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usbsticky's review
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Spoilers ahead.
Ozzy Blanchard (a water works engineer) receives an urgent phone call at home. He gets into his car, leaves his wife and drives into the night. He drives recklessly, speeds and ends up going into oncoming traffic, crashes and disappears.
Next we see a different POV. A water works company is digging on the banks of a river and digs up a dead body which has been there for some time. Close examination by the ME reveals that he was killed with an old Anglo-Saxon dagger, one which has never been found before.
As Gillard starts investigating the case, he finds that the water works company is the same one which Ozzy works at. So is the dead body Ozzy? The police interviews everyone at the nearby hamlet and Ozzy's company.
As the case proceeds, he finds that the there is fraud going on at the water works company and a local digging company has a sordid past. So could they be connected and Ozzy killed because of it?
The book is quite well plotted out and has some interesting twists and turns, however the big turn off for me is that it's slow and lacks intensity. It's missing oomph and a focal point. I think Gillard should have been the single POV and we should have watched the whole mystery unfold behind him. Instead, the plot kind of wanders around a bit.
Ozzy Blanchard (a water works engineer) receives an urgent phone call at home. He gets into his car, leaves his wife and drives into the night. He drives recklessly, speeds and ends up going into oncoming traffic, crashes and disappears.
Next we see a different POV. A water works company is digging on the banks of a river and digs up a dead body which has been there for some time. Close examination by the ME reveals that he was killed with an old Anglo-Saxon dagger, one which has never been found before.
As Gillard starts investigating the case, he finds that the water works company is the same one which Ozzy works at. So is the dead body Ozzy? The police interviews everyone at the nearby hamlet and Ozzy's company.
As the case proceeds, he finds that the there is fraud going on at the water works company and a local digging company has a sordid past. So could they be connected and Ozzy killed because of it?
The book is quite well plotted out and has some interesting twists and turns, however the big turn off for me is that it's slow and lacks intensity. It's missing oomph and a focal point. I think Gillard should have been the single POV and we should have watched the whole mystery unfold behind him. Instead, the plot kind of wanders around a bit.
dismascoale's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lucyp747d4's review against another edition
5.0
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Canelo for approving me for an ARC of this book. I am a huge fan of the DCI Craig Gillard series and whilst this could be read as a standalone I do recommend reading the whole series because it is brilliant.
The story starts by throwing us straight into the action. Ozzy Blanchard returns from work acting very strange and before we know it he is involved in a high speed chase along a dual carriageway which ultimately ends in a crash.
Six months later a body is discovered beneath the willows and it is from here that the investigation starts. It was great to have DCI Craig Gillard front and centre on this one. In some of the previous stories we’ve had more of other characters POV and I missed having our leading man front and centre. From the start the detective had a clear idea of who he thought the body belonged to and set about trying to discover what happened to the victim.
As the investigation continues we have our traditional red herrings and revelations along the way. As I’ve come to expect with Nick Louth’s stories, nothing is quite what it seems and this book certainly kept me on my toes as I tried to figure out what was going on.
Another great addition to the series and I can’t wait to read more!
The story starts by throwing us straight into the action. Ozzy Blanchard returns from work acting very strange and before we know it he is involved in a high speed chase along a dual carriageway which ultimately ends in a crash.
Six months later a body is discovered beneath the willows and it is from here that the investigation starts. It was great to have DCI Craig Gillard front and centre on this one. In some of the previous stories we’ve had more of other characters POV and I missed having our leading man front and centre. From the start the detective had a clear idea of who he thought the body belonged to and set about trying to discover what happened to the victim.
As the investigation continues we have our traditional red herrings and revelations along the way. As I’ve come to expect with Nick Louth’s stories, nothing is quite what it seems and this book certainly kept me on my toes as I tried to figure out what was going on.
Another great addition to the series and I can’t wait to read more!
creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
happy_hiker's review
4.0
I enjoyed this book. There were a lot of characters and a number of different storylines in this book, but it was well-written, easy to follow, and engaging. I was very interested in finding out the identity of the body beneath the willows, and enjoyed being led to the conclusion.
I had no idea that this book was part of a series when I requested an advance copy, and though it may have been nice to know some of the past history of DCI Gillard, it really didn't matter. I plan to go back and read the earlier installments of this series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy of this book.
I had no idea that this book was part of a series when I requested an advance copy, and though it may have been nice to know some of the past history of DCI Gillard, it really didn't matter. I plan to go back and read the earlier installments of this series.
Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo for an advance copy of this book.
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