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Malcolm Hollingdrake

Författare till Only the Dead

15 verk 75 medlemmar 6 recensioner

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This is the first book I have read by Malcolm Hollingdrake and its the first in a series, and it will be a series I will be continuing. Great read and now for the next one 😀
 
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DebTat2 | 2 andra recensioner | Oct 13, 2023 |
When the bodies of two infants are discovered in the grounds of a college the investigation is given to DCI Cyril Bennett and his team headed by DS David Owen. Meanwhile a male is using sulphur mustard in attacking various people.
Two interesting stories in this mystery book, a good solid start to the series with some likeable characters.
 
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Vesper1931 | 2 andra recensioner | Jul 29, 2021 |
What an introduction to a new crime series! I loved every single word that Malcolm Hollingdrake has carefully chosen in this first instalment of the DCI Bennett series. The writing is so descriptive that a picture is painted before your eyes as if you're watching it on screen, which DCI Bennett can't do as he doesn't have a television, or an 'Idiot's lantern' as he calls them.

It didn't take long for me to feel an affinity with DCI Cyril Bennett. He's a typical Northerner, who loves a pint of Black Sheep (my favourite beer), is thought of so highly by his colleagues that he has a humorous nickname and is getting on with his job despite suffering from an outbreak of Bell's Palsy, causing temporary paralysis to his face. Partnered with young and naïve DS David Owen, the pair investigate when two infant bodies are found. At the same time, a killer is targeting care workers by infecting them with sulphur mustard, harvested from bullets left behind during the First World War. Bennett has his hands full with both cases but I had no doubt that his good old-fashioned police work would reap rewards.

I read Only the Dead just before the awful events in Salisbury where nerve gas was used on a former Russian spy and his daughter. The real life events had little care for who would get infected by the toxin, whereas the perpetrator in the book was a killer with a conscience as he warned the targets to contain themselves to avoid innocent people being infected. Without delving too deeply, it also brought to light some of the conditions that our elderly population have to suffer in care homes. I know we only hear of bad stories, but I do hope that there are more good care homes out there than bad ones.

Although it's only a 254 page book, Only the Dead epitomises the saying 'quality over quantity' and, with not a word out of place, shows the rest of the field how a book should be written. I'm really looking forward to continuing the series with Hell's Gate.
… (mer)
 
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Michelle.Ryles | 2 andra recensioner | Mar 9, 2020 |
Although this is book 8 in such a well established series, I can definitely say that Treble Clef can be read as a standalone, as I've only read the first book so far. Of course, to really get the most out of any book in a series you really should read them in order purely for the character development, but the characters are so perfectly described that even new readers can get a good feel for them if they are jumping into the series at this point.

Treble Clef is set in the magnificent North Yorkshire town of Harrogate. I have visited Harrogate before but even if I hadn't, Malcolm Hollingdrake paints a beautiful picture with his visual and poetic writing. This isn't a tourist guide to Harrogate though, and there's a murderer in town as the tourists descend for the annual Games Convention. As the gamers compete with each other, one game is proving deadlier than the others; it seems that nobody who goes into the secret single player escape room comes out alive. This is a case for DCI Cyril Bennett and DS David Owen.

Bennett and Owen are the main characters throughout this series and I love seeing how characters such as these evolve. Owen was very young and naïve when we first met him in Only the Dead but it seems like he has learnt a lot from Bennett over the years. They are quite an unlikely pairing but with their combined knowledge they certainly get results. As a keen reader, I love the fact that Bennett doesn't own a TV and it still makes me laugh when he refers to it as an 'Idiot's lantern' - a name that seems to fit more and more these days.

Treble Clef is about a 3 hour read, depending on your reading speed, so it's perfect to read on a weekend with a pint or two of mine and Cyril's favourite ale: Black Sheep. Malcolm Hollingdrake writes with such eloquence that it feels as if he has carefully and purposefully chosen every single word. If you haven't discovered this series yet, you are missing out on some excellent crime fiction. So take my advice: turn off your idiot's lantern and read these fantastic books.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
… (mer)
 
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Michelle.Ryles | Mar 9, 2020 |

Statistik

Verk
15
Medlemmar
75
Popularitet
#235,804
Betyg
½ 4.4
Recensioner
6
ISBN
24

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