She’d cycled this way hundreds of times before, every twist and turn familiar. She didn’t know this would be the last.

 When the body of local architect James McCallum is found hanging in the grounds of his former school one cold, dark night, DI Danny Stowe and forensic psychologist Rose Lainey suspect foul play behind his apparent suicide.

 To their astonishment, the trail leads to a 20-year-old cold case of a missing girl, and a teenage party. But what was James’ fascination with the case and how is it linked to his death?

 Secrets don’t stay buried forever… but the real killer will stop at nothing to hide theirs…

The fabulous team of Rose Lainey and Danny Stowe are back again solving yet another murder. I was first introduced to the characters in the first book of the series Who Took Eden Mulligan (read my review HERE ). While this is the second book in this series it is written as a standalone although why you'd ever pass up the opportunity to read a great book is beyond me so I'd highly recommend you give Who Took Eden Mulligan a chance too. Anyway, I digress.  It's the excitement of finding great books and great books written by an author local to me!

In The Midnight Killing, Danny and Rose are investigating what appears to be a suicide by hanging when a body is found in the grounds of a local school. However forensic evidence points to something altogether more sinister and Rose and Danny must put together the clues to rule out a host of suspects from the victims wife to his old school friends and even his business partner. However, the case just keeps throwing up surprise after surprise, not least a possible link to a cold case.

Having a book set in beautiful Northern Ireland is always a huge thrill for me. I love that I recognise places and people in the book and its great being able to support local authors. The book is paced really well and I enjoyed the relationship between Rose and Danny and their individual back stories and got drawn into the difficulty Rose had in accepting her mother for who she really was. Their relationship and what Rose thought she knew about her mother has hung like a cloud over Rose and being back in Belfast and working with Danny has given her opportunity to mend some fences and find out more about her mother.

There are lots of clues scattered throughout the book and I loved it! Fantastic memorable characters, superb writing and lots of plot twists. Cleverly written with clearly a ton of research done around forensics etc. Highly recommend.

Praise for Sharon Dempsey

 ‘Gripping and pacy’ Steve Cavanagh

‘A twisting tale of intrigue that never lets up.’ Brian McGilloway

‘A dark, twisting, compelling tale’ Stuart Neville

‘A dark, disturbing and gripping read perfect for fans of Jane Casey, Patricia Gibney and Brian McGilloway’ Claire Allan

ABOUT SHARON DEMPSEY

Sharon Dempsey is a PhD candidate at Queen’s University, exploring class and gender in crime fiction. She was a journalist and health writer before turning to writing crime fiction and has written for a variety of publications and newspapers, including the Irish Times. Sharon also facilitates creative writing classes for people affected by cancer and other health challenges.