| Title | : | Brutal Crimes (DCI Sophie Allen #10) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | - |
| Format Type | : | Kindle Edition |
| Number of Pages | : | 279 |
| Publication | : | First published September 28, 2021 |
Ten-year-old Amy Birkbeck is checking her bat boxes late one cold January evening in the woods by her house.
She witnesses something no child should ever see — a group of men rolling a body into the deep pool of the disused old clay pit.
Meanwhile, DCI Sophie Allen’s team is falling apart.
Local officer — and suspected bent copper — DS Stu Blackman is missing.
And new recruit, DC Tommy Carter, is knocked off his bike in a serious hit and run.
Then a second body is found in the disused clay pit. And it seems the dead man is connected to a suspected arms dealer . . .
There are dangerous goings-on in Detective Allen’s quiet patch of Dorset, and she doesn’t know who to trust.
Discover a captivating crime mystery which will have you gripped from start to finish.
Brutal Crimes (DCI Sophie Allen #10) Reviews
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EXCERPT: They watched as the pumps started up. The plastic pipes jerked like injured snakes as water began to move through them on its short journey to the next pool, hidden from view some four hundred yards away. At first it was difficult to believe anything was happening, other than the discordant sound of the generators. It was ten minutes before Sophie could spot any sign of a drop in the water level. She walked away to make a quick phone call to Matt Silver, her boss at headquarters. He'd been less than pleased about the cost of the operation and was obviously still jittery about it. By the time Sophie returned, the level had dropped a foot. As time slowly wore on, a few scattered bits of junk started to appear, dripping with muddy liquid. Some were unrecognisable, thickly coated in an orange-brown layer of muck. Bits of piping, tin buckets and an old set of bed springs. Sophie looked at Greg and shrugged.
By mid-morning the pool had shrunk to half its original volume and more objects were beginning to appear, all coated in slime. It looked like something from a ghastly horror movie or art tableau. The macabre scene wasn't helped by the stink of decay. Several suspiciously lumpy shapes appeared, impossible to identify from the bank. All were coated in a brown slimy ooze.
'I don't like the look of them,' Sophie said to Barry and Rae, both of whom had just arrived from the incident room.
The onlookers ranged around the rim of the pit watched in silence as the water level fell to a few inches and more grotesque shapes appeared in the sticky ooze. Greg Buller gave a thumbs up and several of his team, clad in chest high waders, moved into the remaining puddles, each roped for safety to a colleague on the bank above. They carried hoses and sprayed water over the lumpy shapes as they advanced, revealing their original form. An ancient bicycle. Several half-rotted tree stumps. A couple of sheets of corrugated iron. An old mattress near to another set of bedsprings. A hose was played onto a lumpy shape that could have been another tree trunk. It wasn't.
ABOUT 'BRUTAL CRIMES': Ten-year-old Amy Birkbeck is checking her bat boxes late one cold January evening in the woods by her house.
She witnesses something no child should ever see — a group of men rolling a body into the deep pool of the disused old clay pit.
Meanwhile, DCI Sophie Allen’s team is falling apart.
Local officer — and suspected bent copper — DS Stu Blackman is missing.
And new recruit, DC Tommy Carter, is knocked off his bike in a serious hit and run.
Then a second body is found in the disused clay pit. And it seems the dead man is connected to a suspected arms dealer . . .
There are dangerous goings-on in Detective Allen’s quiet patch of Dorset, and she doesn’t know who to trust.
MY THOUGHTS: Although I didn't enjoy Brutal Crimes as much as I did other books in this series, it is still a good read.
I loved the character of Amy Birbeck - she is an incredibly resilient and resourceful child - and she was definitely the shining star of this story.
There's a lot going on to keep Sophie and her team occupied - a missing child, and two missing policemen to start with - and the situation just gets worse from there. But for some reason, this read just didn't flow as easily for me as previous books in this series have.
One reason I enjoy Sophie's character is that she is strong female lead detective who isn't carrying loads of baggage and who lives a relatively normal life. A female Alan Banks. DCI Sophie Allen is happily married to the father of her two adult daughters. She has a great relationship with both her daughters and with her mother, who’s quite a colorful character. She works well with her team. A nice woman who gets the job done. A breath of fresh air!
One of the downfalls of Brutal Crimes is I missed the insights into Sophie's personal life. She has a delightful family and we see nothing of them in Brutal Crimes.
A good solid addition to, but definitely not the best book in this series.
