Brass in pocket – Stephen Pulestone

Book Blurb:

“It is the middle of the night….

The road is deserted….

A killer is waiting….

Two traffic officers are killed on an isolated mountain pass in North Wales. Inspector Drake is called to the scene and quickly discovers a message left by the killer – traffic cones in the shape of a number four. The killer starts sending the Wales Police Service lyrics from famous rock songs. Are they messages, or is there some hidden meaning in them? Does it all mean more killings are likely?

When a politician is killed, Drake has his answer. And then the killer sends more song lyrics. Now Drake has to face the possibility of more deaths, but with numbers dominating the case, Drake has to face his own rituals and obsessions. Finally, when the killer threatens Drake and his family, he faces his greatest challenge in finding the killer before he strikes again.”

My Thoughts:

Welcome back to the grimmer side of Wales dear followers, after the last novella I was thrilled to get a full length story to wrap my ears around.

It was a joy to welcome back deep but troubled, or deeply troubled ( you decide) Inspector drake.

We find our beloved inspector embroiled in a classic baffling thriller where I was kept guessing up to the very end, I enjoyed the far reaches consequences when the ones closest to him are dragged into it.

I absolutely love a book that has an a soundtrack and this one definitely did not disappoint , some songs I new , some that I discovered through this book, I wish more books did that.

A plethora of supporting characters go all out to help Drake to solve this tricky conundrum, all well written so much so I wanted to know all their back stories.

As if things aren’t bad enough for drake when the great and the good start being killed, he finds he has to battle demons inside himself as well as outside.

The Welsh language is a beautiful guttural sounding thing all the places we visit, the names of the places, which brings me nicely onto the teller of this story, step forward Richard Elfyn, does an outstanding job of narrating this, brings every place and character to life, I could close my eyes and imagine I was watching everything that was happening.

If you want a homegrown British thriller, that takes you on a whistle stop tour of the best and worst of wales then look no further, well worth a listen.

You can buy it here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brass-Pocket-Inspector-Drake-Mystery/dp/B07JH54YK7/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

You can follow Stephen here: @stephenpuleston 

 

Devils Kitchen – Stephen Puleston

Book blurb:

“When two bodies are found sprawled at the bottom of the Devil’s Kitchen in the mountains of Snowdonia, it looks like a murders/suicide. But something doesn’t feel right to Detective Inspector Ian Drake and his gut instinct has never let him down before.

Drake suspects at least one of the deaths could be suspicious, but who would kill such an ordinary couple and why? This might be Drake’s first murder inquiry, but his years as a detective have taught him one thing – every murder has a motive, and every killer leaves a trace.”

My thoughts:

Coming into this not having listened to any previous stories, it was great to go back to the very beginning and find out how it all began for Drake.

There is something about stories set in Wales , the accent ,the scenery it just makes crimes seem that little bit grittier.

Drake for me is tenacious,like a puppy with a stick ,not prepared to leave anything unchecked to find the answer to the case, when everyone else is telling him to close it. I can see his tenacity only getting stronger.

I loved the descriptions of the scenes, the names of the towns, I can could never hope to pronounce but i really want to visit,

The supporting cast of characters were brilliantly written and complemented/annoyed drake in a believable way, Drake himself the well groomed, fussy cop, did he keep himself well groomed because he wanted to or was to hide deeper feelings, maybe more will be revealed in later books.

The voice behind this fine tale is Richard Elfyn and he does the story absolute justice, great pace and keeps things interesting the whole time.

Despite this book is only two hours twenty one minutes long, it holds nothing back from the very beginning to the end.

In all honesty I loved this, I loved the writing style, none of the characters annoyed me, if your looking for a new series to start, then definitely start this.

You can buy it here:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Devils-Kitchen-Inspector-Prequel-Novella-ebook/dp/B01DOB25I6/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539976466&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=devils+kitchen+stephen+puleston&dpPl=1&dpID=518s7N5OoPL&ref=plSrch

You can follow Stephen here: @stephenpuleston