Sunday 22 October 2017

REBECCA BRADLEY - THREE WEEKS DEAD (2016)


Synopsis/blurb….

How far would you go if someone took your wife? Especially, if you buried her a week ago. When Jason Wells is faced with this scenario, he is confronted with the prospect of committing a crime that will have far-reaching consequences. Can young DC Sally Poynter get through to him before he crosses that line, or does a desperate husband prove to be the case she won’t ever forget? A prequel novella, set before Shallow Waters, the first in the DI Hannah Robbins series. For fans of James Patterson's Book Shots

A first time for me with Rebecca Bradley and yet another free offering via insta-freebie and a sign up to the author’s news feed.

We have Jason Wells, freshly widowed and blackmailed into a crime against his employers in order to have the remains of his wife returned to her graveside. 10/10 for imagination, I’ve not encountered grave robbing since I read about Burke and Hare at school.  Wells works for a company that has developed some fancy, all singing and all dancing software that will help the banking industry. The thieves want a copy and therefore a passport to untold riches.

Wells has been arrested exiting his workplace after stealing the software. The police are dealing with him sympathetically, aware of his recent loss and the horror of having his wife’s grave defiled and her body stolen. A team is being assembled to work with Jason to snare the blackmailers and secure the return of his wife, while importantly retaining the integrity of the banking software.

DC Sally Poynter, new to the team is our main focus from a police perspective. Sally is capable and with her easy people skills, forms a connection with Jason during his interview. The lead detective, Hannah Robbins assigns Sally the role of liaison with Jason. So far so good.

Despite her qualities and attributes, Poynter still has a vulnerability about her. She’s the new kid on the block and is aware of that. She needs to find her feet in a new working environment where everyone seems to know their roles. This situation is exacerbated by the presence of police dinosaur, DC Gordon Slater. Slater’s a bully and misogynist and does his very best to undermine Sally at every opportunity – sly digs and snarky comments usually out of earshot of the boss. Slater’s a nasty individual. Supportive colleagues bolster her shaky confidence but the situation with Slater is a boil which needs lancing.

I really liked this one. Bradley has crafted a decent tale. There’s an interesting crime to be solved and there’s a lot of workplace tension which adds to the drama. We see the human side of police work and a bit of Sally Poynter’s home life as well.

I was a bit unconvinced on the final denouement. I wasn’t quite sold on the culprit revealing himself when he did and how he expected to get away with his final crime, but other than that minor niggle it was a decent outing.

4 from 5


Rebecca Bradley has her website here. Facebook page here. She's on Twitter - @RebeccaJBradley
Before the writer’s life she was a serving police detective with over 20 years’ experience in the job.

Three Weeks Dead is an introduction to her series lead DI Hannah Robbins who features in the subsequent novels – Shallow Waters and Made to be Broken.

Read in October, 2017
Published - 2016
Page count - 144
Source - author (via insta-freebie)
Format - Kindle



6 comments:

  1. So glad you liked this, Col! Bradley is talented, and I really like the way she taps her ow experiences on the force. I like Sally Poynter as a character, too. If you read Bradley's other novels, I hope you'll like them.

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    1. Margot, she could be one of those authors where our tastes collide!

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  2. That is a great plot setup, I like the sound of this a lot...

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    1. Moira, if you head to her website you can get it for nowt - try before you buy. I'm ambivalent about reading more from her, not because I don't like her, just too many other good things already.

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  3. I did not know that Rebecca Bradley was a police detective. I do want to try the first book in the series. Glad you liked this one.

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    1. Tracy, I hope you enjoy it if you get to it. I probably won't have time myself.

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