It feels like an age since I have reviewed any crime on the blog. I put this down to decent weather meaning I am all about beach reads and an inspiring non-fiction read that captured my eye. But here we are. It was back to a bit of a moreish favourite for me, but picking up the next in the series of the the excellent DCI Ryan books.

Read my Review of High Force

This is the 6th outing for DCI Ryan. One note, definitely read this series in order. Lots of events are touched upon from the previous novels and reading them in order helps to build the background to DCI Ryan's life, who incidentally is the probably the unluckiest police officer ever to feature in a book. This poor man has seen his sister murdered in front of him, been the target for a serial killer, had key members of his team become further targets for copy cat killer, had a boss in a sinister county wide gang, and has now a new boss who once had a terrifying obsession with him! The poor man can not get a break.

But these are riveting page turners. And Cragside is another fine addition to the DCI Ryan stable.

The Plot

After his climactic battle with notorious serial killer 'the Hacker', DCI Ryan is spending the summer with his fiancee within the grounds of Cragside, a spectacular Bavarian-style mansion surrounded by acres of woodland. When they are invited to attend the staff summer party - a Victorian murder mystery evening - it's all a joke until the lights go out and an elderly man is found dead. It looks like an unfortunate accident but as the dead man's life begins to unfold, Ryan and his team of detectives realise all is not as it appears.

When a second body is found, terror grips the close-knit community and Ryan must uncover the killer who walks among them before they strike again.....

My Thoughts

I've covered a lot of my thoughts in my preamble for this post. This novel feels like a calming down after the events of High Force and actually I welcome this kind of book for a change, as it gives us (and DCI Ryan) some respite from the horrors he has faced in previous books.

Of course, this is DCI Ryan and L.J.Ross nicely sets up a new character who I am sure will be a manipulative thorn in Ryan's side. I'm eager to see where this thread will go.

The crime is less brutal than in previous novels, and at first is almost missed as an unfortunate accident, but as DCI Ryan investigates further it becomes clear it is a case of murder. For once, Ryan and his team are not in any immediate danger and this allows the novel to become a good police procedural.

Whilst Ryan is the enigmatic hero, special mention must be made of Detective Sergeant Frank Phillips, who I adore, a tough no nonsense Yorkshire man with a heart of gold and a good father figure to Ryan. He's a brilliant character who I feel very protective towards!

This is an excellent police-procedural novel and like L.J. Ross' previous books in the series, a gripping page turner. I can't wait for the next book!