Published By: Caffeine Nights Publishing
Publication Date: 31st May 2018
Format: Paperback
I.S.B.N.: 978-1910720967
Price: £8.49
Blurb
When a car is pulled from raging floodwaters with a dead man in the front and the decapitated body of an evil woman in the boot, Cumbria’s Major Crimes Team are handed the investigation.
The woman is soon recognised, but the man cannot be identified and this leads the team and their former leader, Harry Evans, into areas none of them want to visit.
Before they know it, they’re dealing with protection scams and looking for answers to questions they didn’t know needed to be asked.
My review
I’d like to thank Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for organising this blog tour and for sending me a digital copy of this book in return for an honest review. Scroll down for more information about the author and a chance to win all six of his ‘Harry Evans’ books below.
When I first started reading my digital Arc of this book I wasn’t completely convinced by the characters. It took me a good 20% of the novel to get a feel for it. Once I got into it though, I really enjoyed following the investigation.
D.C. Lauren Phillips is the most fleshed out of the police characters, besides former-D.I. Harry Evans, and the novel really focuses on her personal and work life. She is denigrated for her looks and considered ‘promiscuous’, though she uses her looks to help her work, and enjoys her single life. She also has a stalker, and is well aware that she’ll be blamed for his behaviour. It distracts her from the case.
Harry is also having problems, months after his wife’s death his libido has returned and it’s distracting him. He feels guilty for looking at Lauren the way he’s started to, but eventually it helps them solve the case.
I enjoyed the depictions of Cumbria and policing in a rural area. I liked the way their personal lives were intertwined with their work lives. The writing made it feel gritty and real. It’s helped me understand what my own attempts at a crime novel is lacking and inspired me to get into it with more narrative depth.
Also, I’m probably going to include this book in my dissertation bibliography.
About Graham Smith
Graham Smith is a time served joiner who has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since Christmas 2000, he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland.
He is an internationally best-selling Kindle author and has four books featuring DI Harry Evans and the Cumbrian Major Crimes Team, and three novels, featuring Utah doorman, Jake Boulder.
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 and interviewer for the well-respected website Crimesquad.com since 2009
Graham is the founder of Crime and Publishment, a weekend of crime-writing classes which includes the chance for attendees to pitch their novels to agents and publishers. Since the first weekend in 2013, eight attendees have gone on to sign publishing contracts.
Graham can be found at:
- Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/grahamnsmithauthor - Twitter
https://twitter.com/GrahamSmith1972 - Website
www.grahamsmithauthor.com
Giveaway
To celebrate the release of When the Waters Recede, Graham Smith is offering one lucky reader the chance to win all six books in the Harry Evans series.
To enter, simply sign up for his newsletter via the link provided before the 5th of June 2018 and you’ll be entered into not just this competition, but all competitions that he runs. Entrants from the whole world are welcome.
http://blogspot.us9.list-manage.com/subscribeu=8bbfc9a3acb79a408253510a8&id=48d2dc65e5
Purchase Link – https://www.amazon.co.uk/When-Waters-Recede-Harry-Evans/dp/1910720968/
Everything Is Better With Dragons 