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Thursday 21 January 2021

The Stolen Child by Alex Coombs (Hanlon Series #1)

 




Description from Goodreads:


"Meet DI Hanlon. A woman with a habit of breaking the rules and a fierce loyalty to the few people she respects.

Her boss, Corrigan. Looks like a street copper promoted above his ability. Underestimate him at your peril.

Enver Demirel. Known in the boxing ring as Iron Hand. Now soft and gone to seed. But he would do anything for Hanlon.

When the kidnap of a 12-year-old boy blows the case of some missing children wide apart, the finger is pointing at the heart of the Met.

Corrigan sends in the only cop in his team who is incorruptible enough to handle it - Hanlon.

And then he sends Demirel to spy on her..."


This book was previously published as Time To Die by Alex Howard.


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Well, crikey, that was a tough but exciting read that I wasn't able to put down despite the content.

I haven't read anything by this author before and missed this first time round when it was published under a different name but I'm so glad I didn't let it pass me by this time because what a treat it is, although it should come with a warning as there are some very unsavoury sections regarding child abuse that will upset people so be warned.

What we have here is a hard-hitting, gritty and dark story that starts at a fairly gentle pace whilst introducing the main characters but then, wow, it ramps up and doesn't stop until the end.  The characters are exceptional and so well described that I could clearly see them in my mind.  

The main character, DI Hanlon, is driven by her own form of justice and won't shy away from any situation even if it goes against the letter of the law - she will do what it takes to bring those responsible for despicable crimes to justice and she doesn't hold back.  She is one tough cookie and I doubt any miscreant out there would want to be on her bad side!

The sense of tension Mr Coombs developed was palpable and the emotions this book evoked were so strong that I actually felt my heart-rate climbing and experiencing real anger and hatred towards some of the characters - not many books do that which, to me, shows the ability of the author to really draw you in and develop people and situations that get under your skin.

Due to the subject matter and the level of violence contained, this won't appeal to everyone however I would certainly recommend it to those who enjoy a less than flowery police procedural that is likely to be more realistic than most other books in the genre.

Many thanks to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review and for introducing me to yet another excellent British author.

I'm off to read the second in the series now - The Innocent Girl.


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