Today I am sharing my review of DEVIL’S CHIMNEY as part of the Blog Tour. This is the first book in a stunning new series by the talented ADAM LYNDON.
DEVIL’S CHIMNEY (Detective Rutherford Barnes Mysteries #1)
Format – Kindle
Publisher – Joffe Books
Publication Date – 23rd June 2022
Genre – Crime thriller, mystery and suspense
Author – Adam Lyndon
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MEET DETECTIVE RUTHERFORD BARNES IN THIS BRILLIANT NEW CRIME SERIES FROM A SERVING POLICE OFFICER.
Discover an absolutely gripping crime thriller with a massive twist.
On a wild and stormy night on England’s south coast, ambitious young police constables Rutherford Barnes and Harriet Holden are doing the rounds when they see a burglar fleeing the scene of the crime.
And the location is Harriet’s house. The ground floor is ransacked. Scrawled in red across one wall are the words: DEAD COPS SLEEP LONG.
Then a few days later, Harriet’s battered body is discovered in a shabby seafront hotel.
Newly promoted to detective, Barnes vows to discover who killed his partner, and why.
Perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, Helen H. Durrant, Bill Kitson, Michael Hambling, Peter James, Angela Marsons, Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk, Rachel Abbott, Elly Griffiths, J.M. Dalgliesh or Patricia Gibney.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEVIL’S CHIMNEY:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Packed full of unexpected twists and turns.” Sheila M.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Pulled me in and held me to the end.” Dawn T.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Very good and gripping.” Kay C.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Some really convoluted twists and turns. I loved it.” Rob
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Excellent sense of place, strong characterization . . . authentic and detailed police procedure, and a thrilling denouement” Oliver T.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ “A real page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Mike B.
⭐⭐⭐⭐ “Cracking good police story. Complex and twisty.” Joan
THE DETECTIVE
DC Rutherford Barnes is young, good-looking and ambitious — perhaps too ambitious for his own good. His all-consuming desire for promotion makes him vulnerable to temptation. His happy marriage to nursery school teacher Eve is marred only by the couple’s inability to conceive, leading Barnes to throw himself headlong into his work.
THE SETTING
Set against the picturesque landscape of the South Downs, the Sussex seaside town of Eastbourne is packed with tourists during the summer — but it can seem pretty dismal during the winter months. Only fifty-odd miles from London, the town is not immune to the violence which occasionally spills over from the city. Pockets of deprivation and criminality exist alongside reminders of Eastbourne’s more genteel past in the grand Victorian hotels that line the seafront, the pier and the bandstand. The town also boasts one of Britain’s best-known — and most infamous — beauty spots, Beachy Head.
THE AUTHOR
Adam Lyndon has been a serving UK police officer for more than twenty years, working across a range of disciplines including uniformed ops, firearms command and as a detective in CID and specialist investigations.
Review
I love reading books by new authors and Adam Lyndon is not only a new author to me but also has experience working in the Police Force so I couldn’t wait to read DEVIL’S CHIMNEY.
The book begins with 2 constable’s, Harriet Holden and Rutherford Barnes, doing the rounds on a stormy night not expecting the criminals to be braving the elements to carry out their crimes when they cross paths with a burglar fleeing a crime scene, not any old crime scene this is Harriet Holden’s home. Scrawled in red on a wall are the words DEAD COPS SLEEP LONG. The burglar is chased and caught by Barnes and locked up. Then a body is found in a seedy hotel room and it turns out to be that of Harriet Holden, a very battered and bruised Harriet Holden.
Hooked already? So was I!
Barnes finds himself quickly promoted to detective and expected to hit the ground running in an understaffed team to try to solve the murder. The powers that be are also keen for him to solve the murder and his wife is keen for him to prove himself and get up the ladder.
The story is gripping and keeps the reader’s attention all the way through. The characters develop well as we get to know what makes them tick. Maybe the book had a bit too much of the descriptive character building as I tend to prefer more gritty action but that said the characters are realistic and fit the plot nicely.
A good read that I recommend to anyone who likes Police Detective stories.
Thank you to Joffe Books for the advance digital copy. All thoughts and opinions are my own and not biased in any way.
Adam Lyndon
Adam was born and raised in Sussex. He has been a police officer for twenty years both in the UK and in New Zealand, working across a range of disciplines including uniformed ops, firearms command and as a detective in CID and specialist investigations.
He went around the world a couple of times, living in New Zealand for a year before realising home was where all the stories were. Adam writes gritty, Eastbourne-based police-procedurals with hard-edged authenticity, forming a daisy chain along the south coast alongside the likes of Graham Hurley and Peter James. He has been married for twenty years and has four children. His ambition, as his children keep reminding him, is to own a dog.
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