Blood, guts and gore. Not exactly the aftermath you’d expect the morning following a lovely wedding but there we are. It is exactly the scene DCI Matilda Darke and her team come across when three members of a family are found brutally murdered in their home. Forensics quickly point to a petty criminal, who just happens to be on the run. But things don’t quite seem to add up and DCI Darke must keep her wits about her, while also trying to make sure her team doesn’t fall apart at the seams.

Meanwhile, Sally Meeghan is getting phone calls from someone she believes is her son. Carl went missing years ago. It’s a case that haunts Matilda Darke to this day. Is Carl still alive? Is someone playing a cruel game with his mother? And where on earth will Matilda find the time to deal with this on top of everything else?

I think you can just about get away with reading this one as a stand-alone, although why you would want to is anyone’s guess and obviously my recommendation is always to start from the beginning of a series. This team has gone through so much over the last few years, it’s really not surprising that cracks are starting to show and I truly feared for them.

But they have a job to do and a killer to catch. As to who that killer might be, I didn’t have a clue. By all appearances, this slain family seemed absolutely perfect. Who would want to harm them in such a brutal way and why? With so little information to go on, where do you even start? The tiniest little detail could blow this case right open. And let me tell you, when that happened, my jaw dropped to the floor because that is just a stroke of genius!

The Murder House is the fifth book in the DCI Matilda Darke series. I’ve been with this series from the very beginning and I feel it just isn’t talked about enough, you guys. Michael Wood delivers every single time and every single book has been outstanding but this one? Talk about raising the bar! The Murder House is intensely gripping from the first page and the pace builds up so much, I was wondering when I’d have a moment to come up for air. Deliciously dark, full of red herrings … you know what’s coming, don’t you? Best one in the series yet!

Fans of Matilda Darke will be thrilled with this latest addition, as would anyone who enjoys a solid, fast-paced and incredibly well-plotted police procedural. If Michael Wood isn’t on your radar, he bloody well should be and now is the perfect time to get caught up because there are lots of goodies coming our way from him this year.

Overall I enjoyed this book it’s a good story however I am a reader who needs to read all the series which I hadn’t but will definitely be giving them a go following this book. Good story and good methods of giving the story I really enjoyed it

EXCERPT: How could I have been so blind?

'I don't believe this. I've known exactly who the killer is from day one. In fact, if we'd been doing our jobs properly in the first place, these murders could have been prevented.'

ABOUT THIS BOOK: It’s the most disturbing crime scene DCI Matilda Darke has ever seen…

The morning after a wedding reception at a beautiful suburban home in Sheffield, the bride’s entire family are stabbed to death – in a frenzied attack more violent than anything DCI Matilda Darke could have imagined.

Forensics point to a burglar on the run across the country. But cracks are starting to appear in Matilda’s team, someone is playing games with the evidence – and the killer might be closer to home than they thought…

MY THOUGHTS: I like DCI Mathilda Darke. I like the way she stands up to her superiors, putting her need to solve cases above their budgets. She is not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, and for the people she believes in. She has her own demons, but seems to be bringing them under control as she adjusts to living without her late husband, James. She has good friends, and a mostly supportive team.

I particularly like Sian, who refuses to be a cliche detective, hiding things from her husband and turning to drink. Instead she and her husband support each other, confide in one another and turn to each other for comfort.

There is a new team member, a TDC brought in as a stopgap measure following the death of another team member. I hope Michael Wood decides to keep him on and develop his character.

The case of the murdered family is an intriguing one. Who would want to slay this perfect family? And why? Why? Why? The plot is clever and enjoyable. Suspects are thin on the ground. I would make a lousy detective as I suspected all the wrong people, no doubt just as Mr Wood intended.

Running alongside this frustrating investigation is the development of the team's private lives. Michael Wood has struck a good balance between the characters professional and private lives, making me want to read more of this series.

This is the fifth book in a series of which I have read and enjoyed three. Strongly recommended.

