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DI Hogarth #1
The Darkest Lies
The stunning new crime mystery from Solomon Carter – a page-turner with an epic conclusion.
DETECTIVE JOE HOGARTH IS CALLED TO A NIGHTCLUB MURDER AND UNCOVERS A SINISTER SECRET. SOME SECRETS CAN’T BE HIDDEN WITHOUT DEADLY CONSEQUENCES… AND HOGARTH HAS A SECRET ALL OF HIS OWN…
DI Joe Hogarth and his team are called to a murder at a seaside nightclub. A big man with a reputation for extortion has been stabbed to death, but no one saw the killer strike. A young man disappeared from the scene moments before the murder. The young man has no clear motive but Hogarth can’t let go of his suspicions. He decides to track down the missing youth… And soon discovers the motive for the murder is far older, and far darker than he could have imagined.
One man goes missing and a ghost from the past reappears as the darkest lies of two generations are ruthlessly exposed. One cop takes justice into her own hands. And yet another may pay the ultimate price.
AS HOGARTH AND THE TEAM PEEL BACK THE LAYERS OF CRIME, THE BODYCOUNT STARTS TO RISE…
DI Hogarth’s reputation hangs in the balance. And one cop’s life hangs by a thread.
Secret Affairs. Lies and Betrayal. Murder.
And Hogarth’s personal life is heading for a crisis.
In a truly thrilling conclusion, DI Hogarth and his team race against time to stop a killer who watches their every move.
Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Ian Rankin, Val McDermid and Ruth Rendell, Helen Durrant, Joy Ellis and LJ Ross. If you love to read gripping detective thrillers with flawed characters and police procedurals with shocking twists and a noir flavour, then the DI Hogarth Darkest series is for you.
Readers have described the Darkest series as pefect for fans of British crime thrillers, Female detective novels, British crime mysteries, Police Procedurals, Heist thrillers and Noir Thrillers.
The Darkest Lies is a crime novel you won’t want to put down.
The Setting:
Southend-on-sea, Just over an hour from London. A tough and densely packed suburban town sandwiched between the sparkling Thames Estuary and a semi-rural hinterland of fields and marshes. A place where wealth and glamour sit cheek-by-jowl with addiction, poverty and crime. When he transferred to the Essex coast, ex-Met Detective Joe Hogarth might have imagined he was signing up for sun, sea and semi-retirement. But the merry hell of Southend might just have him beat. It’s a good thing this DI doesn’t know when to quit…
THE DI HOGARTH DARKEST SERIES
THE DARKEST LIES
THE DARKEST GRAVE
THE DARKEST DEED
THE DARKEST TRUTH
ALSO BY SOLOMON CARTER
LONG TIME DYING series featuring private investigators Eva Roberts and Dan Bradley
THE LAST LINE
LUCK AND JUDGMENT
LONDON CALLING
THE FINAL TRICK
For more information visit SolomonCarter.net
513 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 23, 2018
1206 people are currently reading
684 people want to read
About the author
Solomon Carter
187 books99 followersHello folks,
My name is Solomon Carter, and I am the author of the Roberts and Bradley PI crime thriller series, The Last Line international thriller series, the DI Hogarth Darkest series and more. I write mysteries, crime and thriller novels and more besides.
I was born in Southend, Essex and lived there for most of my life apart from eventful student days in South London. But my life in Southend was even more eventful still. I ended up working in a string of jobs including as a jobcentre clerk, a book seller, tutor for youth with low skills and low self esteem, mortgage broker, and latterly manager of a food bank which dealt with all kinds of interesting people facing all kinds of eye-opening, jaw dropping problems. Because of these ear-to-the-ground jobs the majority of my novels are set in Southend. In 2016 I moved to North Cornwall because I liked the idea of never-ending holidays - but I also write almost every single day. My aim is to write action-packed thrillers and page-turning mysteries that readers love and my hope is to get better at what I do with every book across each and every year.
