Evil, thrilling, murder and unexpected things....everything that makes a great book! I never saw anything coming and was very pleased with the thrilling story

I first discovered Max and his work a year or two back. When I heard that he was due to release the first book in a new series, I knew that I had to grab a copy and read it at the earliest opportunity. Well the wait is over and it was well worth it. 'A Body On The Flats' is the first book in a new series featuring Detectives Kane and Granger and it was released on 3rd September 2024. I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'A Body On The Flats' but more about that in a bit.

I have to say that the synopsis of 'A Body On The Flats' intrigued me and so I had high hopes for the story. I wasn't to be disappointed. Once I started reading, I found that I just couldn't stop. I was drawn into the story from the start. It was as if the story had me in its grip and it didn't let me go until long after I had read the very last word on the very last page. I developed my own theories as to what was going to happen so I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or not. The more of the book that I read, the more I wanted to read and the quicker the pages seemed to turn. I soon got to the end of the story. I found 'A Body On The Flats' be a gripping, tense and dramatic read, which certainly kept me guessing.

'A Body On The Flats' is extremely well written and then some. Max certainly knows how to grab the reader's attention and draw them into what proves to be one hell of a story The story is written in such a way that it makes the reader feel as though they are part of the story themselves and an extra person on Kane's team. That's how I felt anyway. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fairly fast pace throughout. In Detectives Kane and Granger, Max has created two memorable characters who are like chalk and cheese but they seem to work well together. Max's characters are described so vividly that they seem just as real as you and I. Reading 'A Body On The Flats' felt like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading 'A Body On The Flats' and I would definitely recommend this book to other readers. I look forward to reading much more of Max's work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

In Brentwood, Essex, MIT DI Edison Kane has been off work for three months since his wife was murdered, and the case remains unsolved. Now back and having convinced his Supt that he is fit for work, he is assigned his first new case, that of a murdered man washed up on the mudflats at Leigh-on-Sea. It’s make or break time for Kane. Working out of Southend station with newly transferred DC Bailey Granger and assigned a small local team, the first priority is to identify the man who has been stabbed in the back and had his eyes cut out. He fears this will not be the only victim. Despite interference from very ambitious local rag crime reporter Jack Newman, they discover the man was a rough sleeper but still have no idea of his real identity, nor the motive for the murder. Then the journalist receives an email from the killer signing off with the words See No Evil, forcing the detectives to work with the press. A terrified witness comes forward but soon another mutilated body is found as Newman gets a second chilling message. With a very confident murderer taunting the police, will Kane save his reputation and catch the killer before anyone else dies?
Granger is impressive, a single mother to a four-year-old daughter, living with her mother and forging a career she is excelling at, despite her background. Kane is also admirable, throwing himself into his work after his devastating loss when many men would have crumbled and given up on life. Together they make a great team as they investigate a dark and baffling crime. The plot itself is excellent, full of twists and surprises with plenty of red herrings to fool the reader. I thoroughly enjoyed this first story in the series which had me completely hooked and with a fabulous little thread left hanging at the end, I am definitely looking forward to more.

This is a good story of a serial killer, and the attempts to find him. Killer was unexpected, and the back story of Kane is interesting enough to look forward to the sequel that will undoubtedly lead to solving his wife’s murder.

A Perplexing Case..
The first in the Kane and Granger series of thrillers finds Detective Edison Kane, returning to the South End Murder Squad following a close to home tragedy, almost immediately thrown into a perplexing and grotesque murder case. Will Kane be able to shelve his own demons and trauma in order to effectively deal with the case at hand? With well written and credible characters populating a slow burn plot riddled with twists and with a firm sense of place, this is a promising start to a new series.

See No Evil,Hear No Evil…

A Body on the Flats is a thriller that will keep readers on the edge of their seats from start to finish. The story weaves a complex narrative around a string of chilling murders, combining the sharp investigative team of Kane and Granger,with deeply personal stakes. The character development is masterful, particularly in how it explores the protagonist's internal struggles and the duality of his public and private personas. With its intense plot twists and a cleverly constructed mystery, this book delivers both suspense and depth, making it a must-read for fans of psychological thrillers. It's a real whodunnit.

Police procedural featuring Detective Edison Kane,who has just returned to work after his wives murder.Gritty and full of twists.

DI Kane is back at work although still under some evaluation following the trauma of his wife being raped and murdered whilst he was at work. He has a new partner, a young dedicated officer, Bailey Granger who has proved herself by hard, determined work as well as coping with a 4-year old daughter. They have a gory murder to investigate - eyes gouged out, fortunately post mortem. The murderer is taunting them by sending emails to the local paper, especially the' thinks himself hot-shot' investigative journalist, always happy to diss the police, There are plenty of twists and turns, a few red herrings and another murder or two. The two detectives are working well together, giving respect to each other where appropriate and I hope that the stories continue. Although the ending is somewhat of a cliff-hanger we do find out the perpetrator, not quite the whole story though. I have to drop a star because of that cliff hanger, although, in this case, I do want more! Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

Talk about leaving on a cliff hanger! I cannot wait for the next book to come out!

