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!