[Book Review]: A Time for Dying by Bryce Main (Book 1 in the DI Tom McHale series)

About the Book

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Publisher: Northodox Press

Release Date: 23rd November 2023

It Takes a Special Kind of Team to Hunt a Special Kind of Killer

Time is about to run out for Joseph Miller. The ex-marine is being stalked in his retirement by a twisted serial killer with a flair for the theatrical: The Holy Ghost. When the spectre strikes again, Miller becomes the sixth in a chain of grisly murders going back decades.

Detective Tom McHale is brought in to lead the investigation, having already put away a multiple murderer. His reputation is on the rise, and an autoimmune disease and self-medication don’t dull his edge.

To hunt The Holy Ghost, McHale enlists the help of a Native American FBI agent, a Jesuit priest, and a powerful supercomputer named Mother. Together, they form a formidable alliance that will stop at nothing to track down the killer and bring him to justice. But time waits for no-one, and as the hour approaches, the seventh victim could be closer than they think.

About the Author

Bryce Main is a multi-genre author. His genres (so far), are crime fiction, via Northodox Press, plus urban essays, urban romance, and humorous science fantasy, self-published on Amazon.

His debut crime novel is now available from Northodox , with Book 2, A House for Monsters, following hot on its heels.

He is happily married with two adult sons who are taller, better looking, healthier, and more intelligent than he can lay any claim to be.

Media Links:

Website: https://brycemain.co.uk/

Twitter/X: @brycemain99

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15155861.Bryce_Main

My review

4* stars

A Time for Dying, a witty-gritty, high-octane, heart-pounding crime thriller, is the debut novel by Bryce Main, set in Stockport and London. Detective Inspector Tom McHale summons an elite team to catch a very special serial killer who calls himself The Holy Ghost.

With six gruesome murders behind his belt, The Holy Ghost is ready to kill again. All the traditional methods used by the conventional police force don’t work, so McHale and his team start the race against time to stop the Ghost, applying the most unorthodox means.

Most of the scenes are set in a locked-room-style underground facility underneath Winfield House, home of the American Ambassador in London. Despite the repetitiveness of the scenes, the investigation is never boring as a reader learns more and more about each member of the team, their way of thinking, and the power of logic which moves the whole plot forward.

The author’s language is a bit choppy and abrupt for my liking. The sentences are short and punchy like bullets. There’s a lot of swearing, too. The style reminds me of Lee Child’s prose. However, this keeps the book’s fast pace and defines the narrator.

Sensitive readers should be prepared for some gory violence and graphic depictions of murders.

Main gives readers a glimpse into the very high-level and high-tech police and law enforcement work. His characters are all unique and relatable, each in their own way. Even Mother, the supercomputer, plays a vital role in the investigation and drives the narrator. McHale is so much more than just a smart cop and a good chess player who adapts his players’ skills to the investigation. He fights his own ghosts and “bastard thugs”, which makes him even more believable and humane. I wish more police officers in the UK
were like that.

I give the book four stars because of the ending which seems too rushed after so much built-up suspense.

I highly recommend A Time for Dying for everybody who enjoys fast-paced, hard-boiled thrillers and clever police procedurals. 

Purchase Links:

Northodox Press:

https://www.northodox.co.uk/product-page/a-time-for-dying-paperback-pre-order

Amazon: