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saltycorpse's review
3.0
I started out really enjoying this series but the last two books have not been great. Hopefully it gets better in the next instalment rather than lukewarm.
jmatkinson1's review
4.0
The Hate Crimes unit has now been disbanded and Zigic and Ferreira are working in the major crimes division. When a doctor is found murdered his background at the local deportation detention centre seems to be the key, particularly as he had recently resigned. Meanwhile a problem with the forensic science team means that a convicted violent serial rapist has been released.
Dolan writes interesting and modern police procedurals. Both Zigic and Ferreira are from immigrant backgrounds and this tension underlies every story. Here the plight of vulnerable women in a detention centre forms a central part of the story and the abuse of power leading to grooming. Similarly the coercion of Walton's girlfriend and mother echoes this from a different perspective. I always like the setting as it is not a big city, Peterborough and the surrounding area has its problems which reflect the life of people across the country, not just the city dwellers and this is cleverly put together.
Dolan writes interesting and modern police procedurals. Both Zigic and Ferreira are from immigrant backgrounds and this tension underlies every story. Here the plight of vulnerable women in a detention centre forms a central part of the story and the abuse of power leading to grooming. Similarly the coercion of Walton's girlfriend and mother echoes this from a different perspective. I always like the setting as it is not a big city, Peterborough and the surrounding area has its problems which reflect the life of people across the country, not just the city dwellers and this is cleverly put together.
andrew61's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I haven't picked up a Fereira/Zigic book since 2018 and it was great to return to their East Anglian world and remember how brilliant Eva Dolan is combining great crime novels with well crafted plots while also touching on political issues which are on the front pages as I write. Here the story is set around an immigration detention centre and the book is well and truly positioned in the midst of post Brexit paranoia about immigrants and asylum seekers. Here a doctor in the centre is found murdered and the investigation runs parallel with a plot about an apparent miscarriage of justice. Couldn't put it down .
schopflin's review
4.0
This took me a long time to get into. It's the first I've read by this author and I didn't warm to Ferreira, and was frustrated by Zigic. But given time, the very good writing and attention to detail drew me in. Things like - it's summer and the professional women are wearing linen shift dresses. Other writers would just have them in suits as usual. There are some brilliant lines too. It's a serious book, with depressingly convincing details (in this case about sexual violence and the asylum system) but overall a very good read.
micrummey's review against another edition
4.0
A police procedural where detectives investigate a murder of a doctor who works at a female detention centre. This feels very contemporary with references to Brexit, immigration and asylum seekers in the UK.
This is the fifth book in the series and although this is a stand alone novel I felt you had to have read some of the others to understand the main characters more.
The ending was a little unexpected not in terms of who did it, but we learn how one of the main characters, DS Ferreira now has a secret. This can lead to a lot of trouble for herself going forward.
Something Eva Dolan can exploit.
This is the fifth book in the series and although this is a stand alone novel I felt you had to have read some of the others to understand the main characters more.
The ending was a little unexpected not in terms of who did it, but we learn how one of the main characters, DS Ferreira now has a secret. This can lead to a lot of trouble for herself going forward.
Something Eva Dolan can exploit.
nickimags's review
5.0
The fifth book in the DI Zigic and DS Ferreira series and it was great to pick up with my two favourite detectives again. This story is set around a murdered doctor who worked at a all-female detention centre. Josh Ainsworth comes across as spotless, but was he really?
At the same time as they’re looking into the murder, a highly dangerous criminal has just been released from prison looking to cause a whole lot of trouble for the police and anyone else he comes into contact with. Can Zigic and Ferreira stop him whilst working this case?
I don’t read many, if any police procedurals these days, I’m not sure why, but I always, always look out for a new book in this fantastic series. What I love about this series is that the police are portrayed well for a change, not corrupted and nasty. They have there moments of course, they’re human and want to get the villains behind bars, but Zigic wants to do it properly, sometimes having to rein Ferreira in when she gets the bit between her teeth and won’t let go.
I also enjoy the back stories I’ve learnt through each book, getting to know a bit more about them, understanding how the crimes the investigate sometimes make them reflect on their past lives. I learnt loads more about Ferreira this time which was great and helps to understand why she comes across as rather hard nosed at times. Zigic also thinks about his past, when the storyline about his family, particularly his two young sons is mentioned throughout.
Getting back to the investigation I definitely felt like ‘a fly on the wall’ as they tried to work out who the killer was and of course the motive. I was completely wrong as usual, even thinking that they’d got wrong totally the wrong person when I was at 83%! Duh!!!
This is my favourite police procedural series and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone to likes this genre, especially as it doesn’t have as much love on Goodreads as it should!
Thanks so much to NetGalley, Bloomsbury and Raven Books for my digital ARC.
At the same time as they’re looking into the murder, a highly dangerous criminal has just been released from prison looking to cause a whole lot of trouble for the police and anyone else he comes into contact with. Can Zigic and Ferreira stop him whilst working this case?
I don’t read many, if any police procedurals these days, I’m not sure why, but I always, always look out for a new book in this fantastic series. What I love about this series is that the police are portrayed well for a change, not corrupted and nasty. They have there moments of course, they’re human and want to get the villains behind bars, but Zigic wants to do it properly, sometimes having to rein Ferreira in when she gets the bit between her teeth and won’t let go.
I also enjoy the back stories I’ve learnt through each book, getting to know a bit more about them, understanding how the crimes the investigate sometimes make them reflect on their past lives. I learnt loads more about Ferreira this time which was great and helps to understand why she comes across as rather hard nosed at times. Zigic also thinks about his past, when the storyline about his family, particularly his two young sons is mentioned throughout.
Getting back to the investigation I definitely felt like ‘a fly on the wall’ as they tried to work out who the killer was and of course the motive. I was completely wrong as usual, even thinking that they’d got wrong totally the wrong person when I was at 83%! Duh!!!
This is my favourite police procedural series and I thoroughly recommend it to anyone to likes this genre, especially as it doesn’t have as much love on Goodreads as it should!
Thanks so much to NetGalley, Bloomsbury and Raven Books for my digital ARC.
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