About The Book
She doesn’t trust the police. She used to be one of them.
Hardened by ten years on the murder squad, DNA analyst Doctor Sian Love has seen it all. So when she finds human remains in the basement of her new home, she knows the drill.
Except this time it’s different. This time, it’s personal…
A page-turning cold case investigation, Dead Flowers is an intriguing, multi-layered story perfect for fans of Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories and British crime dramas like Line of Duty and Unforgotten.
Shortlisted for the UEA Crime Fiction Award 2019
My Review
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received. I always enjoy a dual time frame novel and Dead Flowers is one of the best I have read for a long time. It takes place in the same pub in Nottingham during the present day and in the early 1970s. What happens at the beginning in the present day links the two. But it isn’t as straight forward as I imagined and I changed my mind constantly about what was happening.
The time spent in each period is briefer than many dual time frame novels and it worked very well, I didn’t have to wait long to find out what happened next. This became more important to me the more I read, as the danger levels increased for both Sian and the women connected to her past.
Sian has issues. Ex police, in a relationship with Kris a serving police officer, but she has been in an abusive relationship and struggles to relax. She knows that her former colleagues are corrupt but is scared of who they know. She has a fractured relationship with her family who she doesn’t always communicate with in the best way.
I found this novel fascinating. It’s a long time since I changed my mind constantly about what I thought was happening and how it could affect Sian. I liked the chapter headings that concerned the 1970s, song titles from the time that fitted the storyline of a band that wanted to be bigger than The Beatles. I also enjoyed seeing the police officers in a bad light. Whilst this is a crime novel and a police investigation is taking place and forensics are mentioned it primarily concerns the emotional impact on Sian and those close to her.
I will definitely be reading more by this author again.
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