Dead Embers

Matt Brolly, you keep digging away towards my circle of go-to authors, and I have to admit you have crossed the finish line. From book one of the DCI Michael Lambert series (Dead Eyed) to book two (Dead Lucky), now to book three (Dead Embers), Matt Brolly’s stories get better and better. I have now officially hit the star ceiling with 5 big ones for this installment and fear how I am going to adequately reward the next book.

Michael Lambert is a troubled guy since falling asleep behind the wheel and crashing his car, killing his 4-year-old daughter in the process (not a spoiler). His marriage couldn’t survive the carnage and now he is lost. He does however have a tenuous relationship with DCI Sarah May that is again visited in this book, and he has his work, which is keeping him afloat. I really love this guy and always root hard for him. Other characters that grabbed me included the charismatic DS Matilda Kennedy and the enigmatic Chief Superintendent Glenn Tillman, both making reappearances from previous books. I would like for Mr. Brolly to continue to delve more into these two characters in future novels.

Lambert has a history of going off the grid in terms of how he goes about solving cases. This time around he and his team become involved in a complex series of events involving the death of a fellow cop, a suicide pact, and a series of near death experiences involving explosives. All of this turns out to be just the tippy tip top of a huge web of deceit, corruption and evil. From the first two sentences of the book I was ensnared, and watching this all play out made for compelling and fascinating reading. Even at 95%, there are pieces of the puzzle still to be worked out. The last sentence gave me goosies all over. This was definitely one that was enormously hard to put down.

I have to admit that there are a few deductions Lambert makes that made me wonder if he is a mind reader or just incredibly intuitive. Personally, I was so carried away by the story, I was happy to suspend my believability suspicions and go with it. I had a big smile of satisfaction on my face at the end, and can’t wait for Mr. Brolly to churn out another Lambert book.

Do you like Angela Marsons, Robert Bryndza or Michael Wood? If so, you will definitely enjoy Matt Brolly’s Michael Lambert series. Though the central plots of the three novels are all self-contained, you will get a much better feel for the characters if you start with book one, Dead Eyed. Happy reading!

Many thanks to Matt Brolly, Canelo Publishing, and Net Galley for inviting me to read an ARC of Dead Embers. All opinions are my own and are not biased in any way.

I really enjoyed this book. Very clever writing and a great storyline. Loads of action to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Wow what a great read! Really enjoyed this, I loved everything about it, the characters, the story line and the twists and turns. I had a hard job putting this one down, a well deserved 5 stars.