Keith Nixon

Solomon Gray is a police officer whose life has been put on hold since his son went missing ten years ago at a fairground. In the present there is a sixteen-year-old who has been murdered, and of all things, he has Gray’s number in his phone. Gray is now on the hunt for the murderer, complicated by bodies beginning to stack up around him. The blame somehow seems to point to him. The story is more about Soloman Gray than the actual murders, and I’m fine with that as it is book #1 and the murders happened 10 years ago. A little background is always a good thing. The author has created a dark protagonist with the character of Gray whose life is a storm going somewhere to pour down. He has no idea if his son is dead or alive. He doesn’t know if the sixteen-year-old might even BE his son, though his age sets off loads of possibilities in his mind. Gray's wife, Kate, committed suicide after their son disappeared, and Gray has no relationship what-so-ever with his daughter. That isn't even all his troubles...now he has to deal with the religious busy-body, Alice, who encouraged Kate’s faith, aggressive colleagues, and the possibility of a new and complicated love. At this point I began to question if Gray was going to be an asset or a hinderance. After one particular murder I wanted to bash him over the head with the whisky bottle that he had become so fawned of, for not being clear with the police. Since he WAS the police, that just felt entirely out of place. It wasn't by any means a bad story. It deserved the 4 stars I gave it. If you like moody, down on their luck characters and stories full of drama and suspense, then this is diffidently your read.… (mehr)