Shot in the Dark

The first in the Detectives Martin & Stern series. A girl is found dead in the woods of the Dunlow estate, she has been shot three times. There are plenty of suspects but which one killed her and why?

Well, this was quite a rollercoaster of a thriller. It was twisting, turning and backsliding in all directions. It was difficult to keep up but definitely an exhilarating ride. I didn’t know who to believe. I felt like I was at the panto when trying to find out the killer’s identity - oh no, it isn’t; oh yes, it is! A little bit improbable at times, but nevertheless an entertaining storyline. It’s told in an interesting way with the main narrative interspersed with texts, emails and forensics reports.

I read this book via the show more Pigeonhole app over nine days and eagerly awaited each stave every day. It was left on a cliffhanger so I’m now looking forward to the second in the series. show less

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This is a police procedural featuring Gabe and Juliet, a DS and her Di, although they invited interviewees to use their first names, and seemed entirely oblivious their ranking within the police hierarchy. They investigated the shooting and then mutilation (by dog) of a teenager called Melanie. Juliet was focussed, disregarded the feelings of others and never saw her husband and children. Gabe was supposedly in charge of the case (although she and Juliet worked together in practice) and spent the entire book believing everything she was told and then having to believe something different the next minute, as all the suspects lied to her repeatedly. She then felt really bad show more about it. Obviously she had a tragic backstory.

There were reproductions of emails and reports and other documents, some of which didn't add much, and a colleague called Paul was dealing with the murder of a child and we heard bits about that although it had absolutely nothing to do with the murder of Melanie.

By the end I didn't really care who had done it - I just wanted Gabe to settle on some one. Disappointing. show less

Shot in the Dark by Anna Britton
Detectives Martin & Stern #1

The opening had me thinking of a movie I saw with my father, Open Season, and what a rollercoaster ride that movie was. My next thought was that it was like a few television shows with two female detectives working together to solve murder cases. And then, for some reason, I didn’t engage with Gabe or Juliet and even like them much. Some of the police procedural aspects of the story were interesting, the writing was clean and crisp, and the story did flow but soon into the story I found myself reading the ending, a bit more in the middle, going back to the last bookmark and then jumping around again. I eventually decided that I knew enough of the story to know I would not show more read the book word for word. I believe this book will appeal to many and that the author will do well as she continues writing this series. The ending has a huge cliffhanger that I am wondering about though with the series title have a feeling I know what might happen in book two of the series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Canelo Crime for the ARC – This is my honest review.

Rating:
2 for my interest in the story
4 for it being worthy of being published
3 for the average show less