😊😊😊😊

#TheMurderHouse #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Before he became an author, Michael Wood used to serve as a journalist and a proofreader. Wood resides in Sheffield, Yorkshire. For Unknown Reasons was Michael Wood’s debut novel, which was published in the year 2015.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to One More Chapter via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Murder House by Michael Wood for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

I love books that get straight into the action and this did just that.
After hosting their daughters wedding reception and seeing her safely off on honeymoon Clive and Serena Mercer are tucked up in bed. Their son Jeremy and granddaughter Rachel are staying over.
The next morning Clive, Serena and Jeremy are found dead, horrifically butchered and Rachel is tied to a chair in her room in total shock but physically unharmed.
DCI Matilda Darke has to find out why anyone would want to kill a seemingly perfect family in such a brutal way. As Matilda and her team investigate the family they discover that things were not as perfect as they were initially led to believe. Finding out the truth when the only surviving witness is a traumatised child isn’t going to be easy. Forensic evidence is mounting against a petty thief who is currently on the run but Matilda thinks they are deliberately being led in the wrong direction.
Could the key to unlock the case be in the victims’ past? Matilda knows that she must find the answer quickly or an innocent man could be charged with murder.
My first Matilda Darke book but certainly not my last!

A brilliant book with a multi faceted storyline. Michael Wood seems to have researched police procedure really well I liked the character development and thought the book was well crafted.. My one slight criticism would be that the chocolate drawer was a bit overdone. However,I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to my friends.
Thank you Netgalley, Michael Wood and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased opinion .

A family wedding should be a time of great joy; however for one family the night following was a night of horror, as three family members were brutally murdered and a young child tied up.

DCI Darke and her team are brought in to solve the crime, but she casts around to find any real motive for the crime. Then forensics point to one individual - but is the crime now solved?

Running through the story are a lot of backstories for the characters - obviously as this is the fifth in the series, the characters have developed and readers, like me, coming new to the tale have to be brought up to speed, but there did seem an awful lot of backstory to assimilate.

Overall I enjoyed the book, although I felt it ran out of steam a little towards the end and some elements were tied up with a rather twee bow. I was kept guessing till the end, as the clues weren't really there for us to find till the final moments.

Thank you to NetGalley and One More Chapter for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely love the Matilda Darke series, they just get better and better with each addition! I have literally read it in a day, being completely incapable of putting it down it's that good. Most importantly a group of characters that matter, that make you care about them. Already looking forward to the next in the series...

DCI Matilda Darke has her work cut out for her at The Murder House.

Sometime after their daughter’s wedding reception, Clive and Serena were violently murdered. In addition, their son Jeremy was stabbed to death. However, Jeremy’s seven-year-old daughter, Rachel was inexplicitly unharmed and left tied to a chair with her Dalmatian puppy beside her. All three of the victims were doctors at a local hospital. Clive and Serena were also active in local charities. Who would have a motive to kill them?

The Murder House is a violent, visceral, even cinematic, tale. It would make a great movie. This is only my second book in the series but I can see the improvement in terms of plot. I would like to get to know some of the other police officers in DCI Darke’s team more in depth. However, the mystery was well written and a challenge to solve. It is hard to believe it is based on a real-life case. If you enjoy British police procedurals with emotional damaged rule-breaking female leads, check out this engaging tale. 4 stars!

Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

DCI Matilda Darke and her team are investigating the brutal murder of a prominent family in the fifth installment of the series. Since I did not read the first four books, I feel like I missed some very important background that was referred to throughout, including other cases and personal things that impacted the characters. That said, I love a strong female lead, and Darke was definitely that. I’m intrigued enough to want to read the beginning of the series.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

DCI Matilde Darke is back in this the 5th book in the series, and they just keep getting better and better. Hooking you from the start to the finish. Michael Wood certainly knows how to keep his readers engaged. Set in and around Sheffield.

Leah and Oliver Ridgeway have just had their wedding day, leaving Leah’s parents home to go on their honeymoon. Unfortunately it’s the last time Leah will see her parents alive. One of the wedding guests arrives at the house to collect some personal bits and finds Serena, Clive and son Jeremy Mercer brutally murdered, but one girl is tied to the chair. The Homicide and Major Enquiry team find the scene to be one of the most horrific they have ever seen. With mutilated features, near decapitation even the most seasoned detectives struggle. Darke has to keep the team focused

The crime scene looks frenzied and personal but on investigation the police are finding it difficult to find anyone who didn’t like the family! So why? And who would want this family dead?

This is a highly engrossing read, gripping the reader from start to finish as you are trying to work out who could have done this. There are red herring’s aplenty cleverly placed throwing you off the scent brilliantly. Loved the character’s, loved the banter, roll on the next book.

