Stephen Edger – Best Crime Books and More

COLD HEART BY STEPHEN EDGER (KATE MATTHEWS#3)

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Synopsis: It has been a week since anyone last saw fifteen-year-old Daisy, after she left her best friend’s house and started her short walk home. Detective Kate Matthews and her team have been looking for her ever since.

When a tip-off leads Kate to a disused gymnasium at Daisy’s school, she is shocked to find evidence linking to the murder of a different girl.

Working the two cases side by side, Kate’s blood runs cold when a gift-wrapped box containing a human heart is delivered to her at the station. The heart belongs to yet another unknown victim, but the message is clear: there will be more, and Daisy could be one of them.

When activity on Daisy’s Facebook account indicates she is still alive, the race is on for Kate and her team. Will Daisy be the killer’s next victim? Is Kate prepared to risk everything to stop another innocent life from being taken?

Kat’s Rating: 3/5

Kat’s Review: This is the third book in this series that I have read and I enjoyed this one slightly more than the last, however it was still missing something! A young fifteen year old girl Daisy is missing and Kate and the team are trying to find out where she has gone. We see the return of her colleagues Patel, Olly and Laura and they receive a tip off leading them to a school gymnasium. The discovery sets them off on a whole new path and from the very early stages there are plenty of suspicious characters.

The story unravels slowly throwing crumbs of evidence or clues along the way. The writing was very good and I do actually really like these characters yet I cannot help but feel there is something missing. As somebody who reads a lot of this type of book I have come to the conclusion that these books are just not memorable enough. So as soon as you finish one they don’t linger like some others, or the characters just don’t make enough of an impression. It’s certainly a decent enough read and the writing is good, I just think I need to read a different series of books by this author as I think maybe these characters just aren’t grabbing my attention enough.

DYING DAY BY STEPHEN EDGER (KATE MATTHEWS 2)

Synopsis: When the body of a young woman is found in the boot of an abandoned car near the Southampton Docks, Detective Kate Matthews is ordered to stay well away from the scene.

Exactly a year ago, Amy, a junior detective on Kate’s team, was murdered when she was sent undercover to catch a serial killer targeting young girls. Kate never forgave herself for letting the killer slip through her fingers and her team are worried this coincidence might push her over the edge.

When another girl’s body is uncovered days later with similar bruising around the neck, Kate launches an investigation of her own, determined to connect new evidence to the old to catch this monster before more innocent lives are taken…

Mysterious sympathy cards left with the families of the victims finally lead Kate to the twisted individual from her past. But if she’s found the killer, why does the body count keep rising?

Kat’s Rating: 3/5

Kat’s Review: I am back for book 2 in this series to see how she has fared and I must say I enjoyed this but I felt this was a predictable move in terms of storyline and I felt it was a little bit too much of an easy fix to an element of Kate’s story in book 1. Detective Kate Matthews is desperate to get involved with the case that sees a young woman murdered in a very similar fashion to one of Kates undercover officers who was killed whilst under Kate’s command. The one thing that was a huge draw for me in this book was the switch between chapters where we go from seeing Kate and her current investigation, before switching to see a chapter from Amy’s storyline from the year before.

The plot was great and it was very readable in terms of the pace and characters. However, it just would have been a great move to do something outside of the most obvious choice from book 1. Kate is certainly unpredictable and that’s always pretty enjoyable as a reader, but to be honest she also seems very edgy with a dark side and weirdly that makes me like her even more! I will certainly move on to book 3 and think that Kate has made an excellent base for this series along with her colleague Laura.

DEAD TO ME BY STEPHEN EDGER (KATE MATTHEWS BOOK 1)

Synopsis: How do you catch a killer who knows your every move?

The woman lay flat on the table, her face to one side, her wrists bound with thick tape. Deep scratches marked the wood beneath her fingers, now resting cold and still…

When a woman’s body is found in an abandoned bar near the Southampton docks, Detective Kate Matthews is called in to lead the investigation. She must solve this case to prove she is coping with the death of a close colleague.

Kate knows a pile of ripped up newspaper cuttings discovered at the victim’s house must be a piece of the puzzle, but her team keep hitting dead-ends… Until she finds a disturbing clue that convinces her of three things: The murder is linked to the body of a man found hanging in a warehouse, she is on the hunt for a calculated serial killer, and the killer is watching her every move.

Kate realises there will be another victim soon, and that her own life is in grave danger, but no one else believes her theory. Can she find and stop the most twisted killer of her career, before another life is lost?

Kat’s Rating: 4/5

Kat’s Review: This is the first in this series featuring Kate Matthews and now I’ve completed it I can say with certainty it was a great read and a good start to a series which is new to me. Kate Matthews has moved from the Met Police following and incident (more is revealed on that later in the book) and is currently working in Southampton on a new Murder Case. Kate is a character people will no doubt love or hate in equal measure, myself included. She clearly has insecurities but takes her work incredibly serious, maybe too much sometimes. As she works a murder case alongside new colleagues it is clear she will have struggles working with some of those around her. I liked her connection with her colleague Laura though and this seemed to balance out her mis-trust of everybody else.

