Splinter in the Blood by Ashley Dyer, Book Review

The cover and title are unusually revealing – in fact I get the creeps just looking at the book. Don’t you just hate splinters?  But it is the intrigue that grabs you in the end, the secrets, the mystery. And the anticipation of gore, although those who have read my other reviews know that I’m a wimp when it comes to torture. Having said that, psychopaths can be cruel and I spend much of my time preaching that people need to accept the reality of human nature, and the reality of evil. I suspect that few crime readers view mankind through rose tinted glasses, so I'm probably preaching to the converted.  

What about characterisation and the plot? Well, they are excellent and I’ve always been a sucker for psychics, real or fake. Will Sergeant Ruth Lake find out what’s going on with DCI Carver (and will he find out what’s going on with her?) How does he know so much even though he’s confined to a hospital bed?

Splinter in the Blood is a British police procedural with a satisfying amount of forensics. This debut crime book by novelist Margaret Murphy writing under the pen name Ashley Dyer will keep you guessing. And biting your nails.

Published March 1^st 2018 by Corsair in hardback for £16.99.