Flesh Evidence by Malcolm Hollingdrake
Flesh Evidence: an explosive, edge of your seat, crime thriller
In Harrogate things are about to get weird.
Jars of honey containing pieces of tattooed flesh are the first clue in the search for the whereabouts of a missing fourteen-year-old boy. Then another boy goes missing and further jars of honey are discovered.
Serial kidnappings taking place in Harrogate and the culprit is unlike any other Bennett has dealt with before.
A number of leads seem to be going nowhere and the police are running out of time.
Can Bennett and his team catch a psychopath before any more damage is done?
This will be his toughest case yet.
DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE CRIME SERIES NOW
Book 1: Only The Dead
Book 2: Hell’s Gate
My Review
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I was provided with an ARC of this book, by Bloodhound Books, in return for an honest review.
This is book 3 in this series and I normally like to read books in sequence but I wanted to read and review this in time for publication. It works very well as a stand-alone book and the author has managed to ensure the reader doesn’t struggle without the background to the characters from books 1 and 2 yet still avoided long sections of repeats from the earlier books. The book is professionally written and totally gripping I read it within 24 hours because I couldn’t put it down.
I am very impressed with this book it ticks all my boxes with the added advantage of no steamy sex scenes or the temptation to have 2 cases that end up being linked that I have found with the last 5 police thrillers I have read.
The main characters are DCI Cyril Bennet and DS David Owen they are totally different characters that work extremely well together. Had I read the earlier books I would have said the characters lacked depth but until I have caught up with the series I assume that this was covered already and this book adds to that depth.
You can’t help but love this duo and the other characters and Malcolm has made an excellent job of writing a thriller that is gory enough for the readers that like a bit of gore in their books but not enough to put off the more sensitive reader.
The story starts with incidents in the past regarding Sam who is transgender and struggles with his life from a very early age. Fast forward to the present and 14 year old boys are going missing with jars of honey containing tattooed samples of their skin are found in various locations with the bodies they came from turning up later.
Cyril’s team has a race against time to solve the case before any more teenage boys disappear and relationships are built while everyone pulls together. There are many twists and turns along the way with a total curve ball at the end.
Excellent book and well worth the 5 stars. I will be reading more by this author.
Author Bio by Malcolm Hollingdrake
I was born in Bradford so I was no stranger to the Yorkshire Dales, a regular, weekend picnic venue. However, it wasn’t until I arrived at Ripon College of Education to spend three years of what was said to be study, did I truly appreciate the area! Harrogate was always a favourite destination. It’s a special place, in total contrast to the industrial city of Bradford I knew in the 50s. After writing my first, self-published novel, ‘Engulfed’, I read that Harrogate was considered to be the ‘Happiest place to live in the UK’; that got me thinking and so DCI Cyril Bennett was born. ‘Keen as Mustard’ (Now entitled, ‘Only the Dead’) was self-published as an eBook but sat almost unnoticed on Amazon’s shelves! (I think it had fallen down the back!) Like all things, ideas are born in the strangest of places and the inspiration for the second book in the series came with a chance conversation whilst on holiday. I discovered that running beneath Harrogate was a disused railway tunnel – that gem of knowledge was the catalyst for my next novel, again a self-published eBook, ‘Just Above Hades’ (Now entitled, ‘Hell’s Gate’). As a writer I had always hoped to win a publishing contract. Rejection letters become a way of life but you persevere in the hope that someone will see the value of your work. I was incredibly lucky to be offered a book deal with Bloodhound Books after submitting, ‘Flesh Evidence”, a deal that was for the Harrogate Bennett series. It does seem strange reflecting on the way things have progressed, receiving a four book deal that was quickly turned into a seven book contract after receiving very positive sales and reviews for the first three books, I am now working on a sixth book for Bloodhound! Book four, ‘Game Point’, is written as the conclusion of the first Cyril Bennett series. It has been a roller-coaster experience since the first book was published with a number of unusual and original experiences, from joining Facebook to proudly winning February’s Crime Writers’ Award organised by UK Crime Book Club and Crime Fiction Addict to being nominated for the CWA Goldsboro Gold Dagger Award, both humbling and unexpected. All of this success could not have been possible without the support of many people and I must mention the many Facebook groups, the bloggers and readers who give their time in support of the many writers. We would be nothing without them. Family too have been a great encouragement allowing my dream to become a reality
