Damien Boyd

DI Nick Dixon is nominally on sick duty, but called in to re-examine an old murder case where an appeal is being heard. Using the location of the Battle of Sedgemoor, near Bridgewater in 1685 and drawing on the known historical facts, the author has cleverly crafted a contemporary serial killer plot. The various characters, regulars and new to the plot, are all well drawn and fleshed out. The author never fails to inform as well as entertain his readers, in this case revealing details of the show more battle and protagonists as well as the unique geography of the battle area, with its rhynes, drains and droves. We need more Nick Dixon stories please! show less

This book proved to be a reasonable read, but it could have been so much better.,

The basic premise was sound enough: Detective Inspector Nick Dixon has transferred down to the Somerset force after a few years in the Met, and is generally enjoying the slower pace of life. However, he hears of the death of Jake Fayter, a close friend from his youth and with whom he had regularly gone mountaineering. Dixon is particularly surprised to learn that Fayter had died in a climbing accident on one of show more the challenging peaks around Cheddar Gorge. Further investigation uncovers some unpleasant truths about Jake Fayter.

Unfortunately, from seeming to have the workings of a sound novel safely in the palm of his hand, Damien Boyd lets it slip away. The characterisation is flimsy, and the dialogue lacks any hint of plausibility. I guessed the identity of the culprit very early on, and while I would like to think that this demonstrated my supreme intelligence and infallible skills of perception, I think that a more likely explanation was that it was simply lamentably predictable.

Still, on the plus side, I did get this novel free from the Kindle Store! show less

This was $1.99 on Kindle, so worth a try. Boyd writes plain and simple British detective procedurals (Did I invent a word?). The emphasis is on PROCEDURE. Every little detail, every step, is provided. He sits down. He turns on his computer. He opens Google. I thought I was going to hate all this over-writing, but Boyd is too clever a writer. His narrative flows along with a kind of Frederick Forsythe tempo that is easy to fall in step with. He makes sure we don't have to flick back 12 pages show more to remember a character's place in the story. As a result, he doesn't require much of the reader except to keep going. And he makes it easy. A lot of writers would make a mess of this. Boyd gets the balance right. Impressed. Probably worth more than 3 stars for skill alone. show less

Acting Supt Dixon finally gets married to pregnant Jane and hoping to enjoy a few days honeymoon, but the criminal world has other ideas and he is called in to supervise the assination of a police officer. This may be linked to an earlier double killing of two low-level drug dealers. It quickly becomes apparent that there are connections, but a complex web which proves challenging to unpick and requires treading on a few politically sensitive toes. As always interesting insights into a new show more area, this time 3D printing, as well as interesting characters. The ending suggests a follow-up may be coming, we can but hope! show less