dynamic works robustly. Snappy dialogue jumps off the page, with flourishes of dark humour to add to the evocative landscape. We’ve got the side-plot of their respective personal lives, detailed with precision. Porter is still not at peace from the loss of his wife and conflicted about starting a new relationship, while Styles’ wife would prefer if he had a desk job, away from the line of fire.
All in all, this is a pacy, no-holds ride into the darker side of what some people are capable of committing.
This sophomore work is one to watch out for.