One murder leads to a several crimes being found out; the murderer… was someone I had suspected but didn’t have any evidence for until they revealed themselves in the book! A must read for thriller fans!

What a great start to a promising new series! Set in Southend and featuring DI Kane and DC Granger, it has everything you want from a police procedural. I was hooked from the start, right until that unexpected ending and I can't wait for the next book to find out what is in store for the two detectives. I hope we don't have to wait too long for a follow up! Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

5* intro to this author, who doesn't let slip for a second.

I'm getting more and more impressed with Joffe Books and their UK-based tales, and this may just be the current best of the lot.

I think it's the first of a series, featuring a recently widowed detective who's given his first case since his bereavement, and a new, younger female partner.

There's no faux awkwardness in their new relationship, no using her mixed race as a prop, and good on her for being a strong enough character to say that despite her age, she's proven herself - which she has - and she doesn't need shielding or protecting or being spoken for. That was delivered completely as a non-sensationalist, relevant and matter-of-fact statement, and once that was out in the open, good, healthy boundaries were set.

The tale itself is excellent. Not gruesome but well orchestrated in a twist I didn't see coming, and with a perfect red herring in one character that was used by the author and by the killer as a plot device. There was some really good blurring on both their parts. I hadn't expected the ending, which feels about 5% cliff hanger. Not in a way that makes you want to chuck your Kindle at the wall, but rather makes you want to nose at the author's website to find out when the next book will be out. It's really that good.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Joffe Books for my reading pleasure.

Thank you netgalley for the ARC of the book. I enjoyed the story and the character development. I was engaged from the very beginning. As a fan of horror/thrillers, I loved this story. The mystery and intrigue was there and I found myself staying up late to finish chapters. This is a book that's great for the fall season.

This is the first in a new police series featuring DI Edison Kane and DC Bailey Granger, set in and around the Southend area.

Kane has just come back on duty from compassionate leave following the murder of his wife, when a body washes up onto the mudflats in nearby Leigh-on-Sea. Kane assures his boss that he’s fine and capable of handling a murder inquiry, but he has more than a few wobbles. When they look closer at the dead man, they realise that his eyes have been gouged out, then Kane gets a message, “See no evil”.

Isobel Anderson goes for an early morning run, even though her partner isn’t keen on her doing that. Hers is the next body to be found, and an anonymous message, “Hear no evil”, is sent to the crime reporter of the local newspaper, Jack. He’s a high flyer and close to getting his big story that will propel him onto a London paper. Why was the message sent to him and not to the police?

A gripping read and a great start to the series. I look forward to reading more.

Thank you to NetGalley and Joffe Books for an advance reader copy in return for an honest review.

In all honesty I nearly DNF @ 20% but I’m so glad I carried on.

‘The dead can't stand up for themselves. That's his job’
and that’s exactly what he did even when told to give up

The last half of the book had me gripped and it’s currently past 1am because I stayed up to finish the book I couldn’t put it down. The last chapter has me shocked and I really hope there will be a second book to put the answers to bed.


My main reason for giving it 4* instead of 5 was the way it was written, the author is a great writer don’t get me wrong, however the first few chapters for me read like a tv script rather than a book. The main thing I’d change as instead of ‘chapter 1’ I’d have the name of the persons POV it was for example ‘Kane’

Thank you to Netgallery and the publisher for this ARC. The publication date is the 3rd Sept. This book was such a suspenseful and twisty read I couldn’t put it down as I gripped to find out what would happen next!

I liked both characters Edison Kane and Bailey Granger, as they work well together and are a great duo!

Wow, and what an ending it completely threw me off as I thought I had worked it out but I was so wrong! 😊

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!

Crime fiction is my favourite genre. I can happily devour a book in a couple of hours and this was no exception.

Our main police detectives are DI Edison Kane and DC Bailey Granger. DI Kane is still struggling to come to terms with the murder of his wife and is back to work rather earlier than might be wise. He’s paired up with DC Granger to investigate some murders in Leigh-on-Sea. Frustrated by his slow progress with the case and the local journalists leaking the story he struggles to find his feet again.

I probably should have guessed the murdered sooner than I did but I liked the twist.

If you like authors such as Joy Ellis, Simon McCleave and Tim Sullivan then this will appeal to you.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

Lies breed lies . . . Detective Inspector Edison Kane should know. He has a head full of thoughts he can’t confess. Dark thoughts of his wife’s killer. He tells his partner, DC Bailey Granger, that he’s got it together. That he’s fit to return to work. He’d almost believe it himself . . . Wow!!! Fantastic read!!! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one!! This book had a bit of everything! It had great suspense, intriguing, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and some crazy twists and turns!! The storyline was very interesting and had me glued to my kindle! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and Joffe books for sharing this book with me!