BLOG TOUR: Killer Lies by Chris Collett

I am very pleased it is my stop on the #blogtour for this #newrelease by Chris Collett.  This is book 3 in the DI Mariner series and the books get better and better.

Available from:

Killer lies cover JPGKILLER LIES by CHRIS COLLETT

Do you love gripping police procedurals with great characters?

Discover Detective Tom Mariner in this critically acclaimed series.

‘Collett is a wonderful writer, subtle, clever, strong on atmosphere and character.’ Yorkshire Post

Just when DI Tom Mariner seems to be settling down with his new girlfriend . . . everything kicks off.

First, a badly decomposed body of a young woman is found in a Birmingham sewer. The police can’t identify her and dub her “Madeleine.”

Then an important politician and his wife are shot on an isolated road.

And finally, a bomb explosion in the busy city kills 5 people, causing chaos and panic.

Can Detective Mariner and his team get to the bottom of crimes that will come very close to home for his team.
Mariner will need to bend the rules and risk everything to get to the truth. And in a thrilling conclusion, his own life will be at risk.

Discover an absorbing crime mystery full of stunning twists and turns.

Perfect for fans of Peter James, Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson. This is the third book in the DI MARINER SERIES, more books coming soon!

THE SETTING
Birmingham is a city of stark contrasts with a rich cultural and historical heritage. Playing a key role in the industrial revolution, it helped shape the nation’s manufacturing industry

But with its many green spaces, Birmingham also borders on the beautiful countryside of Worcestershire and Warwickshire, is just a few miles from Stratford on Avon and a short drive from the wild country of mid-Wales.

Birmingham’s population is large and ethnically diverse, and while urban regeneration has forged a modern and culturally vibrant city, the decaying remnants of the industrial past and 1960s concrete jungle give it a unique and gritty character; the dark underbelly policed by DI Tom Mariner and his team.

THE DETECTIVE
Detective Inspector Tom Mariner is, on the surface, an average dedicated policeman, but his experiences as a younger man have given him an insight into life on the dark side, and a clear sense of right and wrong. Mariner has little interest in material things. He lives in a modest canal-side cottage, enjoys the occasional (real) beer and game of dominoes and drives an old car. He is most at home in the outdoors, with an OS map and a compass, and in times of crisis, will take off and walk for miles in any weather.

THIS IS A REVISED EDITION OF A BOOK FIRST PUBLISHED AS “WRITTEN IN BLOOD.”


My Review

This is book 3 in the DI Mariner series and I am lucky enough to have read the previous books.  Although there is some background you would have missed I do feel this book will work well as stand alone.

A politician and his wife are murdered along with their bodyguard it isn’t, strictly speaking, Mariner’s case but he becomes involved on a personal level and that involvement becomes and obsession.  Is there a cover up or are previous events causing Mariner to be irrational.  Added to this his partner, Anna, is broody and wants more commitment than Tom is able to give.  With his life becoming a car crash and someone out to get him will he be able to cope and deal with things rationally.

We get to know Mariner and Knox more in this book as both have personal problems to deal with and both are keeping secrets from everyone.  They are complex characters that are realistic and very human.

Unfortunately there were parts of this book that didn’t really work for me.  There is a case of a girl found in a sewer that pops up regularly throughout the book that I didn’t see the relevance of.  I also worked out who the murderer was early on in the book so the ‘twist’ at the end was a bit of a let down. However, it is a pretty fast paced read that keeps the pages turning.

Looking forward to the next book.


Chris Collett - author picAuthor Bio

Chris Collett grew up in a Norfolk seaside town where she worked in a boarding house (now defunct) a local bakery (closed down) and a crisp factory (razed to the ground). Graduating in Liverpool, Chris has since taught children and adults with varying degrees of learning disability, including autism. She is now a university lecturer, with two grown up children, and lives in Birmingham; DI Tom Mariner’s ‘patch’. She has published short stories, teaches creative and crime writing and is a manuscript assessor for the Crime Writers Association.

The first five DI Tom Mariner books will be released in revised editions by Joffe Books in 2017/2018.

Links
Website: www.chriscollettcrime.co.uk
Twitter: @crime_crow
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chris.collett.5477

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