Today I’m so happy to say I am part of the blog tour for Dying Breath by Liz Mistry. Thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for my invitation and Liz Mistry for my ARC of the book to bring you my unbiased review.
The killer is closing in… can she find him before he finds her?
When Detective Nikki Parekh receives a set of threatening postcards, she knows it can only mean one thing… The man who escaped arrest after murdering her mother two years ago is back.
Each postcard has a similar message: You’re next Parekh.
As the post marks on the cards gradually get closer to Bradford, Nikki must do everything she can to protect her family and catch the killer before it’s too late.
But when human remains are found in a remote barn on the icy Yorkshire moors, Nikki’s attention is pulled away from her family. When a tattoo on the victim’s arm – the only means of identification – leads nowhere, the team have already met a dead end.
Dying Breath is the fifth book in the Detective Nikki Parekh series. Set in Bradford, Yorkshire, I always look forward to returning to see what’s happening in Nikki’s world, usually something dark and not too great.
This book is a dark and twisted read. One that I found chilled me right down to the bone. I never know why I am surprised when I come to write my review. This is what Liz Mistry does best, this particular book isn’t for those who are a little faint-hearted. She weaves so many terrible things together to create a horrific investigation for Nikki Parekh to handle.
Not only does Nikki have a tattooed arm (no hand or body) that’s discovered at a site where there has been an illegal dog fighting investigation. There is also the matter of postcards being sent to her family from the person who killed her mum. These both prove to be a nightmare for our Detective.
Told from multiple perspectives, this made the book even more of a suspenseful read. It almost gives the reader the ‘eagle-eye view’ of the story. I always appreciate this type of perspective, it tends to add an edge to everything.
This series is always superbly researched and the setting is so well described I do picture it in my mind (it helps a bit that I know Bradford). Liz Mistry has created a set of characters that are easy to get to know and even understand what makes them tick (mostly anyway). That’s part of what makes this series so readable.
Dying Breath is a story that is addictive. Even when I almost couldn’t read anymore I didn’t want to put down this book. Even through the dark, twisted, violent bits, I kept turning the pages. Liz Mistry never lets me down with her superb writing. Highly recommended as a standalone or as the full series.
Purchase Links
https://mybook.to/DyingBreathLizMistry
https://mybook.to/DyingBreathLizMistryPB
Author Bio
Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too. Liz has completed a PhD in Creative Writing on Diverse voices in crime fiction
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.
Social Media Links
Twitter: @LizMistryAuthor / Facebook: @LizMistryBooks / Website: lizmistry.com
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