Today I am thrilled to be sharing my review of THE GUILTY MAN as part of the Book Tour. This is the first in a brilliant new series and I am sure it will be as popular as Helen’s other series’
The Guilty Man (Detectives Lennox and Wilde #1)
Format – Kindle
Publisher – JOFFE BOOKS
Publication Date – 29th October 2020
Genre – Crime Fiction
Author – Helen H Durrant
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A BRAND NEW MYSTERY FROM #1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR HELEN H. DURRANT THAT WILL HAVE YOU ON THE EDGE OF YOUR SEAT FROM PAGE ONE. FAST-PACED AND FULL OF SURPRISES.
A little girl, presumed dead, turns up playing happily in the park. She is barefoot but otherwise unharmed. The child’s mother, who lives on a notorious local estate, doesn’t seem bothered that her daughter has returned alive.
Meanwhile, a man is tortured by a ruthless criminal. The victim’s severed hand is left on his wife’s doorstep.
Detective Harry Lennox and DI Jess Wilde investigate. How do the cases connect and who is using threats to drive people out of their homes?
Harry Lennox is battling his own demons, trying to bury a secret from his past with alcohol. He stays in a rundown campervan on a friend’s driveway. Jess wants to know why he’s living like this, but he refuses to tell her anything. What’s he hiding?
A MYSTERY FULL OF STUNNING TWISTS WHICH YOU WON’T WANT TO PUT DOWN. WILL HARRY’S PAST TEAR THE DETECTIVES APART?
Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Kimberley Chambers, Damien Boyd, Rachel Abbott, Patricia Gibney or Mark Billingham.
What readers are saying about HELEN H. DURRANT
“I couldn’t put it down.” Barbara
“This new series by Helen H. Durrant certainly has got off to a thrilling start.” Viv
“If you want a book to get your teeth into, this is the one. A massive 5*” Greta
“Another fast-paced murder mystery” Aileen
“The writing was top notch and the characters were very real.” Kat
THE DETECTIVES
DI HARRY LENNOX began his career in Glasgow, but due to a traumatic incident, transferred to West Yorkshire and then Ryebridge. He blames a local villain for what happened and is afraid that he’ll catch up with him. Harry is single, thirty-five and has a chaotic lifestyle. Currently living on a mate’s drive in a campervan. This is down to his girlfriend throwing him out.
DS JESS WILDE is thirty and still lives with her parents. She is unattached and keen to progress in her career. She gets on well with Harry. He doesn’t have much time for protocol, and this suits her. She is critical of how he lives. She is about to buy her first property locally.
ALSO BY HELEN H. DURRANT
RACHEL KING
Book 1: Next Victim
Book 2: Two Victims
Book 3: Wrong Victim
Book 4: Forgotten Victim
THE CALLADINE & BAYLISS MYSTERY SERIES
Book 1: DEAD WRONG
Book 2: DEAD SILENT
Book 3: DEAD LIST
Book 4: DEAD LOST
Book 5: DEAD & BURIED
Book 6: DEAD NASTY
Book 7: DEAD JEALOUS
Book 8: DEAD BAD
Book 9: DEAD GUILTY
Book 10: DEAD WICKED
THE DCI GRECO BOOKS
Book 1: DARK MURDER
Book 2: DARK HOUSES
Book 3: DARK TRADE
Book 4: DARK ANGEL
My Review
I do love Helen’s books so I was very excited to hear that a new series was on the way. I was far from disappointed I love intrigue and this book has it in bucketloads.
Harry has a secret, one that he is determined will stay that way. His partner, Jess, is determined to find out what he is hiding but even his ex partner doesn’t know. Harry has transferred to Ryebridge to try to outrun his past and having been kicked out by his girlfriend is now living in a campervan on a mate’s drive. He is happy to not have any ties.
Harry is a complex character and even after some of his past is uncovered at the end of the book I feel there is still a lot to learn about him and his secrets and I am therefore eagerly awaiting the next book.
Jess, a dedicated detective, solid down to earth character she comes accross as very much a ‘what you see is what you get’ person but I doubt very much she is going to stop digging into Harry’s past until she has uncovered all there is to know about his past.
The case, like the characters, is complex. It begins with a missing child who turns up a few weeks later unharmed wandering around a park with no shoes. Where has she been and why did her mother seen unconcerned at her disappearance and reappearance? Harry and Jess are confused.
In addition to the missing child there are many more pieces to the puzzle that Harry needs to figure out. The story includes people trafficking, sadistic killers, dodgy drugs and Harry is caught right in the middle of the villains and other crime agencies all pulling him different ways and the person it all revolves around is looking very much like his nemesis from the past.
Wow a totally gripping, intriguing read that I couldn’t put down. I cant wait for book 2.
Many thanks to the author, Netgalley and the publisher: Joffe Books for the advance copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Author Bio
I’m one of the ‘baby boomer’ generation. I was born in Edinburgh to an English father and Scottish mother. My father was from the North West of England and this was where the family settled.
I know the area well, both the good and the bad, and so I set my books here. Sitting between two counties, Lancashire and Yorkshire, and between the city and the hills, it offers a rich mix of the industrial and the countryside and all the character therein. I always planned to write crime novels — to create the characters in my books. Since my retirement from a busy teaching job in FE, this is what I’ve done — almost to exclusion of anything else!
I have a grown-up family and five grandchildren. They see me as something of an eccentric — always on my laptop writing away. Writing is something of a second career and, despite having a bus pass, keeps me busy, young and tuned in the world as it currently is.
Twitter @hhdurrant
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/helen.durrant.12
Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Calladine-Bayliss-Detective-Novels/614047648616619?ref=hl
Website https://www.helenhdurrant.co.uk/
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