Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy sits and shares some fun
and chocolate cake with his four year old son, Fin, outside
a coffee shop while he patiently waits for his wife Roisin
to finish her Christmas shopping. Despite the cold and the
pungent air that lingers over the Yorkshire city of Hull,
the pair laugh and enjoy the winter sunshine and the
colourfully robed procession of choristers and clergy
entering Holy Trinity Cathedral across the square. Lost in
thought for a few minutes as he ponders his role in the
Serious and Organised Crime Unit and his new boss, Trish
Pharaoh, his attention is suddenly attuned to a shrill
screaming coming from church across the square and McAvoy
is off and running.
Yet, despite his early involvement in the case, McAvoy is
pulled away from this strange and highly public murder
investigation to handle lesser duties. Plagued by his role
in getting a corrupt Superintendent out of the Humberside
Police force, this strong 6'5" Highlander is now timid
about making waves and accepts as a given the uneasy his
fellow coppers have about him. McAvoy is a strong believer
in justice and in ferreting out the truth, and as he was
responsible for uncovering the dirt on a well-liked, but
not so saintly Superintendent, he has to deal with the
fallout.
Unexpectedly, however, his supposedly routine visit to wrap
up the suicide case of Fred Stein, an old trawler hand gets
him thinking and probing deeper into the story. Then, as
details surface on the victim of fire in a home in the
decaying centre of Hull and the cops start using the
database program McAvovy sets up, an intriguing pattern
emerges. Is McAvoy off the wall thinking there may be a
connection in the murders? Can he save the next victim
before it is too late?
David Mark has delivered an action packed, page turning
thriller that powerfully and irresistibly pulls you smack
dab in the middle of this bleak and economically depressed
working class town in East Yorkshire and soon has you
rooting for this very compelling and likable detective.
While a new author, Mark is a well experienced writer and
has an extensive background as a crime reporter with the
Yorkshire Post. His writing is clear, easy to follow, with
a strong storyline filled with graphic descriptions of this
rugged economically depressed city and the people who live
there.
McAvoy is a wonderful and complex character and I do hope
there will be many more stories with him as a protagonist.
He is happily married to a tawny and supportive wife bent
on making him more fashionable and Fin, his son, is wise
beyond his four year self. His police colleagues are all
well drawn and his direct talking and flashy boss, Trish
Pharaoh, is great counterpoint to him. She's a great
character and I look forward to how Mark will develop her
role and actions in future books. Acting Detective
Superintendent Pharaoh can change the whole mood in the
briefing room when she seemingly drops a wee compliment to
McAvoy in a cop joke after he returns from a near fatal
attack.
Despite the dark and grittiness of some of the situations
in THE DARK WINTER and the circumstances of some of the
victims, I was impressed with Mark's empathy and ability to
pull out the humanity of the victims with a just a few
carefully written details. But,
I just have to give you warning that the plot is so
powerful and gripping, I could not put this book down!
Now, I just can't wait to read more about this shy computer
loving giant of a cop and what will happen next on the
streets of Hull! If you are a fan of British detective
stories, you won't want to miss out on reading THE DARK
WINTER! Enjoy!
A series of suspicious deaths have rocked Hull, a port city
in England as old and mysterious as its bordering sea. They
have captured the attention of Detective Sergeant Aector
McAvoy. He notices a pattern missed by his fellow officers,
who would rather get a quick arrest than bother themselves
with finding the true killer. Torn between his police duties
and his aching desire to spend more time with his pregnant
wife and young son, McAvoy is an unlikely hero: a physically
imposing man far more comfortable exploring computer
databases than throwing around his muscle. Compelled by his
keen sense of justice, he decides to strike out alone—but in
the depths of the dark winter, it’s difficult to forget what
happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of
a killer’s blade…
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