Book Review: THE LONG GAME by Simon Rowell

 

Author: Simon Rowell

Book: The Long Game

Series: Detective Zoe Mayer (Book 1)

Publication Day: 03 August 2021

A summer of relentless heat. A local surfer named Ray Carlson is found dead in a house not far from Portsea back beach. There’s a kitchen knife deep in his chest, and blood everywhere.

Detective Sergeant Zoe Mayer is scarcely back from extended leave, and still wrestling with her demons, but she is assigned the case—alongside her new service dog, Harry, whose instincts help her in unexpected ways.

There’s an obvious suspect for the murder, and Zoe makes an arrest. But it’s all too neat, and none of Zoe’s colleagues believes her theory that the whole thing is a stitch-up.

Except now someone is trying to hunt Zoe down.

***

My Thoughts

THE LONG GAME by Simon Rowell introduces us to Zoe Mayer, Detective Sergeant with the Victoria Police who has just come back to work after several months of enforced leave.

Her first case back, a murder, seems quite straight forward once the investigative work begins. Enquires are made, witnesses interviewed, evidence is gathered and it all points to one person who is adamant they are innocent. And yet, Zoe feels something is not quite right . . . it’s a bit too down pat for her to be satisfied.

I thought the plot was great. Although thwarted in the end, the ‘bad guys’ did a good job planning the crimes.  

There were two key aspects that didn’t quite work for me. First, for the first three quarters of the book nothing much happens. Second, many of the characters, especially Zoe’s colleagues, are predictable cookie-cutter types that offer little depth to the story.

The final quarter of the book is the best. The pacing increases significantly and there’s finally a sense of urgency to catch the killer(s) before they strike again. This last part also offers more twist, turns and revelations that moved the story along until its conclusion.

I liked this book enough to want to read the next Zoe Mayer book that is coming out in 2023. 

Review copy courtesy of Text Publishing & Netgalley.

Coming Soon . . . 

Wild Card (Detective Zoe Mayer, Book 2)

Publication date: 10 January 2023

Publisher: Text Publishing

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About the Author

Simon Rowell has worked on outback oil rigs, managed nightclubs, been a tour guide and run marketing campaigns. He is the author of The Long Game and The Echo of Others, which was longlisted for the Ned Kelly Awards for Best First Crime in 2018. He lives with his wife, Karen, in rural Victoria on a farm full of rescued animals.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sirowell_author

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimonRowellAuthor

Book Review: STOLEN ONES by Angela Marsons

          

STOLEN ONES

by

Angela Marsons

Publication Date: 11 November 2021

Publisher: Bookouture

About the Book

25 years ago he took a girl. Today he takes another.

One August afternoon, eight-year-old Grace Lennard skips into the garden of the childcare centre she attends and vanishes into thin air.

Hours before, Steven Harte walks into Halesowen police station and confesses to having information that will lead Detective Kim Stone to Melody Jones – the little girl who was taken from a playground exactly twenty-five years ago. But something about his confession is off and Kim dismisses his claims.

Arriving at the scene of Grace’s disappearance, Kim finds a chilling piece of evidence: the heart bracelet belonging to Melody. Now Kim must play Steven’s twisted game if she is to find Grace alive. But they’re going to play by Kim’s rules.

With only twenty-four hours to make every second of Steven’s interrogation count, and scan his behaviour for hidden clues, Kim and her team soon link Steven to the abduction of several vulnerable girls – two were kept for a year and then released, unharmed – but where are Melody and the others?

Then small bones are discovered in the grounds of a local park, and Kim fears the worst.

Kim may be close to convicting a killer, but there’s another who wants revenge against her – Dr Alex Thorne – the evil woman Kim did her best to keep behind bars. Alex is about to reveal a shocking secret to Kim that will hit her where it hurts the most. And if Kim lets Alex mess with her head, she might not be able to save Grace and find the other missing girls in time.

An edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave your heart in your mouth. You will be totally hooked on the utterly addictive, number one, multi-million-copy bestselling Detective Kim Stone series. 

***

My Thoughts

With her characteristic short chapters and fast paced stories, Angela Marsons brings us the latest offering in her DI Kim Stone series, STOLEN ONES.

Kim and her team don’t quite know the cat-and-mouse game that awaits them when intelligent and wealthy philanthropist Stephen Harte coolly enters the police station and confesses to having information about the child abduction of Melody Jones that occurred twenty five years ago. Frustrated at his lack of directness, Kim is ready to disregard his claims until word comes through that another girl has just gone missing, and at her place of abduction is a piece of jewellery that belonged to Melody.

In every book, Marsons strives to bring to light a new facet of investigative work. This time around it’s interview and interrogation techniques. How do you engage with someone, and get them to reveal information you need to solve a case? How do you read and respond to their body language? How do you get Stephen Harte to confess his connections to the crimes and hopefully make it in time to find a frightened little girl still alive? 

This was another engaging and enjoyable read. There were plenty of interesting twists along the way – and that final big twist – yikes! I did not see that coming at all.

Deranged ex-psychiatrist, Alexandra Thorne is also back on the scene. She's been a great character in some of the previous books, but this time around I felt she was an extraneous detour from the primary plot that offered little to the overall story.

One character I would love to see more of is forensic archaeologist, Dr. A. She’s so caring and passionate about her work. Her brusque interactions with colleagues, coupled with her regular butchering of the English language always provides humour.

Well done to Angela. This is book 15 in the series, and it is as fresh as the earlier books. That’s worthy of recognition. This book holds up well as a standalone read, but I think there is a lot value for to readers to start at the beginning. I am already eager to read the next book. 

Review copy courtesy of Bookouture and Netgalley. 

***

About the Author

I discovered my love of writing at Primary School when a short piece on the rocks and the sea gained me the only merit point I ever got. I wrote the stories that burned inside and then stored them safely in a desk drawer.
After much urging from my partner I began to enter short story competitions in Writer’s News resulting in a win and three short listed entries. I self-published two of my earlier works before concentrating on my true passion – Crime.
After many, many submissions I signed an 8 book deal with Bookouture as their first crime author.

I live in the Black Country with my partner, our bouncy Labrador and potty-mouthed parrot.

 

http://angelamarsons-books.com/