Burn the Evidence

Solomon Gray, Book 2

By: Keith Nixon

Narrated by: Howard J. Davey

Length: 6 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Mixing business with family can be a murderous affair....

A body washes up on the beach near Ramsgate in the South of England. For Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray, the case appears cut and dried - the drowning of an immigrant. Another victim to the sea in his desperate attempt to reach the UK.

As the tidewaters recede, two more corpses surface. One appears to also be a refugee, but he’s been stabbed to death. The other Gray recognizes immediately, and Gray knows this means trouble. Because the corpse is the son of local business tycoon Jake Armitage, a man with a dark reputation and an ex-school friend of Gray’s.

A post-mortem reveals ligature marks on the son’s wrists and drugs in his bloodstream. All signs indicate murder. Armitage swears to track down his son's killer and avenge his death.

Gray's investigation points to a deadly fire 10 years prior, and soon Armitage comes under suspicion. But Gray knows what it's like to lose a child and puts aside his distrust of Armitage to help. How are the dead men connected to each other - and to the infamous fire?

It's then that Gray gets another tip. On the whereabouts of his own missing son....

Set in the once-grand town of Margate in the south of England, the now broken and depressed seaside resort becomes its own character in this dark detective thriller, perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, and Peter James.

Burn the Evidence is the second book in the series featuring Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray. Pick it up now to discover whether Gray can escape his past in this taut crime series.

What others say:

"Accomplished writing from one of the best authors in the UK." (M. W. Craven, author of the Washington Poe series)

"Keith Nixon is one hell of a writer." (Ken Bruen, author of the Jack Taylor series)

"[D]eeply emotional, a dark rollercoaster ride." (Ed James, author of best-selling DI Fenchurch series)

"Keith Nixon’s latest Solomon Gray murder mystery pushes all the hot button issues of a traumatised post-Brexit UK in this dark tale of loss, revenge and redemption. Flawed and floored by personal tragedy, DS Solomon Gray is ready to take his place alongside DS Logan McRae, DS Roy Grace and DCI John Luther. Modern jet-black Brit Noir at its best." (Tim Baker, CWA shortlisted author of Fever City)

"A compelling murder mystery with a multilayered and engaging new hero. Great read." (Mason Cross, author of the Carter Blake thriller series)

"A damaged detective, haunted by a tragic past, a young son missing or dead, a man on a quest for redemption. Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray is a fine creation and Dig Two Graves an intriguing, nourish mystery. Keith Nixon is a sparkling crime fiction talent." (Howard Linskey, author of the Detective Ian Bradshawcrime series)

©2018, 2019 Keith Edward Nixon (P)2019 Keith Edward Nixon

Critic reviews

"A dark, uncompromising tale of loss, murder, and revenge. Glorious noir, which takes the police procedural elements and gives them new life. I can't wait to read the next step in Solomon Gray's journey for answers...." (Luca Veste, author of the Murphy and Rossi crime series)

Good Story - Dull, Plodding narration

I feel that, all in all, this was an interesting story that needed a better narration than it got. Monotonous and plodding, the narrator's voice often sent my mind wondering in other directions whilst listening to this, and so I missed out on big (and small) details of the plot.

Serious cliffhanger

I liked the story despite its flaws. This is a very good plot and story, but it is not very well executed in this book. This book ends on a major cliffhanger, so cannot be considered a stand alone novel at all. It would also help if you've read the first book, which I haven't, as there are a lot of things that are not very clear which might have been explained in the first book. I think perhaps if you read the whole series, things might become less confusing, but judging this book on its own, it just does not work. There are a lot of things left unexplained, like the immigrant's story sort of just ends without explanation after it received so much focus. The original crime is not really solved and does not seem to be important to DS Solomon as he turns all his focus to a past crime and the disappearance of his son. The book jumps around from past to present and also between the characters without warning and it makes it hard to follow. And worse of all was the narrator. He is very monotonous with an excruciatingly slow pace. I sped up the audio just to get through it, but then found myself having to go back quite often as I missed certain parts. I would like to see how this story ends, so I might read the next book once it comes out, but only if it does not have the same narrator.

Good plot, characters, and storyline.

I had a bit of a struggle sometimes following along with the dialog in back & forth conversations as far as which character was saying what.
Otherwise, a great read. Interesting story, characters you want to know more about, and enough twists to not see the ending coming while still being engaging.
I spent the first third of the book waiting for more about the first chapter to be told. In the middle I had totally forgotten and was enthralled in trying to figure everything out. And at the end, I was pleasantly surprised to see everything come full circle and wrap up nicely.
I have not read any other books with Gray but want to read more with his character.

Burn the Evidence

Burn the Evidence by Keith Nixon is a great book! There are some unexpected twists in this book and I did not see the ending coming. I love it when an author surprises me. I enjoyed how the author intertwined past and present. This book is labeled as Book 2 and is a solid standalone listen. However, the book ends in a Cliffhanger! Howard J. Davey is a new to me narrator. He has a great voice, but didn't have as much emotions infected in his delivery as I prefer. I requested this review copy audiobook and have voluntarily written this review. I will definitely listen to more by this author and narrator.

A good solid story

As the second book in the series, it’s a solid stand alone. Engaging characters and an interesting story line keep the reader engrossed. Sol’s case is tied up nicely. I am not big fan of last page cliff hangers, however in this case it’s definitely a lead into the next phase of Sol’s life rather than an “unfinished” thread in the timeline in this story.
I struggled a bit with the narration. I ended up adjusting the speed and then it was smooth sailing!

Very slow

This story was very slow. I just wanted to move them all along! I found all the characters sometimes confusing, but it could be that I lost interest at times. The narrator was very boring, same voice and tone all the way through.