‘The villains in the story are a mixed bunch and due to the twists and turns throughout the story the reader is taken on a roller coaster of a ride where the baddies are actually not that bad and the ones that we thought were victims are actually anything but.’
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Book Description:
Following his recovery from a personal and professional trauma, Detective Chief Inspector Cyril Bennett has been declared medically fit to resume his police duties. He returns to discover a complex case involving the art world.
Soon Bennett unearths a dark side of the industry where greed, ambition and dubious practices thrive and, where there is money to be made, violence and murder are never far away.
Working their way through a maze of galleries, museums and the internet, Bennett’s team struggles to make sense of the evidence.
Can Bennett tell the difference between what is real and what is fake?
My Review
My rating: 5 out of 5 stars
This is book 5 in the DCI Cyril Bennett series and I recommend they are read in sequence.
I read a lot of Crime Fiction and I have often wondered how the Detectives’ manage to continue functioning after a traumatic case with no, apparent, long term effects. In a way it is a relief to read a book that gives a realistic, in depth, view of the emotional anguish of a DCI following the loss of a colleague.
DCI Cyril Bennett is currently on sick leave recovering from the stress the death of his colleague caused. He is very deeply missed by his team who are struggling to function without him. When a case involving a friend of Cyril’s appears Cyril is forced to become involved but is he ready to return to work?
This is a very interesting story involving Art forgery but it is so much more than that as so many other elements, including murder and jealousy, come in to play. It was very interesting to learn more about Art, which is Cyril’s interest/hobby and the issues that surround forgery and deception.
The characters have developed gradually during the previous books in the series and we now get to know them even more. Owen is the opposite of Cyril. Where Cyril is highly polished and smart with a full set of social graces Owen has none he spills everything and muddles through life but he is a great detective and looks up to Cyril. Cyril and Owen are the main Police characters and the other members of the team come more into the story with each book.
The villains in the story are a mixed bunch and due to the twists and turns throughout the story the reader is taken on a roller coaster of a ride where the baddies are actually not that bad and the ones that we thought were victims are actually anything but.
This is an excellent thriller. The previous books are good but this one is definitely up there with the best. I am unable to wait for the next in the series and I hope there will be many, many more.
Thank you to Bloodhound Books for the advance copy.
Author bio:
You could say that the writing was clearly written on the wall for anyone born in a library that they might aspire to be an author but to get to that point Malcolm Hollingdrake has travelled a circuitous route.
Malcolm worked in education for many years, even teaching for a period in Cairo before he started writing, a challenge he had longed to tackle for more years than he cares to remember.
Malcolm has written a number of successful short stories and has four books now available. Presently he is concentrating on a series of crime novels set in Harrogate, North Yorkshire.
Born in Bradford and spending three years in Ripon, Malcolm has never lost his love for his home county, a passion that is reflected in the settings for all three novels.
Malcolm has enjoyed many hobbies including collecting works by Northern artists; the art auctions offer a degree of excitement when both buying and certainly when selling. It’s a hobby he has bestowed on DCI Cyril Bennett, the main character in his latest novel.
Links:
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