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toellandback's review
5.0
The seventh outing for DI Bliss and his team is well up to the expected standards and not only sees the admittedly brief, but very welcome, return of a character from the previous book, it also sees a possible shift in the personal life of Bliss. But these are a tiny fraction of the main story which is brutally gruesome as various body parts are being deposited around different areas of the country. It's a cracking whodunnit and whydunnit with the reader as much in the dark as the characters who continue to hit dead ends and brick walls as they look for the breakthrough. It is more graphic than previous outings with some descriptions very hard to read but that's not a complaint! Highly recommended
sarahs_bookish_life's review
5.0
Wow, well the author sure knows how to grab my attention with an opening like this one! I won’t go into any detail but if you are a lover of dark crime books, well this opening is the one for you.
There is something comforting about a book in a series. Yes I know it’s a detective series, but its the familiarity of the characters that we’ve gotten to know and love as well as the pleasure of the way the author writes them. I have to say how pleased I was that he brought Molly, even though briefly, into this one. If you have read the previous book in the series, like Bliss, this is a girl that steals her way into your heart. The parts with her in bring some lighthearted relief and I hope we see more of her in future books.
This is a dark and complex case, one which sees it becoming even more complicated as it turns into a joint task force effort. I felt for Bliss and his team as the pressure is mounting. The author manages to bring some humour as well as some heart warming moments with Bliss’ personal life. This just endeared him to me even more. He is stubborn, set in his ways and whilst he seems to rub some people up the wrong way, he can’t do any wrong in my eyes.
Slow Slicing is a harrowing but riveting read that I couldn’t wait to pick up at every opportunity given. Even when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. After how this one ends, I am already eager for the next book. Another well written and clever case that kept me on tenterhooks throughout.
My thanks to the author for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
Merged review:
Wow, well the author sure knows how to grab my attention with an opening like this one! I won’t go into any detail but if you are a lover of dark crime books, well this opening is the one for you.
There is something comforting about a book in a series. Yes I know it’s a detective series, but its the familiarity of the characters that we’ve gotten to know and love as well as the pleasure of the way the author writes them. I have to say how pleased I was that he brought Molly, even though briefly, into this one. If you have read the previous book in the series, like Bliss, this is a girl that steals her way into your heart. The parts with her in bring some lighthearted relief and I hope we see more of her in future books.
This is a dark and complex case, one which sees it becoming even more complicated as it turns into a joint task force effort. I felt for Bliss and his team as the pressure is mounting. The author manages to bring some humour as well as some heart warming moments with Bliss’ personal life. This just endeared him to me even more. He is stubborn, set in his ways and whilst he seems to rub some people up the wrong way, he can’t do any wrong in my eyes.
Slow Slicing is a harrowing but riveting read that I couldn’t wait to pick up at every opportunity given. Even when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. After how this one ends, I am already eager for the next book. Another well written and clever case that kept me on tenterhooks throughout.
There is something comforting about a book in a series. Yes I know it’s a detective series, but its the familiarity of the characters that we’ve gotten to know and love as well as the pleasure of the way the author writes them. I have to say how pleased I was that he brought Molly, even though briefly, into this one. If you have read the previous book in the series, like Bliss, this is a girl that steals her way into your heart. The parts with her in bring some lighthearted relief and I hope we see more of her in future books.
This is a dark and complex case, one which sees it becoming even more complicated as it turns into a joint task force effort. I felt for Bliss and his team as the pressure is mounting. The author manages to bring some humour as well as some heart warming moments with Bliss’ personal life. This just endeared him to me even more. He is stubborn, set in his ways and whilst he seems to rub some people up the wrong way, he can’t do any wrong in my eyes.
Slow Slicing is a harrowing but riveting read that I couldn’t wait to pick up at every opportunity given. Even when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. After how this one ends, I am already eager for the next book. Another well written and clever case that kept me on tenterhooks throughout.
My thanks to the author for an advanced readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway.
Merged review:
Wow, well the author sure knows how to grab my attention with an opening like this one! I won’t go into any detail but if you are a lover of dark crime books, well this opening is the one for you.
There is something comforting about a book in a series. Yes I know it’s a detective series, but its the familiarity of the characters that we’ve gotten to know and love as well as the pleasure of the way the author writes them. I have to say how pleased I was that he brought Molly, even though briefly, into this one. If you have read the previous book in the series, like Bliss, this is a girl that steals her way into your heart. The parts with her in bring some lighthearted relief and I hope we see more of her in future books.