The storyline was strong and well paced with plenty going on. In some respects Kate’s borderline personality although being revealed slowly makes for a really interesting read. Clearly her history has hampered her personal life and as you see interactions with her daughter it will begin to make sense. I was happy with how the story unfolded and although I had some doubts over Kate, this introduction to the series has made me curious so I am already on to book 2. A solid book and a great start for a series I hope I continue to enjoy.

Redemption by Stephen Edger (Mark Baines #2)

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My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: A year ago, Mark Baines was blackmailed into laundering two hundred and fifty million pounds through the bank he worked for. The same people framed him for murder. Now serving two life sentences in a maximum security prison, the future looks bleak. On Christmas Day the prison is breached and Mark is abducted by an unknown group. They are after a mysterious package that is locked in a secret vault deep within the foundations of a tower in Canary Wharf and they believe Mark is the key to finding it. Ali Jacobs is still undercover, trying to infiltrate the Russian mafia. Now based in London, she is shocked when her path brings her into contact with Mark again. The next seven days will define their lives. Kidnap, car chases, a botched M.I.6 operation and an uneasy union with underworld figures mean Mark is in a race against time to prove his innocence and find redemption.

My Review: This second book in the trilogy follows the book Integration which I just finished reading. In my previous review I stated that the book is somewhat bordering on the ‘over the top’ line, but somehow I think it works and doesn’t cross the line. IT puts me more in mind of fast paced Kernick book. Mark Baines got himself in all sorts of bother in the last book and at the start of this one we see him serving a rather lengthy sentence courtesy of Her Majesty. I wasn’t sure where this book would take us, especially as Mark is currently detained. It seems that makes no difference to the sort of people Mark Baines is involved with (albeit involuntarily).

The beginning also re-introduces us to copper Ali Jacobs who is working undercover trying to get deeper within the ranks of the Russian Mafia. Meanwhile Mark has not even had a chance to settle in prison he is forcibly removed and isn’t quite sure what is going on. It’s pretty clear early on that here are loads of unanswered questions which now arise from the first book, and as more and more things get uncovered it becomes clear that Mark is well and truly knackered.

The people that forcibly remove him from prison are convinced that he is the key top finding something they need which just happens to be buried deep within a bank vault in Canary Wharf. It seems the common theme for these books is huge amounts of drama and adrenaline, neither of which is short in this book. The middle section was slightly slower than the end, but overall I once again loved this tale of Mark Baines. I was slightly shocked by one particular element of the story towards the end but to say anymore would be a spoiler. I have managed to restrain myself from going straight to book 3, but it’s inevitable that I will end up finishing the trilogy in the not too distant future. These books are pure entertainment and if you’re a fan of the high octane kind of books such as the Kernick’s of this world, this may well be right up your street.

Integration by Stephen Edger (Mark Baines #1)

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My Rating: 4/5

Synopsis: THE OFFER- Mark Baines is a Team Leader in a call centre. He dislikes his job and dreams of the day he can afford to give up his job and buy the house of his dreams. Following a terrifying burglary at his home, he is contacted by a group prepared to pay him one million pounds in return for a favour.

THE CATCH – The offer seems too good to be true, and he begins to worry about what they might expect in return. The group calls again and tells him to integrate their laundered monies through the bank he works for, but he refuses. When Mark’s girlfriend Gabrielle goes missing and his brother is attacked, Mark begins to realise just how far the group will go to get what they want.

EVERYONE HAS THEIR PRICE – As the game begins and the pressure mounts, Mark finds himself risking everything he has to find Gabrielle and save his own life before the group and the police catch up with him.

INTEGRATION – Blackmail, murder, suspense, conspiracy and money laundering: Integration is a British crime thriller set in the murky depths of the finance industry.

My Review: The synopsis on this sounded good and I was looking forward to getting started. It was a very easy read and instantly you can’t help but like Mark Baines, just because he is an ordinary bloke. He’s got a normal job, house and friends and could easily be somebody you know. When he is burgled he thinks it’s just bad luck and tries to get over it and carry on with his normal routine. However, when he receives a strange offer from somebody claiming to wipe his debt and pay him £1,000,000 he figures it’s all a joke. From that point on things take a rather bizarre and worrying turn.

What seems like a simple choice ends up starting a ridiculous chain reaction that will literally change his life forever. The writing was great and picks up pace as the story progresses. I certainly liked Mark as a character and I was pretty enthralled from the beginning. Having read previous reviews of this book some people say that the premise is over the top and ridiculous. I understand why some people would think that, but this is fiction. I read books such as Simon Kernick’s which sometimes border on the unrealistic, but I love them. For that reason I think this book falls into the same category. Yes it may seem implausible, but if I wanted to read something ‘true to life’ I’d be reading a Biography (yawn).

The story literally had me grabbed and I just couldn’t believe how much of a mess Mark ends up in. The other addition to the story was a character DC Ali Jacobs. She was a great addition and made it all the more interesting. Was this a little farfetched? Yes. Did I care? No. Did I really enjoy it? Yes without a doubt. I think this was a cracking story; no, it’s not the best I have read in this genre but a worthy addition to your Kindle. The other bonus about this was that the first book finished on somewhat of a cliff-hanger meaning I HAD to read the next one. I would definitely recommend this, especially as it’s less than £1 currently on Kindle.