I would like to than #netgalley and #OneMoreChapter for an eARC of this in exchange for an honest, fair and unbiased review.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc, which I have enjoyed reading.
The Murder House is the fifth book in the DCI Matilda Darke series and once again it is an exceptional read. The storyline was excellent and the characters are always interesting, entertaining and work well within the story. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading more in the series by Michael Wood.
Highly recommended.

DCI Matilda Darke #5

.After a wedding reception, a family were killed in a horrendous way. The only survivor was a young girl. Matilda Darke and her team are investigating. Forensics think it was a burglary that's gone wrong, but Matilda is not qjite so sure.

There is a backstory running through the book that I wasn't aware off before reading the book. It's a continuation from a previous book. This is the reason I like to read books I order when they are part of a series. However, I did not that it was when I requested it. The story is set in Sheffield. The plot is complex and multi layered. It's dark with lots of twists. This was a great police procedural to read. I will need to catch up on the other books in this series. This is a suspense filled read.

I would like to thank NetGalley, One More Chapter and the author Michael Wood for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Another great read in the DCI Matilda Darke series.
Matilda and the team are called to a gruesome crime scene that leaves them speechless.
A family has been slaughtered in the most brutal way and Matilda and the team are tasked with finding the killer.
There seems to be forensic evidence at the scene but it doesn’t sit right with Matilda. However, no-one else shares her viewpoint.
There’s chapters from a man on the run - but is he the killer?
The family of the victims are distraught but one of them has their own dark secret. Was this enough to make them a murderer though?
This book has a great pace and had me gripped throughout the book.
A real nail biter of an ending which I loved.
Thanks to One More Chapter and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

My thanks to One More Chapter for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Murder House’ by Michael Wood in exchange for an honest review.

This is the fifth in Wood’s DCI Matilda Darke series of police procedurals set in Sheffield. Although I hadn’t read any of the earlier books in the series, enough background was provided about its main characters that I didn’t feel lost. There were some minor references to old cases but I just let my eyes glance over them so as not to spoil reading the earlier books in the series.

“It’s the most disturbing crime scene DCI Matilda Darke has ever seen…”

In the quiet hours after a lavish wedding reception at the beautiful home, the bride’s parents and brother are murdered in a brutal and frenzied attack.
 
While forensics point to a burglar currently on the run, there are inconsistencies in the evidence that suggests someone is deliberately seeking to manipulate her team.
 
I do love police procedurals and this certainly was a solidly plotted one with just the right amount of side stories about Matilda and her team’s lives outside of the case in hand.

Matilda is a good boss even if a bit emotionally buttoned up. The story also highlights how budgets being cut to police services are impacting on the investigation of crimes. The solution to the case was satisfying and provided some edge-of-the-seat thrills.

I enjoyed this very much and it had everything that I look for in a police procedural, so it gets a 5-star rating from me. I have now bought the first two books in the series so that I can spend more time with DCI Matilda Darke and her team.

This is my review for The Murder House by Michael Wood. It’s the fifth book in the DCI Matilda Darke series. It is set in Sheffield.

It was a Monday morning when DCI Matilda Darke and DS Sian Mills received a call to go to a crime scene that was one of the worst ones that any one had ever attended! It turned out to be a triple murder in the expensive part of Sheffield. Forensics and uniformed officers were in attendance at a house where there had been a wedding the day before. Apparently there had been a marquee at the back of the house with the back door left unlocked.

The first body found was of a young guy and he’s been stabbed a few times. On the first floor landing, there was an old guy, he has been decapitated. On the top floor there is a woman, her face has been totally obliterated. In the small bedroom at the top of the stairs, there was a young girl found alive but tied to a chair, absolutely covered in blood, the blood isn’t hers though. There is a puppy with her too, that was covered in blood. There was blood everywhere in the house, it was getting to the officers and forensic officers alike. It would haunt them for a long time to come.

DCI Darke has never attended such a bad crime scene and she can see how it’s affecting everyone. She decides that only members of her team to have been too the house before too attend again. Going over the forensic reports she thinks there is something just not right and even though she goes back to the house, she still can’t put her finger on what it is that’s wrong.

Why would someone want to kill a family after a wedding? Have they killed before? Will they kill again?

This book was such a fantastic read, so dark and intriguing, I loved it. 5 out 5 stars from me. I’m late to the series so I have a few books to read and I love the Sheffield area!

Following a wedding and reception, after the bride and groom leave for their honeymoon, when mom and dad and brother of the bride, and the brother's daughter are left with all the cleanup, an intruder appears. They are all savagely murdered, except for the young girl who was only tied to a chair.

