3.5 million Euros are demanded in ransom, but is that all the kidnappers want?
Inspector Stone is tasked with finding the girl and bringing her home safely. Hard enough under normal circumstances, but between investigating an unrelated armed robbery, family problems and the machinations of an ambitious underling, it’s almost impossible. When it turns out that the Russian Mafia might be involved in the kidnapping, things begin to spiral out of Stone’s control.
Unknown to either Stone or Alice’s parents, the kidnappers have more in mind than collecting a ransom.
Stone needs to find Alice before the ransom can be paid and the kidnappers can make good on their threats. Or it won’t just be Alice that becomes a victim to their deadly plans…
Inspector Stone Series
Book 1 – Where There’s A Will (released) Book 2 – An Eye For An Eye (coming 2017) Book 3 – Model Behaviour (title to be confirmed – coming 2017/18) Book 4 – Title to be confirmed (coming 2018) Book 5 – Busman’s Holiday (title to be confirmed – coming 2018/19) Book 6 – Under Pressure (title to be confirmed – coming 2019)
"British crime readers, police procedural fans, and even mystery fans might really want to check out this, "
Reviewer: Reader for Bookangel.
Detective Nathan Stone finds himself taken off the armed robbery he was about to crack for a far more important case: the kidnapping of a business mogul's daughter. The first in a new series, this is a good standalone read.
There are a lot of British pop culture references in this book, which may make it transfer poorly abroad. I'm not sure how many people outside the UK will have seen "On the Up". The other thing is that the references are age-appropriate to the character making them, which is a nice touch. There are a few groaners: the Undead Evil series is a very, very, poorly disguised take-off of Resident Evil. People familair with the genre will spot the bad guy the moment he shows up, but then the police's problem isn't finding the bad guy, it is getting the evidence.
The writing style is fluid and it is easy to get swept along with the story. If I spotted typos I didn't remember them by the end, or want to stop reading long enough to make a note of them.
The weakest part from a literary point of view is the strongest from a genre point of view: because the characters focus so much on their work we get a sense of their personalities but no real insights into them as people. It doesn't matter. The story rattles along at a cracking pace, the plot is detailed enough with enough procedural work to keep British crime readers happy, and if we don't see the characters outside their work, neither did their families while they were in the middle of not one but two high-profile cases.
If I may make a pop culture reference of my own? The people who liked the original series of The Bill back when it focused on cases, not officers, will love this.
Crime readers, police procedural fans and mystery fans might really want to check out this, and if the following books are as good it promises to be a series worth following. Rating:4
