BLOG TOUR: Ice Lake (Harry Cull Thriller #1) - John A Lenahan

…WHERE EVERYBODY LIES. AND SOME PEOPLE KILL…

An electrifying debut crime novel and the first in a new series featuring psychologist Harry Cull. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, Mark Billingham and Peter May.

AN ABANDONDED BODY

Deep in the woods of Northeastern Pennsylvania, the body of a man is found – shot three times, dumped under the trees where the local kids will find him.

A HAUNTED PSYCHOLOGIST

Psychologist Harry Cull, tormented by his past, arrives in the picturesque town of Ice Lake to help with the murder investigation. There he unravels a web of lies and deceit that leads to the dark heart of a community torn apart by fracking, drugs and murder.

A DESPERATE KILLER

It’s not long before the second corpse turns up, this time a lawyer left for dead in the forest, and Harry finds himself on the trail of a twisted killer – who will do anything to keep the town’s darkest secrets buried.

What did I think?

Oh my word, I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did...and that's no lie.  I'm going to make a prediction right here and now - this is going to be a bestselling, long-running series.  Harry Cull is one of those characters that you can't get enough of, like Michael Connelly's Bosch or Peter James' Roy Grace.  You've got the story he's investigating now plus the intrigue of his past that had my brain fighting over which story I wanted to read more about.  Both are winners as you couldn't possibly choose one over the other.

Harry Cull turns up in the sleepy Pennsylvania town of Ice Lake to help his friend, Trooper Ed Cirba, investigate the murder of a local man. The pair met at a conference in Las Vegas and I got my first inkling of the sparkling humour involved when Cull won't let Cirba forget about their visit to a strip bar, or titty bar as they are hilariously known in Ice Lake.  The locals all know each others' business and can't finish a sentence without saying 'and that's no lie', but when another body turns up, clearly somebody is lying.

When two of his pals turn up dead, local drug dealer, Feather, thinks he could be next on the hit list.  The interactions between Cull and Feather were one of the many highlights of the book.  Cull has a knack of being able to tell when someone is lying, with or without his Frankenstein-esque lie detector machine.  With an excellent well-placed quote from Spiderman and paying serious homage to Star Wars, Feather shows his awe of Cull by referencing the jedi knights, causing me to laugh out loud on many an occasion.

Cull has a devastating history that lays down the thread that will link all the Harry Cull books together (and please let there be MANY more).  There's always going to be a hint of danger following him around after he got mixed up with the Jersey mob.  As we all know from watching The Sopranos, you can run but you can't hide.

Ice Lake is a sizzling start to what I'm sure will become a favourite series for many readers...and that's no lie.  The sizzling dynamic between Cull and Cirba reminded me of Starsky and Hutch; always a little bit tongue in cheek and I'm sure I'll spot things I've missed on the second reading.  Hopefully we won't have long to wait for book 2, and I'll definitely be first in line for that!  I could write so much more about this book (I haven't even mentioned the fracking or the love interest), but seriously - just go buy it!

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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