Book Reviews: The first two books in the DI Monica Kennedy series by G R Halliday: From The Shadows and Dark Waters

These books are set in the Scottish highlands and I really love that. I think the highlands with their remoteness and natural beauty combined with an, at times, unforgiving landscape is the perfect place for a deep dark and brooding crime series and Halliday does that in this series. I'm posting these reviews to mark the publication of the second in the series which is called Dark Waters and am thrilled to say that I feel this series is going from strength to strength. So here are my reviews.

Available here

From the Shadows
A chilling serial killer book, with a fabulous main character. I really love the fact
that Monica Kennedy is so different from many detectives. She's an Amazon - at over six feet tall. As a bit of a short ass , I find it intriguing to get some insight into how she perceives herself because of her height. I think women do this to themselves regularly. However,  I digress - Kennedy is also a single parent with secrets regarding her baby's dad, her own upbringing and her relationship to people on the less savoury side of Inverness.

The concept of young boys having their home invaded by a mysterious killer who abducts them kills them and then poses them in a ritualistic manner is chilling.  The killer is given an added chill factor by being seemingly all-knowing.
I love the way Kennedy isn't afraid to follow her instincts , even if that involves enlisting help from other quarters.
her team are also appealing - her boss DCS Hately (what a name) is pushy and that's exciting as Monica finds her own ways to push back.
From The Shadows is skillfully plotted,with just the right amount of tension, a few red herrings and some brilliantly odious characters. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Available here

Dark Waters
Well, with a chilling title like that, you'd expect an equally chilling read and you won't be disappointed. Dark Waters embraces the vastness of the highlands and how it can be quite unforgiving. When bodies start turning up, with body parts missing we begin to realise just how small we as humans are in comparison to the highland environment.
Halliday plays beautifully on the mystery of the outlying districts, folklore and the uncanny in this delightfully chilling novel told in part as the police investigation unfolds and in part through the experience of a woman who has been captured and who nobody knows is missing. Alongside this, the chilling tales of past deaths, the ghostly lights in the unforgiving countryside, and  nagging doubts about the motives to kill a wealthy Scottish business man all add to the chill factor.
I have to say, I enjoyed the first in the series, From The Shadows, but I absolutely loved the second. The characters have grown into themselves, the team dynamics flow and the narrative is beautifully plotted.
I was hooked on this one from start to finish and this is a very definite 5 ***** read.