Wow. DC Aidan Waits is on the night shift in Manchester as a result of his own bad behavior. He expects things to be bizarre and bad but who on earth would create the scene found in the sort of hotel where no one does anything good? A man whose identifying characteristics have been removed and his face carved into a smile- how weird and sick is that? Waits has to deal with his less than quick partner DI Pete Sutcliffe - and Sutty is pretty insufferable. Their usual cases are enough of a challenge for Sutty and this one is just out of the park but Waits is determined to find out who the man is and how and why he was killed. This is the dark underside of a big city and it's well done. I didn't read the first book and think I missed something because this is so well written- but it's great as a standalone and I'm looking forward to the next one. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. For fans of the British procedural with a damaged (but really smart) detective.

This is such a marvelously dark series, and in this second installment Knox seems to have hit his stride... I enjoyed Sirens, the first Aidan Waits book. It was well-imagined with solid pacing and characterization. But in The Smiling Man, we get more of a solid glimpse at why Aidan Waits is Aidan Waits, and I loved that development. I figured out the back-and-forth narrative mystery fairly early on, but that didn't in any way lessen the anticipation with which I turned pages or the gasp I uttered out loud when the reveal was finally presented. This is a dark, dark world, populated by dark, dark people, but it's a delight to visit because it is so well constructed and the attention to detail is so intense. This is NOT a book for the faint of heart, but if you can bear heart-breaking violence and gruesome details with your police procedurals/cop dramas, this is a marvelous series full of secrets, deception and an anti-hero who is, in the end, more hero than anti-...

The second book in the Aidan Waits Thriller series revisits Aidan, a troubled detective who discovers a dead body in Room 413 of an empty hotel. The dead man has left behind some confusing clues, in addition to an eerie smile plastered on his face. To solve the mystery, Aidan must visit places from his past that he would rather leave in the past. Like the lingering dread of a bad dream, the story of The Smiling Man leaves you breathless -- but with the desire for more. For fans of fast-paced, character-driven novels.

4.5 stars
I didn’t read the first book in this series, and initially, I felt I was missing some of the background, but Knox did a good job of filling it in as the book progressed. And I really enjoyed the second.

Aidan is damaged goods. He’s been transferred to the night shift and is working with a DI who's almost useless. It’s obvious the higher ups want him to quit. But then the two of them come across a dead man in The Palace, a closed hotel. There are multiple crimes Waits is investigating, not all of them as part of his job,which further infuriates his boss. The multiple investigations keep both Aidan and us on our toes. The book can feel convoluted at times with everything going on. This isn’t a book where you can gloss over parts. It demands attention.

And it is dark! It perfectly encompasses the nastiness of the darker sides of Manchester in the grips of a recession. And it also touches on all sorts of ethical issues, such as stepping outside the law to protect the vulnerable. It engaged me from almost the first page. The writing is well done, not overly flowery but imaginative. “So far, the day, the case, had been one loose thread after another, and it was time to twist them together into something more tangible.”

Knox is like a fisherman, getting readers on the hook and pulling us in. I found I kept wanting to read just one more chapter. And the ending took me totally by surprise.

My Thanks to netgalley and Crown Publishing for an advance copy of this books.

There is SO MUCH going on in this book, and it requires attention as there are blink-and-you'll-miss-them details. Joseph Knox is proving that he's pretty talented at somehow combining character and story. The Smiling Man dives deep into Aidan Waits's backstory- and it is a doozy. If Sirens, the first Aidan Waits book, did not establish him as one of the most damaged detectives in fiction, The Smiling Man firmly cements him there. However, there is also a crime to be solved with his day job, and since essentially no one wants him there or thinks he's competent, Waits faces quite the struggle to get the solve. Not sure where Joseph Knox can take the story from here, but if you like your detective stories dark and seedy, this is a series to consider.

I have been looking forward to reading The Smiling Man for awhile now and I’m happy to report that I liked it even more than the first book in the series.

Aidan Waits is such an interesting character. I was glad to see he was more sober in this book. His life is still a mess, but I feel he’s at least trying to get things in the right direction. I enjoyed his dysfunctional relationship with his shift partner/superior officer, Sutty. Their banter brought a little bit of levity to the otherwise heavy story, even though it was more of a dark humor. I was into it, though.

I thought the writing in the first book could be a little scattered and hard to follow at times, but I didn’t feel that way about this one. While there are several threads that I didn’t really see the connection in until the end, they all made sense. I really do like Knox’s writing style. It’s pretty addictive and when I gave myself time to sit down and read this book, I never wanted to put it down. I loved how short most of the chapters were, too.

Overall, I enjoyed The Smiling Man. Knox’s writing style is unique and addictive and I am eternally fascinated by Aidan Waits. I thought the mystery was well done, but I could’ve spent a little less time on some of the side mysteries, even though they all play in to the bigger picture. I am definitely looking forward to more in this series.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Stars

Unfortunately I could not finish this book. It's really my fault; I did not read the first book in this series and felt a bit like a fish out of water. I did not realize this was a sequel, and the excessive drug use just did not jive well with me. Overall the writing style and plot just did not pull me in.

