I’m delighted to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for brilliant police procedural thriller The Blood Line (DI Alex Finn 4) by Will Shindler. Thank you to Alainna Hadjigeorgiou and Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to read and review this wonderful book.
About the book:
The next gripping instalment in Will Shindler’s critically acclaimed and explosive DI Alex Finn and DC Mattie Paulsen series.
An ordinary day. An ordinary street. A gruesome delivery waiting on the doorstep that’s going to set off an spine-chilling chain of events…
Claire Beacham returns from a busy day at work to a parcel on her doorstep – no note, no label. As a politician, she’s used to being suspicious of anonymous hate mail but today she’s too tired to worry. She opens it, finding a gruesome surprise inside. A severed head falls to her kitchen floor; the rich, red drip of blood on her hands.
It is clear to Claire and those around her that this terrifying package is a message. But who sent it, and why?
It’s Claire’s first delivery – and won’t be her last.
DI Finn cannot enjoy the gentle return to his role in the Murder Investigation Team of the Metropolitan Police that he planned. Someone is targeting Claire and with every message comes another casualty. With the clock ticking, DI Finn and DC Mattie Paulsen must wade through the depths of the murky political sphere before the bodies start piling up.
About the author:
Will Shindler has been a Broadcast Journalist for the BBC for over twenty-five years, spending a decade working in television drama as a scriptwriter on Born and Bred, The Bill and Doctors. His time on these leading prime time dramas has given him a rich grounding in authentic police procedure, powerful character development and gripping narratives.
He currently combines reading the news on BBC Radio London with writing crime novels and has previously worked as a television presenter for HTV, a sports reporter for BBC Radio Five Live, and one of the stadium presenters at the London Olympics.
He is the writer of The Burning Men, The Killing Choice and The Hunting Ground.
My Review:
The Blood Line is the fourth book in Will Shindler’s excellent DI Alex Finn series that began with The Burning Men. This time DI Alex Finn and DC Mattie Paulsen are brought in to investigate when a bloodied package containing a severed head is delivered to the home of MP Claire Beacham. DI Alex Finn and his team soon find themselves searching for a killer with no apparent motive as even more body parts from multiple victims begin to turn up. Who is targeting Claire…and why? And what connects the victims not only to each other but also to the terrified MP?
The Blood Line is a brilliantly written, complex and well plotted read that kept me guessing from beginning to end. It begins with a severed head being delivered to an MP’s kitchen, but soon turns into something much larger than anyone could ever have imagined. As the investigation gets under way, DI Finn and his team find themselves in a race against time to find the culprit before even more victims are added to the body count. With an old name from the past making an unwelcome return, is there even more to this case than at first meets the eye?
As with the previous three novels in this series, I loved everything about this book! Alex is back at work after a six month sabbatical which he took after struggling to cope with the death of his wife more than two years earlier. Running himself into the ground rather than trying to deal with the huge emotional void Karin’s death had left in his life, he finally reached a crisis point that saw him contemplate taking his own life. But now he’s back and drawn straight into a murder investigation that is nothing like the gentle return he had hoped for.
Mattie Paulson is a DC with a hard exterior and somewhat difficult past who is at a crossroads in her career. Wanting to apply for a sergeant’s position, Mattie knows that doing so now will mean a new start away from Cedar House, DI Finn and the team. Unsure what to do for the best, she throws herself into the investigation as more secrets begin to be revealed. Will she decide to stay on with DI Finn and his team or is she about to make a decision that will change the course of her life forever?
What follows is yet another outstanding thriller that is as character driven as it is exciting. Will Shindler’s writing is top notch, his previous life as a scriptwriter shining through with every word. And, as I’ve said in previous reviews, I could easily imagine DI Alex Finn in his own Sunday night detective drama, taking his place alongside legendary TV detectives such as Vera Stanhope and Endeavour Morse. How wonderful would that be?
The Blood Line is an impressive thriller that once started I did not want to put down. With twists, turns, shocks and surprises throughout, it is a book that kept me guessing right up until the final, shocking sting to the tale that took me completely by surprise. With a strong plot and a cast of memorable characters who I grow to like more and more with every book, this fourth outing for DI Alex Finn is every bit as good as its predecessors and has left me eagerly awaiting more.
The Blood Line could easily be read as a standalone but, to be perfectly honest, reading the series from the beginning offers a much richer reading experience, especially in regards to the personal lives and character progression of DI Alex Finn and his team.
A gripping police procedural thriller that I would highly recommend, I can’t wait to see what Will Shindler has in store for these wonderful characters in the future.
Out on February 2nd, The Blood Line (DI Alex Finn 4) by Will Shindler is available to purchase now:
Cal Turner Reviews 