Today my Wednesday Winner is THE BAD SISTER by Anne Penketh. This is a gripping Police Procedural full of twists and turns.
THE BAD SISTER by Anne Penketh
Available from: AMAZON
MURDER, LIES, AND FAMILY . . .
DI Sam Clayton is called to a murder scene in Holt, not expecting to find his estranged sister at the scene. Her husband, Henry Lambton, has been murdered. Clayton is taken off the case and DS Julie Everett continues the investigation.
Clayton focuses on a vicious arson attack in Norwich. The fire killed a Polish family in their home. It seems to be part of a series of racist attacks connected to an extremist group.
The two crimes stretch the team and both come dangerously close to home. And can Clayton forgive his sister for what happened over twenty years ago?
In a thrilling conclusion, they race against time to prevent more attacks and get justice for their loved and not so loved ones.
THE BAD SISTER is the second in a new series of page-turning crime thrillers set in an atmospheric part of Norfolk. Perfect for fans of LJ Ross, Mel Sherratt, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell.
THE TEAM
Detective Inspector Sam Clayton leads the investigation into the North Norfolk murders, joined the police straight from school as a beat bobby in Manchester before rising through the ranks of the CID. He was transferred to Norwich after being promoted to DI following a high-profile case investigated by Lancashire Constabulary.
Detective Sergeant Neil Pringle lives with his third wife in Norwich, where he was born. But taking care of his two sons with his wife Megan, and two other children with previous wives, has put his finances under strain. He never misses a chance to shine in hopes of securing promotion, and can’t help showing off his local knowledge to colleagues.
Detective Sergeant Julie Everett is an intuitive officer who was promoted to detective sergeant from her home town of Ipswich where she had a background in child protection. She is discreet about her personal life among colleagues, particularly about the tragedy which haunts her. She has to deal with a high-pressure job while raising her child who moved with her to Norwich.
My Review
This is the first book I have read by Anne Penketh and is book 2 in the Sam Clayton series. It works very well as stand alone.
Sam Clayton is a damaged character estranged from his sister. He has anger issues and a short fuse but his colleagues seem to accept this and ignore his little outbursts.
His team members also have their baggage and the personal aspect brings a more realistic element to the book. I loved how I felt I was part of the story and got to know the characters gradually throughout the book.
There are 2 cases running and 1 of them involves Sam’s sister, whose husband is found beaten to death in their garage. Because of Sam’s family connection the team is divided into 2 with Sam leading a case of Hate crime and Hewitt running one to find the murderer of the beaten man.
There are many twists and turns as both teams struggle to unravel tangled webs. The story moves along at a fairly fast pace and the intrigue and suspense builds throughout the book as the reader is taken on a roller coaster ride through the ups and downs of police life. There are many shockers along the way which adds to the adrenaline.
This is a fantastic book and I will definitely be reading more from this author.
Thank you to Joffe Books for the advance copy.
Author Bio
I’m a Lancashire lass but for most of my career, I’ve been a foreign correspondent. I’ve reported from all over the world on some of the most cataclysmic events of our time, including the Egyptian revolution and the collapse of the Berlin wall.
These days I’m based in Paris and concentrating on fiction writing. The first in a series of crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Sam Clayton, Murder On The Marsh, is out now. My first novel, Food Fight, was published in 2015.
I’ve reported from Paris mainly for The Independent and The Guardian, but I also contribute to France24 television and Monocle radio. (I was The Independent’s Diplomatic Editor, while based in London). As a freelancer, I’ve written for The New Zealand Herald and The National (Abu Dhabi), as well as the LA Times, the New York Times, the Radio Times, the Oldie, Monocle magazine, Quartz, and Spark News.
Between 2009 and 2012, I headed the Washington office of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), a trans-Atlantic NGO focused on nuclear disarmament, during which time I was also a blogger and columnist for The Hill commenting on foreign affairs.
During my ten-year stint on The Independent I was one of the few journalists to report from Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia.
Earlier, I was a staff foreign correspondent with the French news agency, AFP, which posted me to Moscow during the incredible Gorbachev years. I also reported for AFP from France, and New York where I covered the United Nations.
I started my journalistic career in Canada, arriving with two suitcases to seek my fortune in Montreal, from where I reported for British newspapers before getting a job on the Montreal Gazette.
Before that, I was a postgraduate student at University College London whose French department nurtured my lifelong love of French literature. As a result, my own books include a dash of French spice.