crime · Detective · mystery · suspense · thriller

*BLOG BLITZ* The Third Breath – Malcolm Hollingdrake ★★★★

Blurb; DCI Bennett is away on compassionate leave. After much soul-searching, he has decided to attend his father’s funeral.

DS Owen is left at the helm when the discovery of a body in a car in the multi-storey car park is reported. Initially, the Coroner rules out suspicious circumstances but when a second body is found with similar symptoms, Bennett is back in the fold. He suspects that the coincidences must be of some significance.

Soon Bennett’s team are hunting for a callous and devious killer who has covered his tracks effectively.

Will Bennett’s perseverance and attention to detail eventually crack this perplexing case?

My Review; BENNETT IS BACK! WOW! We made it to book seven in the series. Amazing… Could this be the toughest case yet? I am seriously loving this series and you can find all my reviews for each book by searching on my blog for them. A brilliant series.

Back to the dream team. Back home… Cyril is contending with what could possibly be the cleverest killer out there yet? However, there are far too many conincidences appearing for his liking… Leaving no traces of himself and no dark, disturbing killings how is he killing these people? Do they all have something in common? A real puzzler.

I actually learnt quite a lot from this book that I didn’t actually know. Very clever indeed, but with Bennett on your case you’re bound to be caught some how. He is one clever man with a brilliant team behind him to help.

I actually managed to read this book within a day as I have been waiting and looking forward to reading this book for a while. I can always count on Malcolm to write a belter of a book that will whisk me away to Bennett and his team. He has not let me down yet! The Third Breath reads perfectly as a standalone. A real page turner that you will want to devour in one sitting. I awarded a well deserved four stars and I hope for possibly… a book 8? Please.

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crime · Detective · mystery · suspense · thriller

*BLOG TOUR* Crossed Out – Malcolm Hollingdrake ★★★★★

Blurb; DCI Bennett and his team are back and called to a house in Ripon that has collapsed into a sinkhole where a body is discovered.

Soon old weathered Remembrance Crosses are found dug up. Each one numbered.

DC April Richmond is assigned to help the team due to her impressive biblical knowledge and soon makes a startling discovery.

Meanwhile, Gideon Fletcher is walking around the streets of Harrogate distributing religious texts. Is there a link between Gideon and the crosses? Do the crosses have anything to do with the body in the house?

Bennett and the team find themselves wondering if the killer is exacting revenge or punishment and whatever the answer, they soon realise the clock is ticking.

My Review; Now, it’s been a while since I started and finished a book within the same day but Crossed Out had me hooked and I couldn’t put it down which is how I finished this gripping story within a day. 

Crossed Out had me intrigued from the prologue and it was great to be back in DCI Bennett’s world once more. I must mention that this is book six in the DCI Bennett series and it does make references to the previous books in the series so they are best read in order. The story is written well, thrilling and fast paced. You really won’t want to put it down. 

Crossed Out is a brilliant, cleverly written story with links to religion (Christianity) in this complicated, mysterious case. But not too much for it to become boring for the reader, infact I learnt quiet a lot from reading this story about Christianity myself which is always a bonus. This could be one of Malcolm’s best stories in the series yet. Very impressed. 

This is one of those stories that will make you go “Ah! That’s why it’s called that”. Outstanding and a well deserved five stars from me. I look forward to more by DCI Bennett and his team. This series really does just get better and better. Highly recommend. Crossed Out also made it into my top twenty books of 2017. Brilliant. 

crime · Detective · mystery · suspense

*BLOG TOUR* Dying Art – Malcolm Hollingdrake ★★★★

Blurb:
Following his recovery from a personal and professional trauma, Detective Chief Inspector Cyril Bennett has been declared medically fit to resume his police duties. He returns to discover a complex case involving the art world.

Soon Bennett unearths a dark side of the industry where greed, ambition and dubious practices thrive and, where there is money to be made, violence and murder are never far away.

Working their way through a maze of galleries, museums and the internet, Bennett’s team struggles to make sense of the evidence.

Can Bennett tell the difference between what is real and what is fake?

My Review: 
Cyril Bennett IS BACK! I would highly recommend you read this series in order because at the start of this book it does make a reference to the book before this one Game Point, but doesn’t give too much away if you did wish to read it as a standalone. I loved all the character both old and new, the setting and theme of art within this book. Dying Art is easy to read, gripping and will keep you guessing till all is revealed! I enjoyed reading Dying Art this weekend especially while all my book friends are at Harrogate and this series is set in Harrogate so technically I was there in mind. I must admit I did find the chapters long in this book but I still enjoyed it nevertheless. I awarded four stars! I must admit I did miss a certain females character within this book though, won’t give it away!
I cannot wait to see wait lie ahead for this series… Keeping my eye on you Malcolm Hollingdrake.

DCI Bennett Series Order:
Book 1Only The Dead
Book 2Hell’s Gate
Book 3Flesh Evidence
Book 4Game Point
You can find all my reviews for these on my blog except Only The Dead as I still need to read that one, I’m bad I know. 

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