When an interrupted burglary ends with the thief being pursued across an Edinburgh golf course and his ankle-breaking collapse on top of a half-buried corpse, DI Hunter Wilson and his team find themselves with a morass of evidence. That the burgled house turns out to belong to Sir Peter Myerscough, Wilson's old nemesis and the retired chief of the city's police force, creates even more complications.
A further two bodies rapidly appear and Wilson and his colleagues struggle to untangle links between the murders and long-standing cocaine trafficking in the city. Throw in a feared Edinburgh crime family with tortuous old and new secret liaisons which have aroused dangerous jealousies, dubious behaviour by Sir Peter himself, plus some surprising paternity issues and the plot, as they say, thickens.
Much of Hunter's Chase is set in the less salubrious areas of Edinburgh and Val Penny is adept at getting into the heads of people like the teenage burglar with no qualms about stealing valuables who carefully removes his muddy trainers to avoid soiling a carpet he admires; the malodorous drunk who loves yet viciously beats his downtrodden wife; and the dying young mother on life-support who remains conscious of what is happening around her. The book also offers plenty of diversity, female officers making rings around their male counterparts, a gay romance and Hunter Wilson's own soft spot for the female forensic scientist who performs a graphically-described post mortem.
A generous sprinkling of often sarcastic humour lightens the bloodshed in this Tartan Noir and I took a particular shine to the rugged and new-to-the-team young DC Tim Myerscough (and his indulged pet cat, Lucy) demonstrating that he has earned his job through merit rather than his father's influence.
Hunter's Chase offers a challengingly convoluted plot, but if you enjoy a well-researched police procedure, this book is definitely one for you. Especially since the ebook is currently on offer for a mere 99p.
Author Biography
To her great delight, Val Penny has recently accepted a ten-book deal with Spellbound Books - so watch out for more Hunter Wilson cases.
An American author living in SW Scotland, Val has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.
She has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. Val has had many jobs, including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer, but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store. Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction and novels.
Author contact details:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Val-/e/B07C4725TK?ref=sr ntt srch Ink 1&qid=1611574956&sr=1-1Penny
https://www,bookbub.,com/profile/val-penny
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