Rhys Dylan

I'm always on the look out for new-to-me authors and this series came recommended by a couple of reading friends. There are already 13 books in the series, and I'll certainly be reading the next one.

Ex-DCI Evan Warlow has retired and there is a level of mystery about why he has taken early retirement. He was known as a very committed detective but it cost his marriage. Now a cold case that was one of the last he was involved in has resurfaced with the discovery of a couple of skeletons in a cave on the cliffs. Thy are identified as those of a couple who disappeared while out walking, who lived in a cottage on the cliffs. Who better than Warlow who had worked so hard on the case, to become involved again.

Warlow had vowed to give up police work, but he finds he can't refuse the offer.

Well written, interesting characters, an engaging plot, a bit of Welsh history, and some modern issues.… (más)

This is the opening novel in a series where a Detective Chief Inspector (Evan Warlow) is summoned out of early retirement when a cliff path landslip uncovers the bodies of two missing walkers. Warlow was in charge of the case which occurred six or seven years previously and despite exhaustive searches no trace was ever found thanks to the site chosen to conceal the bodies.

This was an interesting police procedural mystery with a good cast headed up by Warlow himself - divorced father of grown sons, who has just finished restoring a rural property inherited from his uncle and is now a bit of a loner apart from his faithful Labrador. It was nice, for once, to read about a police detective who is not alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional, although there is medical intrigue in the background - the reason for his early retirement. The female DCI who replaced him and is now in charge of investigating the two murders is also pretty balanced; although divorced, she is coping with being a single parent to a teenage daughter. The immediate team is rounded out by a female Detective Sergeant, previously mentored by Warlow, and a young and keen male Detective Constable.

There are a few twists and I didn't anticipate most of them, though I realised about two thirds of the way through, from things said by the murdered couple's daughter, the gist of why they had been murdered and wasn't surprised at what happened to two other characters as a result. However, there were still some surprises in the cast of villains, and the story touched on some very topical issues. On the whole I enjoyed it though am not sure about continuing with the series, having encountered some other series where the main character has a medical problem. I hope that this isn't going to end the same way so for now will just award this one 4 stars.… (más)