My Rating:

Favorite Quotes:

Hanlon was careful with words. She weighed them carefully before she used them, like a miser with money

She ran her eyes over him speculatively like a butcher eyeing a piece of meat of dubious quality, and Enver straightened his back into a more erect posture.

He still had an out-of-date mental image of himself as being in terrific shape, if a little overweight… Like in a dream he’d run as fast as he could, yet seemed to be going nowhere. He’d misjudged totally how quickly he could move; he’d only just managed to break into a speedy waddle.

My Review:

This was an intense, riveting, and propulsive read with several distinct storylines that were constantly gathering steam toward a devastating convergence. Alex Coombs is a first-class scrivener with exceptionally strong word voodoo. His superb writing and top-shelf storytelling featured cleverly crafted story threads that were woven with exacting word choices that kept the varied emotional tones at the perfect pitch while crackling with tension. The crimes and issues involved were totally unconscionable and had me cringing and flinching, yet I couldn’t have stopped reading if my hair had been on fire. I was quickly sucked into an ever-darkening vortex during the first few lines of page one, and it never abated.

Each addition to the large cast of diverse characters was uniquely etched and oddly compelling with brain-tickling descriptions and observations. The enigmatic and fiercely composed DI Hanlon was a conundrum for everyone and I am completely enthralled with her, as I do revere and adore a kickass chick. So imagine my glee to have three more volumes of her exploits already loaded on my beloved Kindle. Score!

I also gained a new entry to my Brit Words and Phrases list with navvy, which Mr. Google tells me is a laborer employed in the excavation or construction.