Recalled to Death

When the caretaker opens the gates to Moreton Corbet Castle he finds the body of a homeless man. The cause of death – a slashed throat, is obvious. Coroner Martha Gunn is in charge of collecting as much evidence as possible during the post mortem to be able to identify the man. DI Alex Randall and his officers try to determine whether this was a random attack or a warning to the homeless community. This is a meticulously written police procedural that builds a plot based on the strength of strong character development, not blood and gore

Articulate and compelling, Priscilla Masters' newest police procedural, Recalled to Death, is a mystery that should not be missed. The novel captures the reader from the very first page, drawing them in deeper and deeper until the final resolution.

When a homeless man is found dead, his throat cut, in the basement of Moreton Corbet Castle, Detective Inspector Alex Randall has to discover not only who murdered the man but who the man is. The latter question proves a difficult one to answer. Noone knows The Man's name, his story, or where he comes from. Those who remember him speak of him as cultured, well spoken, and enigmatic, neither a drinker nor a drug user. Apart from cryptic references about already being dead, Alex and his team have few leads. Was this a random crime against the homeless? Or was he murdered because of who he was? Even an unknown deserves justice.

Alex and his team are human, with varied backgrounds, problems and concerns that affect them and their work. They are not automatons or two dimensional figures. Masters' novel has the feel of a real investigation, including not only the varied tasks involved in investigating but also the hopes dreams and fears of the police on the job. Reading Recalled to Death, I felt like I was plunged into a real investigation, able to see behind the scenes and understand the motivations of the central characters.

Priscilla Masters is a wonderful author whose vivid descriptions, fascinating characters, and unique storyline combine to make Recalled to Death an impressive police procedural certain to satisfy fans of the genre.

5/5

Recalled to Death is available for preorder and will be released October 1, 2015

Recalled to Death is the 6th Martha Gunn police procedural. The books do not have to be read in order.

I received a copy of Recalled to Death from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

This novel in the Martha Gunn series doesn't feature as much of Martha in her role of Coroner as it does Detective Inspector Alex Randall and his homicide team. The reason for that is the difficulty the police have in identifying a murder victim found in Moreton Corbet Castle in Shropshire. It is obvious from the beginning that this man was one of the homeless, but why was he in the castle in the first place and how did he get there from the area where the homeless usually gathered for the night? Police literally have no clue as to this man's identity so the long, laborious work begins to track down who he is. None of the most obvious methods of identification work so the team at Monkmoor police station in Shrewsbury find themselves piecing together the most minute clues while, by chance or otherwise, often overlooking chances to find clues which would send the mystery on the way to being solved.

I had read one novel in this series previously so was very glad when I was given the opportunity to catch up with this cast of characters. The long, slow process of working on this case could have been an exercise in tedium, but that is definitely not the way this book reads. I really appreciated learning more about the life of DI Randall and was very surprised by what I learned. It did help me understand him more and might even be a set-up for a future novel in the series. This is a very good reading experience if you enjoy following right along with a team of investigators as they find the clues and put the pieces of the puzzle together. I definitely will be waiting for the next book in this series.

I received an e-ARC of this novel through NetGalley.

There's a dead man in the basement of an abandoned building that is open to visitors. He looks homeless and is dirty as most are. The only unusual thing about him is that his throat has been cut...

Severn House and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you). It will be published October 1st.

The man is a mystery man. He has no ID on him and nothing that gives any clues on who he might be. Every place he's been, he's maintained a low profile and not stayed too long. No one ever knew his name. He's made a few cryptic remarks but they don't make sense. Like saying he already died once? The police are having an awful time trying to identify him. How are they going to find their killer?

This police procedural takes you through the painstaking process of detecting with very little information to go on. They brainstorm, try anything they can, and keep hunting throughout the story. When they get a piece of information about him, doors begin to open. They are pretty sure they know who the killer is. But how to prove it?

Martha is very good with a bluff. It takes all her skills to break this case open. And she's still interested in Alex Randall. However, he's still married. I think that might change in future books in this series. I'll just have to keep reading and see.

