Scan barcode
aminakara's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
First time reading a book by the author and it was an excellent read.
I liked DI Pennance and DI Smithson. They worked really well together.
The story and characters were very well written. It was a touch dark at times, but also humorous on occasion.
I highly recommend this.
Thank you to The Book Club Reviewers Group for the ebook copy of this.
smilesgiggle's review
5.0
Wow. This book. Thankful I have next one already - whew!
Detective Inspector Jonah Pennance is called to a murder scene - a 60ish man dangling from a rope, on the floor pictures of young children of various ages. Naked and terrified.
While observing the scene, Jonah is tasked with another murder - in Wales.
On his return home, Jonah asks his college Simone to do some digging on related issues. And identifies the body of the man - someone from Jonah's past.
More bodies, connected to Jonah's childhood lead him to repressed memories, taking a closer look at his sister's life.
Creative, amazing twists and satisfying ending.
Detective Inspector Jonah Pennance is called to a murder scene - a 60ish man dangling from a rope, on the floor pictures of young children of various ages. Naked and terrified.
While observing the scene, Jonah is tasked with another murder - in Wales.
On his return home, Jonah asks his college Simone to do some digging on related issues. And identifies the body of the man - someone from Jonah's past.
More bodies, connected to Jonah's childhood lead him to repressed memories, taking a closer look at his sister's life.
Creative, amazing twists and satisfying ending.
stephbookshine's review
5.0
*I received a free copy of this book with thanks to the author and Zoé of Zooloo’s Book Tours. The decision to review and my opinions are my own.*
This story thrusts the reader immediately into the action with a prologue from the perspective of a potential victim, and I was immediately hooked.
We then follow the main character, DI Jonah Pennance, as he plunges into the twisted trap designed just for him, forcing him to relive and reveal all of the dark secrets from his past; secrets he has tried to supress even from himself.
What ensues is a series of brutal murders: psychologically terrifying and humiliating; horrific without being gory. Between that and the potentially triggering issues of child pornography, paedophilia and child sexual abuse, this story is not always an easy read emotionally. It is, however, an excellent police procedural – well-written, with believable characters and a gripping plot that is part medical thriller, in addition to the childhood mystery, espionage-esque action, political intrigue and suspense.
While there is plenty going on as the plot twists, the author never loses his firm grip on the characters and carries the reader with him effortlessly from beginning to end.
I was left desperate for to join Jonah on another case, and yet intrigued as to how that would unfold given his deeply personal history with this last one! I can’t wait to find out where the author is heading with this series and will be following his new releases avidly (and possibly also adding some of his previous releases to my tottering TBR tower!).
Highly recommended to anyone who loves a police investigation that is strongly character-driven and somewhat on the dark side.
‘The instant Pennance stepped over the threshold the smell hit him.
Decaying meat.
Like at the rear of an abattoir, where the discards ended up before disposal.
Pennance always aimed to experience every facet of a crime scene, no matter what that entailed. He paused a few feet inside and breathed in deeply, battling his body’s desire to gag as the putrid stench caught the back of his throat, as if someone had scraped rotting flesh across his lungs. The fingers of the reek were that powerful, that penetrating, they reached inside him the moment he opened his mouth. He felt eyes on him, glanced over his shoulder. Both uniforms were watching him, each expression a classic shocked question mark.'
– Keith Nixon, Blood Sentence
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2022/04/10/blog-tour-blood-sentence-keith-nixon/
This story thrusts the reader immediately into the action with a prologue from the perspective of a potential victim, and I was immediately hooked.
We then follow the main character, DI Jonah Pennance, as he plunges into the twisted trap designed just for him, forcing him to relive and reveal all of the dark secrets from his past; secrets he has tried to supress even from himself.
What ensues is a series of brutal murders: psychologically terrifying and humiliating; horrific without being gory. Between that and the potentially triggering issues of child pornography, paedophilia and child sexual abuse, this story is not always an easy read emotionally. It is, however, an excellent police procedural – well-written, with believable characters and a gripping plot that is part medical thriller, in addition to the childhood mystery, espionage-esque action, political intrigue and suspense.
While there is plenty going on as the plot twists, the author never loses his firm grip on the characters and carries the reader with him effortlessly from beginning to end.
I was left desperate for to join Jonah on another case, and yet intrigued as to how that would unfold given his deeply personal history with this last one! I can’t wait to find out where the author is heading with this series and will be following his new releases avidly (and possibly also adding some of his previous releases to my tottering TBR tower!).
Highly recommended to anyone who loves a police investigation that is strongly character-driven and somewhat on the dark side.
‘The instant Pennance stepped over the threshold the smell hit him.
Decaying meat.
Like at the rear of an abattoir, where the discards ended up before disposal.
Pennance always aimed to experience every facet of a crime scene, no matter what that entailed. He paused a few feet inside and breathed in deeply, battling his body’s desire to gag as the putrid stench caught the back of his throat, as if someone had scraped rotting flesh across his lungs. The fingers of the reek were that powerful, that penetrating, they reached inside him the moment he opened his mouth. He felt eyes on him, glanced over his shoulder. Both uniforms were watching him, each expression a classic shocked question mark.'
– Keith Nixon, Blood Sentence
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
https://bookshineandreadbows.wordpress.com/2022/04/10/blog-tour-blood-sentence-keith-nixon/
More...