I won't publish a review on my blog or goodreads as I do not want to hurt the author or publisher since I didn't finish it. Thank you so much to Crown Publishing for giving me a chance to try out this book!

Hardboiled detective novels in my mind are so fixed to US cities, than reading one set in Manchester was a lot of fun. It’s hard to list all the things I loved about this novel. Detective Aidan Waits may be a police officer but the fact that he’s disgraced makes him more similar to the private dicks we all know and love. His punishment: being paired up with a horrible, crooked cop ends up being an asset for readers. Maybe it’s my twisted sense of humor but their banter made me laugh. As required, Aidan has a heart of gold underneath all his many, many flaws. The side investigations in which he gets entangled end up fitting into the main case wonderfully and the whole plot was original, surprising and well thought out. I liked Aidan so much that I suffered when he had one of his many, many setbacks. The dialogues are so well written that every character is distinguishable. I really didn’t see the ending coming and I was so satisfied with everything that I can’t help but give The Smiling Man 5 big, fat stars. Well done!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Crown Publishing!

I didn't read the first book in the Aidan Waits detective series so this novel was my introduction. DC Waits is a night shift detective in Manchester; he's pulled this terrible shift because of past transgressions with stealing, planting, and doing copious amounts of drugs. All that information is imparted fairly early in the book, which leads me to believe it was likely discussed beforehand. That and the plethora of "Aidan, we know how much you like helping girls" commentary was oft-repeated.

We jumped back and forth between the main crime of today (murder, assualt, dustbin fires), and the story of a small child named "wally" from years ago. Inexplicably, everything is related. I'm all for a willing suspension of disbelief, but this was too much for me to swallow.

3/4 of the book is slow-moving, but not exasperatingly so. Suddenly, everything starts happening at a rapid pace, but it got really confusing. On the whole, I wouldn't recommend.

While I enjoyed the first book "Sirens" from Mr. Knox, I freaking loved this book! It's just as grimy and gritty as I imagine some parts of Manchester would be, and I admit that with my intense dislike of cities, that I would avoid going there at all costs. I'm a country mouse! This is Mr. Knoxs' second book, but he reads like a seasoned pro! I thought Aiden and Sutty were the perfect team. They didn't seem to like each other much, but they're growing into it. Aiden is a bit broken, yet he's full of strength and compassion. Sutty? Well he's full of dark humor, caustic wit and he made me laugh, guffaw and snort. I love that! I thought they make a perfect team. As for the mystery? It's intriguing from the start, and only gets better. You'll have to discover it all on your own. I started this book last night and finished it 6 hours later. That almost never happens. So, yes I highly recommend this book and author. My thanks to Crown Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC.

This book took me a while to get in to but I loved the interwoven mysteries and the dark side of the MC.

Honestly, wow, just wow. This was such an amazing book. Joseph Knox set such a wonderful stage in Manchester. He showed us the gritty darker side of the city. And the characters he placed on that stage were superb. Our main character, Detective Constable Aiden Waits, is one seriously flawed individual. He and his partner, DI Peter (Sutty) Sutcliffe have both been relegated to the night shift - Aiden because of his history of booze and drugs and an uncontrollable temper. They can barely tolerate each other. Sutty has this annoying habit of wiping down everything in the car that Aiden has touched and constantly wiping his own hands with alcohol cleaner. And Sutty thinks Aiden is just a loser that he has to be partners with because no one else will.
The plot is complex and intense. Joseph Knox’s writing is intelligent - the characters and the city come alive under his amazing writing.
They have been called out to a break-in at the for sale and empty Palace Hotel. But discover a dead man sitting in a chair with a rictus smile. While on the third floor a security guard has been attacked. Sutty would like to put this to rest as soon as possible to add it to his cleared list. But the investigation is anything but routine and is complicated for Aiden who is being haunted by his past.
Terrific novel 5 great stars
Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

I really enjoyed this book. It tells a complicated intertwined story about a rogue cop trying to reestablish himself clean and sober. He becomes a part of a murder mystery that ends up tying in to other crimes and what unravels is really surprising. I wasn’t expecting what happens in the end so it definitely keeps you guessing right until the end. I would definitely read more in this series.

Great police/detective story! As this was the second in a series, I’m very curious to read the first book and see how our “hero” Aidan developed into the sarcastic, lower level constable which he is during The Smiling Man.

The story was always a decent pace, some action that wasn’t overbearing. I was quite surprised at the final outcome. You could definitely follow this story without the background of the first. A lot of Aidan’s past was revealed, much of it heart wrenching.

I recommend this book to all thriller and crime readers. Thanks to NetGalley and publishers for the advanced reader’s copy of this intriguing novel.

The Smiling Man is witty, smart and suspenseful. Joseph Knox's writing was similar to Stephen King's. I read this book in one night's time. I will be recommending it to my friends.