This is a dark and complex case, one which sees it becoming even more complicated as it turns into a joint task force effort. I felt for Bliss and his team as the pressure is mounting. The author manages to bring some humour as well as some heart warming moments with Bliss’ personal life. This just endeared him to me even more. He is stubborn, set in his ways and whilst he seems to rub some people up the wrong way, he can’t do any wrong in my eyes.
Slow Slicing is a harrowing but riveting read that I couldn’t wait to pick up at every opportunity given. Even when I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it. After how this one ends, I am already eager for the next book. Another well written and clever case that kept me on tenterhooks throughout.
karlou's review
5.0
A new DI Bliss novel is always something to look forward to and even at this stage of the series, with Slow Slicing the seventh book published, Tony Forder's skill as a writer means it can be enjoyed as a standalone - although I would strongly advise you to read the previous books if possible, not only because they're all thoroughly enjoyable but also because I do believe there's an additional emotional pull that comes from really knowing these characters.
After a really grisly opening chapter featuring an unknown victim being horrifically tortured, we get to briefly see Bliss in an uncharacteristically light mood as he meets up with Molly, who returning readers will be pleased to see again after she made such an impression in the previous story, Endless Silent Scream. Things have moved on considerably since then and Molly only has a peripheral role to play here but the scenes she appears in are a delight and allow us to see the softer side of Jimmy Bliss.
Their reunion is cut short, however, when Bliss receives a call from a Wiltshire based Superintendent who worked in the Serious and Organised Crime Agency at the same time as Bliss. It quickly transpires that the discovery of a large slice of human flesh at West Kennet Long Barrow bears too close similarities to the case Bliss and his team are currently working back in Peterborough to be merely coincidence. Nine days ago, another chunk of flesh was left in a plastic bag in a stone fireplace in Peterborough Cathedral. As the first piece was white and the second, black, it begins to look as if a serial killer might be at work. Both have been carved with a series of letters and numbers but they don't match and at this point offer no clue as to what their significance might mean.
One of the many highlights of this series is just how different each case is and that's true again here. Although Tony Forder often explores the more shadowy aspects of society and of human behaviour, Slow Slicing is perhaps even darker than what came before. The nature of the violence here is especially gruesome and even though I read a lot of dark crime fiction, I still winced at some of the horrors inflicted on the victims. It's not gratuitous, however, and is integral to the plot and to understanding the motivation behind the cruelty.
As more body parts are discovered, it becomes evident that this is linked to the horrific murder of a woman in 1994 and is almost certainly connected to organised crime, an area of policing Jimmy Bliss knows well from his time working in London. The emotional toll of policing is another constant and welcome feature of this series and whether it's DS Bishop still traumatised by the tragic loss of his partner, Mia or DC Ansari having her optimism dulled by the grinding, almost hopeless nature of the case, it's not just Bliss who is suffering here. It's wonderful then to see his partner, DS Penny Chandler enjoying a much better time of things in her personal life and even Bliss himself might have the chance at some happiness if he takes the opportunity to allow somebody in.
In the earlier books in the series, Bliss was often angry and confrontational and while we definitely still see that side of his character in Slow Slicing, as the lead of the joint task force operation set up to pool and double knowledge, he is more mindful in his dealings with his opposing officers. However, he is also more contemplative here too and recognises his tendency to become maudlin, although it could be argued with good reason at times. He claims to be happy with his own company and while that is undoubtedly true to an extent, he is afflicted with a lonely melancholy that threatens to become more entrenched. Now in the final years of his career, he looks back at his past and considers his future with a mixture of nostalgia, disappointment and acceptance. Nevertheless, he remains a loyal, principled boss and the interactions with his team, particularly Chandler, are still as effortlessly natural and frequently humorous as I've come to expect from an author who understands his characters so well.
As complex and shocking as the case may be, it is also entirely believable, both in terms of the reasons behind the violence and the consequences after the operation reaches its conclusion. Slow Slicing is yet another outstanding instalment in this exceptional series; intelligent, surprising and entertaining, it is also a book written with a real insight into human nature. It is a pleasure to see Bliss out of Peterborough again too, and as always the sense of place evoked is excellent throughout. This continues to be an unmissable, benchmark police procedural series for me and the potential repercussions following what happens at the end means I'm desperate to find out what lies in store for Jimmy Bliss next.
