Category: Keith Nixon

About The Book

Was it suicide … or murder? Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray is driven to discover the truth. Whatever the personal cost.

When teenager Nick Buckingham tumbles from the fifth floor of an apartment block, Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray answers the call with a sick feeling in his stomach. The victim was just a kid, sixteen years old. And the exact age the detective’s son was, the son Gray has not seen since he went missing at a funfair ten years ago. Each case involving children haunts Gray with the reminder that his son may still be out there – or worse, dead. The seemingly open and shut case of suicide twists into a darker discovery. Buckingham and Gray have never met, so why is Gray’s number on the dead teenager’s mobile phone?

Gray begins to unravel a murky world of abuse, lies, and corruption. And when the body of Reverend David Hill is found shot to death in the vestry of Gray’s old church, Gray wonders how far the depravity stretches and who might be next. Nothing seems connected, and yet there is one common thread: Detective Sergeant Solomon Gray, himself. As the bodies pile up, Gray must face his own demons and his son’s abduction.

Crippled by loss Gray takes the first step on the long road of redemption. But is the killer closer to home than he realised?

Set in the once grand town of Margate in the south of England, the now broken and depressed seaside resort becomes its own character in this dark police suspense thriller, perfect for fans of Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride, and Peter James.

My Review

With thanks to the author for the copy received. I read many police procedural novels and it is normal for the lead character to have personal problems. But the problems that Sol has are much worse than any of the others that I have read. The flashbacks to the events that happened ten years and five years ago provide just enough detail to show why he is like he is in modern-day. You sense the guilt and desperation that he feels most of the time in his personal life and the way if affects his career and relationship with his colleagues.
I found this novel believable. The way his working life is portrayed, with the often mundane tasks and the relationships seems like an honest one. The way that personal feelings have to be put to one side to concentrate on a case that needs solving.
Whilst the murder case is an interesting one, the most powerful part of the novel for me was Sol and his method of coping. It felt real, the grief forcing him to keep those who could help at a distance. and the frustration it caused his colleagues. It’s a series I will definitely read more of.