Firewatching

Product Information

Questioning of the neighbors reveals two older ladies who used to help take care of Oscar: Ex-schoolteacher Edna is dying of cancer and Lily is suffering from a dementia-like illness. Adam Tyler – keenly observant and very sharp witted, a taciturn loner, gay, conflicted, and emotionally damaged. He is withdrawn, a flawed and damaged loner, who just happens to be an extremely handsome, gay, police sergeant.

Lead character DS Adam Tyler works on the Cold Case Review Team for South Yorkshire police, well to be fair he is the review team. This story steers clear of dead, sick, or disabled siblings; Paris; alternate past and present narratives, and struggling alcoholic detectives. The main protagonist and central point-of-view character, DS Tyler, is an excellent study in character building. We couldn't put it down' ATTITUDE 'Totally absorbed me' CASS GREEN 'Intelligent, pacy and compelling' SARAH WARD 'A fantastic read with a plot that left me guessing and a cast of very real and well imagined characters' JAMES DELARGY 'A cracking read with a terrific new detective lead. Although he appreciates Tyler’s outstanding record when it comes to solving cold cases, he keeps Tyler on his toes with his snarkiness and sarcasm.This review was written voluntarily and my rating was in no way influenced by the fact that I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from G. I kept with it to the 45 percent mark; skipped to 75 percent in hopes there would be something tantalizing that would reel me back in; and when that didn’t work out, I listened to snippets from there to the end.

The plot was intriguing and compelling, with plenty of suspense and unpredictability and interesting and enjoyable characters.As the sole representative of South Yorkshire's Cold Case Review Unit, Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler is not expected to get results, but he knows this is the case that might finally kick start his floundering career. Firewatching is one of those novels that grabs you from the very start with a range of characters that in turn make you grin, grimace and laugh out loud as well as draw a tear to your eye on occasion.

The multiple threads eventually begin to connect, there is plenty of intrigue and it looks as if Adam might have been played, but by whom? His main communication to the detectives was through blog posts which gave the story a modern feel which made it seem more realistic. Russ came through the same route as myself for writing with very familiar names cropping up in the acknowledgements.The writing and flow are excellent and I especially liked the protagonist and hope this is the beginning of a series. But there’s someone watching from the shadows, a sinister observer with an even more intimate link to the murder and a disturbing obsession with fire.