I like to give away lots of free books as part of what I do. If you would like to receive some of these and get the exclusives on offer, than you're invited to join my free readers group at SolomonCarter.net. I won't spam you, just send the occassional email with news on the latest books and forthcoming freebies.
And if you want to see the memes, personal shares and other oddball stuff I do, then you can join me at Facebook via www.facebook.com/solomoncarterwrites and join the fun there too.
What I am good at: telling stories
What I am bad at: dancing, being patient.
What I love: nature, the seaside, adventures
Writers I heartily recommend: Lee Child, Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell, Val McDermid, Harlan Coben, Robert Crais.
Writers I need to read more of: Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly and others.
Other things I do beside writing: at present I like to keep my running going to balance out the sitting behind a laptop (a habit inspired by Haruki Murakami's 'What I talk about when I talk about running' - a great book).
-I am currently doing surf lessons. When in Rome, as they say...
-Getting out into nature as the weather allows.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Until then I'll keep on writing. Or running. Or surfing. Or chasing my children around the house.
All the very best,
Solomon :)
PS
if you have enjoyed any of my books, I'd be honoured if you could post a review. Those reviews really do help!
My name is Solomon Carter, and I am the author of the Roberts and Bradley PI crime thriller series, The Last Line international thriller series, the DI Hogarth Darkest series and more. I write mysteries, crime and thriller novels and more besides.
I was born in Southend, Essex and lived there for most of my life apart from eventful student days in South London. But my life in Southend was even more eventful still. I ended up working in a string of jobs including as a jobcentre clerk, a book seller, tutor for youth with low skills and low self esteem, mortgage broker, and latterly manager of a food bank which dealt with all kinds of interesting people facing all kinds of eye-opening, jaw dropping problems. Because of these ear-to-the-ground jobs the majority of my novels are set in Southend. In 2016 I moved to North Cornwall because I liked the idea of never-ending holidays - but I also write almost every single day. My aim is to write action-packed thrillers and page-turning mysteries that readers love and my hope is to get better at what I do with every book across each and every year.
I like to give away lots of free books as part of what I do. If you would like to receive some of these and get the exclusives on offer, than you're invited to join my free readers group at SolomonCarter.net. I won't spam you, just send the occassional email with news on the latest books and forthcoming freebies.
And if you want to see the memes, personal shares and other oddball stuff I do, then you can join me at Facebook via www.facebook.com/solomoncarterwrites and join the fun there too.
What I am good at: telling stories
What I am bad at: dancing, being patient.
What I love: nature, the seaside, adventures
Writers I heartily recommend: Lee Child, Ian Rankin, Henning Mankell, Val McDermid, Harlan Coben, Robert Crais.
Writers I need to read more of: Val McDermid, Ian Rankin, Michael Connelly and others.
Other things I do beside writing: at present I like to keep my running going to balance out the sitting behind a laptop (a habit inspired by Haruki Murakami's 'What I talk about when I talk about running' - a great book).
-I am currently doing surf lessons. When in Rome, as they say...
-Getting out into nature as the weather allows.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Until then I'll keep on writing. Or running. Or surfing. Or chasing my children around the house.
All the very best,
Solomon :)
PS
if you have enjoyed any of my books, I'd be honoured if you could post a review. Those reviews really do help!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
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August 16, 2019🎁 FREE on Amazon today (8/16/2019)! 🎁
October 24, 2018
Follow Detective Inspector Joe Hogarth and his team as they investigate a murder at a Southend nightclub.
Right from the start, I felt at home with this book. It has an easy to get into British feel, like watching the hit drama Line of Duty on television. Solomon’s writing is sharp and includes ALL the extra details that give so much added value to his story.
I liked that some of the chapters were from the killer’s point-of-view. No clues to the killer’s identity were given, just what they observed and thought.
I liked the range of characters in this book, the police officers, support workers and members of the public who could all be the killer.
It was good that the killer avoided their actions appearing on CCTV, making the police work very hard to catch the bad guy. There were lots of suspects who ALL had valid motives to kill the victim.
