SYNOPSIS:
A fresh case lays bare old bones for DI Watt's team When a young woman's body is discovered on a popular jogging trail in Birmingham, Detective Inspector Bernard Watts and his team are plunged into a disturbing murder investigation. Not only has the woman been violently stabbed - her head is missing. When a close examination of the crime scene results in a shocking discovery linking the present murder to a past crime, criminologist Will Traynor is brought in to assist the police. Aware of Traynor's troubled past, Watts is sceptical that Will can contribute anything useful to the investigation. He's about to be proved very wrong . . .
MY THOUGHTS:
Dark Truths is such a page-turner. I was very much taken by the characters of Watts and his young, enthusiastic Police Constable, Judd. Her lack of experience but eagerness to please and solve the crime made this duo quite comical at times. I loved how Watts brushed Judd's opinions aside most of the time, getting her to focus on the facts and grounding her. And then enters Traynor, a troubled individual, a highly experienced criminologist but haunted by his past and in discovering his wife's body and her killer.
What Cross does really well in this Police Procedural is provide you with realistic characters that you cannot help but warm to. Although the novel's crime dominates the storyline you are following the case closely alongside the investigators and the forensic team and get little snippets into their personal lives. Which I loved.
The headless body of a woman found left by her car gripped me from the outset but when other skulls are found nearby the pace quickened and the investigation started to heat up. As family members, witnesses and suspects are interviewed I had no idea who was responsible for the death of Zoe Roberts or how there could possibly be a link to the other skulls that were found in the same location. I felt for Watts as the investigation seemed to be going nowhere and pressures from above meant he would have to leave the case to others if it wasn't solved within a set deadline. I was rooting for him to find those involved and to close the case.
A well written novel, with unexpected twist and turns; a thoroughly enjoyable read. As this is the first book in the Traynor series I cannot wait to read more, I just hope that Watts and Judd are also featured in the series. Many thanks to Emma at Damppebbles for inviting me to take part in the blog tour and to Black Thorn Books for my gifted copy.
AUTHOR:
About A.J. Cross:
A.J. Cross is a forensic psychologist with over twenty years' experience in the field. She lives in Birmingham with her jazz-musician husband and is the author of five Kate Hanson mysteries.
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