I would like to thank Netgalley and BooksGoSocial for a review copy of The Killing of Queen Mab, the fourth novel to feature DI Zig Batten of the Somerset police.

A serious head injury has forced Zig onto sick leave, so, to while away the time, he decides to look into the unsolved murder of a rough sleeper known as Queen Mab. She was much more than the eccentric drunk she appears, so Zig finds himself looking into her troubled past as far afield as Yorkshire, Cornwall and Crete.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Killing of Queen Mab, which is a detailed procedural with a likeable protagonist. I found it quite slow going, probably because it leaves little of her life out, but, at the same time, quite compulsive, because the author has the knack of making the reader want to know more.

The novel is mostly told from Zig’s point of view with a sidestep into another character’s actions. This latter character is one of three suspects and brings with him a sense of menace, although I’m not sure what else. Zig is easy to identify with. He wants to work and while he clearly isn’t fit he’ll simply do it off the books, because, you know, he knows what’s best for him. He’s certainly ready to put his money where his mouth is with various trips away to investigate her past.

The plot is unrelenting. Whether Zig is dealing with personal issues or investigating it keeps it’s forward momentum. Sometimes it gets a touch repetitive but there is never any doubt that the murder will be solved. The solution when it comes is full of nastiness and perhaps surprise. I must admit that while I wasn’t sure about the killer’s identity I had guessed from early on many of the elements involved. I’d like to say that it was brilliance on my part, but really it was simply recognition of motifs I’ve read in other novels. What I wasn’t ready for was the final bombshell, which is a stunner.

The Killing of Queen Mab is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

Thank you NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for the eARC.
Detective Zig Batten sustained a serious head wound and his doctor refuses to give him the go-ahead to return to duty: no work, no alcohol, no driving, just rest. Instead Zig re-opens the cold case of Queen Mab, who had her throat slashed in an alley. Starting out as a beautiful girl, her life descended into sleeping rough, alcoholism and mental decline. Zig wants to know why and who finally ended her sad life, which starts by him going to Crete and Cornwall where Queen Mab lived by her true name, Rose.
What a twisty, intense and absorbing read this is. And the ending, wow, what a shocker! I loved this book and highly recommend it!