I thought the plot was quite good and the pace was fair. However, later on my initial enthusiasm dwindled because the killer struck again when they could have walked away, leaving the police with an unsolved crime. From then onwards the book took on a familiar police chase against the clock and proved quite routine to the end. But I still think that The Darkest Lies is a GOOD read, so gets 4 stars from me.
The Darkest Lies was written in 2018 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.
Right from the start, I felt at home with this book. It has an easy to get into British feel, like watching the hit drama Line of Duty on television. Solomon’s writing is sharp and includes ALL the extra details that give so much added value to his story.
I liked that some of the chapters were from the killer’s point-of-view. No clues to the killer’s identity were given, just what they observed and thought.
I liked the range of characters in this book, the police officers, support workers and members of the public who could all be the killer.
It was good that the killer avoided their actions appearing on CCTV, making the police work very hard to catch the bad guy. There were lots of suspects who ALL had valid motives to kill the victim.
I thought the plot was quite good and the pace was fair. However, later on my initial enthusiasm dwindled because the killer struck again when they could have walked away, leaving the police with an unsolved crime. From then onwards the book took on a familiar police chase against the clock and proved quite routine to the end. But I still think that The Darkest Lies is a GOOD read, so gets 4 stars from me.
The Darkest Lies was written in 2018 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.
May 13, 2019
This was a great, interesting, twisty story but by god, he made it difficult to read !! The editing is an utter shambles. So many times I was going to pack it in altogether, and while I'm happy I found out whodunnit, I WILL pack in the next in the series if it's as badly presented.
He seems to be clueless about punctuation......apostrophes missed or misused, hardly ever uses a question mark and the speechmarks....so many times they're dropped altogether making the reading experience a tricky one as you have to read a lot of it twice. Then on some pages they appear where nobody's speaking at all. Just atrocious. Words were missed out altogether from sentences as well.
Some of his spelling mistakes are on basic words and I just can't fathom why he doesn't get them right. One in particular made me gasp as I was so shocked by it.....he wrote allowed instead of aloud !! He also wrote passed and not past, swapping it for a bit of variation later on, writing past and not passed, parker not parka, prize not prise, sargent and not sergeant, born not borne. He mixed his own
characters' names up writing Jake and not Andy, too.
Then he seemed to lose his own plot at times. It was quite odd, like he'd maybe packed in writing it for a while and forgot his own storyline. One character started out as a George, was turned into a Wilbur and then back to George again !! Then toward the end of the book an item found at the scene of the initial murder was mentioned like we'd been made aware of it from the beginning but we hadn't ! I couldn't picture this line in the least, "Simmons' face turned black with shock......" Just nonsensical.
The mistakes were on almost every single page toward the end. It got so distracting and bloody irritating. So I'll try book 2 but will not sit through it if they start, since I know there will be tons....I just hope he got himself a better proofreader.
He seems to be clueless about punctuation......apostrophes missed or misused, hardly ever uses a question mark and the speechmarks....so many times they're dropped altogether making the reading experience a tricky one as you have to read a lot of it twice. Then on some pages they appear where nobody's speaking at all. Just atrocious. Words were missed out altogether from sentences as well.
Some of his spelling mistakes are on basic words and I just can't fathom why he doesn't get them right. One in particular made me gasp as I was so shocked by it.....he wrote allowed instead of aloud !! He also wrote passed and not past, swapping it for a bit of variation later on, writing past and not passed, parker not parka, prize not prise, sargent and not sergeant, born not borne. He mixed his own
characters' names up writing Jake and not Andy, too.
Then he seemed to lose his own plot at times. It was quite odd, like he'd maybe packed in writing it for a while and forgot his own storyline. One character started out as a George, was turned into a Wilbur and then back to George again !! Then toward the end of the book an item found at the scene of the initial murder was mentioned like we'd been made aware of it from the beginning but we hadn't ! I couldn't picture this line in the least, "Simmons' face turned black with shock......" Just nonsensical.