DCI Matilda Darke and her team have never seen such a horrendous crime scene. There are hundreds of fingerprints and blood is splatted everywhere. The girl did not see the attacker's face.

By all accounts, this was a perfect family .. so who would want them all dead and in such a shockingly grisly way?

This is well written, with a plot that is nicely paced, with unforgettable characters. The action is non-stop and the suspense is palpable.

I have not read any of the previous books in this series, however, this one was easily read as a stand alone .... taking my own usual recommendation in starting at the beginning. I would really like to know more about these characters, especially Darke.

My only complaint would be that the young girl who is the nice of the bride was several times referred to as her sister. This was an easy enough mistake that should have been found quite easily. Dropped my rating by one star.

Many thanks to the author / One More Chapter / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

The Murder House is the fifth instalment in the DCI Matilda Darke series based in and around Sheffield, UK, and is hands down the most addictive and riveting of the series so far and possibly the most accomplished of his writing career. If this doesn't become a bestseller it'll be a complete injustice.

Newly-married couple Leah and Oliver Ridgeway leave Leah’s parents’ home on their honeymoon. However, the very next day an attendee at the wedding arrives at the house to collect some personal items and tragically finds the three members of the Mercer family brutally slain. The horrific murders of Serena and Clive Mercer and son, Jeremy, are some of the most horrendous and grisly the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team have ever seen. It is making even the most seasoned investigators queasy with blood-spattered everywhere, one victim with mutilated facial features and another near decapitated. It is clear that this was personal by the frenzied method of attack but police are struggling to find those who may have a motive to kill as the family was seemingly well-liked in the community and the forensic evidence brings more questions than answers.

From the word go this is an unputdownable page-turner and a police procedural of the highest quality in terms of both content and entertainment. It’s completely absorbing and you will find yourself caught up in the drama of it all pretty swiftly. It shifts at a pacey stride and features the perspectives of different detectives as well as the killer. It is so easy to put trust in Mr Woods knowing full well he always delivers, and deliver he did! I couldn't get the pages to fly by fast enough as I delved deep into the mystery with DCI Darke and hung on Woods’s every word. There was masterful and plentiful use of red herrings and misdirection. Overall, this is an action-packed, engrossing and thoroughly exciting procedural and one I know both new and long-time fans will enjoy getting their teeth into. Highly recommended. Many thanks to One More Chapter for an ARC.

Well thought out book with great characters that I really enjoyed reading about.

First one of the series I’ve read but it did not affect my enjoyment and I will go back and read the earlier books!

It's the first book I read in this series and won't surely be the last.
It was a gripping and entertaining read, with a great cast of characters and a multilayered plot that kept turning pages.
The mystery is solid and it kept me guessing till the end as the solution came as a surprise.
An excellent read, highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

What I Liked:

-This is the fifth book in a series, but I haven’t read the preceding books. While there were lots of references to events from previous installments, I never felt lost with the characters and the main mystery worked as a standalone.

-I enjoyed the dynamic of the investigating team. There was some fun banter and I liked how close all of them were.

-Though it did take me awhile to get into the story, it did eventually pick up for me and it kept my attention.

What Didn’t Work for Me:

-Maybe I have read far too many graphic crime novels, but I really expected a lot more from the murder. The characters say over and over again how this is the worst crime scene they’ve ever seen and how horrific it was. But, it didn’t seem that bad to me? I feel like I’ve read far worse before and the characters just repeating again and again how bad the crime scene was made it seem much more like the author was trying to convince me it was bad, rather than writing it convincingly. It started me out on a bad foot with the story.

-I felt like the book was far too long. There were lots of side plots and red herrings and unneeded description. It could have been much shorter and still got all the main plot points and character development across.

-While I liked a lot of the characters, I didn’t care of Matilda. Few things she did made sense to me. I also didn’t like how she lied to her team about important things.

-I felt like there were really obvious clues in who the murderer was, which may be another reason the book felt so long to me. The big break in the case basically comes about by recognizing one of the detective’s incompetence, which also kind of annoyed me.

Overall:

Overall, The Murder House was ok, but didn’t really live up to my expectations. I expected a lot more from the premise and it left me a little disappointed. However, the character development was well done and I enjoyed reading about most of them. I probably won’t go back and read any of the other books in this series, but I’m sure fans of the series will probably enjoy this.

Overall Rating (out of 5): 3 Stars