Owen Mullen

This book was one that kept you guessing from each page to the next. It is a crime/detective story with enough suspense to also make it a suspense/thriller in my opinion. There were several storylines happening, but they all fit together nicely.

Start with a happy family on an outing at the beach, mom dives in the water and nearly drowns, dad goes in to save her and the unthinkable happens, 13 month old Lily disappears during the rescue. Throw in a private detective with his own bad memories (you do not find out exactly what those are until near the end of the book) to help find Lily and investigate family secrets. Add a second case for Charlie Cameron where he is trying to locate a missing college student who appears to have run off with her teacher, with some bad decisions he is fired, but does not stop investigating. When a mail order bride turns up looking for the college teacher, Charlie knows he is right to keep searching. With bits of his past sneaking in every so often, a new love interest at the bar, personal conflicts with his friends and his will not give up attitude, Charlie is an extremely interesting character. While all this is going on, there is also a task force looking into child abductions, especially cold cases, which has Charlie's friend on the edge. So much going on that you can not help but keep turning the pages to find out how it is going to end.

Charlie's character has some flaws based upon his past but he is an extremely likeable character. He gives all of himself into these cases including working for nothing after he is dismissed. He does the right thing, sometimes at his own expense. An honourable man. His friends and colleagues add another dimension to the story. Well done [a:Owen Mullen|14949607|Owen Mullen|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1457276245p2/14949607.jpg]!

I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.… (mehr)

In Harm’s Way by Owen Mullen

Thriller, mystery, kidnapping, abuse, dysfunctional families, alcoholism, manipulation…so many words come to mind as I think of this story. I have to say I had a feeling in the very beginning where the story was going to end up and wonder if that has to do with having read so very many books in my life. Even though I had that idea niggling I read on and found myself engaged till the end. Well, after the introductory pages of characters aplenty were described and given backgrounds.

The story was well told and plotted out so that there were surprises till the very end. It began slowly but built toward the climax. I felt for Mackenzie hoped she would eventually manage to find a way out of the predicament she found herself in. I was angry with her siblings and their spouses and wanted to smack them more than once in the story. The evil that was in this story is sometimes heard about but this…well…it was horrible and made me angry. I will say that I was happy that evil was eventually thwarted but so much hurt happened that it seemed too easy an out for the wrong doing that happened.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books – This is my honest review.

4 Stars… (mehr)

Old Friends and New Enemies is book 2 in the PI Charlie Cameron series.
Charlie has been approached by Cecilia McNeil to track down her husband who has disappeared after the death of their son. When an unidentified body turns up at the morgue he thinks his job is done. However the body is not that of the missing husband but an old friend of Charlie’s, Ian Selkirk. How did Ian end up in the morgue and where is Fiona? Ian and Fiona were inseparable. While Charlie takes finding out what happened to Ian as his own personal case he will put himself in grave danger, be double crossed and reunite with the love of his life.

Mullen has written another gritty, brutal and unforgiving Scottish noir crime thriller. I always enjoy Mullen’s writing style.

Plenty of old friends from book 1, Jackie from the NYB cafe, DC Andrew Geddes and Charlie’s offsider, Pat Logue, make an appearance in this book with a few new enemies, in the cut-throat Rafferty clan, making Charlie’s life hell.

In this book I found Cameron rather self indulgent and lacking motivation. I think I prefer his cases to be a little less personal.

Old Friends and New Enemies has a gritty plot with some unpredictable twists and a good dose of Glaswegian humour. Highly recommended. Well worth a read.

*I received an ecopy from the author… (mehr)