Blood On His Hands – A Review

Blood On His Hands

When a stranger enters DI Carmichael’s local church, with blood on his hands claiming to have committed a murder, Carmichael and his team are quickly summoned.

And when the man disappears, as mysteriously as he arrived, with few clues to his identity, where he came from and where he went, Carmichael quickly realises that all may not be as it seems.

The conundrum becomes even more puzzling when, in less than 24 hours, a corpse is discovered in the boot of a Bentley car down a quiet country lane.

As the body count rises Carmichael and his team remain confounded as to who is behind the murders and what motive they have for taking so many lives. In this, the eighth gripping murder mystery from the pen of Ian McFadyen, the author once again captivates the reader with an array of beguiling characters tightly woven within an intriguing, skilfully scripted plot.

It will keep you guessing right until the end…

Review

As a lover of crime fiction, I was delighted to be invited to take a spot on this tour. The eighth book in the DCI Carmichael series, I wondered whether I’d have missed too much background by joining at number eight. I needn’t have worried. Although the team is well established, there is enough information to build a rounded picture of their joint history. This is done without labouring the detail.

Carmichael and his team find themselves investigating a series of murders. As their work progresses, they come to think the crimes may be linked in some way. It becomes a race against time to identify a suspect and stop them before there are more deaths.

Having not been familiar with the team beforehand, I came to know them quickly. They were engaging characters, and I appreciated the insight into their personal as well as professional lives. Indeed, I found all the personalities and locations within the book easy to connect with. Ian McFadyen builds a compelling description of the places and the players within the story. 

The narrative moves quickly, split into short chapters and easy to digest sections within each of these. I find this sort of presentation excellent as it keeps the separate elements of narrative flowing smoothly, while gradually pulling information together from across the separate threads. I was drawn in from the beginning; who wouldn’t be intrigued by a man entering a church claiming to have committed murder? Whether out on the road with the police officers, or in the station briefing room, I felt part of the story. Although there were a few clues throughout the book, I was still guessing as to perpetrator and motive as the end approached.

If you enjoy crime drama, and whether or not you have read the first books in the series, I recommend this one to you. Although they will be out of synch with the eighth book, I will find copies of the others in this series to read from the beginning.

Author Bio

Ian McFadyen lives in Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire, and has published seven books in the Carmichael series so far. McFadyen has built up a strong following and is particularly well supported by library borrowers – being positioned in the top 10% of most loaned authors in the last few years. Favourably mentioned alongside Wilkie Collins and Colin Dexter, McFadyen’s titles are all available in paperback and on kindle.

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Giveaway!

Giveaway to Win 5 x Paperback copies of Blood on His Hands (UK Only)

*Terms and Conditions – UK entries welcome.  Please enter using the Rafflecopter box below.  The winner will be selected at random via Rafflecopter from all valid entries and will be notified by Twitter and/or email. If no response is received within 7 days, then Rachel’s Random Resources reserves the right to select an alternative winner. Open to all entrants aged 18 or over.  Any personal data given as part of the competition entry is used for this purpose only and will not be shared with third parties, with the exception of the winners’ information. This will passed to the giveaway organiser and used only for fulfilment of the prize, after which time Rachel’s Random Resources will delete the data.  I am not responsible for despatch or delivery of the prize.

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Disclosure notice: I was gifted a copy of this book in return for a review. All views expressed are my own. Thank you to Rachel, of Rachel’s Random Resources, for organising the tour, and offering me a place.