This Side of Death. When the past comes back to hunt you.
Alex Sheridan believes the only way she can be free of her demons is to kill the men in her life. She has a list, and Crime Scene Investigator Eddie Collins is on it.
Death misses Eddie by inches, and Alex is locked away in Juniper Hill high-security hospital.
Everything is fine for Eddie until one day four years later, when Alex escapes. This time she’s better prepared.
The week that follows ruptures Eddie’s life and shatters the belief he had in his own past, leaving him wondering what really happened, and facing one stark choice: who to kill and who to save.
This Side of Death is the most revealing CSI Eddie Collins novel to date. Prepare to see inside his past and understand what makes him the angriest, most feared, and yet most respected CSI in England.
If you like fast-paced and gripping crime thrillers with a strong forensic element, you’ll love Andrew Barrett’s This Side of Death. It will appeal to fans of Kathy Reichs, Robert Bryndza and Angela Marsons.
To experience Eddie’s battle to stay alive, buy This Side of Death today.
Review
The new instalment in the Eddie Collins thriller series feels dark and utterly terrifying and I loved it!
To be honest I expected to, having been a fan of Eddie and Andrew Barrett’s writing for some time. There are always exceptions though, even with writers you adore, so I dived into This Side Of Death wondering if it would live up to my expectations and it did. CSI Eddie Collins is shall we shall anti social, moody and often down right rude and angry, but I still love him and this latest adventure just cemented that feeling. The writing made you understand why he is this way, life has thrown him some major curve balls, so you never find him annoying or dislikeable, or maybe that’s just me? I love Eddie and it’s the writing that made me feel this way. Especially in this novel where he faces Alex Sheridan a deeply disturbed women, seeking revenge on the men she believes wronged her. Andrew Barrett makes you feel his fear, his anger, confusion and mental anguish and so even when Eddie acts like a idiot to those around him, you sympathise not just with them, but most importantly of all, with Eddie.
Everything in a novel such as This Side Of Death for me relies on the antagonist being evil, chillingly so, but also intelligent and I need them to believe their actions are justified in their own minds! Alex Sheridan is not there just to obstruct Eddie, she is in her own right a fabulous creation. Her twisted mindset, her damaged mind, makes her the perfect foil to Eddie. You love to hate her and though I found her actions deeply shocking, you could almost feel how her mind justified her actions. Andrew Bartlett took us deep into her psychosis, particularly effective when Alex descended into a state of delusions and hallucinations. He opened up the mind of a tortured soul with great skill and made Alex the winning character she is.
Character is important, but in a thriller events are also paramount! This was done superbly as well. The thrills, excitement and terror came in waves, the violence fitting to the story and Alex’s deeply disturbed state. It gripped me as I felt Eddie descended further into mortal danger as all around him his life seemed to be on fire. No one felt safe and I couldn’t look away, even if there were moments when I wished I could, because me nerves were shredded. I was engrossed and chilled to the bone on times and I loved it. Even if on the odd occasion I was engrossed with the duvet cliched tightly as I read on.
This Side of Death is a brilliant addition to the CSI Eddie Collins series and Andrew Bartlett has delivered a tour de force in thriller writing.
You can purchase this novel from Amazon UK and US
About the author
Andrew Barrett became a CSI in 1996, and finished his first crime thriller, A Long Time Dead in 1997. Two more books completed the SOCO Roger Conniston trilogy.
Andrew still produces authentic crime thrillers with a forensic flavour. He’s known for his lead character, CSI Eddie Collins, and the acerbic way in which he roots out criminals. Eddie’s series is five books and three novellas in length.
Andrew is a proud Yorkshireman and sets all of his novels in Leeds.
You can find out more about him and his writing at www.andrewbarrett.co.uk
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