Thank you very much to Quercus Books for giving me permission to read and review this book. I was provided with an electronic copy of the book for review purposes but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinion are my own.
I liked the sound of this book mostly because it is set in North Yorkshire, in places I know well, which I always like to read about. I didn't realise it was one of a series; it's the 4th in the Kitt Hartley series, which are billed as "cosy mysteries". I haven't read many of those, and wouldn't say they were really my cup of tea, but I decided to plough on anyway. And I'm glad I did because I did enjoy the book. The book is told mostly from the point of view of Malcolm Halloran, who is Kitt's boyfriend and who is also a detective inspector. There's quite a bit of cringey stuff about their relationship which I didn't enjoy, but that aside, I liked the book.
A woman has been murdered in Irendale, where, five years ago, a police officer turned out to be a serial killer who killed Halloran's wife Kamala, among others. The present murder has hallmarks of the earlier deaths, including a runic symbol being carved into the hand of the dead woman. Halloran immediately thinks that the killer, Kerr, has managed to manipulate someone on the outside into killing with his hallmarks. He goes to accuse Kerr and loses his temper. He ands Kitt then travel to Irendale to try to help the local police.
Amber, the dead woman, worked as an archivist and seems to have left a clue on her body to lead to her killer. There are several suspects, but the real killer comes out of nowhere. I liked the mystery. I didn't like Halloran very much, but I sort of appreciated him as a detective. I liked Kitt, but found her a bit of a know it all. And as I said, I found their relationship quite cringey. I'm giving this a 3.5 out of five really, I didn't hate it but didn't love it either. I would read something else in the series if I was on holiday and wanted an easy read (which is when I read this!)
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