This week I'm reviewing Hunter's Force, the third in the Edinburgh Crime Series by Val Penny.
The blurb
Hunter by name – Hunter by nature.
Can DI Hunter Wilson keep Edinburgh safe when he is the hunted?
Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson is woken in the early hours of the morning by a call from his son. Cameron’s flatmate was murdered. Why would anybody want to kill a young woman recently arrived in the city?
Hunter must call in the new Major Incident Team (MIT) to lead the investigation due to the reorganisation of police services. Hunter's ability to be involved, however, is put in severe doubt when someone from his past decides to take revenge on him. He goes missing, and his team have no idea where to look for him. Who would want to stop Hunter in his tracks?
Meanwhile, Hunter's team must work closely with the MIT and with or without him, solve the murder in this taut crime thriller.
The Verdict
DI Hunter Wilson’s son Cameron is in trouble. After a wild night in the town, he comes home with a gaggle of new-found pals to find his flatmate, Xristina, brutally murdered. Only, according to his landlord and employer, he never even had a flat mate. So who was the big guy who came round one day telling him Xristina was staying with him? Who killed Xristina, and why did they try to conceal her identity?
Better call Dad…
The redoubtable Hunter and his team are on the case, and you can bet there’ll be plenty of twists and thrills along the way.
I admire the way Val Penny unfolds her stories, cleverly revealing the characters’ interconnections, keeping you guessing as to who did what to whom and why, bringing the strands together with perfect timing.
In this, the third in the Edinburgh mysteries series, the edge-of-seat suspense is counterbalanced by the wider arcs of the familiar characters: the lives and loves of Hunter and his associates.
This is a wild ride through the seedy Edinburgh backstreets. All-in-all, a gripping read - buy it!
The Bio
Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.
Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.