Long Time Dead

Detective Sheridan Holler, Book 1

By: T. M. Payne

Narrated by: Heather Bleasdale

A cold case that’s no longer cold. A suspect who’s been murdered. A silenced witness.

"A brilliant debut."—Steve Cavanagh

"True fans of Val McDermid will love Payne's writing.”—A. J. West

"One of the most exciting new voices in crime fiction."—Kia Abdullah

DI Sheridan Holler is used to solving crimes on Liverpool’s streets, but after a decayed corpse turns up in a cemetery, she finds herself reopening not one but two cold cases. Seven years earlier, two women were gunned down and the only suspect, small-time drug dealer John Lively, was never seen again. Case closed. Until the body in the cemetery is identified as his.

Holler needs to work out if Lively was killed out of revenge, or was just a victim of the criminal world he inhabited. When shocking evidence is revealed about the murder weapon, Holler’s cold case starts to look hopeless once more.

But defeat is not an option. Driven by the unsolved and traumatic murder of her brother when they were children, DI Holler’s pursuit of justice is relentless. As old wounds are reopened, the police close in on the killer, but the threat of them striking again is all too real. Can DI Holler put the pieces of the puzzle together before anyone else winds up dead?

©2024 by T M Payne. (P)2024 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

Critic reviews

“Worth every interminable minute it takes to wind down.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A brilliant debut.”—Steve Cavanagh

“An excellent crime novel, full of humor and pathos as well as utterly realistic action. A stunning debut.”—Elly Griffiths

Great Start to a New Series

I really enjoyed this book. The ending had a lot of twists I didn't see coming. I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

A Surprise

What a pleasant surprise. I was hesitant about listening to this book because recently I’ve not particularly enjoyed UK crime stories. This was well written, kept me up and had great twists and turns. Plus there are more in the series. Real characters that grow on you and you start to care about. The narration was also great. I’m excited to follow this author from here on.

Lots of twists

Lots of twists and turns. At first it seems there are many excess characters; however TM Payne wraps everything up methodically. Exceptional surprise at the end. Hope to read more TM Payne books

Enjoyable

This book was easy listening and well plotted. It was well detailed and I liked that it was all wrapped up while leaving enough to make you want to read the next in series.

Refreshing Take on a Beloved Genre

This book is a refreshing take on police procedurals. it feels current and relevant to the world today. I love the characters introduced in this first book and cannot wait to see how their stories evolve.