“It was time for her to step out of Geraldine’s shadow and lead the investigation in her own way. She couldn’t rely on her every time she faced a challenge. Geraldine might be a first-rate detective, but she was on maternity leave. It was up to Ariadne to discover the truth, and that was exactly what she intended to do.”
“Revenge Killing”, by Leigh Russell
I’m delighted to join the Blog Tour for “Revenge Killing” by Leigh Russell. Many thanks to Anne of Random Things Tours, the publishers No Exit Press, and of course the author for organising the tour and gifting me a copy of the ebook.
The story:
Jay Roper is, by all accounts, an unpleasant man. But when his death from a fall down stairs looks more likely to be murder than an accident, acting Detective Inspector Ariadne Moralis and her team have a challenge on their hands uncovering who is responsible, especially with their usual DI, Geraldine Steel, away on maternity leave.
According to Jay’s elderly neighbour, he had at least two girlfriends, and a loud argument was heard with one of them just before his fall — but neither have come forward with any information. With the enquiries leading them in circles, Ariadne turns to her good friend Geraldine for advice. But will she be able to crack a case she isn’t even officially working on?
My thoughts:
“Revenge Killing”, by Leigh Russell is the 21st instalment in the DI Geraldine Steel series, and the fifth I have read — it’s now a go-to series for me when I see a new title coming out!
For this case, and following the events of the last book (“Without Trace”), Geraldine’s colleague Ariadne has stepped up to lead the team during her absence on maternity leave. Seeing the case from Ariadne’s point of view gives a different perspective to previous novels, and although she doesn’t have quite such a complicated history as Geraldine, she also lacks some of the instinctual insight into cases that her colleague possesses. So it’s no surprise when she seeks out Geraldine’s opinion on the ongoing case.
Meanwhile, Geraldine is grappling with the new challenge of motherhood with her 5-month-old son Tom, while fighting off the feelings of guilt and isolation she feels at not working as a DI. Having been adopted herself, she is worried she may have somehow inherited ‘being a bad mother’, and it’s sad to see Gearaldine doubting herself like this, especially given her usual confidence in her professional life. The link Ariadne provides her into the ongoing case is something of a lifeline, and helps her come to a decision about her plans to return to work.
The case itself is a tricky one, due to a lack of witnesses and Jay’s elusive and, when found, uncooperative girlfriends. Revenge is at the heart of the case, but the solution isn’t the one you might expect…
I find this series of books really easy to read, as the author immediately immerses you in a fast-paced plot, and having read several titles in the series, I’m invested in the characters at York police station. The author says in her afterword that we haven’t seen the last of Geraldine, and I look forward to seeing where the story goes next!
Pages: 304
Published: 28th March 2024
Rating: 🐈🐈🐈🐈/5
About the author
Leigh Russell is the author of the internationally bestselling Geraldine Steel series, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. Her books have been #1 on Amazon Kindle and iTunes with “Stop Dead” and “Murder Ring” selected as finalists for The People’s Book Prize.
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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