Killing Jericho by William Hussey

Murder this twisted demands a new kind of detective. Fresh out of prison, former Detective Constable Scott Jericho is a desperate man.

Disgraced and penniless after his assault on a violent suspect, he is forced to seek refuge with the fairground family he once rejected. Now, troubled by his failure, Jericho’s brilliant mind stagnates.

That is until a series of bizarre murders reawaken his interest. Men and women with no obvious link to each other are being ritualistically slaughtered.

Slaughtered in ways that recall an old legend of the Jericho Travelling Fair.

Now, in a race against time, he must unpick the threads of a baffling mystery. But as his investigation unfolds and the corpses pile up, a shocking truth awaits him. A revelation that will test not only Jericho’s intellect but challenge the very core of his morality…

My Review

I loved this book. Not just exciting and suspenseful, I learnt so much about the travellers’ way of life. It was fascinating. The Jericho ‘freaks’ (I hate to call them freaks) killed when their caravan went over the bridge into the river when it collapsed was based on the true story of the Hartley Bridge disaster of 1853, when 30 people died, many of them travellers. It became known as Travellers Bridge. The freakshow came from the author’s research into real-life showman Tom Norman’s diaries.

My husband’s grandad’s family went hop-picking (this will make sense when you read the book) in Kent between the wars. They lived in South London and lots of people did it during the summer holidays. I remember being about 14 years old and going fruit picking. A scruffy, mud-stained land rover with a trailer picked us all up outside Boots Chemist and off we went. We were so rubbish at it that we hardly earned any money – the travellers did though. They knew how to work hard. We just ate the fruit!

Former Detective Constable Scott Jericho has just been released from prison. He was serving time for beating up a suspect in a terrible crime, which resulted in his disgrace, sacking from the police force and the culprit literally getting away with murder. Being totally broke, he had to return to his traveller family, whom he rejected when he joined the police.

But then he is asked to investigate a strange case – three people murdered, their deaths staged to look like the victims of the Travellers Bridge tragedy. But there are no links between the killings or the victims. And five travellers died in that accident. Will there be more murders and can Scott, with his brilliant investigative mind, solve the clues in time.

This was so good, the twists coming thick and fast, but it was the last two that really grabbed me. Especially the final one. I would never have guessed. Next book in what will no doubt prove to be a brilliant series? Bring it on.

Many thanks to The Pigeonhole, the author and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read.

About the Author

William Hussey is the award-winning author of over a dozen novels, including the Crime Fest award-nominated Hideous Beauty and The Outrage.  Born the son of a travelling showman, he has spent a lifetime absorbing the history, folklore and culture of fairground people, knowledge he has now put to work in his Scott Jericho thrillers. William lives in the seaside town of Skegness with his faithful dog Bucky and a vivid imagination.