Flesh and Blood by John Harvey

Flesh & Blood by John Harvey
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 320

Publisher - Carroll & Graf Publisher

Source - bought

Blurb from Goodreads

After his wife's betrayal and his own retirement from the force, Detective Inspector Elder has fled as far as possible to go in England without running out of land. But he is haunted by the past and in particular by the unsolved disappearance of sixteen-year-old Susan Blacklock back in 1988. Shane Donald and Alan McKeirnan, convicted just one year later for the brutal rape and murder of a young girl, remain the prime suspects in Elder's mind, and when he hears of Shane's early release from prison, he feels compelled to leave his safe haven and to revisit the scene of the crime. When Shane breaks parole and disappears and yet another young girl is horribly murdered, Elder's involvement becomes crucial. McKiernan seems to still wield a frightening power over his ex-partner even from his prison cell, and the new murder bears all the hallmarks of their earlier crime. Taunted by postcards from the killer, an increasingly desperate Elder battles his own demons as he and his family are inexorably drawn into the very heart of the crime in this breakthrough novel from John Harvey, winner of the first-ever Sherlock Award for the best detective created by a British author.


My Review

This is book one in the series of Detective Inspector Elder. After a whole host of betrayal he left his job, family and went off to England. There was a case that he could never forgot and one of the killers or a similar case is now being freed. Soon another girl is found dead and Elder is being taunted, will he find the killer, will he ever get answers to his old case that never left him?

The opening chapter has a horrible scene with some cat so maybe if you are a bit like me and it gives you the boak, be cautious when reading. Elder's daughter has tracked him down so he has a lot on his plate and trying to sort through.

One thing I would note is we hear from the newly released convicted killer, his back story and follow him as he tries to get back on his feet after release. It was thought, by some, he wasn't the main culprit and was actually vulnerable. It is interesting to see that side.

Elder gets involved in the investigation and we follow it through with insight into the old case. It is a good opening to a series, I liked it but didn't love it. Sex, emotions, murder, abuse, cold cases, investigation, this is a series loved by so many, I thought it was good but I didn't love it. I will check out the others in the series 3.5/5 for me.

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