Today my WEDNESDAY WINNER is Evil Crimes by Michael Hambling. This is Book 6 in the DCI Sophie Allen series but it works brilliantly as stand alone. If you like a good detective book that will keep you turning the pages then this one is for you.
EVIL CRIMES by Michael Hambling
Available from: Amazon UK Amazon US Amazon Canada Amazon Australia
Looking for a gripping mystery by a best-selling author?
Full of twists and turns, this crime thriller will keep you turning the pages until the stunning conclusion.
A young man’s body is spotted in the stormy sea off Dancing Ledge in Dorset.
Did he lose his footing in the gale force winds and fall in? Or is there a more sinister cause of death?
Detective Sophie Allen’s team discover some curious links to a suicide that happened six months earlier. A strikingly attractive female student connects the cases. Alarming facts slowly come to light as the team probes more deeply.
Is the young woman as evil as she seems or is someone else manipulating her?
DCI Sophie Allen races against time to uncover the tragic secrets behind the crimes and stop any more deaths.
If you like Angela Marsons, Rachel Abbott, Colin Dexter, Ruth Rendell, or Mark Billingham you will be gripped by this exciting new crime fiction writer.
EVIL CRIMES is book six of a new series of crime thrillers featuring DCI Sophie Allen, head of the Violent Crime Unit in Dorset.
THE DETECTIVES
DCI Sophie Allen is Dorset’s acknowledged expert on murder and violent crime. She is 42 as the series starts, and lives with her husband and younger daughter in Wareham. Her elder daughter is studying in London. Sophie has a law degree and a master’s in criminal psychology. Her brilliant mind conceals some dark secrets from her past.
DS Barry Marsh is based at Swanage police station. He’s quiet, methodical and dedicated, the perfect foil for Sophie’s hidden fragility.
THE SETTING
Dorset. A beautiful English county which includes a stunning section of the coastline, but whose beauty belies darkness beneath the surface.
DISCOVER YOUR NEXT FAVOURITE MYSTERY SERIES NOW
THE DCI SOPHIE ALLEN BOOKS
Book 1: DARK CRIMES
Book 2: DEADLY CRIMES
Book 3: SECRET CRIMES
Book 4: BURIED CRIMES
Book 5: TWISTED CRIMES
Book 6: EVIL CRIMES
What the readers are saying:
The story is really well written with lots of twists and when you think you have it sorted something happens to make you change your mind. Overall a 5 star read, and I can’t wait to read more from Michael. Read more here
The author has done a great job with characterization. Narratives and conversations are smooth flowing with a great deal of credibility. There are twists and turns leading to a startling conclusion. Crime buffs will immensely enjoy this one. Read more here
The book cover says “A gripping crime thriller full of twists”, boy is that a statement! This book took right off on the first page and kept me turning the pages right up through the end. I stayed up way past my bedtime to finish this book and I read it in one day. This is the sixth book in a the series, but it is a standalone book. I have not read the previous books in this series. Read more here
There were several things I really liked about the book. Firstly, I liked that Sophie was given a family, and family dramas were played out throughout the storyline. I also liked that one of Sophie’s junior members of the team, Rae, was a transgender character. It’s not something you come across a lot in crime fiction. Read more here
This is a fast paced,twist packed,well written,gripping thriller that is quite dark at times.The plot is Intreguing and keep me guessing and frantically turning the pages,totally engrossed in the story that was unfolding before my eyes.The characters where a diverse,mixed bag of well developed,realistic personalities. Read more here
This is another solid police procedural from Joffe books which honestly I thought was going in one direction and suddenly there was a twist and I thought to myself I have to read this until the end, even though my eyes were sore and tired. Read more here
The plot is great and I loved the pace, the story is easily believable and I enjoyed the interaction between the main characters and I do love a good crime book. Five stars from me, I really enjoyed it!! Read more here
Every once in a while I discover a new author, I read their book, I find out just what it is I have been missing all these years and I can’t understand why I haven’t read their work before. Well I felt this way about ‘Evil Crimes’ and it’s author. Read more here
It begins with what would appear to be a double suicide pact which becomes the murder of one of the would-be suicides by the other. Immediately, the reader is hooked and then, when the reader discovers that this isn’t the first ‘suicide’ witnessed by a young lady with long red hair, one is grabbed by the nose and has to read on to the end. Read more here
Author bio
Like many writers, I have been a keen reader all of my life. I remember one day as a nine year old in the summer holidays, when I visited the local library four times in one day because a child’s ticket only allowed one book out at a time! I can even remember the plot of one book, a story about a boy taking up fly-fishing, read while sitting outside in a sunny back garden in Bristol.
I still live in the west-country, and set the location of my novels in this area. The early novels in the series are based in the Isle of Purbeck, one of the UK’s most beautiful coastal regions. But the rest of the county of Dorset does get a look in, and there are scenes set in other locations in the central south of England.
I write because I constantly create scenes, people, imaginary conversations and unusual situations in my head. I have always done so, ever since I was a child. Using the richness of the English language to set down these creations in words is a great joy. Maybe by the time I’ve edited a passage for the umpteenth time it’s beginning to lose some of its sparkle for me, but I do believe in reshaping and polishing until it’s as good as I can make it. It then becomes something about which I can feel some justifiable pride.
Who are my own favourite writers? Hilary Mantel, of course. Not just the the recent Thomas Cromwell novels, but the brilliant and sly characterisation of Beyond Black.
Doris Lessing has written some startlingly original stories over many years. I’m also a great fan of David Mitchell. He shows great creativity in all of his novels.
Another author I’ve come to admire greatly is Charity Norman. She writes about families in crisis situations and how the problem is partly resolved. I came to her books with “The New Woman”, a novel that probes the problems created by gender variance. Her other novels are equally good. Her writing style is outstanding.
Philip Pullman has written many books of startling originality, full of imaginative ideas. Not just the Lara series, but the earlier Sally Lockhart novels. Wonderful stuff.
In crime fiction I love Kate Atkinson’s Jackson Brodie novels and the books of Mo Hayder. I also enjoy Colin Dexter’s Morse and Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels.
I cannot compete with these greats, so I aim for something different. I hope that I have succeeded to some extent.
Please feel free to contact me by e-mail if you have questions about any of my novels. I have included a contact form on the Contact page.
You can read more about me on my Amazon Author Page.