After a really grisly opening chapter featuring an unknown victim being horrifically tortured, we get to briefly see Bliss in an uncharacteristically light mood as he meets up with Molly, who returning readers will be pleased to see again after she made such an impression in the previous story, Endless Silent Scream. Things have moved on considerably since then and Molly only has a peripheral role to play here but the scenes she appears in are a delight and allow us to see the softer side of Jimmy Bliss.
Their reunion is cut short, however, when Bliss receives a call from a Wiltshire based Superintendent who worked in the Serious and Organised Crime Agency at the same time as Bliss. It quickly transpires that the discovery of a large slice of human flesh at West Kennet Long Barrow bears too close similarities to the case Bliss and his team are currently working back in Peterborough to be merely coincidence. Nine days ago, another chunk of flesh was left in a plastic bag in a stone fireplace in Peterborough Cathedral. As the first piece was white and the second, black, it begins to look as if a serial killer might be at work. Both have been carved with a series of letters and numbers but they don't match and at this point offer no clue as to what their significance might mean.
One of the many highlights of this series is just how different each case is and that's true again here. Although Tony Forder often explores the more shadowy aspects of society and of human behaviour, Slow Slicing is perhaps even darker than what came before. The nature of the violence here is especially gruesome and even though I read a lot of dark crime fiction, I still winced at some of the horrors inflicted on the victims. It's not gratuitous, however, and is integral to the plot and to understanding the motivation behind the cruelty.
As more body parts are discovered, it becomes evident that this is linked to the horrific murder of a woman in 1994 and is almost certainly connected to organised crime, an area of policing Jimmy Bliss knows well from his time working in London. The emotional toll of policing is another constant and welcome feature of this series and whether it's DS Bishop still traumatised by the tragic loss of his partner, Mia or DC Ansari having her optimism dulled by the grinding, almost hopeless nature of the case, it's not just Bliss who is suffering here. It's wonderful then to see his partner, DS Penny Chandler enjoying a much better time of things in her personal life and even Bliss himself might have the chance at some happiness if he takes the opportunity to allow somebody in.
In the earlier books in the series, Bliss was often angry and confrontational and while we definitely still see that side of his character in Slow Slicing, as the lead of the joint task force operation set up to pool and double knowledge, he is more mindful in his dealings with his opposing officers. However, he is also more contemplative here too and recognises his tendency to become maudlin, although it could be argued with good reason at times. He claims to be happy with his own company and while that is undoubtedly true to an extent, he is afflicted with a lonely melancholy that threatens to become more entrenched. Now in the final years of his career, he looks back at his past and considers his future with a mixture of nostalgia, disappointment and acceptance. Nevertheless, he remains a loyal, principled boss and the interactions with his team, particularly Chandler, are still as effortlessly natural and frequently humorous as I've come to expect from an author who understands his characters so well.
As complex and shocking as the case may be, it is also entirely believable, both in terms of the reasons behind the violence and the consequences after the operation reaches its conclusion. Slow Slicing is yet another outstanding instalment in this exceptional series; intelligent, surprising and entertaining, it is also a book written with a real insight into human nature. It is a pleasure to see Bliss out of Peterborough again too, and as always the sense of place evoked is excellent throughout. This continues to be an unmissable, benchmark police procedural series for me and the potential repercussions following what happens at the end means I'm desperate to find out what lies in store for Jimmy Bliss next.
muffhead's review
5.0
Another outing for Bliss, Chandler and his wonderful team.
The first chapter opens with a delightfully disgusting torture from which the title is taken.
After a mild detour to pick up with Molly again, Bliss is called to a crime scene where a lump of engraved flesh has been found and has flagged to a case similar to his.
This leads to a joint task force across 3 areas and a breathtaking story, taking into account the horrific murder of a young woman over 20 years previously. There are lots of twists and turns and I wasn't sure who done it until the very end. A couple of genius little red herrings as well.
Something that really comes across for me in all of the Bliss books is the camaraderie amongst the team and the issues of promotion are addressed as well as personal issues and the individual characters. It gives it a more human edge and you feel like you know all of the characters within the team.
As always with Tony Forder the case is laid out in meticulous detail and you are always wondering if Bliss will get himself into trouble and whether he'll ever get his love life sorted.
These questions aren't answered and leave you to wonder even more about the future!
The first chapter opens with a delightfully disgusting torture from which the title is taken.
After a mild detour to pick up with Molly again, Bliss is called to a crime scene where a lump of engraved flesh has been found and has flagged to a case similar to his.
