Book review: ‘Hunter’s Secret’ by Val Penny published by Spellbound Books
I’m pleased to be taking part in the Blog Tour for Val Penny‘s latest Edinburgh crime novel, #5 in her Edinburgh Crime Series, Hunter’s Secret published by Spellbound Books,
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She 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 books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.
Author Val PennyBLURB
Detective Inspector Hunter Wilson is called to the scene of a murder. DCs Tim Myerscough and Bear Zewedu found a corpse, but when Hunter arrives it has disappeared, and all is not as it seems.
Hunter recalls the disappearance of a dead body thirty years earlier. The Major Incident Team is called in but sees no connection – it is too long ago. Hunter is determined to investigate the past and the present with the benefit of modern DNA testing.
Tim has other problems in his life. His father, Sir Peter Myerscough, is released from jail. He, too, remembers the earlier murder. There is no love lost between Hunter and Sir Peter. Will Hunter accept help from his nemesis to catch a killer?
Hunter’s own secret is exciting and crucial to his future. Will it change his life? And can he keep Edinburgh safe?
Book cover image of Hunter’s Secret, latest in the Edinburgh crime mysteries by Val PennyMY REVIEW
Having met and chatted to the ebullient and lively Val Penny across the dining table at a writer’s conference in Swanwick, I then became lured in to her Edinburgh crime series. Now I’m hooked by her numerous colourful characters, by Hunter himself, his love-life, and his turbulent son Cameron with an instinct for trouble; DC Tim Myerscough and his own nefarious father, former Justice Minister and recently released jailbird Sir Peter Myerscough, the two semi-reformed ne’er do wells Jamie and Frankie, and their newfound responsibilities, and numerous other intriguing and highly believable personalities along the way, both on the wrong and the right sides of the law.
In Val Penny’s Edinburgh crime novels, above all I love the characters and their relationships. I love meeting all the familiar personalities again and particularly enjoy the author’s use of multiple viewpoint. For me it increases the intrigue and pace of the story.
Throughout the book I found myself thinking Hunter’s secret itself was something to do with the discovery of the dead bodies which subsequently disappeared. The author defeats our expectations in spectacular fashion near the very end of the book.
I found Jamie’s telephone conversations with his jailbird father Ian Thomson very amusing, because Jamie relies on his dad for advice about running the family business Thomson’s Top Cars. From previous novels in this series, we know that Jamie and his cousin Frankie, now in charge of the business, can never resist getting involved in dodgy deals, and flying beneath the radar of what is strictly legal. And we can all predict what happens to large cash transactions at Thomson’s Top Cars, the fine art of “writing off” and the inevitable signal that the purchaser of this luxury car is not to be trusted (and probably involved with the murders the police are investigating). However in this story Jamie and Frankie find themselves the unwitting allies of the police in their hunt for the callous, ruthless killers of LGBTQ people in Edinburgh.
Highly recommended, as are all the novels in this series.
WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Website – https://www.valpenny.com
Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Val-Penny/e/B07C4725TK
Author Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739
Author Twitter Page @valeriepenny
Author Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/valerieepenny/
LINK TO BUY
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