One of the most spiderweb-strewn, intricate mysteries I've read! Aiden Waits, Detective Constable, is a fully imagined character with a dark past that haunts him and yet also seems to drive his desire to solve a very bizarre case. This past also tags along in occasional misdeeds that have nearly ruined his career as a detective and leave him with a bounty on his head. When Aiden and his partner are called to investigate strange goings on at The Palace, an empty-but-for-the-security-guard hotel, they find the guard has been knocked over the head, but alive. Aiden sees a shadow at the end of the hallway and races to find whoever it is but finds instead a man, dead, sitting facing a window. Tags cut out of his clothing, fingerprints medically removed, no identification, and words torn out of a book sewn into his clothing......a man who was dying of cancer in the near future, but poisoned and left with a grimace on his face that earns him the name "The Smiling Man". Knox keeps you on the edge of your seat as Aiden tries to keep himself on the right track and to solve this case, following leads that most would not even see as possibilities. And throughout he is plagued by vivid and violent dreams of his youth and a man who has returned to haunt him in person now that he has been released from prison, convinced that the boy he knew twenty years ago still knows where the money from a decades past heist can be found. It's clear that Aiden keeps his distance from most people, but you cannot help but feel compassion for the boy that he was and the life he endured and understanding for choices he has made, even when on the wrong side of the law. Fantastic read and highly recommend! Hope to see more Aiden in the future.

What do you look for in a mystery novel? Twisty, compelling plotting? Wry wit and humorous dialogue? A clear and ever-present theme that ties the story together with a nice bow at the end? Read on.

If the grit, suspense, and the awesome character arcs of Joseph Wambaugh of The Onion Field were blended with the dialogue, narrative charm, and humour of Joseph Wambaugh of The Choirboys and then both were superimposed onto the witty, page-turning stay-up-all-night plotting (because I did) of Robert Crais of LA Requiem, and then the whole concoction were transferred (idiom, locale, and culture) to England, THIS is what The Smiling Man would read like (because it does).

What a superbly written book! Just what a rising novelist would hope to see a reviewer say about him, I'm happy to say about Joseph Knox's second novel. I am glad I've been introduced to this writer. Thank you, Netgalley.

Of course, now I'll be buying Sirens on Amazon.ca. I hope it's even half as good as The Smiling Man. If so, money very well spent.

Aidan Waits is a flawed man. He is Detective Constable Waits now, haunted by his past of being raised as a childhood thief and as a drug addict caught stealing drugs from evidence. He is on his last chance now, partnered with the smart, but caustic, Detective Inspector Peter Sutcliffe on the dead-end nightshift. Sutty is the only person who would agree to work with him, everyone else in the department holds a deep resentment and dislike for Aidan and lets him know it on every possible occasion.

As you get to know him, you realize Aidan is actually a brilliant Detective with a deep-seated desire to rid the world of evil. He knows what evil people do to other people from his own experience. He has a soft heart for victims and is willing to break the rules when necessary to make things right for them.

Joseph Knox has created a flawed but endearing character that you at once like and dislike. All of his traits are brought forth in The Smiling Man, a murder mystery that has him trying to track down a name and the killer of a man found dead in a deserted hotel with no identity and no apparent past. This is a complex thriller with lots of suspects and many different paths to discover the truth. Not a fun read, exactly, but a book you can’t stop reading.

Thank you, NetGalley, for offering me a free advance copy of this novel for my honest review.

The Smiling Man, a rather convoluted detective mystery novel, follows Detective Constable Aiden Waits, a seasoned detective through a series of big city crimes including harassment, assault, and even murder. Waits, an emotionally disturbed individual, with a sordid past, struggles to develop a future in the police department in spite being hated by his superiors and colleagues. This is Detective Waits second appearance with his first being in Joseph Knox’s debut novel Sirens.

A reported break-in at the closed Palace Hotel turns out to be much more than it first appears. A body sporting a grotesque smile is found in room 431. A security guard is found unconscious in the hallway and a shadowy figure exits through the fire escape. The hotel owners are not cooperative. The lead lawyer has taken an unexpected holiday for health reasons. And to make matters worse no one can identify the body. On top of this Waits is distracted by a sexual harassment case that his superiors want him to forget and by an old enemy reappears but won’t say why.

Aiden Waits is a very complex character. Knox does a very good job of letting the circumstances surrounding his violent tendencies and drug problems unfold carefully as the story proceeds. This for me is a highlight of the novel.

Compared to other books in this genre, I find this story very cumbersome. There are at least three major stories going on at once. All three can become books on their own. One has to try to hold on to the multiple characters believing that the stories are linked in the end, but unfortunately this is not the case. I believe that the multiple storylines and the multitude of characters lead to confusion rather than an intriguing story. One line of investigation with a handful of suspects is in my opinion plenty. I lost count of the important characters in this novel.

I do not recommend this book to those who enjoy detective novels, but again want to emphasize that the character of Aiden Waits is interesting. I give it a 2 on 5.

I want to thank NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with this digital copy in exchange for a fair review.

This was such a great book! Perfectly plotted and so very well written. The story is partially narrated by the main character and the storytelling manages to convey the grittiness and darkness of the back streets of Manchester. The characters are drawn perfectly and while you don’t really like all of them, you can’t help but want to know everything about them. This was not a complicated mystery but it took a while to figure it out and I was engaged until the very end. Now I want to read the rest of the books in this series and will be hoping for more!