Published by Joffe Books,
April 2019.
ISBN: 978-1-7893-1105-1 (PB)
April 2019.
ISBN: 978-1-7893-1105-1 (PB)
Helen Durrant’s books are set in an
area she knows well. The hills, villages
and once industrial Pennine towns on the Lancashire Yorkshire border. Places where
the well-heeled and the getting by rub shoulders somewhat uneasily. This is a
rich vein to mine. Sixteen novels so far - the Calladine and Bayliss mysteries,
the DI Greco series and a recent first book featuring DCI Rachel King.
I
come to Dead Guilty without having read any of Durrant’s body of
work. It is my first acquaintance with DI
Tom Calladine (a career copper, living alone, with a less than successful
relationship history) and DS Ruth Bayliss (a long-time friend and colleague,
married, and sometimes a clearer thinker when the going gets tough).
This
is book number 9 in the series. The story
opens with the disappearance of a child.
Richard Alder and his wife Annie are local examples of the getting by
who have made it big; brought up on a sink estate, now living high on the
hog. Their 3-year-old daughter Sophie is
missing, presumed kidnapped, although the Alders await the ransom note. When it arrives, the mystery only deepens.
Meanwhile
there is a huge spike in street crime in the town. A spate of burglaries and a major increase in
drug incidents, has resulted in the formation of a vigilante group and a series
of vicious night patrols. Cases bleed into each other, and this is handled
skilfully by the author. The operation
to find Sophie Alder becomes mired in drug dealing and murder; and a desperate search
for a person known as ‘Street’ - apparently the brains behind the drugs boom.
Child
kidnapping, murder, drugs and men taking the law into their own hands – this is
all big stuff. The story runs in a
linear fashion through 11 days and truly motors along, with a satisfying number
of twists and turns. Genuinely a page
turner.
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Reviewer:
Jeff Dowson
Helen H. Durrant writes gritty police procedurals and is published by Joffe Books.
Until six years ago she hadn’t written a word, now she has sixteen titles out
there and counting. Her novels are set in the Pennine villages outside
Manchester. Writing was a dormant ambition. It was retirement that gave her the
opportunity to have a go. The success of her books came as a huge surprise, now
she can’t stop!
Jeff Dowson is a TV writer/producer/director
turned crime novelist. Screen credits include arts and entertainment features,
drama series and TV films. Closing
the Distance, Changing the Odds,
and Cloning the Hate, feature Bristol
private eye Jack Shepherd. The latest in the series, Bending the Rules, is about to be released. One Fight At A Time opens a new series set in post-World War 2
Bristol, featuring American GI Ed Grover.
Jeff is a member of BAFTA and the Crime Writers Association.
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