Fear In The Lakes by Graham Smith – Book Review

PUBLISHERS BLURB 

A case with no leads.

A victim with no enemies.

A killer with no conscience…

When Detective Beth Young is called to investigate a victim with multiple broken bones, nothing prepares her for what she finds. James Sinclair is fighting for his life, and Beth can’t shake the idea that the nature of his injuries suggest someone with a personal grudge against him.

But James’s devastated wife Laura insists that her kind, softly-spoken husband is a man with no enemies. She was the one with the fiery temper, but James was so calm, she’d never once managed to provoke even a cross word from him in their eight year marriage. And he was the same with everyone – she can’t name one person who might want to hurt him.

But she knows virtually no details about her husband’s childhood or his life before he moved to the Lake District as a young man, and Beth feels sure that the key to finding James’s attacker is hidden in the secrets of his past. Who was he really? And what is the significance of the coded messages that Beth finds hidden on his laptop?

Then two more bodies are found in one of the deep, picturesque lakes that the area is so famous for, exhibiting similar injuries to the ones James Sinclair suffered. How are they connected? And how many more people are at risk?

Beth knows she is in a race against time to hunt a vicious killer who is both elusive and incredibly dangerous. A killer who knows what James did in the past. Who likes to be one step ahead. But who – if they realise they’re being hunted – might come for Beth next…

MY REVIEW 

This is the third in the Beth Young series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone.

 

“They have to be crippled with life-changing injuries.”

 

Laura Sinclair returns home to find her husband James’ unconscious and badly beaten …the doctors find all bones from his knees and elbows Dow, have been smashed, plus ribs broken …life changing injuries…just who would torture a gentle man?

DC Beth Young is part of the investigating team, when two more bodies are found they hunt to find a link…

Finding weirdly coded emails on James’ computer, they realise there is something more going on….Beth manages to work out the code and finds two people are messaging each other……by why code? As the investigation progresses they find out more and it involves The Sculptor ! Can they find ‘Babes’ in time?

The chapters from the Sculptor’s perspective are particularly chilling for its lack of emotion….

This is a solid procedural, with well rounded and mainly likeable characters …apart from McKay, he’s just a horrible excuse for a man …they all have relatable problems and a life outside of work. I really felt for Thompson and his family….Beth,  with her analytical brain, is dogged in her determination to find the killer, putting herself in danger as a result.

I found this to be well plotted with a fantastic twist, totally gripping from start to finish…

Thank you to Bookouture for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour and for the promotional materials and a free copy of the ebook. This is my in honest, unbiased review. 

 

Buy Links :

 

https://geni.us/B07RFRDCT7Social

 

Author Bio:

Graham Smith is the bestselling author of four explosive crime thrillers in the Jake Boulder series, Watching the Bodies, The Kindred Killers, Past Echoes and Die Cold. Watching the Bodies spent over two weeks at number one in the Amazon UK chart and Amazon CA charts. Graham is also the author of the popular DI Harry Evans series and has collections of short stories and novellas. His latest novels with Bookouture are set in Cumbria and the Lake District, featuring DC Beth Young.

He is the proud father of a young son. As a time served joiner he has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since 2000 he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland. 

An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer for the well-respected review site Crimesquad.com since 2010.

When not working, his time is spent reading, writing and playing games with his son. He enjoys socialising and spending time with friends and family.

 

 

Author Social Media Links:

 

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/grahamnsmithauthor/

TWITTER:  https://twitter.com/GrahamSmith1972

WEBSITE: https://grahamsmithauthor.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5446655.Graham_Smith?from_search=true

 

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