20 September 2022

Review: THE PORTSMOUTH MURDERS, Pauline Rowson

  • this edition an e-book on Kindle (Amazon)
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09SV6G9QP
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Joffe Books crime thriller, mystery and suspense (February 17, 2022)
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 194 pages 
  • previously published as TIDE OF DEATH

Synopsis  (Amazon)

Meet Detective Inspector Andy Horton. It’s his second day back in Portsmouth’s CID and things aren’t going well.

Please note this was previously published as Tide of Death.

DI Andy Horton is on his morning run along an isolated stretch of beach when he stumbles across a dead man. Stark naked and bludgeoned to death.

Eight months ago, DI Horton’s life fell apart when he was suspended for misconduct. His wife kicked him out and stopped him seeing his daughter.

The young woman who’d accused him went missing and the charges were dropped, but his personal and professional life are still in a mess.

And now it doesn’t look good for a detective under suspicion to be the one to find a dead body. His colleagues don’t want him on the case.

But this murder will challenge Detective Horton in every single way. And when another body turns up with the same cause of death, Horton suspects he might be the next person in the killer’s sights.

My Take

It felt good to catch up with Andy Horton again (see below for titles I have read before). He is still a bit of a loose cannon that life has dealt some hard knocks to. Some of it he brings on himself.

This felt like a good book to start again on, so if you haven't read any of Pauline Rowson's novels and are looking for relatively quick reads, then this could be where you will start. Characters are well described and plots are well constructed.

I will certainly be trying the second title in this series.

My rating: 4.5  

THE DETECTIVE
DI Andy Horton’s mum walked out on him when he was a child and he grew up in children’s home. Now he lives onboard his yacht in Southsea Marina. He rides a Harley-Davidson and never wears a suit or tie — unless it’s to go to court. He’s an instinctive copper and a man of contrasts, which often lands him in trouble with his bosses. He has a desperate need to belong, and yet is always just on the outside. Self-contained, afraid to show his feelings, but he’s a risk-taker that seeks justice.

THE SETTING
Portsmouth boasts a vibrant waterfront, a diverse multicultural population, an international port, a historic dockyard, and is home of the Royal Navy. Portsmouth Harbour is one of the busiest in the world — and one of the best places to hide a body, it seems. Set against the backdrop of the sea, the Solent area of Portsmouth and the Isle of Wight is every detective’s worst nightmare. The sea is ever-changing and often the best clues get swept away by the tide.

THE SOLENT MURDER MYSTERIES
Book 1: THE PORTSMOUTH MURDERS
Book 2: THE LANGSTONE HARBOUR MURDERS
Book 3: THE HORSEA MARINA MURDERS
Book 4: THE ROYAL HOTEL MURDERS
Book 5: THE ISLE OF WIGHT MURDERS
Book 6: THE PORTCHESTER CASTLE MURDERS
Book 7: THE CHALE BAY MURDERS
Book 8: THE FARLINGTON MARSH MURDERS
Book 9: THE OYSTER QUAYS MURDERS
Book 10: THE COWES WEEK MURDERS
Book 11: THE BOATHOUSE MURDERS
Book 12: THE THORNEY ISLAND MURDERS
Book 13: THE GUERNSEY FERRY MURDERS

I've also read

DEADLY WATERS
THE SUFFOCATING SEA
4.4, DEAD MAN'S WHARF
4.3, A KILLING COAST
4.6, DEATH LIES BENEATH
4.5, DEATH SURGE
4.6, SHROUD OF EVIL
4.3, FATAL CATCH

2 comments:

cheekyspook2 said...

I have read all the Andy Horton series. I couldn't wait to read the final one (A Deadly Wake) to discover what really happened to his mother, so I bought a copy from the Book Depository. Now it seems the series is being reissued under different titles and Fantastic Fiction has both now. The final two haven't been included yet, only under the original titles.
Sorry to write at such length, but I think there's something very suss about doing this.

Kerrie said...

I hadn't read this before even though I did notice the note that said it had been previously been published under another title.
Quite a number of authors are doing this - republishing on Kindle

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