Book Review: When the Dead Speak

I loved Sheila Bugler's first book featuring investigative journalist, Dee Doran, (I Could Be You currently on offer at 99p), so started this second in the series, When the Dead Speak, with a little trepidation. Would it be as good as the first? I needn’t have worried. It wasn’t as good – it was better!

Set once again in Eastbourne, there is a complex plot and several subplots intertwining as the story unfolds. The characters are well crafted and their actions entirely credible –they could be my neighbours, family members or friends, they feel so real.

From the diary of Emma Reed (starting in 1960), we discover Emma's son, Graham, was suspected of killing Mary Palmer, leaving her body on the altar of the local church. 

His innocence or guilt was never proven as Graham himself was murdered. Emma’s diary follows her attempts to prove her son’s innocence and uncover the real murderer.

Cut to the present day and a young woman, Lauren Shaw, is found in the same church with her body displayed to replicate the earlier crime. 

Dee’s police boyfriend, Ed, asks to be taken off the enquiry due to family secrets connected to the first murder.

Dee and Ed’s relationship is one of the many tangled twists and turns in this riveting book. A missing Polish worker, Dee’s cousin’s strange behaviour and several minor threads which all impact on each other make for a fascinating read.

This could easily be read as a standalone but I strongly recommend reading I Could Be You first – if only for the sheer joy of starting this excellent series from the beginning.

I received this via NetGalley from the publisher Canelo in return for an honest review.

When the Dead Speak will be released on 9 July and is available for pre-order from this link: https://amzn.to/2AgmJEn

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D.I. Sterling Gains a New Fan

I love it when a review starts with a comment such as this: Thank Christ for Lorraine Mace and D. I. Sterling!!

This is what the reviewer had to say about Retriever of Souls, the first in the D.I. Sterling Thriller Series.

With the world being as it is right now... and with my hay fever making my life a misery... sleeping at night is almost an impossibility. This is where Lorraine Mace has been keeping me sane.

From the opening pages of this book, you are thrown headfirst into gore, intrigue and shenanigans! I like my crime novels to be pretty graphic, and Lorraine delivers that in shedloads in this book - the first I have read of hers. Throw in some deliciously flawed characters, interesting relationships and you've got a corker right there!

Rather than merely concentrate on the main characters, Lorraine takes the time to build the associated "cast" - which many authors fail to do. I liked trying to guess who the killer was - and of course I got it wrong. But the journey of discovery was superb.

Highly recommended.

Read the review on Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/reviews/33450349

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Buy now on Amazon

The second gripping installment in the D.I. Paolo Sterling crime series. 

Detective Inspector Paolo Sterling is determined to shut down the syndicate flooding Bradchester’s streets with young prostitutes. 

When a child is murdered, Paolo becomes aware of a sinister network of abusers spread across Europe, and spanning all levels of society. But Joey, the shadowy leader of the gang, always seems to be one step ahead in the chase. 

Has Paolo come up against a criminal he cannot defeat?

'D.I. Paolo Sterling is instantly engaging – Children in Chains is a dark, gripping and unflinching read' - Louise Phillips, winner of the Best Irish Crime Novel of the Year, longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award.

'A visceral, no-punches-pulled, gut-wrenching thriller. A disturbing and gripping tale of child prostitution, and the tragic detective Paolo Sterling dealing with the heartache of his own daughter’s sexual assault. Crime Noir at its darkest' - Caroline Dunford, A Death in the Family 



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