⭐⭐⭐.6
#BrtalCrimes #NetGalley
I: @joffebooks
T: @JoffeBooks
#contemporaryfiction #crime #detectivefiction #policeprocedural
THE AUTHOR: The mystery writer Michael Hambling is a novelist very much one of his background, hailing from Dorset in the United Kingdom. Writing with a definite British set of sensibilities, he manages to convey a different style of writing through his books, which is why so many have taken to his work. Using his British surroundings as the backdrop for most of his works, he creates mysteries that really keep his readers guessing constantly throughout.
Michael Hambling is not a social media user.
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Joffe Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Brutal Crimes by Michael Hambling for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage
https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/... -
Brutal Crimes is the tenth instalment in the Superintendent, formerly DCI, Sophie Allen series. It's based in Purbeck, Dorset, mainly around the beautiful area that lies between Wareham and Corfe Castle, a locale that is a mix of hills, woods, heaths and farmland. More importantly, it has several ominous-looking flooded pits and pools. Amy Birkbeck, a young deaf girl, witnesses something horrific when she’s out in the woods checking on the bat boxes she keeps there and then vanishes off the face of the earth. She had seen two guys dumping a body in a pool situated at a disused clay pit. At the same time a local police officer and new recruit to Sophie’s team, DC Tommy Carter, goes missing, too, after not showing up for work one morning. It turns out he had been out on his bike and been involved in a hit and run leaving him in a shallow ditch by the roadside. And as if that wasn't enough, a corrupt cop, Stu Blackman, also happens to be MIA. Are the three events connected?
And why is a wealthy arms dealer, living locally in Dorset, starting to come to the attention of the county’s top investigation unit, run by senior detectives Sophie Allen and Barry Marsh? This is an engrossing and compulsive addition to the series and a tale of kidnap, violence, courage and even romance with a complex, multilayered plot that keeps you invested in the divergent storylines which eventually come together, and it has some great twists and turns along the way. It's told from a few different perspectives giving you a fully rounded look at the thoughts of those involved, and I found myself racing through the pages. Add to this plenty of reveals, surprising developments and a fitting conclusion and you have yourself a humdinger. The characters, however, are what make the series unmissable as they're authentic, flawed and act like real people which doesn't always happen in thrillers or police procedurals. A compelling, absorbing and entertaining read. Highly recommended. -
So, yet again I attend the party late as this is apparently book 10 of an on going series. So believe me when I say I gave a sigh of relief when I found I could read it as a standalone. But also saying that I would assume I'd have got even more out of it had I started at the beginning. So it's up to you.
I read this as a standalone and having never read Hambling before I was impressed.
It has a lot of twists and turns and at times I was actually questioning who the bad guys were. That's how well written it is.
I enjoyed it a lot. Worth a look. -
When it rains, it pours. It starts with the murder of an unidentified man. Several men rolled the body into the bottom of an abandoned clay pit. None of the men noticed ... there was a witness.
DCI Sophie Allen's team seems to be coming apart. New recruit, DC Tommy Carter, has not shown up for work. This was his last day before he would know if they were going to keep him on full-time. Another local cop, long suspected of being corrupt, is also missing. And then there's the report of a missing 12-year-old hearing impaired girl who didn't go home last night.
Connecting the crimes should be easy .. but then another body is found in the clay pit .. a woman killed in a similar way to the newer body.
Dorset seems to have exploded in violence, murder, and missing persons. And Sophie doesn't know who she can trust.
This is a riveting crime/mystery with suspense starting on the very first page. The characters work well with each other, interacting with bonds of friendship, and knowing that their backs are covered. There are some twists and turns that lead to an explosive conclusion. Although 10th in the series, this is easily read as a stand alone, but the characters have grown and matured over time and it's well worth the time to start and read in order.
Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Promotions / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own. -
This is book 10 in the addictive Detective Sophie Allen series and the books just get better and better.
Amy is a very independent teenager struggling with deafness she is very invested in nature and the countryside around her. While checking her bat boxes one night she sees a body being dumped in one of the clay pits. Was she seen? She doesn't know but it frightens her enough that she hides in the woods. When she is found and tells her Mum what she has seen the case is brought to the attention of Detective Sophie Allen.
As the Clay pit is drained it gives up the secrets hidden in its murky depths and what follows is an intriguing, adrenaline pumping investigation with so many shocking twists and turns I just had to keep turning the pages.
The intrigue continues to ramp up all the way to the very end. A brilliant read, in my opinion this is the best book yet I am looking forward to reading more from this talented author. -
A cracking read!
In the dark of night, 12 year-old Amy is in the woods near her home checking her bat boxes when she sees something she’s not supposed to – a body being dumped in the water pool in the old clay pit. DCI Sophie Allen has more than the latest case to worry her; a member of her team is missing; surely not connected? Then a second body is found in the same pool and the investigation leads to a suspected arms dealer. What is going on in this normally quiet area of Dorset?
