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A review by noveldeelights
The Burning Men by Will Shindler
4.0
I often have a serious talk with myself about the need for a new crime fiction series in my life. There are so many to keep track of and as we all know, there are only so many hours in the day. There have been times where I have had to make the hard decision of letting a series go and firmly decided that “no”, there is no room in my life or on my book shelves for another series. And then The Burning Men happened and all my good intentions went out the window.
Five years ago, there was a fire at a development site in South London. Four firefighters rush into the building to rescue a person they saw waving at the window. They return without a body and one by one, they quit the service and vow never to speak to each other again. Now, one of the firefighters is set on fire on his wedding day. He is the first, but he won’t be the last. Someone seems to know what happened that day five years ago. But what?
Enter DI Alex Finn. He is more of an academic type than your typical detective inspector. Maybe somewhat lacking social skills, doesn’t seem to have any friends, but he’s fiercely intelligent. Alex really shouldn’t be at work, having just lost his wife but he needs something to sink his teeth into, something that will get him out of his empty flat. With a DI not quite functioning to his full capacity, can this intriguing case be solved though? As if Alex doesn’t have enough to deal with, he’s lumbered with a new partner, DC Mattie Paulsen. They make a most unlikely pairing. She’s damaged, flawed, doesn’t seem to go out of her way to make friends either and to be honest, I found her incredibly unlikeable. Yet, somehow, the partnership between Alex and Mattie works.
This is one of those book descriptions that just grabbed my attention from the get-go. The first chapter introduces the reader to the events from that day five years ago. But if you think you’re going to get the answer to that burning question (see what I did there?) of what actually happened, you’d better think again. That information is revealed along the way, allowing the reader to try and figure things out on their own. The bigger mystery, I thought, was who is responsible for these brutal murders! Needless to say, some of those scenes were a tad gruesome. Try as I might, I had no idea who the culprit was and Will Shindler kept me guessing until the end. And if at any moment I thought THAT part was exceedingly thrilling, which it was, don’t get me wrong … there was more to come and just … whoa!
I had a good feeling about this book from the very beginning and I was definitely not disappointed. Although, admittedly I was quite wary of the whole male/female partnership but Will Shindler soon put a stop to that. The Burning Men is immensely gripping, intense, addictive, a brilliant way to kickstart a new series and a really impressive debut. So, no, I really don’t need a new series in my life but you know what? I’m making room for this one and I can’t wait to spend more time with Alex and Mattie when they investigate their next case.
Five years ago, there was a fire at a development site in South London. Four firefighters rush into the building to rescue a person they saw waving at the window. They return without a body and one by one, they quit the service and vow never to speak to each other again. Now, one of the firefighters is set on fire on his wedding day. He is the first, but he won’t be the last. Someone seems to know what happened that day five years ago. But what?
Enter DI Alex Finn. He is more of an academic type than your typical detective inspector. Maybe somewhat lacking social skills, doesn’t seem to have any friends, but he’s fiercely intelligent. Alex really shouldn’t be at work, having just lost his wife but he needs something to sink his teeth into, something that will get him out of his empty flat. With a DI not quite functioning to his full capacity, can this intriguing case be solved though? As if Alex doesn’t have enough to deal with, he’s lumbered with a new partner, DC Mattie Paulsen. They make a most unlikely pairing. She’s damaged, flawed, doesn’t seem to go out of her way to make friends either and to be honest, I found her incredibly unlikeable. Yet, somehow, the partnership between Alex and Mattie works.
This is one of those book descriptions that just grabbed my attention from the get-go. The first chapter introduces the reader to the events from that day five years ago. But if you think you’re going to get the answer to that burning question (see what I did there?) of what actually happened, you’d better think again. That information is revealed along the way, allowing the reader to try and figure things out on their own. The bigger mystery, I thought, was who is responsible for these brutal murders! Needless to say, some of those scenes were a tad gruesome. Try as I might, I had no idea who the culprit was and Will Shindler kept me guessing until the end. And if at any moment I thought THAT part was exceedingly thrilling, which it was, don’t get me wrong … there was more to come and just … whoa!
I had a good feeling about this book from the very beginning and I was definitely not disappointed. Although, admittedly I was quite wary of the whole male/female partnership but Will Shindler soon put a stop to that. The Burning Men is immensely gripping, intense, addictive, a brilliant way to kickstart a new series and a really impressive debut. So, no, I really don’t need a new series in my life but you know what? I’m making room for this one and I can’t wait to spend more time with Alex and Mattie when they investigate their next case.