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Melissa Green

Totally didn't see the end coming...

Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2019

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And that's saying something because I usually have it figured out by about 1/2 way in. Denzil Meyrick creates such memorable characters that you get genuinely attached to (except Liz Daley) through the series. Then, he messes with you for the whole book making you wonder if they're all going to die.... and then you get hit with a cliff hanger that once again - I didn't see coming.

Amazon Customer

great read

Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2021

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would recommend reading this author from the start of the series to enjoy the characters.

SalGal

Another Denzil Meyrick tense mystery thriller

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2019

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As always, a DC I Daley thriller you can't put down. It was fun greeting old friends and winding through all the twists and turns. I did not like the ending, but am sure Mr. Meyrick will once again reward us for our patience.

T. Ormiston-smith

Oh, the suspense!

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2019

Every time I read one of Meyrick's books it's better than the last! Oh but such an ending this time! Daley seems to be about to lose both job and life, although his errant wife may be returning to the fold. It's agony having to wait for the next book!

Character lives aside, though, the usual tight plot and utterly surprising denouement. Truly this man is a master of his genre.

Mainer

Excellent

Reviewed in the United States on July 25, 2019

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The latest book in the DCI Daley series is out, and I'm not happy. Oh, it's an excellent read with lots of mystery and the Kinloch characters I love. But now I have to wait for the next book and I'm not a patient reader.
Jim Daley is dealing with a cruise liner of rich bigwigs that the British government has docked in Kinloch harbor to encourage them to invest in the UK. Meanwhile, Liz is causing trouble and people in town are disappearing. When Jim's health takes a turn for the worse, it's up to Brian Scott to step up and take over.
While I admire and respect Jim, I adore Brian and his wife Ella, so a book with lots of the Scotts' having dialogue works for me. They obviously adore each other. Brian's flights of conversation make me laugh. Hamish, Annie, and the rest of the Kinloch team also appear.
The mysteries pile on top of each other, and I admit the ending took me by surprise (actually, the different resolutions to several of the plotlines were shocking). This is such a good series, and I think this might be the best book so far.

John Vanderhoof

great entertainment

Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2019

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this book was just plain fun--of course there was the mystery story--but thrown in was the interaction between the local Scots--hilarious and earthy fall out of your chair humor

if you haven't read Meyrick---do so--great entertainment

Top reviews from other countries

Roo I MacLeod

Twisting in the Loch

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 4, 2023

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Anyone who likes a police procedural will love this book. Twist upon twist with most of the threads tied up neat and strong
A really good read.

Spicewalker

Witty and emotional

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 3, 2021

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Well Denzil Meyrick has done it again. Another absolutely cracking read that had me chuckling into my coffee one minute and pulsing with anger the next. Topical, entertaining and completely engrossing, it kept me riveted to the audiobook from start to finish. I mean, what can you really say about a story that sees Brian Scott, possibly the least politically correct and environmentally aware Detective in Kinloch, undercover amongst the high poloi and political elite, attempting to wax lyrical about the benefit of alternative fuels ... Even just the thought of it is enough to bring a smile to my face.

This book is a mix of political game playing, national security and old fashioned terrorism. But there is a real thread of emotion too as the action, and the story, comes a little too close to home for Jim Daley. The book is infused with tension and mystery as you'd expect, plus some unexpected and suitably gruesome murders that have come to be a feature or previous books. Perhaps not quite so inventive as some of its predecessors, but certainly ones which get the brows a lifting. Once again drawing us back to events from the past, the impact upon the future is quite stark, but reflective of stories we hear all too often in modern life. And the mix of big business and environmentalism as a backdrop to an high stakes operation, really do add a touch of authenticity to the story. Expecting Scott to remember a script on wind farms a touch less so, but it certainly makes for some lip twitching and chuckle inducing moments. Thank heavens for Ella is all I can say. Scott is always a moment of light in what could be very dark stories, and yet again he does not disappoint.

As for Daley ... well, he's somewhat distracted this time around. Personal matters coming to impinge on his professional life and ones which. do not sit well with his new found habits. One of the best things about Daley is his passion and his conviction, both of which are tested to their limits in this book. It has been sad to watch the change in his personality over the course of the the past few books, the melancholy which has set in, but. Denzil Meyrick has played it perfectly, portraying the toll the constant emotional barrage has had upon Daley's health, both physically and mentally. It feels right, believable, but is no less tragic and hard to watch.

The fact that I am so invested in the lives of these characters just shows how well the books are written, how astute the observational and narrative ticks of the author have been to make them get under my skin in this way. Both Scott and Daley, and the wider Kinloch community, really matter. You kind of feel protective of them, and believe me, this time around the impact is almost visceral. There are scenes which could leave you feeling quite raw emotionally, balanced very carefully in the way in which they inform the story without feeling gratuitous. It certainly leads to a very dramatic and shocking conclusion, one which left me on tenterhooks and wondering what the heck comes next.

Full of tension, fast paced action, humour and genuine, heartfelt emotion, this is one of the books that will both delight readers looking for that mystery and action led plot, but also draw you closer to the characters as a whole. Full of the author's typically rich and vivid scene setting and engaging storytelling, it's a memorable read for all the right reasons, and another prime example of why I'm very glad I've caught up with this series. Most heartily recommended.

PrimeDirective

Wow!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 8, 2023

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Mair red herrin’s as big as Hamish’s kipper tie than you can shake you finger at! Another cracking tale from Denzil Meyrick, expertly read by David Monteath. Twists and turns, uphill and doonhill banks and braes. This is a bumper of a story!

Jeff kendrick

Unnecessarily long-winded

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 23, 2023

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To long winded and drawn out for me.
I was glad to get to the end.
It's just I found it full of irrelevant things that just dragged out the story.
That ridiculous last chapter involving half the police force to tackle one couple outlining every turning and junction along that stretch of Beverly hills. What clothes they were all wearing etc.
Yawn yawn yawn.

jas

Crime with a good sprinkling of comedy - an enjoyable read

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 26, 2019

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The tiny little town of Kinloch on the peninsula of Scotland’s rugged west coast, comes to life with the arrival of the SS Great Britain, a luxury cruise ship playing host to some of the worlds richest and most influential business people. DI Jim Daley is in charge of over-seeing the policing arrangements. So, the last thing he needs is his ex-wife making a dramatic appearance, with his young son in tow. No wonder his health takes a turn for the worse and he finds himself out of action. Cue, DS Brian Scott, his trusty right-hand man.

The story presents a good interplay between the locals, some gullible, others downright scheming, and the interlopers. Add to the mix two shifty Somalians and the back-story of a young Irish boy whose family suffered in the midst of the Northern Ireland conflict and it’s clear all is not as it seems.

The characters are well written, and despite the large number of them, they are portrayed strongly enough that I never found it confusing or difficult to distinguish between them.
The heavy vernacular was, well, heavy. I didn’t mind it, though some times I thought it did go a little overboard (no pun intended).

However, I did think relegating DI Daley to a bit-part and letting DS Scott take centre stage did impact on the story detrimentally. Scott, a plain-speaking man who tells it as it is, is almost comedic in his bumbling ways. Daley, the brainy one, watches from the side-lines, wrapped up in his home-life and health.

The book is easy to read, humorous and there are, underneath it all, crimes that need to be solved. I did enjoy it, but thought the balance a little out of kilter between the tension and the humour. It wouldn’t put me off reading more by this author though, as I do enjoy his overall style of writing and the fact that he can reveal such a complex plot so subtly.

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