Another series I’m plunging into part-way through, but I’m delighted that this is entirely a stand-alone read and I can – and fully intend to – catch up on the earlier novels. My first encounter with Michael Hambling’s work and I have to say this this story is meticulously plotted; carefully engineered to keep the reader on their toes and there isn’t a single wasted piece of information. I took to Sophie Allen and her team very quickly and the list of characters at the beginning was instrumental in that. This is a very enigmatic read, full of twists and turns all the way through and a thoroughly gripping book – the kind that you finally close with a happy sigh of satisfaction. Thrilling, exciting and very suspenseful, this is one I highly recommend to all lovers of a really riveting read. No doubt about it, this tenth book in series easily earns all five glowing stars! -
Thank you Netgalley and Notre Books for the eARC.
This is the tenth in the Superintendent Sophie Allen book and another good one.
When a young girl goes to check her bat boxes one night,she sees a horrible crime: two men tossing a body into a disused clay pit. Then the police find another body beneath it. On top of that, a suspected bent policeman goes missing.
What's going on? Sophie and her trusted team team go all out with the investigation; they suspect these occurrences are related, but how?
When Sophie mentioned that she was getting too old for this I worried this would be the last in the series, but not to worry, there will be a next one; eagerly awaited by me! Great ending.
Another excellent addition to the series, definitely recommended! -
Another enjoyable read, although there were times when I felt some of the incidents and timings were a little contrived and on a couple of occasions it seemed the author had forgotten some things e.g.
If possible I would have given 3.5 stars. -
This is a new author to me and I really enjoyed this it was such a page turner. It was such a novel plot and the ending was brilliant.
I know realise that this is part of a series but it didn't really matter as it just flowed.
I was given an advance copy by the publishers and netgalley but the review is entirely my own. -
NetGalley
Member Review
Cover Image: BRUTAL CRIMES
BRUTAL CRIMES
by Michael Hambling
Pub Date: 28 Sep 2021
Review by
Angela F, Reviewer
Last updated on 8 Oct 2021
My Recommendation
This is another exciting police procedural in the Sophie Allen series. It is such a breath of fresh air to read about a team of detectives where no-one is a maverick with a drink problem and a precarious relationship with his or her superiors. Even though this is book ten in the series it can easily be read as a stand-alone. I would highly recommend it. -
279 Pages
4 stars
A young girl witnesses something horrific. A crooked cop is on the force.
There are bodies in a local pit.
DCI Sophie Allen feels like her team is coming apart. Staff reductions don’t help. Missing coppers don’t help.
She manages to somewhat retain her sense of humor through it all and supports her remaining team admirably.
The writing and plotting are well done. There are a few twists in the book and it all comes together in the end. I enjoyed this little novel and will continue to read Michael Hambling’s books in the future.
I want to thank NetGalley and Joffe Books for forwarding to me a copy of this good book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions expressed here are solely my own. -
Fast-paced, intense and so terrifying readers will not be able to catch the breaths, police procedural fans will be completely glued to the pages of Michael Hambling’s chilling new novel Brutal Crimes.
It’s a typical January evening in Dorset – or so twelve year old Amy Birkbeck thinks. She’s just gone to the woods to check the bat boxes in the woods by her house where she witnesses something nobody – let alone a child – should ever see: a group of men rolling a body into the deep pool of the disused clay pit. In this seemingly quiet part of the world, there is clearly a dark and sinister underbelly bubbling underneath the surface and it’s up to DCI Sophie Allen to get to the bottom of things. But unfortunately for Sophie, her professional career seems to be falling apart.
One of the members of her unit has vanished off the face of the earth. As the team begin searching high and low, they cannot help but wonder whether their colleague could be hiding in the one place they haven’t looked yet: the clay pit. As another body is found, it transpires that the victim is connected to a suspected arms dealer, leaving Sophie with nobody to trust and nowhere to turn.
Determined to do whatever it takes to ensure that nobody else falls foul of this dangerous killer, can Sophie solve this case in time? Can she triumph against all the odds standing in her way? Or will the next body found in the clay pit be hers?
Life is far from quiet in the countryside in Michael Hambling’s jaw-dropping chiller, Brutal Crimes. Dark, hard-hitting and brilliantly addictive, Brutal Crimes is a twisty, creepy and edgy page-turns full of shocking surprises and revelations readers will not see coming.
DCI Sophie Allen is a smart, intelligent and forensic detective who could certainly give the Line of Duty lot a run for their money. A characters with her own flaws and skeletons in the closet, she is a fascinating and complex protagonist readers will be drawn to.
