Really enjoyed this one. It was a fun, quick read, even if it's outside of my usual tastes. Well-written, too.

This book combines a great cast of dark characters with a wonderfully paced thriller. There are webs of deceit to unravel and crimes to solve. It is full of suspense - keeping you turning the pages, desperate to know what is going to happen next.

I AM SO EMBARRASSED ... JUST NOW FINDING THIS ONE ON MY KINDLE/AMAZON. WAS NEVER READ SO NO REVIEW COMING AT THIS LATE DATE. MY SINCERE APOLOGIES. BOOK HAS BEEN ARCHIVED.

A dead body, a bag of money, and a group of people all lying to the police and each other. ‘Only the Brave’ by Mel Sherratt is third in the DS Allie Shenton books set in the Midlands city of Stoke-on-Trent. The sub-plot is a strong storyline here and it weaves in and out of the murder investigation throughout the book: Allie’s beloved sister Karen is expected to die within days. With a head full of grief, guilt, regrets and love for her sister, Allie confronts the underworld of Stoke to find the killer. Is the city’s crime lord Terry Ryder behind it all, even from his prison cell?
Mel Sherratt’s books are good value easy-read novels which get you hooked from page one and don’t let you go. As Karen lies in hospital, Allie must work out which petty criminal is lying to who and why, who has the most to gain and whose fingers are covertly dictating the action. And all the while she dreads having to question Terry Ryder in prison, the man she found herself attracted to despite all her instincts and her much-loved husband Mark. And to top it all, Allie senses someone is following her. Is her imagination running riot? Is it lack of sleep, or stress? Or is she being trailed by the attacker who put Karen into her coma seventeen years earlier?
If I have one criticism, it is that at times it moves too fast. I felt a little like a rabbit in the headlights and would have liked a few pages to catch my breath, to let the clues sink in and try to work out for myself whodunit.
Read the first two books in ‘The Estate series’ before this one, or you won’t get the best of Allie.
Read more of my book reviews at http://www.sandradanby.com/book-reviews-a-z/

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

When one of the notorious Johnson brothers is murdered and a bag of money goes missing, a deadly game of cat and mouse is set in motion.
DS Allie Shenton and her team are called in to catch the killer, but the suspects are double-crossing each other and Allie has little time to untangle the web of lies.
As she delves deeper into the case, things take a personal turn when Allie realises she is being stalked by the very same person who attacked her sister seventeen years ago and left her for dead.

This is the third book in the DS Allie Shenton series.

I hadn't read the previous two books in this series but that really didn't seem to matter too much. There are enough clues throughout relating to the previous books that it is easy enough to get an understanding of what happened previously. Also, the is enough back story for us to see just how much Allie has grown through the previous books.

This story takes place over the course of 48 hours - which, incidentally, is about how long it took me to read it also. So much tension and action that kept the pages turning over. And that is a very good thing. There is an obvious underlying story between Allie and her sister - which comes to a dramatic conclusion in this book - which makes me want to go back and read the earlier books just to read it through and connect those dots.

As for the crime story - very, very good. Everything I have come to love about British crime fiction is here: characters to love and hate, gritty writing, fabulous dialogue and a sense of foreboding on every page. A great tale.


Paul
ARH

I loved this book, I was quick to read and had a great pace. The main characters were believable and I really enjoyed the plot. This is the last book in a trilogy and I don't feel that I missed out reading this one without the previous two books. This is the first book that I have read by this author despite having a few of her books already on my Kindle, can honestly say after reading this book that I wish I'd picked it up earlier and can really see what the hype is surrounding her books. I have just added all of her other books to my wish list!

Great read and easy to follow story line. Look forward to reading more from this author