Michael K. Foster

Hackney Central by Michael K Foster
DCI Jack Mason Crime Thriller #5 (really a prequel)

Quick intense easy to read novella length prequel to the DCI Jack Mason Crime Thriller series in which I met 28 year old Jack Mason – a soon to be new father and working his first case as Detective Sergeant at Hackney Central PD. The case is a brutal one that sees the badly battered elderly male die from his wounds. The home of the deceased pensioner has been robbed and the police believe that if they can find the stolen gold retirement watch it will take them to the murderer.

What I liked:
* Getting to know Jack – he seems to be a good man, dedicated to his job, a loving husband and eager to be a new father.
* Being introduced to Jack and his team
* The police procedural aspects of the story
* The gritty feel of the East End of London with the gangs, violence and fear the gangs created
* Brenda – Jack’s wife
* The plotting, writing and realness of the story
* That the mystery was solved and bad guys found
* The happy ending :)
* Reading a good book by a new-to-me author

What I did not like:
* The gang leaders – creepy guys for sure!
* The disregard for the lives of those who were brutalized by the gang members
* The murderer – but did enjoy his comeuppance

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more by this author? Definitely

Thank you to the author and BOTBS for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4.5 Stars… (más)

recently enjoyed The Wharf Butcher that was set in my native Tyneside, so I was excited to read this second book in the series, Satan's Beckoning. There's always something so very special about fiction when it is based in an area that you know well, as it gives a hint of reality to our world of fiction.

It was good to meet up again with DCI Jack Mason and profiler, David Carlisle. It feels like they are doing a regional pub crawl as they arrange to meet at several bars of many of our local establishments. Mason has been called out to investigate a car crash in Windy Nook, Gateshead - on an incredibly steep bank running up from Felling to the Queen Elizabeth hospital. What's so unusual about that?, you might say. Well, the car at fault had no driver and it would appear that the lady passenger was already dead at the time of the accident.

When similarities become evident between this crime and one 6 years earlier down the coast in Seaham, the police and David Carlisle sift through all the clues looking for a connection. Both victims married older affluent men, but is there any thing that connects them? The addition of Carlisle is brilliant as he is like a secret weapon for the police - he is able to tap some unsavoury sources for information, sources who wouldn't even consider talking to the police.

Satan's Beckoning is an outstanding sequel to The Wharf Butcher, although it could be read as a standalone. I had sweaty palms gripping my kindle as the final Indiana Jones-esque scenes played out. I think I enjoyed it more as I had got to know the characters so well in The Wharf Butcher so I already knew some of their background and history. Mason and Carlisle are definitely two characters I want to read more about - I just hope they don't end up investigating in my street!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.… (más)

With all of the fantastic books set in the North East, you could be forgiven for thinking that Newcastle was the murder capital of the world. We really are blessed that there are so many interesting landmarks in the region, making it a perfect setting for dark and gritty Northern crime.

We are introduced to two excellent main characters in The Wharf Butcher: DCI Jack Mason and David Carlisle, a criminal profiler. Mason and Carlisle have some past history of working together and I think that there is a lot more of that story to come in future books (hurrah!). As they hunt for a killer who likes to use Ford Mondeos and the Metro system as his mode of transport they start to see a link to the victims. As the net closes in on the killer in a nail-biting finale I was left gasping for breath.

As a resident of the area, I really enjoyed reading about places I knew from King Street in South Shields to The Malting House in The Felling. I've no idea why we call Felling 'The Felling' but it's definitely a Gateshead thing so it did tickle me a little bit. The whole undertone of the book reminded me of the darkness and violence of The Sopranos. As one of the locations is the North Shields Fish Quay, there may very well be a victim who ends up swimming with the fishes.

There were quite a lot of characters to get my head around at times, but I do sometimes read too fast so that's mainly an issue with my reading style. Overall it's a great start to a series and I look forward to reading the next book, Satan's Beckoning, for another Mason and Carlisle adventure.

I chose to read an ARC of The Wharf Butcher and this is my honest opinion.… (más)