The mistakes were on almost every single page toward the end. It got so distracting and bloody irritating. So I'll try book 2 but will not sit through it if they start, since I know there will be tons....I just hope he got himself a better proofreader.
May 4, 2018
Didn’t bother finishing
Sorry, but if a book doesn’t grab me by page 70, I’m done with it. I found it disjointed, boring, little to no character development...couldn’t be bothered finishing it.
Sorry, but if a book doesn’t grab me by page 70, I’m done with it. I found it disjointed, boring, little to no character development...couldn’t be bothered finishing it.
January 9, 2020
The Darkest Lies
Loved it excellent story but now have to read the rest I was on the edge to the end brilliant
Loved it excellent story but now have to read the rest I was on the edge to the end brilliant
May 17, 2018
I thought it was Simmons.
Yep, kept me guessing. Was it GG¿ Was it Simmons¿ And now I have to worry about Ali¡ Guess I have to get the next book.
Yep, kept me guessing. Was it GG¿ Was it Simmons¿ And now I have to worry about Ali¡ Guess I have to get the next book.
February 9, 2019
"A promising start"
I've read a lot of Solomon Carter's books and I can guarantee I'll have a mixed reaction. On this occasion I thought for the first book in a new series this one was more than acceptable. I would have no hesitation in following Joe Hogarth on his next case. I like a book that's 'busy'. The action may not be fast and furious on every page, but with a wide-ranging cast of characters there's always something going on as different threads are advanced towards the final denouement. This style of writing may appear simplistic, but it gets the job done and is eminently readable.
I've read a lot of Solomon Carter's books and I can guarantee I'll have a mixed reaction. On this occasion I thought for the first book in a new series this one was more than acceptable. I would have no hesitation in following Joe Hogarth on his next case. I like a book that's 'busy'. The action may not be fast and furious on every page, but with a wide-ranging cast of characters there's always something going on as different threads are advanced towards the final denouement. This style of writing may appear simplistic, but it gets the job done and is eminently readable.
February 16, 2021
Good Police Procedural
A blackmailing bully is murdered in a busy nightclub. DI Hogarth and his team are frustrated by the lack of clues. Their investigation investigation leads them to a labyrinth of lies and deceit. But the murdered finds enjoyment in snuffing out lives. A second murder ups the ante. In the meantime Hogarth's mattied lover is being stalked.
This is a decent police procedural. The pace is god. No sympathy for the victims though. They are uniformly despicable. The cops don't fare much better. Hogarth is a brute, rude and insulting to his team as well as the suspects. Still it is readable with a satisfying conclusion.
A blackmailing bully is murdered in a busy nightclub. DI Hogarth and his team are frustrated by the lack of clues. Their investigation investigation leads them to a labyrinth of lies and deceit. But the murdered finds enjoyment in snuffing out lives. A second murder ups the ante. In the meantime Hogarth's mattied lover is being stalked.
This is a decent police procedural. The pace is god. No sympathy for the victims though. They are uniformly despicable. The cops don't fare much better. Hogarth is a brute, rude and insulting to his team as well as the suspects. Still it is readable with a satisfying conclusion.
May 13, 2022
Not for the first time have I enjoyed this author's stories and The Darkest Lies was no exception.
This was another crime thriller where D.I. Hogarth investigates a murder, amongst other things.
I don't give spoilers, so will just say that it's well-written to include themes such as blackmail, extortion, insanity and revenge. The characters fit well into the plot and the sense of place is great. I do like stories set in England, especially when the author understands the nuances.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this police drama /detective thriller.
Recommended.
This was another crime thriller where D.I. Hogarth investigates a murder, amongst other things.
I don't give spoilers, so will just say that it's well-written to include themes such as blackmail, extortion, insanity and revenge. The characters fit well into the plot and the sense of place is great. I do like stories set in England, especially when the author understands the nuances.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this police drama /detective thriller.
Recommended.
