We join the protagonist DC Sally Poynter as she has just been recruited to the Major Crime Unit of the Nottingham Police. Still insecure and feeling her way, she is attempting to settle in with the team.  Most are welcoming, including her DI Hannah Robbins. There is one who is not so welcoming, in fact he is absolutely antagonistic, and that is the arrogant and misogynistic DC Gordon Slater.

Sally’s first big case involves a grave robbery.  Young Lisa Wells, dead as the result of a traffic accident, has only been dead three weeks.  Her young husband, Jason Wells, is still grieving and bereft when he gets a phone call saying

“We have your wife.”

Jason works for a software company that has created an invaluable security software for banks. It turns out that the caller wants him to go to work and steal the highly prized software. If Jason does not comply with their demands, his beloved Lisa’s body will be fed to dogs.  Although it against everything he stands for, he does steal the software, but is caught in the company’s state of the art security while leaving the premises.  He is arrested. At the police station Jason tells his morbid tale.

Noticing that Sally has formed a rapport with Jason, DI Hannah Robbins suggests that she be the liaison between Jason and the police.

When the case escalates, and Jason escapes police surveillance, the team go into high alert.

The ending of this prequel novella contained some plot twists, and a realistic and satisfying ending. Thus, paving the way well for future novels in the series.

I enjoyed the way that DC Sally Poynter’s character was fully fleshed out. The way that both her work life and her home life were described.  The team dynamic was realistic. The author is a retired policewoman herself, and her first-hand knowledge is evident.

I downloaded this prequel novella for free, via the author’s website. I have purchased the first novel in this series, “Shallow waters” and it is loaded on my Kindle for future enjoyment.Rebecca Bradley is a retired police detective and lives in Nottinghamshire UK with her family and her two Cockapoo’s Alfie and Lola, who keep her company while she writes. Rebecca needs to drink copious amounts of tea to function throughout the day and if she could, she would survive on a diet of tea and cake while committing murder on a regular basis, in her writing of course.

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