The Huntsmen by Tony J. Forder
DS Royston Chase #1

Excellent ~ Could not put this book down ~ Can’t want for book two!

What I liked:
* DS Royston Chase: intelligent, committed, excellent at his job, speaks exactly what is on his mind, tenacious, follows the clues, husband, father, protective, caring, compelling character I look forward to getting to know better.
* DC Laney Clare: more than she appears to be at first glance, wise, knowledgeable, experienced, bright, grew on me throughout the story, great partner for Royston, looking forward to getting to know her better in the future.
* PCSO Allison May: interesting addition to the team, younger, has professional plans, wonder if she will appear in future books.
* Superintendent Waddington: politically motivated but underneath seems to still focused on doing what is right. I am on the fence about him.
* Maurice: referred to as “the spook”, lethal, job oriented, lives in a darker world than most, willing to do what it takes to accomplish his agenda, have a feeling he will appear in future books and look forward to seeing him again.
* The story and how it was told
* Coming into a new series at the beginning
* That the author has shown his ability to create completely different but equally compelling main characters – Chase and Bliss are not the same though their jobs are similar – was impressed.
* The tactful handling of a difficult topic
* That the facts of the case were illuminated, the criminals exposed, and the case wrapped up
* Wondering if a few that seemed to “get away” actually did
* Being able to hate the bad guys
* That there was a bit of light at the end for some
* Having to wait for the next book BUT knowing this is just the first book in what will, hopefully, be a long series.

What I didn’t like:
* Everything and everyone that I was meant not to like
* Knowing that the type of crime in this book is all to real and thinking about the lives of the victims of such crimes.

Did I like this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Definitely!

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

5 Stars ( )