A top-notch police procedural, readers looking for an engrossing thriller will not want to miss Michael Hambling’s Brutal Crimes.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. -
I have been a fan of Michael’s work for a while now. I love the series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Sophie Allen. ‘Brutal Crimes’ is the tenth book in the series and it was released on 28th September 2021. It’s another cracker of a read, which I thoroughly enjoyed but more about that in a bit.
It didn’t take me long to get into this book. In fact the synopsis grabbed my attention first and then the story within the covers of the book sealed the deal as it were. Once I started reading, I found that I just couldn’t stop. My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me. I just couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story. The crimes and the characters intrigued me. I had my own theories as to who the perpetrator was and I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or if I had wandered down another path entirely. I became so wrapped up in the story that I lost track of just how quickly I was getting through the story. All too quickly I reached the end of ‘Brutal Crimes’ and I had to say farewell to DCI Sophie Allen and her team. I found ‘Brutal Crimes’ to be a gripping read, which kept me guessing and which kept me on the edge of my seat throughout.
‘Brutal Crimes’ is superbly written, which is also true of the series in general. Michael certainly knows how to grab the reader’s attention and drawn them into what proves to be a compelling story. For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout. Reading ‘Brutal Crimes’ felt like being on an at times scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Michael’s very vivid and realistic storytelling.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘Brutal Crimes’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Michael’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Bok Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*. -
In the tenth outing for Sophie Allen of the Violent Crimes Unit in Dorset, she has to investigate the brutal murder of a fellow detective, dumped in a disused clay pit at night. Only the killers are unaware that a young girl, Amy, is in the woods watching them.
A second body in the clay pit suggests links to major crimes, involving slavery, luxury cars stolen to order and gun running. The investigation soon focuses on Middle Eastern residents, living in ‘millionaire’s row in Poole. The key is Mia, a university student, working during the summer to earn some much needed cash. What she learns puts her in danger as the police begin to unravel the mystery.
Once again, the author has written another riveting book in this memorable series. The characters and their relationships form the backbone to the story, which is a thriller rather than a whodunit. Piece by piece, the detectives pull the various strands together to solve the murders.
Perhaps best of all, is the lack of detectives trying to deal with traumas as they go about their jobs. The detectives also get on with their superiors, working together rather than the maverick style which seems to populate so many crime novels. In other words, this is a series where the characters are likeable as well as effective, providing a breath of fresh air among the formulaic crime novels publishers seem to produce these days. -
Sophie Allen and her team get a message that that their new recruit, Tommy hasn't come to work; then a 12 year old deaf girl, Amy, is missing. They find skid marks and then Tommy in a shallow ditch. He had been hit by a hit and run while on his bike early that morning. It turns out that the missing girl, Amy, saw two men roll a wrapped up man into the water and she spent the night in a fork in a huge tree. Then the police are told that policeman Su Blackman is missing. The police pull up Blackman right where Amy told them he'd be.
The reader finds out that Vinnie Foster is doing favors for a wealthy Arab man, Suleiman Hamdi. And, the two men at Sunnyside Cars, Micki Rollins and his mechanic Crustie are doing some jobs for Suleiman and Vinnie (including getting rid of dead bodies). A former maid of Suleiman goes missing. Policewoman, Rae, visits Amy, and goes to watch her cross country races (which is a very good thing!). There's a lot going on in this book, and it keeps the reader guessing and interested.
This is an exciting British classic crime with lots going on! -
"Another excellent addition to the series"
As the series has progressed, although Sophie Allen is the senior detective it's the other team members whose roles and characters have developed. In this offering, Sophie's role is more a guiding hand from the edge of the action than being at the forefront of every scene. And there's plenty of action for her team to cope with as they search for those responsible for the deaths of a bent copper and a woman who worked for a rich Arab family. Great characters, and a tightly-drawn plot. -
Brilliant series
I have just finished the last one. I've read all 10 in two weeks and loved every one. A brilliant series of books. Characters well drawn and easy to follow. Nice to see references to minority groups. My son is gay. He's happy. That is ALL that's important to me. Nice to see the reference to them as normal people and not something we don't talk about. Love is great, whatever form it takes. We could do with more in this World. Thankyou. -
Started out well, but as the book went on it became more and more predictable. Approaching the end I had figured who/what was going to happen other than one (fairly minor - didn't really change the story so) interesting detail. I held on expecting a good twist at the end but found it to be anticlimactic.
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Fast and gripping
A good story with links to the government and secret service. Sophie Allen gets to the bottom of two murders and some shady arms deals. Kept me turning the pages.
