2013
Rockstar Johnny Mayhem sits on his bed, holding a bloody baseball bat. On the floor, clutching a lavender rose in her fist, is his wife, Amanda, who he has just beaten to death. Erika Piper knows this because she is one of the first on the scene. Mayhem is arrested and led away, screaming that they’ve got the wrong man. But the evidence is irrefutable and when Mayhem is sentenced to life in prison, no one is surprised.
Now
Thanks to new evidence, Johnny Mayhem is a now free man. During a television interview, he issues a thinly veiled threat to those involved in the original case before seemingly disappearing off the face of the Earth. When the body of Mayhem’s dealer is found, Erika Piper is pulled from the safety of her desk job and thrown into the hunt for the Rockstar. Can she find Mayhem before he can enact his revenge on everyone involved, including Erika? Or, has he been telling the truth all along? Did the police really get the wrong man?
What did I think?
When I read Whispers for the Dark I feared it was the end of the DI Erika Piper series as it rounded itself off so nicely but fear not, for there is one further instalment. Roses for the Dead is book 3 (and sadly the final book) in what has been an AMAZING series. The whole DI Erika Piper series is absolutely brilliant and Roses for the Dead is definitely the cherry on top. I really couldn't put it down, reading way past my bedtime as I raced through this fantastic book.
Everything is going well for Erika in her personal life but her career has taken a nosedive when she agrees to take a step back from the action and finds herself sitting behind a desk and bored out of her mind. Erika grabs the opportunity to return to her old job when new evidence comes to light that releases a convicted murderer from jail. Now that Johnny Mayhem (what a brilliant name) is free, he wants revenge for the lost seven years of his life and with Erika being instrumental in his downfall, she needs to find him before she becomes next on his list.
I think Chris McDonald has written the perfect crime novel in Roses for the Dead; everything about it is brilliant from the outstanding plot to the sublime writing, not forgetting the creation of three-dimensional characters who virtually leap out from the page. I was initially sad to read that this is the final adventure for DI Erika Piper but in the vein of classic British TV shows, it's those with the fewer episodes that become classics. This is definitely a series I will reread over and over again, which already makes it a classic in my book.
Gripping, so very addictive and completely unputdownable, Roses for the Dead is simply awesome. Chris McDonald's writing was brilliant to start with but it's getting better and better and Roses for the Dead earns him nothing less than a well-deserved five shiny golden stars from me.
I received a digital ARC from the publisher to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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Originally hailing from the north coast of Northern Ireland and now residing in South Manchester, Chris McDonald has always been a reader. At primary school, The Hardy Boys inspired his love of adventure before his reading world was opened up by Chuck Palahniuk and the gritty world of crime. A Wash of Black is his first attempt at writing a book. He came up with the initial idea whilst feeding his baby in the middle of the night, which may not be the best thing to admit, considering the content. He is a fan of 5-a-side football, heavy metal and dogs. Whispers in the Dark is the second installment in the DI Erika Piper series, and Chris is currently working on his latest series, The Stonebridge Mysteries, to be published by Red Dog Press in 2021.
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