syren1532's review
5.0
DI Claudia Nunn has been called in to interview a man who’s reported his wife missing. The man is a detective sergeant in the same police force and is currently on an investigation into a serial killer called “The Sheffield Strangler”. DS Dominic Harrison’s missing wife, Ruth, is also a police officer. Dominic is convinced the man he is hunting has Ruth. Claudia’s superior’s think that having her interview him will throw Harrison - she outranks him and knows him very, very well.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is told from Dominic’s point of view through his recollections of the whole “Sheffield Strangler” investigation and also from Claudia’s point of view as she interviews him about his case and what could have happened to Ruth. Kept me guessing all the way through and a great twist at the end.
Thanks to Joffe Books and Rebecca Bradley for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is told from Dominic’s point of view through his recollections of the whole “Sheffield Strangler” investigation and also from Claudia’s point of view as she interviews him about his case and what could have happened to Ruth. Kept me guessing all the way through and a great twist at the end.
Thanks to Joffe Books and Rebecca Bradley for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
ljwrites85's review
4.0
I've previously read one of Rebecca Bradley's DI Hannah Robbins series and enjoyed it so I was eager to see what this new series had to offer.
Claudia is tasked to investigate the disappearance of Ruth Harrison. The problem is their prime suspect is her husband Dominic, a police officer. He believes that it's linked to a case he's investigating, a serial killer called the Sheffield Strangler. The case is personal to Claudia as she knows both Ruth and Dominic, can she put her feelings aside and solve the case?
Blood Stained is a police procedural that I felt was a lot heavier on the procedural aspect, focusing on evidence gathering and interviews, which I found fascinating. We go back and forth between Ruth missing and the current investigation and six months previously with the Sheffield Strangler case seeing both Claudia and Dominic in action.
I liked Claudia. She's ambitious but also a rule follower, keen to solve the case even though this case was emotionally draining for her. There was some good sparring between her and Dominic through their interviews together and she's not one to back down from a challenge.
I will say I figured out the who quite early on, even though there were a few good twists in there, but the why was what kept me turning those pages. Also, it is not the most action packed of stories but it had a steady pace throughout.
Blood stained is a gritty and realistic mystery which has left me wanting to see more of these characters.
Claudia is tasked to investigate the disappearance of Ruth Harrison. The problem is their prime suspect is her husband Dominic, a police officer. He believes that it's linked to a case he's investigating, a serial killer called the Sheffield Strangler. The case is personal to Claudia as she knows both Ruth and Dominic, can she put her feelings aside and solve the case?
Blood Stained is a police procedural that I felt was a lot heavier on the procedural aspect, focusing on evidence gathering and interviews, which I found fascinating. We go back and forth between Ruth missing and the current investigation and six months previously with the Sheffield Strangler case seeing both Claudia and Dominic in action.
I liked Claudia. She's ambitious but also a rule follower, keen to solve the case even though this case was emotionally draining for her. There was some good sparring between her and Dominic through their interviews together and she's not one to back down from a challenge.
I will say I figured out the who quite early on, even though there were a few good twists in there, but the why was what kept me turning those pages. Also, it is not the most action packed of stories but it had a steady pace throughout.
Blood stained is a gritty and realistic mystery which has left me wanting to see more of these characters.
steph1rothwell's review
4.0
I have enjoyed all of this author’s earlier books and was looking forward to this new series. It is an unusual one, I’ve never read a book where a member of the team has to investigate a colleague. That colleague is Dominic and it concerns the disappearance of his wife, Ruth. He claims it is the work of a serial killer he has been investigating.
As the novel progresses you see both investigations, Dominic attempts to find the serial killer and Claudia trying to find out who, if any of them, is responsible for Ruth’s disappearance. And as usual there were times I was aching to find out what happened next with both.
With the author’s background I was prepared for the level of detail concerning a murder investigation. This made the book more real and at times more upsetting. Not with the forensics but the emotions and not just concerning families.You could see the effect the crimes had on both of teams involved and the way they had to learn to cope. I also had a lot of appreciation for the way they worked together, in particular Claudia and Ross Kane.
I read plenty of books and I’m not often taken by surprise but there were a few times in this book when I read something unexpected. One of them I had to reread, flicking back to see what I had missed. And it worked perfectly.
A great start to a promising new series.
As the novel progresses you see both investigations, Dominic attempts to find the serial killer and Claudia trying to find out who, if any of them, is responsible for Ruth’s disappearance. And as usual there were times I was aching to find out what happened next with both.
With the author’s background I was prepared for the level of detail concerning a murder investigation. This made the book more real and at times more upsetting. Not with the forensics but the emotions and not just concerning families.You could see the effect the crimes had on both of teams involved and the way they had to learn to cope. I also had a lot of appreciation for the way they worked together, in particular Claudia and Ross Kane.
I read plenty of books and I’m not often taken by surprise but there were a few times in this book when I read something unexpected. One of them I had to reread, flicking back to see what I had missed. And it worked perfectly.
A great start to a promising new series.
cheryl59's review
5.0
I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. This was a brilliant book it had a great story and characters, many twists and an unexpected ending, I can't wait for more from this author.
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