Fifteen years ago, a man was murdered - by his wife. She's served her time and is back home again. But lo! The same man has been murdered again. So who was the first man? And who's murdered the second man? And why did the wife successfully claim that the first victim was her husband, murdered in the marital bed? There's a lot here for DC Connie Childs and the team she works with to unpick, and it doesn't always reflect well on police procedures in place at the time of the first crime.

In many ways a satisfying story, well told. But the chapters are short: the action rushes hither and yon from present to past and back again, and I couldn't always keep up. I'm glad I did though. I'd cheerfully read more about Connie Childs' career. ( )

The overall story for this novel was quite interesting. I liked reading from the perspective of all of the characters, especially since they all have their unique take on the situation. There was the police angle but also the family angle, which is interesting because I don't think I've really ever read a book that has both of those perspectives. The theme of the story was really strong and carried through the entire book. I felt that the author really took the time to develop the story and shed light on every aspect of this problem. I liked the detective characters more than I liked Kat and Lena, or any of the other civilians; they just seemed more cohesive in terms of their organization and thought process compared to Kat, who sometimes acted like a chicken with its head cut off. There were two romance angles that were also worked into the story; one was more successful than the other in terms of its belieavability and growth trajectory. All in all, this was quite a good detective novel that was unique because of its dual perspectives on the same situation.

I received this novel as an advanced copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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If you like your mysteries somewhat mindboggling, this is the thriller for you: the second book featuring Detective Inspector Francis Sadler combines murder and dysfunctional relationships, leavened with love.

Sadler and his team are investigating a corpse found in a long-abandoned morgue: the problem is the body is that of a man who was killed [and cremated]12 years ago, and his wife Lena has recently been released after serving time for his murder.

But then she disappears, and a second body is found. Where is Lena? Who was the man she killed 12 years ago? Riddles and mistaken identities abound in a pleasantly puzzling tale. ( )

This book grabbed me from the beginning but that did not last.

The idea of the book is intriguing - a woman is sent to prison for 15 years for the murder of her husband yet after she is released her husband turns up dead. Who was the man she murdered 15 years ago? Who murdered her husband? How are the two crimes related? Of course I wanted to know what happened and how and why.

The first problem is that clearly Lena knew something, possibly everything, yet everybody asks her what happened and doesn't press her when she refuses to talk. In reality she would have been taken downtown and threatened with an obstruction of justice charge for refusing to talk. Of course she couldn't say or there would be no reason to flog through the entire 380 pages of this book.

The second problem I had was that the mysteries were too contrived. At one point the sister is sent a series of odd things through a boy that knows Lena. This is a mystery within the larger mystery but when we find out what is going on (the sister never does figure it out) I am shouting at the book "How ridiculous. Why didn't you just...(no spoilers here)". Then when we find out the larger mystery, it is so illogical and preposterous that I want the hours spent reading the book back. I skimmed the last 100 pages.

The writing was acceptable but even there the author fell down with things like "she hissed" and very wooden writing in what should have been an emotional scene.

There seem to be plenty of people that liked this book. Frankly, I don't see why they did. To me the word that mostly comes to mind with this book is - contrived.

Not recommended. ( )

Sarah Ward’s second police procedural to link a present-day crime with Derbyshire’s recent past is a knockout. Certainly the best example of the genre I’ve read so far this year. The most difficult thing about reviewing it is explaining why I think that without giving too much away. But I’ll have a go.

Firstly there’s the story. It opens with a body being discovered in an abandoned building. Nothing very original there you might be thinking. But the dead man is quickly identified as Andrew Fisher; a man who was supposedly killed a decade ago. The husband who Lena Fisher has served an entire prison sentence for murdering. I’m not going to give you any more plot details but will say the twists kept coming and kept surprising me. Lots of novels have a good premise. The elevator pitch if you will. But A DEADLY THAW is one of the much rarer offerings that has an intriguing premise and manages to deliver ever more intrigue until the very end.

As with Ward’s first novel, 2015’s IN BITTER CHILL, I think the main character is DC Connie Childs but she is not such a lone wolf that she is able to investigate crime without assistance. Her boss, the enigmatic DI Francis Sadler, and fellow DC Damian Palmer are both very involved in the investigation. We are exposed to a little of their personal lives (but not too much) and we see how difficult and frustrating their professional lives can be. People lie and obfuscate and forget. And for every tip that leads somewhere useful there are a dozen or more that go nowhere but, of course, you don’t know which is which until the time is wasted. Who’d be a cop eh?

We also see a lot of the civilians who are involved in or impacted by the case in some way. I like that the book lets us see things from different perspectives, not just that of the police. Among the people we meet here are Lena Fisher and her sister Kat who has never known why her sister murdered her husband (or whoever he was) and is now caught up in more inexplicable mess brought into her life by her secretive sister. Their relationship is complex but believable.

It must be near-impossible for a genre author to come up with something even vaguely original these days but Sarah Ward’s mix of contemporary procedural and cold case storyline does so. I really liked the way A DEADLY THAW unfolded, showing how events of the past can have a long-lasting effect and also offering a sobering reminder that one person’s perspective on events is rarely the whole story. I think what I liked most about the book was its deliciously unsettling resolution. Sometimes doing the right thing is downright dangerous.