Forgotten Lives by Ray Britain
A man is murdered with quiet efficiency on his doorstep. A strange emblem left behind suggests a gang killing but when more bodies are found with the same emblem, and one of them a cop, DCI Doug Stirling’s investigation takes a sinister turn.
But what linked the victims in life, and now in death?
When more deaths are uncovered, miles away and years apart, but all with the same emblem left behind, pressure mounts on Stirling. Is it the work of the same person? If so, why are they killing again, and why here? One thing is clear. The killer is highly skilled, ruthless, and always one step ahead of the investigation. Is someone feeding information to them?
Working in a crippling heatwave with too few investigators, too many questions and not enough answers, when wild media speculation of a vigilante at work sparks copycat attacks, demonstrations for justice and with politicians fearing riots, Stirling needs a result - fast!
Meanwhile, Stirling’s private life is falling apart, not helped when Lena Novak of the National Crime Agency is assigned to his team. But is she all that she seems? Things could not get worse. Stirling takes a call from a retired cop. Things just got worse!
As Stirling closes in on the killer he finds the killer’s trademark inside his home - he is being targeted.
Author Bio:
Ray Britain’s second novel ‘Forgotten Lives’ follows closely on from ‘The Last Thread’ (2017) with a new investigation for DCI Doug Stirling, the toughest of his career.
As a police Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) Ray led specialist investigations. He was also a Hostage & Crisis Intervention Negotiator - a voluntary role - responding to hostage situations, many firearms incidents and numerous suicide interventions, not all of which ended happily. His roles took him to the USA, India, Europe, Australia and elsewhere, receiving Commendations in recognition for his work.
Ray’s real-world experience puts the reader at the heart of a complex, fast moving investigation with all of its uncertainties, stresses and frustrations, and of the dark, bitter sadness’s of people’s lives.
Ray also worked with the Serious Fraud Office and the Home Office, London, and with the City of London Police’s Economic Crime Directorate.
When not writing, Ray might be found mountain hiking, following rugby, skiing, reading, sailing, or generally keeping fit..
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ray_britain
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/raybritain.author/
Website: http://www.raybritain.com/
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Review
‘Forgotten Lives’ is a brilliant piece of crime fiction and a great way to kick off 2021. It is clearly obvious that Ray knows what he is talking about as it full of brilliant, intricate plotting, as well as showing the pressures that the UK police force is currently under at the moment.
This is the second book in the Stirling series but you certainly read this as a stand-alone as I haven’t read the first one either. Something which I am going to rectify as this one was flaming amazing! It’s easy to be superlative about books when you are blogging but this one really did make me sit up and pay it attention. There was just a real authentic feel at its core. It puts the team of investigators and their decisions, as well as the pressure of long hours, too little manpower and the effect this has on their private lives at its core. It comes across as a book that a current member of the police force could pick up and enjoy as I don’t think they would be throwing it across the room in disgust due to gaping holes in its police procedure!
A local man is killed as he answers the door and DCI Stirling is assigned as being the officer in charge of the case. It soon become apparent that this is going to be a complicated case as the National Crime Agency becomes involved as they believed that the victim was involved in people trafficking and drug smuggling. But there has also been a strange badge found at the scene and when more people are killed and badges are also found it is clear that something links all the deaths.
I really enjoyed the story and I went through at least 65% of the book smugly thinking that I had worked out who the killer was in the first couple of chapters! Obviously, I was completely wrong. I loved the fact that I was wrong though. This is not a short book and I didn’t want to be putting all this effort in only to have guessed right at the start. Thankfully, it was not the case. But even if it had been I wouldn’t have been disappointed as this was a great piece of crime fiction! Too often people look down their noses at the genre of crime fiction but it’s books like these that will turn around people’s misjudgement. It’s a tightly plotted thriller with authentic characters. It’s definitely a series which I am going to be keeping an eye on as I wouldn’t want to miss any future books. Plus I want to know what’s in that locked room……
If you have one resolution this year it should be to read this book!
Purchase Links:
Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3fvjmtg
Amazon US: https://amzn.to/3kYeT3u
