A new case for DC Beth Young and her colleagues. A man is found alive but with devastating injuries. James Sinclair is a quiet man who stays in the background so why has he been attacked? Next, two bodies belonging to hgang members are pulled from the river with gruesome damage to their heads. Can there be a link?
We see the perspective of the Sculptor who has been given a contract to attack 3 people. The police uncover secret emails from James Sinclair to two other people but can they reach them before the Sculptor does…?
Meanwhile, the personal side of the police are brought out in Fear In the Lakes. Beth has discovered the identity of one of the men responsible for her facial injuries that have left a significant scar. A misognistic temporary cop joins the team while Thompson struggles following the death of his wife from Alzheimers.
Graham Smith’s third book in this series is just as good as the previous two. The cruelty that one human can inflict on another is graphically described but from a forensic point of view. This allows the reader to have revulsion for the end result whilst not reading the attack as it occurs so there is a slight detachment.
Some chapters are written from the perspective of the Sculptor so we can get a sense of anticipation as the next victim is hunted. Meanwhile, the personal side to the police officers makes them more human and the continuing narrative about Beth’s face injury unites this with other books in the series.
In summary: brilliant plot, great characters, can’t wait for the next in the series!
A case with no leads. A victim with no enemies. A killer with no conscience…
When Detective Beth Young is called to investigate a victim with multiple broken bones, nothing prepares her for what she finds. James Sinclair is fighting for his life, and Beth can’t shake the idea that the nature of his injuries suggest someone with a personal grudge against him.
But James’s devastated wife Laura insists that her kind, softly-spoken husband is a man with no enemies. She was the one with the fiery temper, but James was so calm, she’d never once managed to provoke even a cross word from him in their eight year marriage. And he was the same with everyone – she can’t name one person who might want to hurt him.
But she knows virtually no details about her husband’s childhood or his life before he moved to the Lake District as a young man, and Beth feels sure that the key to finding James’s attacker is hidden in the secrets of his past. Who was he really? And what is the significance of the coded messages that Beth finds hidden on his laptop?
Then two more bodies are found in one of the deep, picturesque lakes that the area is so famous for, exhibiting similar injuries to the ones James Sinclair suffered. How are they connected? And how many more people are at risk?
Beth knows she is in a race against time to hunt a vicious killer who is both elusive and incredibly dangerous. A killer who knows what James did in the past. Who likes to be one step ahead. But who – if they realise they’re being hunted – might come for Beth next…
Author Bio:
Graham Smith is the bestselling author of four explosive crime thrillers in the Jake Boulder series, Watching the Bodies, The Kindred Killers, Past Echoes and Die Cold. Watching the Bodies spent over two weeks at number one in the Amazon UK chart and Amazon CA charts. Graham is also the author of the popular DI Harry Evans series and has collections of short stories and novellas. His latest novels with Bookouture are set in Cumbria and the Lake District, featuring DC Beth Young.
He is the proud father of a young son. As a time served joiner he has built bridges, houses, dug drains and slated roofs to make ends meet. Since 2000 he has been manager of a busy hotel and wedding venue near Gretna Green, Scotland.
An avid fan of crime fiction since being given one of Enid Blyton’s Famous Five books at the age of eight, he has also been a regular reviewer for the well-respected review site Crimesquad.com since 2010.
When not working, his time is spent reading, writing and playing games with his son. He enjoys socialising and spending time with friends and family.