September 7, 2023
I've read a lot of DI Hogarth and Roberts and Bradley PI books and I'm really quite surprised I haven't got fed up with them yet. I give them 4 stars rather than 5 because there are so many errors, down to poor editing I would say. However, the stories are, nonetheless hard to put down. One or two books and the characters are familiar, and their adventures are quite addictive. Carter has written over 86 books and, after the 13 book Long Time Dying series, each book leads on to the next. Like needing watch the next episode in a long TV mystery, I have to keep reading
January 10, 2020
A slow burner but worth it!
A decent first novel in the series. Not as gripping as other Carter novels mainly due to the slow development of the various characters in the story, with little to no background on any of them. There was also a lot going on ,so much so that the ending fell a bit flat. That being said , Carter through in a nice precursor in the epilogue and sufficient likeability for DO Hogarth to make me want to read the next in this series.
A decent first novel in the series. Not as gripping as other Carter novels mainly due to the slow development of the various characters in the story, with little to no background on any of them. There was also a lot going on ,so much so that the ending fell a bit flat. That being said , Carter through in a nice precursor in the epilogue and sufficient likeability for DO Hogarth to make me want to read the next in this series.
March 9, 2022
Entertaining mystery listening 🔰😀
Another will written British romantic murder mystery thriller adventure novel by Solomon Carter book one ☝ the DI Hogarth Darkest Series about two murders, revenge, blackmail, and drugs. DO Hogarth and his team is deep into the investigation when an unexpected event leads to the conclusion. I would recommend this novel and author to 👍readers of mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to stories 🔰🏰😆 2022 😮
Another will written British romantic murder mystery thriller adventure novel by Solomon Carter book one ☝ the DI Hogarth Darkest Series about two murders, revenge, blackmail, and drugs. DO Hogarth and his team is deep into the investigation when an unexpected event leads to the conclusion. I would recommend this novel and author to 👍readers of mysteries. Enjoy the adventure of reading 👓 or listening 🎶 to stories 🔰🏰😆 2022 😮
December 2, 2018
A decent little story
Story pace was a little slow. Peripheral characters were not developed well enough to matter. Because of this, it was pretty obvious who was guilty. Some clues extremely nebulous: light reflecting from a bald head? Really? Liked the tale overall, but would benefit from a bit of tightening up as well as a little more clarity.
Story pace was a little slow. Peripheral characters were not developed well enough to matter. Because of this, it was pretty obvious who was guilty. Some clues extremely nebulous: light reflecting from a bald head? Really? Liked the tale overall, but would benefit from a bit of tightening up as well as a little more clarity.
January 9, 2019
It's never who you think it is
My first Solomon Carter book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. DCI Hogarth and DS Palmer are very believable and the story is well paced, well written and like all good crime stories keeps you thinking. Looking forward to reading the second one in the series
My first Solomon Carter book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. DCI Hogarth and DS Palmer are very believable and the story is well paced, well written and like all good crime stories keeps you thinking. Looking forward to reading the second one in the series
October 7, 2021
Gritty detective story
This book is set in the Essex town of Southend on sea. It feels like the seedier side of town. We follow the investigation of a nightclub murder with plenty of suspects. I didn't realise who the culprit was until the end when the detectives also realised who it was making it an angaging story.
This book is set in the Essex town of Southend on sea. It feels like the seedier side of town. We follow the investigation of a nightclub murder with plenty of suspects. I didn't realise who the culprit was until the end when the detectives also realised who it was making it an angaging story.
September 23, 2024
DI Hogarth finding a killer
A murder at a night club, busy, no one saw who killed the man and no weapon was found Evan though they managed to lockdown the club very quickly as a police constable and his girlfriend were there having a night out. Great story line, team work eventually found the killer.
A murder at a night club, busy, no one saw who killed the man and no weapon was found Evan though they managed to lockdown the club very quickly as a police constable and his girlfriend were there having a night out. Great story line, team work eventually found the killer.
March 5, 2018
Wow!!!
What a page Turner!!! This book races like a runaway train and just as you think you are getting to grips with it there are more twists and turns. I couldn't put this down and am off now to read the 2nd installment!! Just WOW!! I loved this..
