Thank you to Sarah Hardy from @BOTBSPublicity for organising this tour and to Noelle Holten, One More Chapter and NetGalley for a copy of this novel in exchange for a honest and unbiased review.
Synopsis
‘Hugely confident … harrowing, visceral … recommended’ Ian Rankin on Dead Inside
A brutal murder…
When a burned body is found with its teeth missing, DC Maggie Jamieson discovers that the victim may be the husband of one of her probation colleagues.
A dark history…
As the body count rises, the team becomes increasingly baffled by how the victims could possibly be connected until a clue leads them to a historical case that was never prosecuted.
A terrible secret…
In order to catch the killer, Maggie must piece together what happened all those years ago before it’s too late.
My Thoughts
Dead Mercy is the 5th book in the Maggie Jamieson series however if you haven’t read the others you’re in for a treat. They all work fine as a stand alone and there is enough information to fill you in but for the strong character development and to fully understand all the link I highlight recommend you read them in order form the beginning.
DC Maggie Jamieson is back again and just as exciting and tense as ever!
Now usually, Holten creates an absolute monster of a murder and in Dead Mercy she has excellent once again however, there is an added twist which makes the lines a lot more blurry than usual. The crime is horrific and brutal but the chapters told from the killer’s perspective did evoke some empathy and sadness in me.
One of my favourite aspect of Dead Mercy, and this series, is how Holten uses her personal experience and knowledge to create an investigation that goes beyond a detective and her team. She utilises and highlights inter-agency joint working which is fascinating. DC Jamieson ahs built a strong, reliable team around herself and it’s been brilliant watching it develop and go from strength to strength. It’s thrilling and addictive reading about them all working their different angles, piecing together the evidence and working through suspicions. I love the way the case unravels piece by piece, building the tension and keeping the pages turning until the very end.
Also, there is insight into the private lives of some character keeping the balance between the case and developing character stories.
It’s dark, disturbing and ridiculously addictive. Highly recommended.
Author Bio – Noelle Holten
Noelle Holten is an award-winning blogger at www.crimebookjunkie.co.uk. She is the PR & Social Media Manager for Bookouture, a leading digital publisher in the UK, and worked as a Senior Probation Officer for eighteen years, covering a variety of risk cases as well as working in a multi agency setting. She has three Hons BA’s – Philosophy, Sociology (Crime & Deviance) and Community Justice – and a Masters in Criminology. Noelle’s hobbies include reading, attending as many book festivals as she can afford and sharing the booklove via her blog. Dead Inside – her debut novel with One More Chapter/Harper Collins UK is an international kindle bestseller and the start of a new series featuring DC Maggie Jamieson.
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Herding Cats 
Thanks so much for being part of the blog tour Kerry x
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Always a pleasure Sarah ❤
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Great review, Kerry. I haven’t read any of this author’s books, but I have heard good things! Definitely seems like a series worth getting my teeth into 😄
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It’s a great detective series.
I love how the agencies all work. It’s fun to learn beyond the police aspect.
They are a little dark but if you’re into crime series- I’d recommend.
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