I am still playing catch-up with books I read before Christmas, today’s review is for Unquiet Souls by Liz Mistry. This is the first book in the D.I. Gus McGuire series and I am definitely looking forward to reading more.

MY REVIEW

I have several books by this author, have seen loads of reviews and have yet to pick one up. Well, that changed when I decided to read Unquiet Souls. Oh my goodness, why have I not gotten to this series sooner or this author!!! Talk about a hard-hitting, brutal, crime thriller and police procedural or what! This was such an amazing book to read and one of those that I literally ‘did not want to put down’.

D.I Gus McGuire, I like him a lot btw, my first meeting with him is while he is still getting his head around a previous case and coming to terms with the loss of his best friend.

The main theme of the story centres around child abuse and trafficking, not a subject that makes for enjoyable reading as such, but if done well makes for an addictive fictional story that opens your eyes. The author does deal with the abuse carefully and doesn’t go into details, which I am really glad about. Instead, she carefully uses the reactions of others to impart the horrific and awful brutality.

Gus is back to work and is dealing with a murder that, as the synopsis tells, is when the abused children are discovered. This is the start of an investigation that has roots in the past and is obviously a continuing case for some other officers. Gus and his team are tasked with finding all they can and discovering the truth.

The author definitely knows how to twist a tale and had me so intrigued I didn’t really attempt to try to work things out. I was happy following the team and discovering things along with them. There were a couple of points where I thought, “I wonder,” but to be honest it was only because the author had gently nudged me in the right direction.

This is a hard-boiled crime thriller, it is great to start a series at the beginning and this is something that doesn’t happen very often with me. I do like how the team have been set up within this book and they look like they are going to be a trusted group.

I do like how the author switches between Gus and his personal life and problems as well as the investigation. There are twists and turns in both.

A fabulous start to a series I am definitely going to read more of and it is a book I would definitely recommend.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too.

Social Media – Twitter – Website

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