Once inside…there’s no way out
A fate worse than death…
DI Murphy and DS Rossi discover the body of known troublemaker Dean Hughes, dumped on the steps of St Mary’s Church in West Derby, Liverpool. His body is covered with the unmistakable marks of torture.
As they hunt for the killer, they discover a worrying pattern. Other teenagers, all young delinquents, have been disappearing without a trace.
Who is clearing the streets of Liverpool?
Where are the other missing boys being held?
And can Murphy and Rossi find them before they meet the same fate as Dean?
We all know about them, have seen the stories, listened to the news and watched them gather. Some of us have been on the receiving end of their actions. The ‘feral youths’, the lost and disenfranchised children society doesn’t have any time for. We’ve all judged them, silently, passively, perhaps vocally. But who are we to judge?
The Dying Place is the second outing for Detective Inspector David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi and maintains the dark undertones of Dead Gone with the pair searching for a vigilante cleansing Liverpool’s youth community. Murphy, still scarred from his run in with a serial killer is walking a fine line trying to keep his marriage together when the first body is found. As the body count increases the tension ratchets up rapidly and when a policeman is shot in the line of duty, Murphy knows he must do all he can to catch this killer before more people die.
What follows is a trail of violence and a shocking final showdown that left me with quite a lump in my throat. The Dying Place is superbly written and will have you asking moral questions not just of the characters, but of yourself. It also succeeds in keeping you guessing as to the real identity of the villain before it is revealed and ensures you want to do nothing more than keep turning those pages until the story plays out.
It’s a fantastic follow up to an amazing debut and highly recommended for all crime fiction fans. The Dying Place is Out Now for Kindle, and available in Paperback from December 4th 2014
Life of Cri.me 