“He shook his head. ‘It can’t be.’ Retreating to the exit, he chanced one last look in the gloom at the gift left by last night’s visitor. He recalled his cat, Tara, who’d died earlier in the year. Her gifts of dead rats and the like. Not pleasant. But never had he received a gift like this. A human skeleton. A headless one at that.”
“The Winter Killings”, by Wes Markin
I’m delighted to join the blog tour of “The Winter Killings” by Wes Markin. Many thanks to Rachel of Rachel’s Random Resources, the publishers Boldwood Books, and of course the author for organising the tour and gifting me a copy of the eBook.
The story:
When DCI Emma Gardner goes for a drink with colleague Lucy O’Brien, she’s hoping to sort out what is becoming a complicated relationship. What she doesn’t expect is for local performer Robert Thwaites to discover some grisly remains amongst his props — a real human skull. Things get more confusing when the rest of the skeleton is discovered on the farm of John Atkinson — a man with no apparent connection to Thwaites. Are these old bones, or is this murder?
Meanwhile, Emma has a bigger worry on her mind — former DI and colleague, Paul Riddick has vanished, and even more worryingly, so has the private investigator Emma sent to search for him…
With a reduced team on the case and a friend in terrible danger, will Emma be able to untangle the truth?
My thoughts:
Just as the weather is starting to improve here in the UK, I have been engrossed in snowy Knaresborough with “The Winter Killings” — the latest in the Yorkshire Murders series.
I have followed this series from the start, and have become really invested in Emma Gardner and Paul Riddick’s stories. The events of the previous book left Riddick in a terrible place, and at the start of this story Emma has resorted to a private investigator to track him down. What she finds is shocking, but as always with Riddick, there is more to things than meets the eye…
The main mystery the team are challenged with this time is a really challenging one, made worse by a lack of manpower. As the Knaresborough team investigates, the trail leads them back to the past, and historic cover ups and abuse at a homeless shelter that potentially connect with one of the team, making the case even more challenging.
Also lurking in the background is the ongoing story of Emma’s sociopathic brother Jack — now in prison, but still with a connection to the mysterious Neville Fairweather…
This was a great read, with all the parts of the case coming together for dramatic revelations at the end. The author also leaves us on probably the worst cliffhanger yet, so I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next installment from Emma and the team!
Pages: 375
Published: 18th June 2024
Rating: 🐈🐈🐈🐈/5
Purchase link: https://mybook.to/winterkillingssocial
The Yorkshire Murders series:
About the author
Wes Markin is the bestselling author of the DCI Yorke crime novels, set in Salisbury. His new series for Boldwood stars the pragmatic detective DCI Emma Gardner who will be tackling the criminals of North Yorkshire.
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