Member Reviews

There is a complex web of deceit at the heart of this compulsively readable novel. I am truly glad to have found a police procedural that is neither formulaic or full of tired old clichés like so many of them are these days.
The plot is authentic. It isn't difficult to imagine crooks fixing their claws on a super-rich football player and his family.
Roscoe and Roy make a good team and I'm glad they feature in some other novels by Tony Bassett which I can now add to my long TBR list.
The novel is well-paced and there are plenty of tense moments as well as unexpected twists and turns in the story.

Was this review helpful?

Aston Villa’s new signing Jean-Jacques Beauvais has only been in the country for a matter of weeks living in a manor house in Norton Prior, but that’s long enough for a ruthless gang to have monitored the household’s regular routines and on a Saturday when only the housekeeper is at home, broken in to steal luxury items. Unfortunately, it all goes wrong when the three men are disturbed by the arrival of his step-son Marcel and his bodyguard. Two shots ring out, a man lies dead and the teenage boy finds himself kidnapped and held to a £2m ransom. DCI Gavin Roscoe and DS Sunita Roy from the Heart of England CID are immediately put on the case, together with regulars in this series DCs Omar Khalid, Wendy Hopkirk, Brett Dawson and PC Derek Underhill, and are later joined by kidnap specialist DI Joseph Parkes from the NCA who immediately sets about putting everyone’s backs up. Gradually they unravel clues left behind by the gang and start to identify suspects, but who is the boss behind the heist who seems to have inside knowledge? As a second demand is made, events take a surprising turn but will the team manage to rescue Marcel in time?
This is a well told police procedural in an enjoyable series with a set of varied and very likeable detectives. I really like Roscoe, a detective with a happy home life, and things are looking up again for Roy as she uses her inheritance to look for a new home and just maybe is getting things back on track with old flame DI Tom Vickers. The story maintains a good pace with some nail-biting moments as the team race to find the boy and there are plenty of surprising twists in this engrossing tale.

Was this review helpful?

A decent enough read, although a stand out and as it dealt with football could easily have been substituted for something more enjoyable.

Was this review helpful?

This gripping story begins with a robbery that tragically resulted in one person’s death and left another person kidnapped. Our detectives are left meticulously examining the crime scene, diligently searching for clues that will lead them to the whereabouts of the teenage victim before it’s too late. The narrative is masterfully crafted with ingenious little twists that propel the story forward, making it an irresistible read that keeps you engaged from beginning to end.

Was this review helpful?

It Never Rains starts with the kidnap of a footballer's son and the murder of his bodyguard. DCI Roscoe and DS Roy are on the case, tracking the missing sixteen year old. They soon have some details on the gang but who was behind the crime? There's more to this one than first appears.

This is the sixth in a series but it works as a standalone novel. The pace is a little slow, with the occasional, "a few days later", or "a week had passed" when nothing apparently happened of note. The plot is decent although the characters are a little one dimensional and the dialogue is very formal and stilted in places.

Was this review helpful?

It never rains but it pours…. When a ruthless gang burgles the home of a Premier League football player, DCI Gavin Roscoe and DS Sunita Roy suddenly have a murder and a kidnap on their hands. The footballer’s stepson, Marcel, is taken from the palatial property whilst it is being ransacked, and his bodyguard is shot, stone cold dead!! Great book! This book had suspense, intrigue, action, murder, mystery, a great who done it and a few crazy twists and turns. The story was interesting! Everything is not what it seems!! I definitely recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Was this review helpful?