What a page Turner!!! This book races like a runaway train and just as you think you are getting to grips with it there are more twists and turns. I couldn't put this down and am off now to read the 2nd installment!! Just WOW!! I loved this..
October 10, 2018
Great story
Read a lot of Solomon Carter books but this is the first one with Hogarth as the main character. Loved the fast pace and the twists. Looking forward to the next one in the series
Read a lot of Solomon Carter books but this is the first one with Hogarth as the main character. Loved the fast pace and the twists. Looking forward to the next one in the series
February 8, 2019
Cliff hanger
This is the first book I've read written by Solomon carter , and as it was free on Amazon I thought I'd give it a go . I'm glad I did it's well written and very enjoyable as it finished on a bit of a cliff hanger I'd better get on and read book two
This is the first book I've read written by Solomon carter , and as it was free on Amazon I thought I'd give it a go . I'm glad I did it's well written and very enjoyable as it finished on a bit of a cliff hanger I'd better get on and read book two
November 1, 2019
Run of the Mill
A standard detective story very much like others I have read. Old time copper v new age high flyer - usually a woman -incompetent PC - usually a man. But this one had another story running which looks like being the subject of the next book
A standard detective story very much like others I have read. Old time copper v new age high flyer - usually a woman -incompetent PC - usually a man. But this one had another story running which looks like being the subject of the next book
January 2, 2020
Another great read love the character's specially Detective Hogarth, makes me laugh at the things he says, lol so witty, and great story lines, love this Author, now on to his next book, The Darkest Grave. Well done Soloman.
April 16, 2020
Gripping read
Really enjoyed this book found it by chance and glad I did. The book really flows and kept me guessing.
Have recommended Solomon Carter's books to other people who I know like this sort of book
Really enjoyed this book found it by chance and glad I did. The book really flows and kept me guessing.
Have recommended Solomon Carter's books to other people who I know like this sort of book
September 5, 2020
Good story with London setting
Detectives lives well done and the detection process is also well described. Sometimes the characters are over described but all in all a nice read and I look forward to reading more in the series.
Detectives lives well done and the detection process is also well described. Sometimes the characters are over described but all in all a nice read and I look forward to reading more in the series.
September 18, 2020
A great read. I really enjoy the fact that the main cast of characters are at the core of the plots. I've really got to know them and the fact the history builds from book to book makes it all the more enjoyable to me. Keep it up and I look forward to reading many more.
October 11, 2020
Nice start
What a great start to a new series of books. It is nice to have a set of characters that you are already familiar with, as you spend less time concentrating on them and more time on a very good storyline.
What a great start to a new series of books. It is nice to have a set of characters that you are already familiar with, as you spend less time concentrating on them and more time on a very good storyline.
December 1, 2020
Very easy to read detective storyline with quite a few good twists. It was made better as I was familiar with the location and found myself picturing the scene all the way through. Will definitely read the next in the series.
January 23, 2021
very good series, i have read two now. It also had an appeal as it is set in Southend on Sea, which I kew well when i lived in Essex ,as well as other parts of Essex. Good pace, good plot and the detective team seem to be a good set
June 5, 2022
Quite enjoyed the concept of the book. The main character (DI Hogarth) is the archetypal maverick cop. Uses his own ways - not textbook but seem to do the trick which tends to leave him just in the right side of his superior officers.
January 12, 2024
I never really settled with the lead character Di Hogarth. He was too much of a chsricature and reminded me of the police detectives in father Brown. There are many police characters out there with strike stories but I feel that DI Hogarth is not one Zi wish to pursue further.
March 4, 2024
Follow Detective Inspector Joe Hogarth and his team as they investigate a murder at a Southend nightclub.
Right from the start, I felt at home with the characters in his team of officers. Hopefully the author will make more use of these officers in future books.
Right from the start, I felt at home with the characters in his team of officers. Hopefully the author will make more use of these officers in future books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews