A Quiet Death

The beautiful but deadly Peak District once again plays a major role in this latest saga. Its wildness and desolation makes it perfect for those trying to hide away and those trying to hide something. It can be a convenient haven one moment, and an instant graveyard the next. And once again, it plays impassive host to a vicious and unimaginable crime.

A young girl's body is discovered in the middle of nowhere in freezing winter. Junior detective Sanne Jansen's violent crimes' unit is the lead investigative force. The location is coincidentally Sanne's neck of the woods, and her familiarity with the surroundings initially helps uncover critical clues. But there is nothing simple about the case. Politics and political correctness butt heads with instinct and old-fashioned police work, as fears of a backlash against the horrific events at Rotterham loom over the multi-racial community.

Meanwhile, on the romance front, BFFs Sanne (the cop) and Meg (the doc) couple up...finally! All their lives, they'd been pretty great at the best friend thing. And even better as friends with benefits. But as a proper couple? Dating, cooking for each other and getting titled 'girlfriend'? It's all brand new to them. They've known each other since they were babies. Will over-familiarity be boring or reassuring? Can they stand each other's failings and eccentricities when they're together 24/7? And will Meg ever get used to Sanne's dangerous profession and her uncanny ability to get into the worst kind of trouble, even if she doesn't mean to?

Of the three books in the series, this has to be the most effective as a thriller. And given that all three books are equally well done in all other aspects, it stands out as the most enjoyable read of all. The excellent pacing and sustained tension is the key. From the get go, every situation, every plot development, every red herring thrown up, every false or true lead chased down, every little (or big) plot twist--it all adds to that all-important build-up of tension that's an absolute must to keep the reader on the edge. This is a given in mainstream thrillers but is a relative rarity in lesfic as authors often struggle in balancing the romance and the tension and almost always end up favoring the former over the latter.

Another critical element to the success of this crime thriller is its authenticity. The entire Dark Peak series stands out for being a gritty, down-in-the-trenches British police procedural. The pull-no-punches writing means we get a realistic look at all sides of Brit society, even the ones that aren't mentioned in polite conversation. The social commentary that comes with writing authentic voices is inevitable, but the book never comes across as being judgmental but rather practical and realistic.

The addition of the head of Sanne's unit, Eleanor Stanhope as a POV character lends not only added depth and breadth to the reader's view of the conduct of the investigation, but gives us a strong, sympathetic female leader we can all get behind. Though I wouldn't have minded if Eleanor had been able to show up her pompous ass of a boss sometime, however unrealistic that might have been in real life.

Sanne and Meg's interactions are just as well written. Their peculiar style of endearments, the way they 'fight' over something, the snarky retorts...all of these signs of the kind of enduring love for and total acceptance of the other person that only a deep friendship can bring to the relationship. Like a comfortable old shoe, it soothes their aching bodies and souls like a gentle balm. And boy, do these two ladies need the soothing, after what the author makes them go through on the daily basis. Personally, I've always preferred that other kind of romance, the hot, dreamy, love-at-first-sight kind that is the usual fare of typical romances, but the author writes this one in such a way that it makes the reader feel that this is the real and better deal.

Now for the all-important case, I think this one's the most interesting of the series. All aspects of it. Victims we care about, a complex but straightforward case (does that sound like an oxymoron? lol), wily villains, and a (view spoiler). The dots connected up. Though I did not see the twist coming.

At one point, I was so impressed with the book (the writing, the plot, the scenes and transitions) that I went and hunted down the author's email address and fired off a letter suggesting she do an Amanda Kyle Williams. You know, go mainstream. But before I pressed send, I realized that I don't read mainstream thrillers. No lesbians, lol. Oops. I'm not willing to lose my favorite source of lesfic thrills and chills....yet. Hmmm....Maybe after the tenth book? ;)

This book can be read as a standalone thriller though readers will miss the rich character development that went before, not just the leads but the rest of Sanne's gang, nutty relatives and all the assorted scrotes and ne'er do wells she's had to dispatch.

Reviewed by Allison Never