14 August 2023.
ISBN: 9787-1-91585325-7 (PB)
Joshua Billington and his mother had been involved in a car accident and she had been killed. At the age of thirty-five it has left him only able to get about in a wheelchair or with the aid of crutches. He felt destitute without her and at her cremation he collapsed.On coming to in hospital he decided to make people take notice. He loved her deeply but hated the way she kept on about her God all the time. There and then he formed a plan.
A week later we learn of Detective Chief Inspector Matthew McCallum, nearing retirement, being informed of a man hanged in his home. On visiting the scene, he sees a symbol scratched into the wooden floor – it’s an inverted pentagram, and nearby is a goat’s skull, both symbols of the Devil. A neighbour saw a man running away from the property.
Detective Constable Morag Williams draws Matthew’s attention to the fact that there is a group of devil worshippers in Edinburgh.
Then there is another murder, a young woman with multiple stab wounds. Once again, a young man was seen, this time going into the house. There were also links to the devil – 666 – was scraped on her forehead.
It seems unbelievable when there is then a deadly attack on a community centre, also with Devil symbology left behind.
Matthew and his team, mainly helped by Detective Louise Cookson are really stretched. The Chief Detective Inspector then informs his friend Professor Roger Mountfield about the incidents and the Devil connections. Roger is convinced there is a deeper meaning behind them all. Then a breakthrough – the young man seen near the crimes is apprehended. However, he really doesn’t seem to know what he has done, just says that Lucifer told him.
While he is still in custody, there are more deaths. Matthew and his team are led on a desperate journey to solve the cases and make sense of the connections to the Devil. It all then becomes worryingly personal for Matthew, will he come through unscathed?
An absorbing and gripping thriller that had my
heart racing. Another brilliant author who I have never come across before. A
very highly recommended book.
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Reviewer: Tricia Chappell
Colin
Wade
previously worked as a full-time programme manager with Thames Valley Police
for thirteen years. He is currently working in admin at Oxford High School and
also does some exam invigilation for Oxford Sixth Form College. With more time
on his hands, he turned to writing in 2016 and has published two books, The
Lost Years and Plutus with Matador. He lives in Oxford with his wife and two
grown-up children.
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