The Silent Killer by Trevor Wood #TheSilentKiller @TrevorWoodWrite @QuercusBooks #DCIJackParker #BookReview

 

DCI Jack Parker has faced down hardened villains and raving, drug-addled lunatics. He's disarmed a machete-wielding psychopath and broken devastating news of a loved one's death more times than he can remember.

With a serial killer stalking the Newcastle streets and one of his closest colleagues lying in the mortuary following a hit and run he thinks things are about as tough as they've ever been. But he should know that trouble always comes in threes.

Jack is about to face the biggest challenge of his life, one that will end his career and destroy his family: Early Onset Dementia.

As he does everything he can to hide his deteriorating condition from his family and colleagues, Jack believes that the serial killer is haunted by his childhood while his own memories are built on increasingly shifting sands.

The race against time to save lives, including his own, has begun.

Whilst staying within the realms of the police procedural genre, this cracking thriller will explore character in depth and with sensitivity, as well as with the author's trademark dark humour.

The Silent Killer by Trevor Wood was published in hardback by Quercus on 18 July 2024. My thanks to the author who sent a fabulous signed copy to me. 

The Silent Killer is the first instalment in a new series from Trevor Wood and introduces the reader to DCI Jack Parker. Parker has been a police officer for many years, he's dealt with everything imaginable, but he now has to face up to what is probably going to be the biggest challenge of his life. 

Parker lets his female colleague drive as he just couldn't resist that last pint. This is his first regret of the story as a hit and run driver smashes into their car, leaving her dead. 

Parker and his team are then put in charge of investigating a series of grisly murders, the first finds a dead man with his head down a toilet. The scene of the crime is Parker's old school. When more bodies are discovered, it becomes clear to Parker that there is a link ...... but what is it?  Could this also have something to do with the original hit and run?

Parker doesn't only have a serial killer case to solve, he's also trying to cope with his own shock diagnosis of early onset dementia. He cannot see past how this dreadful disease affected his own childhood, when his father turned from a kind, loving man to a violent bully who put the fear of God into both Parker and his mother. He is determined that this is not going to happen to him and his loved ones and makes rash decisions about his future, yet refuses to tell anyone the truth. 

Not only is this a complex, cleverly plotted and intense crime thriller, it is also a deeply moving and evocative look at a devastating disease that can strike anyone and totally destroy lives. Wood is also skilled in adding a touch of dry, wry humour into his novel, creating a depth that only enhances the whole plot. 

His character building is sublime and his ability to throw in some red herrings is magnificent, this is a novel that twists and turns its way with ease, keeping the reader totally transfixed and delivering surprise after surprise

A crime novel with heart, with exquisite characters and a plot that never slows down. Highly recommended. 

Trevor Wood has lived in Newcastle for twenty-five years and considers himself an
adopted Geordie. 

He's a successful playwright who has also worked as a journalist and spin-doctor for the City Council. 

Prior to that he served in the Royal Navy for sixteen years. 

Trevor holds an MA in Creative Writing (Crime Fiction) from UEA. 

The Man on the Street, his first novel, was published to widespread critical acclaim and won the 2020 CWA New Blood Dagger. 

One Way Street was his second novel and Dead End Street concluded the trilogy.

www.trevorwoodauthor.co.uk

X @TrevorWoodWrite