This leads to a joint task force across 3 areas and a breathtaking story, taking into account the horrific murder of a young woman over 20 years previously. There are lots of twists and turns and I wasn't sure who done it until the very end. A couple of genius little red herrings as well.
Something that really comes across for me in all of the Bliss books is the camaraderie amongst the team and the issues of promotion are addressed as well as personal issues and the individual characters. It gives it a more human edge and you feel like you know all of the characters within the team.
As always with Tony Forder the case is laid out in meticulous detail and you are always wondering if Bliss will get himself into trouble and whether he'll ever get his love life sorted.
These questions aren't answered and leave you to wonder even more about the future!
nietzschesghost's review
5.0
Slow Slicing is the seventh instalment in this bestselling series, featuring DI Jimmy Bliss and DS Penny Chandler and is the darkest and most disturbing episode to date. Slow Slicing is the Western translation of Lingchi, the drawn-out Chinese method of torture execution in which slices of flesh are systematically removed from the body of the condemned. It was the executioner's task to make as many cuts as possible without killing the victim and making them suffer as much as possible before their demise.
After a graphic, bloody and brutal opening chapter where we hear about Lingchi being used against a victim, the police begin to discover body parts and pieces of flesh turning up at different locations; three parts at first with one being in DI Jimmy Bliss's jurisdiction in Peterborough — it was discovered wrapped in a plastic bag inside the fireplace of the cathedral. A Joint Task Force is created, with Jimmy at the helm, to help pool resources and share information with police across the counties where the other parts have been found. The second piece was uncovered at West Kennet Long Barrow historical site, and given that one piece was white and one black it's safe to say they have either an emerging or re-emerging serial killer on their hands. After delving deeper it is believed that this case is linked to a twenty-six-year-old gangland cold case which was similar in nature. With very little evidence or clues to point them in the right direction, investigators have their work cut out trying to stop another gruesome discovery from appearing.
This is a riveting, compulsive and exhilarating thriller but is certainly not for the faint-hearted as Forder doesn't shy away from making the action blood-soaked, gory and deliciously depraved from the beginning with the opening chapter being full of sadism and a stomach-churning sense of excitement. I struggle to comprehend why Forder isn't as lauded as the big names in the genre because his superb plotting, extensive character development, and effortlessly flowing, highly readable style are magnificent and a force to be reckoned with. I found the dynamic between colleagues believable and interesting with each having a defined role to play and wisdom to share. It's a complex story but it never becomes confusing and the perfectly placed and plotted twists and turns and expert use of misdirection all play a large role in blowing you away. I also enjoyed the fact that we got to see Molly again which brought out a softer and more compassionate and caring side to Bliss. A real page-turner and a must-read for all crime connoisseurs. Many thanks to BOTBS for an ARC.
After a graphic, bloody and brutal opening chapter where we hear about Lingchi being used against a victim, the police begin to discover body parts and pieces of flesh turning up at different locations; three parts at first with one being in DI Jimmy Bliss's jurisdiction in Peterborough — it was discovered wrapped in a plastic bag inside the fireplace of the cathedral. A Joint Task Force is created, with Jimmy at the helm, to help pool resources and share information with police across the counties where the other parts have been found. The second piece was uncovered at West Kennet Long Barrow historical site, and given that one piece was white and one black it's safe to say they have either an emerging or re-emerging serial killer on their hands. After delving deeper it is believed that this case is linked to a twenty-six-year-old gangland cold case which was similar in nature. With very little evidence or clues to point them in the right direction, investigators have their work cut out trying to stop another gruesome discovery from appearing.
This is a riveting, compulsive and exhilarating thriller but is certainly not for the faint-hearted as Forder doesn't shy away from making the action blood-soaked, gory and deliciously depraved from the beginning with the opening chapter being full of sadism and a stomach-churning sense of excitement. I struggle to comprehend why Forder isn't as lauded as the big names in the genre because his superb plotting, extensive character development, and effortlessly flowing, highly readable style are magnificent and a force to be reckoned with. I found the dynamic between colleagues believable and interesting with each having a defined role to play and wisdom to share. It's a complex story but it never becomes confusing and the perfectly placed and plotted twists and turns and expert use of misdirection all play a large role in blowing you away. I also enjoyed the fact that we got to see Molly again which brought out a softer and more compassionate and caring side to Bliss. A real page-turner and a must-read for all crime connoisseurs. Many thanks to BOTBS for an ARC.
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