A skeletal body is unearthed in a wooded area of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire. DI James Bliss, together with DC Penny Chandler, investigate the case and discover that the young, female victim had been relocated from its original burial site.
A witness is convinced that a young female was struck by a vehicle back in the summer of 1990, and that police attended the scene. However, no record exists of either the accident or the reported victim. As the case develops, two retired police officers are murdered. The two are linked with others who were on duty at the time a road accident was reported.
As Bliss and Chandler delve deeper into the investigation, they start to question whether senior officers may have been involved in the murder of the young women who was buried in the woods.
As each link in the chain is put under duress, so is Bliss who clashes with superiors and the media.
When his team receives targeted warnings, Bliss will need to decide whether to drop the case or to pursue those responsible.
Will Bliss walk away in order to keep his career intact or will he fight no matter what the cost?
And is it possible the killer is much closer than they imagined?
Review
Firstly I would like to thank Bloodhound Books, Tony Forder and blog tour organiser Sarah Hardy for the ARC copy of Bad to the Bone in return for an honest review.
I’ve been reading a lot of crime fiction of late and have been incredibly lucky to be gifted some fabulous reads.
Bad To The Bone continued that trend with a story that sucked me in and thrilled me throughout. The writer Tony Forder with great skill led me down a narrative path to where I thought I would figure out the mystery at the heart of this novel, but he wrong footed me. Then he led me through a series of twists and turns, left agape at the final relevation.
Its a story about murder, criminals and the police, but its also a story about friendship, jealousy, corruption and secrets. Murder is portrayed as an act of self protection, a self indulgent act from the belief that one life has more worth than another. Not all murderers are crazy twisted psychopaths, some are people caught in a moment of madness, otherwise living normal lives. It’s a complex set of behaviours, that many simply can’t fathom out, Tony Forder can and does in Bad To The Bone. He will make you look around you at friends, colleagues, the man who fixes your car, even your neighbours and question what they are capable of. Anyone of the characters in this book could be the killer. I have met a few killers in my time and some leave you feeling chilled, while others make you take a step back and wonder how they, so friendly, so full of regret, could be guilty of such a crime! Tony Forder brings this across with great skill and an instinctive understanding of a killers motivation for his crime.
He has delivered a first class novel, full of characters who are complex, believable and who you want not to be the one capable of killing another. It is a story full of false turns, edgy and reeking of nerve tingling tension.
Bad To The Bone be bought from Amazon
Author Bio:
On 1st February 2017, Tony signed to Bloodhound Books, who will publish his new edgy crime thriller Bad to the Bone this spring. It is the first in a series.
Later this year, Tony’s second novel for Bloodhound Books, Degrees of Darkness, featuring ex-detective Frank Rogers, will be published.
Tony has been writing stories since childhood, but it was only when he won a short story competition judged by an editor from Pan Books, that he realised he might actually be half decent at this writing business.
The story, Gino’s Bar and Grille, went on to be published in Dark Voices 2, part of the celebrated Pan Book of Horror series. Three further short story sales followed: Book End, published in Dark Voices 4, Character Role, in FEAR magazine, and finally A Grim Story, which featured in A Rattler’s Tale.
During a book singing for Dark Voices 2, Tony was seated next to author Brian Lumley. At one point, Tony revealed to Brian that he felt out of place alongside all the proper writers. Brian then told Tony something he has never forgotten: “The moment you sat down and pulled a story out of your imagination and put it to paper, you became a proper writer.”
Subsequently, Tony began to focus on novel writing. He admits that his initial attempts were exploratory and somewhat derivative, although there was some interest from an agent – who oddly enough turned out to be Brian Lumley’s wife, Dorothy.
Tony wrote Degrees of Darkness, which he was happy with. He wasn’t so happy with a follow-up, so that never saw the light of day.
As a part-time writer with a full-time job, plus some ill-health, life got in the way and, although Tony continued writing, it took a back seat to making a living.
This year, however, Tony has been inspired by new ideas, and has been working hard on two new books, both of which should be completed in 2017. In the meantime, he hopes you enjoy Bad to the Bone, introducing DI James Bliss and DC Penny Chandler.
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