Dark Suits and Sad Songs by Denzil Meyrick

Dark Suits and Sad Songs by Denzil Meyrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 372

Publisher - Polygon

Source - Waterstones buy

Blurb from Goodreads

The third installment in the bestselling DCI Daley series, packed with accurate police procedure and gritty, dark humour. The best of Scottish crime.



When a senior Edinburgh civil servant spectacularly takes his own life in Kinloch harbour, DCI Jim Daley comes face to face with the murky world of politics. To add to his woes, two local drug dealers lie dead, ritually assassinated. It's clear that dark forces are at work in the town. With his boss under investigation, his marriage hanging on by a thread, and his sidekick DS Scott wrestling with his own demons, Daley's world is in meltdown. When strange lights appear in the sky over Kinloch, it becomes clear that the townsfolk are not the only people at risk. The fate of nations is at stake. Jim Daley must face his worst fears as tragedy strikes. This is not just about a successful investigation, it's about survival.


My Review

When drugs dealers are turning up horrifically murdered and an innocent family caught up in a life threatening situation, Daley and the team have their work cut out. DS Scott is back after his harrowing ordeal and still fighting the after effects, creeping into his professionalism and abilities. Daley has his biggest challenges to date, his personal life is out of control and constantly on his mind, his professional life is pushing him to the max. Who can he trust both in and off the job, something has to give but what will it be?

Oh I love Daley without going into too much detail in case you haven't read the previous books but I really really do not like his wife. To be fair I haven't liked her from book one but she really rips my knittin and I just want to save Daley from himself and his good wee heart. Scott is a wee soul, back at the job and struggling to put to bed his demons which in turn impacts on his abilities as an officer. Some of the murders we see in this book are pretty brutal and graphic so be fair warned. The book chugs on at a pretty fast pace if we aren't dealing with the police investigation which is blood stained and full on, seriously there is dodgyness at every turn. The personal side affecting pretty much all of our main players is also full on giving us more insight into some of our favorite characters. There has been a lot building up from book one and we see it take its toll however it isn't all death, grim, heartache and skulduggery we have the dark humor and sweary banter we have come to know and love in Meyrick's telling.

We always get a wealth of issues and subjects in these books, police procedure, murder, investigation, marriage, family, working relationships, actions and consequences to name but a few. I think if you haven't read the previous books you should start with book one, whilst you could read this as a standalone I think to appreciate the characters and back stories you are best going back to the beginning. I really enjoy these books, the characters are human and flawed but Daley and Scott are essentially good guys and the reader is constantly rooting for them. 4/5 for me this time, I have the rest of the series in my tbrm and can't wait to see what is next in store for the team.

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