Portraits of the Dead (DI Gravel – 1) by John Nicholl
Emma didn’t know how long he hid in the large Victorian wardrobe to the side of her single bed. She didn’t know how long he peered between the two heavy oak doors, and watched, as she slowly drifted into fitful sleep. She didn’t know what time he pushed the doors open and crept towards her in the darkness of the night.
Detective Inspector Gravel finds himself faced with a difficult case when a local nineteen-year-old university student is abducted and imprisoned by a sadistic serial killer, who has already tortured and killed at least five young women.
Can Gravel find the girl and stop the murderer?
He will learn that the greater the evil, the deadlier the game…
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Author’s Bio
John Nicholl, an ex-police officer, child protection social worker and lecturer, has written six darkly psychological suspense thrillers, each of which has been an Amazon # 1 bestseller. John is happily married, lives in rural west Wales, and has three adult children and one grandchild, with a second expected in August 2018. He began writing after leaving his job heading up child protection services for Carmarthenshire.
John is represented by Toby Mundy – Literary agent at TMA.
My Review
5 stars
Emma Jones wakes in the night to a strange man in her room. At first she thinks it’s just a dream but she learns quickly that he is quite real. The next time she wakes she is badly beaten in a locked room with a video camera and pictures of other girls that look like her. A voice tells her she is Venus Six and it is clear that she is not his first victim.
DI Gravel is approached by Anne Jones saying that her daughter is missing. At first he doesn’t really think much about it until he realizes that she is not the first disappearance, Emma is the sixth missing girl. This killer has struck and already killed five other woman. It’s up to Grav and DS Clive Rankin to stop the Master before Emma becomes the sixth victim.
I read A Mind to Kill, book two in this series and couldn’t wait to catch up on what I missed. This is a great, dark thriller in which you learn who the killer is but you don’t realize what kind of sicko you are going to be messing with. Grav and Clive are a great pair and work together really well and are on a race against time. But I have to say the story with Emma and the Master caught my attention more. I guess I’m just one of those people.
Of course the ending was a complete shock. Talk about thrown me for a loop, I was NOT expecting that. I’m glad that I have read the second book in this series. But I hope book three will be out soon. I can’t wait to read more on Grav, Clive, and the next serious messed up sicko John Nicholl can come up with.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
I would like to thank Bloodhound Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and share this book.
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