The Last Witness by Denzil Meyrick

The Last Witness by Denzil Meyrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out over 3 days

Pages - 320

Publisher - Polygon

Source - Waterstones

Blurb from Goodreads

James Machie was a man with a genius for violence, his criminal empire spreading beyond Glasgow into the UK and mainland Europe. Fortunately, James Machie is dead, assassinated in the back of a prison ambulance following his trial and conviction.

But now, five years later, he is apparently back from the grave, set on avenging himself on those who brought him down. Top of his list is his previous associate, Frank MacDougall, who unbeknownst to D.C.I. Jim Daley, is living under protection on his lochside patch, the small Scottish town of Kinloch. Daley knows that, having been the key to Machie’s conviction, his old friend and colleague D.S. Scott is almost as big a target. And nothing, not even death, has ever stood in James Machie’s way.



My Review

James Machie was one of the most brutal criminals Daley and Scott had to deal with before he was killed. Now it seems the impossible has happened, Machie is back, he is on a killing mission and has no problems hiding it. The police are freaked out, the people that betrayed him know he is coming for them but how do you defend yourself against a ghost?

A brutal killing opens the book, a few years later someone in witness protection/relocation is horrifically killed. The killer happy to show his face has the cops confused, weirded out and knowing it can't be him, can it? The hunt is on for the killer, the police have to move quickly before the killer gets to his targets. He is taunting them and the chase is on, who will die next and how is the killer back from the dead?

I do enjoy Meyricks writing, the characters are great and love or hate them you want to know what is coming next. As well as the killer and threat to the officers lives we have the politics within the police ranks and Daley's personal life and woes. Sometimes when you have the personal aspect as well as the crimes it can be frustrating or dull, not so with Daley. I always want to know what is coming next for him, he is such a decent guy and you are always rooting for the team. The book as with the first one has some Scottish humour in the way the team/locals interact which I love, it is true to life in the way small communities are with their own and if you don't laugh it will minimally draw a smile from you. I have all the other books to read and cannot wait to see what is coming next 4.5/5 for me this time.

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