The author has taken time to develop characters and to character build. This is book one of a good thriller, I did really enjoy this book as these are the kind of books I gravitate towards. A good strong story line which kept me guessing.

Thankyou to NetGalley and Ritu Sethi, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of His Hand In The Storm in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.
I thought this book provided a good read.
The storyline was well thought out and holds the readers interest.
Wor5h a read.

His Hand In the Storm is the first book in the Inspector Gray James thriller/mystery series by Ritu Sethi. Released 22nd Dec 2018, it's 208 pages and available in ebook and paperback formats.

This is a mystery thriller set in Montreal. The main character is flawed (but handsome and irresistible to women) and working with a team in a major crimes unit. The plot is twisty and unpredictable.
There's a fair bit of rough language and graphic violence (the book starts with the discovery of a hanged corpse whose face has been eaten away by acid and the body count keeps rising from there). There's also off-scene sexual content (but nothing racy, rather the opposite). The author is quite adept with descriptive narration and dialogue. It's a very readable book, but I found it melancholy and never really developed a rapport with the main characters.

Three and a half stars, rounded up because of the quality of the writing. I would definitely recommend this book for readers who enjoy modern thriller/procedural mysteries.

A good mystery/ thriller where the author has taken the time to develop the main characters. This adds an extra layer of emotion to the story, pulling the reader into the mystery. The inspector uses his job to forget his personal life, pouring all of his efforts into solving the murder of a young boy. Every step of his investigation ramps up the tension; driving you into the conclusion that I did not see coming. This author is well worth tracking to see what he comes up with next.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the author Ritu Sethi for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. I chose this book because I didn't know the author. Obviously I read it in English.

This is the first book in a new series with Chief Inspector Gray, set in Montreal, Canada. I've already read a series set in "French Canada" but here there's no French (except for two cases where there are long French sentences, not translated in English, but they aren't part of the plot so no use in understanding them, but a translation would have been better).

Gray is a police inspector with a very good career, but with a sad past. His son died and his wife left three years before the time the book is set in. This backstory isn't bad at all, but it is too slow.

The case is interesting, I like books that directly or indirectly talk about medicine, vaccines, why people are so stupid to not vaccinate their kids, etc... so I was involved since the beginning.

Speaking about another non-main character (I mean a character that we probably won't see again in the future), it was easy to understand her secret. I mean, I understood Holly's secret as soon as she was on the phone with the wife.

As I said the book is a bit slow because the main character's backstory but I really enjoyed it all together. I find that a kid is imprisoned in an institute, that he's almost killed by his prison mates and the institute's director does nothing to protect him even if the kid is a "criminal" (criminal with quotes because I don't think the word is correct since his age and the crime he was accused of) is something hard to believe to be true, I mean I can't accept that this stuff happens in the world.

I liked the ending, I liked that I didn't get the killer as soon as I started the book (maybe because it's in English and I don't pay much attention to details) so I read it quite easily.

Most likely I will read the next book in the series (at least to know what happens after this ending).

Good job Ritu!

Princess Fuzzypants here: If you are in the mood for a gritty old fashioned kind of police mystery, this could be for you. Inspector Gray must deal with a corpse in a park with its face eaten away by acid. First he must figure out who is the victim and then why someone would go to such lengths to destroy the body. You might think this would be plenty to keep him busy. But when his car blows up at the scene and then he is ambushed entering a building, it is clear someone wants him dead too. He has a pretty good idea who but he is not sure why. What complicates matters it is a fellow police officer.
It turns out the original victim is involved in a cutting edge medical discovery but it seems everybody at the start up has something to hide. No one is who they present to the public...some more so than others. It is a complicated web that Gray is determined to solve, even if only to save a young boy who reminds him of his late son. The question is whether he can do this before someone turns him into a statistic.
Set in wintry Montreal, it is atmospheric and dark and very good. It is not a light read but it is satisfying.
Four purrs and two paws up.

His Hand in the Storm by Ritu Seth
Inspector Gray Mystery #1

Chief Inspector Gray James is an intriguing character who after having suffered the loss of his son and being abandoned by his wife has focused his life on solving one murder case after another. He sculpts to keep himself grounded and pretty much lives day to day without really living or perhaps feeling...if that makes sense. It takes awhile to find out Gray’s backstory and I think there is still more to learn as the series continues. My main feeling was that Gray was like a weaver trying to untangle strands of thread before being able to weave the strands together into the fabric that would explain the murders taking place in this story. This book is for a reader who wants to be made to think and feel and care and try to figure out the mysteries that will solve the murder(s) that are taking place. This book made me feel for Gray and for Vivienne who works with him and for more than one other character that ended up with a raw deal in life. I really want to find out what happens next and hope that some good things will come to a few of the people I came to care about while reading about their lives.

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I like to read the next book when it comes out? Definitely

Thank you to the author who bequeathed me a copy of her book through NetGalley – This is my honest review.

5 Stars

Meet Chief Inspector Gray James. He is a mixture of calm, obsessiveness, and the ladies like that he is extremely good looking.. The reader will learn that he carries a burden, which is slowly revealed.

He is called in to investigate a faceless corpse found hanging by the river. And this won't be the only body that falls. Someone is killing the founders of a booming medical tech startup.

These cases are going to test him.... he will risk his life .... and his inner peace will be shattered.

This is a well-written page turning crime fiction. Hits all the marks for me .... the story premise is excellent, the characters are finely drawn and credible. Gray is a fascinating man, he has issues, but strives to face them head on. The emotional involvement with his junior detective is real and adds a lot of depth to the story.

All in all, a very satisfying read.

Many thanks to the author and Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I get frustrated when there are constant allusions to some previous event or tragedy that tends to color his attitude and approach to solving a mysterious crime, Just come out and say it for goodness sake.. That will help me understand better what's going on.

There are lots of convoluted plot twists, people who are not who they seem, and that may not even be relevant, in the long run. I did like the character of Gray and once it was explained, had greater compassion for his guilt and drive.

After all was said and done, the story is pretty good. I didn't really put it all together until towards the end.

I must say, though the ending was quite satisfying. I will look forward to the next one by this author.

I enjoyed reading this book. It had a good story to it. It would make a good movie. I liked the variety of characters in it. It is my first book read by this author. I hope to read more books by this author.

I loved this dark atmospheric book. The story gripped me from start to finish and I practically read the whole book in one sitting. I loved the way it was written and the descriptions of things really allowed me to picture them in my mind. The characters were intriguing and multi layered which added to the story. It's hard to find really good crime books because it is such a saturated genre but I love it when I find a book as good as this. Here's hoping for lots more to come!