About the Book
An explosive fire. A double murder. And that’s just the start
When DCI Michael Lambert is called out to an apparent house fire, he knows it can’t be routine. Instead he finds the remains of a burnt house, a traumatised child and two corpses – one of whom is a senior police officer.
Lambert’s got other problems. Anti-corruption are onto his boss. His relationships is on the rocks. He can’t get over his ex-wife and he keeps blacking out.
But when a detective has been murdered the stakes are too high to get distracted. All is not as it seems. As the investigation continues Lambert realises he is getting drawn into something altogether bigger and more terrifying than he could ever have imagined…
Trust no one.
My Review
Dark Embers is the third book in the series to feature DCI Michael Lambert and is the second one that I have read. My plan was to read book two prior to this but I ran out of time. Fortunately, it could be read as a standalone novel.
I read an early copy without seeing a synopsis so had no idea what it was about. If anything, this added to the intrigue of which there was already plenty. There was no slow build up. There is something quite harrowing about seeing a home on fire through the eyes of a young girl who doesn’t understand what she is seeing.
Lambert is called in to head the investigation because the home belongs to a serving police officer. Everybody wants a quick solve but this isn’t a straight forward case. Lambert is struggling. An investigation by professional standards, the loss of his daughter, feelings for his ex-wife and uncertainty over his current relationship add to the guilt he feels over injuries that his colleague Matilda suffered during a previous case.
I enjoyed meeting Lambert again. Even though I hadn’t read all the books I could still follow the story very well. There were no spoilers if anybody does decide to read this book without reading any of the earlier stories. There is rivalry between the teams, frustration about professional standards being in the way and a very understandable feeling of how far Lambert’s superior could be trusted.
I like a novel where I can’t work out ‘whodunit’ so this worked very well for me. I never had a clue! The reasons why could have been quite upsetting but this was a lot more restrained than some that I have read. That is until the very chilling ending that had wondering what I had missed in book two and what I could look forward to in book 4.
You can buy the book here
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.
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