Lee Weeks (2)

Investigating the murder of Eddie Butcher, an East End gangster, DI Carter and DS Willis learn that the Butcher family plan to take over the drug trade in London. Eddie’s murder may have been part of that plan and may have been ordered by his own brother Tony from his hideaway in Marbella. Meanwhile, we learn that Eddie’s widow, Della, was engaged to DI Carter and was, in fact, a policewoman before leaving the force to marry Eddie.

I did not enjoy this book.

The plotting is poor, full of coincidences and preposterous events. A diamond merchant is not only an ex-policeman and therefore willing to join a sting operation, but can lay his hands on several hundred million pounds worth of diamonds (both fake and real) at the drop of a hat. One walking tour guide is murdered and another scared off because their walks pass a disused pub being used by a drug gang.

The writing is poor. The dialogue is stilted and never conveys a sense of the character speaking as being an East End gangster, a Colombian drug lord or a policeman. They all sound the same and all speak in narrative set-up sentences. The writing is in a strange style where characters are described as doing something and then say they are going to do it: Fred goes into the kitchen and makes a cup of tea. Fred says ‘I think I will go and make a cup of tea.’

The editing is poor. I spotted ‘visas’ instead of ‘visors’; ‘metre’ instead of ‘meter’; and, ‘double-backed’ instead of the normal ‘doubled-back’.

An interesting idea with lots of possibilities, but let down by poor execution.… (meer)

Cold Killers – A Good Old Fashioned Thriller

Lee Weeks has really developed the Detective Sergeant Ebony Willis along with her boss Detective Inspector Dan Carter in to a crime series that is getting better with every outing. Lee Weeks has an excellent eye for what makes a crime thriller and even more so for the kind that will stand out, and this will stand out from the rest.

Eddie Butcher is one of the four brothers who have ruled the East End with an iron fist for as long as people can remember, when Eddie is discovered murdered, the outlook does not look good for that part of London. Nobody murders one of the ‘faces’ and gets away with it, and it is known that his brother Tony will not settle until the score has been settled.

Willis and Carter are investigating the murder and not making much headway as nobody wants to be seen or known as a grass in case it gets back to the wrong people. As Willis and Carter look further in to the murder, and its links to drugs and an ongoing feud when help comes from an unexpected source and maybe the thing that will blow the case wide open.

Will this be the case that will define the careers of both Willis and Carter or be a big setback, this could blow up in both their faces considering some of the players in the case. One thing they have learnt is not to underestimates any of the Butcher clan and any of their associates and they are fully aware that the Butchers have too many on the payroll to take any chances.

Will Willis and Carter be able to solve Eddie Butcher’s murder while at the same time being able to stop a consignment of cocaine and draw Tony Butcher from Spain. From the outset, it is not clear who is going to be the winner, but there must be one somewhere in this case.

An exciting and entertaining crime thriller that all readers will enjoy and continue to recommend.… (meer)