I hadn't come across the Terry Bell Mysteries by Colin Garrow until I received the damppebbles blog tours invitation for Six Feet Under, the fourth book. Colin Garrow very kindly offered to provide copies of the previous books to anyone signing up to the tour and I was delighted to accept. You can read my reviews of Death on a Dirty Afternoon, A Long Cool Glass of Murder and The Jansson Tapes here on my blog (click the link in the book name or find them in the Index) and scroll down to read my review of Six Feet Under.
A murder victim, a deserted airfield, a sinister project. Can Terry untangle the mystery before someone else dies?
Asked to investigate the death of a building contractor, taxi-driver and amateur sleuth Terry Bell thinks the dead man’s widow may be wasting her money. But when the trail leads to an old airfield and a brace of brutal thugs, he begins to wonder what they’re trying to hide. Tracking down one of the builder’s former workmates, Terry finds him unwilling to answer questions. When the man is beaten up, the canny cabbie gets a visit from his favourite detective inspector. But DI Charis Brown and her latest sidekick seem determined not to get involved. Until the man is attacked again…
In this murder/mystery series set on England's northeast coast, Six Feet Under is book #4 in the Terry Bell Mystery series.
What did I think?
Having binge-read the first 3 books in the fantastic Terry Bell Mystery series, I timed it perfectly for the release of book 4 so I could go straight onto Six Feet Under. I've loved every single book in this outstanding series but in Six Feet Under it feels like the danger levels have been ramped up for Terry and his focus is fully on sleuthing rather than driving his taxi around Whitley Bay, which is supposed to be Terry's real job.
I love the chemistry between Terry and his girlfriend Carol, who tags along like Watson to Terry's Holmes. Carol also works in the taxi office but more often than not she finds herself on the run from the bad guys when Terry's investigating stirs up trouble. Carol deserves a medal for not only tolerating but being part of Terry's escapades. I love the way the banter bounces back and forth between them and some of Terry's witty retorts are comedy genius. For any readers struggling with the Geordie words, Colin Garrow has included a little Geordie Glossary at the end of the book and I loved this added touch, even though I'm a North Easterner so Ah divvent need it like.
The storyline in Six Feet Under is absolutely superb and had me on the edge of my seat, racing through the pages as fast as I possibly could. I really don't know how Colin Garrow packs so much into such a small number of pages; Six Feet Under comprises only 210 pages in the paperback, the shortest book of the series so far, but so much happens that you feel like you're reading a full length novel. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Colin Garrow is the master of quality over quantity, writing fantastic books without fluff.
The whole Terry Bell Mystery series is binge-worthy reading, with Six Feet Under being an absolute cracker of a mystery. Although you could read Six Feet Under as a standalone, I wholeheartedly recommend reading the whole series to fully understand and appreciate the characters. Six Feet Under is absolutely brilliant; it's Geordie mystery with mirth and very highly recommended.
Many thanks to the author and damppebbles blog tours for sending me an ebook to review; this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
My rating:
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Smashwords
About the author:
True-born Geordie Colin Garrow grew up in a former mining town in Northumberland and has worked in a plethora of professions including taxi driver, antiques dealer, drama facilitator, theatre director and fish processor, and has occasionally masqueraded as a pirate.
Colin has published three stage plays, six adventures for middle grade readers, two books of short stories, the Watson Letters series and the Terry Bell Mysteries. His short stories have appeared in several literary mags, including: SN Review, Flash Fiction Magazine, The Grind, A3 Review, Inkapture and Scribble Magazine.
These days he lives in a humble cottage in North East Scotland where he writes novels, stories. poems and the occasional song.
Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/colingarrow
Website (adults): https://colingarrow.org/
Website (childrens): https://colingarrowbooks.com/
Website (The Watson Letters): https://thewatsonletters.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colinngarrow/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B014Z5DZD4
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Thanks for being a part of the blog tour xx
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