When the body of a homeless man is discovered at a local ruin, Detective Inspector Alex Randall can't help but wonder why anyone would want to inflict such a horrific attack on the unknown person. Initial enquiries about the victim also leave Coroner Martha Gunn perplexed and together the two of them are determined to uncover what it is that made the quietly spoken and polite man the target of such a brutal killer

Realistic characters and well formed storyline kept me intrigued as the two central characters try to make sense of the killing, with no information regarding the victim and little information forthcoming from the homeless community they've got their work cut out.

I love the way Priscilla Masters writes, the scene setting, the characters and the storyline all blend together well making an easy read interesting and compelling

Recalled to Death begins in the grounds of Moreton Corbet Castle, where the keeper John Hyde discovers a dead man who’s had his throat cut. DI Alex Randall finds out that the man was homeless but there are no real clues to his identity or the motive for the murder. Coroner Martha Gunn believes that his identity will unlock the mystery, but there are simply no clues to who the man was or the motive for his murder. I’ve not read a Priscilla Masters book for a long time and even though it’s clearly set in present, with references to computers and smartphones, there’s a slightly old fashioned feel about the novel that I really enjoyed. Although it’s a part of a series, it worked well for me as a standalone novel, and I could well read the next one too, just because I want to find out about the “relationship” between Randall and Gunn and whether it will progress further.

Recalled to Death was a joy to read.

"Had the man come here by chance? Had the murder also been by chance? Who would want to slit the throat of a vagrant? Why? And why here?......."

DI Alex Randall is called in when the body of a tramp is discovered in the ruins of a castle. There are no clues, no evidence pointing to the identity of the murderer. Even stranger, nor is there any pointing to the identity of the dead man. In fact he seems to have gone to a lot of trouble to hide his identity. Why?

Neither Randall nor coroner Martha Gunn are happy to bury this unidentified man in an unmarked grave and are determined to give him the dignity of his own identity.

I sat down to read a chapter or two...and several hours later found myself at 72% and none of the jobs I had intended doing, done.

The writing is warm, descriptive and captivating. The characters are well rounded and eminently believable. The plot moves along at a steady pace, revealing little gems about the characters and sewing seeds for future exploration. There are brief forays into the characters personal lives, enough to make them more interesting, but not enough to eclipse the main storyline.

Priscilla Masters is a new-to-me author, but she will not remain a one book read for me.

Recalled to Death is #5 in a series, none of which I have read. This works perfectly well as a stand alone book, but I am intrigued enough to want to go back and read the series from the beginning.

Thank you to NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for the gift of a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I don’t like jumping into an established series if I haven’t read the preceding books. Since being a NetGalley and Edelweiss member and having SO many quality titles at my disposal, I’ve come to reconsider my position on this matter.

Case in point: “Recalled to death” is the sixth novel in the Martha Gunn mystery series. This series has been on my TBR for some time so I thought I’d jump in and try to catch up to previous titles in the series later. It is a sound police procedural mystery set in Shropshire, England. I had no trouble reading this title even though it is the 6th in this acclaimed series!

Martha Gunn is a coroner, a widow, a mother of twins, and a redhead. Don’t you just love her already? She along with series regulars Detective Inspector Alex Randall, Sergeant Paul Talith, and Constable Gethin Roberts investigate the violent murder of a vagrant in the cellar of a medieval ruin.

The murder investigation cannot proceed in any productive manner due to the fact that the identity of the vagrant remains shrouded in mystery. Learning his identity becomes the paramount concern of the Shrewsbury police.

The backstory of the characters whilst they are investigating makes the reader connect with them in such a way that you want to know all there is to know about them. There is also an obvious attraction between the series protagonist Martha Gunn and DI Alex Randall. Since Randall has an abysmal family life you are rooting for them all the way. The ending is written in such a way that the reader is left wanting ‘more’.

The scene where Martha and Alex go for a walk on the Porthill footbridge is both memorable and poignant.

Very strong characterization coupled with an intriguing and well wrought mystery made “Recalled to death” an extremely enjoyable read. I look forward to backtracking and reading the first five novels in this excellent police procedural series. (It doesn’t hurt that they all have very attractive dustjackets too! )

Thanks to Severn House via NetGalley for providing me with this novel for review.

5 star