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A Long Way Down
Detective Inspector Sep Black finds himself investigating two connected cold cases in the second of this exhilarating series of hard-hitting police procedurals.
When a wealthy businessman suffers a fatal fall from his office window, the forensic evidence points to murder. But with no suspects, no clues and no apparent motive, the police investigation stalls. It’s passed over to the Cold Case Unit where it remains on file, inactive until further evidence emerges.
Some months later, an attractive widow approaches DI Sep Black with a request that he look into the murder of her husband. Freelance journalist James Boswell had been working on a major story – and his widow Sandra believes it had something to do with his death. What did Boswell discover that got him killed?
As he starts to ask questions, Black uncovers a possible connection between the two murders. But before he can find out more, an almost-successful attempt on his life reveals that someone is determined to stop him finding out the truth – whatever it takes.
When a wealthy businessman suffers a fatal fall from his office window, the forensic evidence points to murder. But with no suspects, no clues and no apparent motive, the police investigation stalls. It’s passed over to the Cold Case Unit where it remains on file, inactive until further evidence emerges.
Some months later, an attractive widow approaches DI Sep Black with a request that he look into the murder of her husband. Freelance journalist James Boswell had been working on a major story – and his widow Sandra believes it had something to do with his death. What did Boswell discover that got him killed?
As he starts to ask questions, Black uncovers a possible connection between the two murders. But before he can find out more, an almost-successful attempt on his life reveals that someone is determined to stop him finding out the truth – whatever it takes.
- GenresFiction
356 pages, Hardcover
Published December 31, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 14, 2017
I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for a review copy of A Long Way Down, the second novel to feature DI Septimus "Sep" Black of the West Yorkshire police.
Charlie Santiago falls to his death from his office window and DCI Wood is quick to call it suicide. A year later freelance journalist, James Boswell, is murdered in a seedy hotel room and his widow approaches Sep and asks him to prove that her husband was not meeting a prostitute when he was killed. It turns out that James was investigating Charlie's death and possible shady business dealings so Sep now has two cases to investigate and some serious people trying to stop him.
I enjoyed A Long Way Down but I don't think I read the same book described in the blurb. It is described as "hard hitting" and it's true that there is a lot of violence but the plot is too silly to be anything but a comedy - Sep gets knocked down, literally at one point, but like all good action heroes he gets up again to rejoin the fray.
I must admit that I struggled to understand all the ramifications of the plot and how the various characters fitted in, especially the bad guys, but it doesn't really matter as it is a very exhilarating read. If anything the plot detail takes a back seat to a series of action sequences where Sep is attacked, often seriously, but bounces back to fight another day. In fact the first time we meet Sep he is fighting off an attack. It is highly unrealistic but very readable.
A Long Way Down is a high octane, fun read.
Charlie Santiago falls to his death from his office window and DCI Wood is quick to call it suicide. A year later freelance journalist, James Boswell, is murdered in a seedy hotel room and his widow approaches Sep and asks him to prove that her husband was not meeting a prostitute when he was killed. It turns out that James was investigating Charlie's death and possible shady business dealings so Sep now has two cases to investigate and some serious people trying to stop him.
I enjoyed A Long Way Down but I don't think I read the same book described in the blurb. It is described as "hard hitting" and it's true that there is a lot of violence but the plot is too silly to be anything but a comedy - Sep gets knocked down, literally at one point, but like all good action heroes he gets up again to rejoin the fray.
I must admit that I struggled to understand all the ramifications of the plot and how the various characters fitted in, especially the bad guys, but it doesn't really matter as it is a very exhilarating read. If anything the plot detail takes a back seat to a series of action sequences where Sep is attacked, often seriously, but bounces back to fight another day. In fact the first time we meet Sep he is fighting off an attack. It is highly unrealistic but very readable.
A Long Way Down is a high octane, fun read.
July 19, 2017
3 and 1 / 2 stars
DI Septimus “Sep” Black of the West Yorkshire Police
Charlie Santiago falls to his death from an office window. It appears to be a murder. DCI Wood – a rather lazy and inept individual – is quick to shuffle the investigation off to the cold case squad when it is barely a few weeks old.
Some months later, perhaps a year or so, James Boswell is found dead in a run down and decrepit hotel room. He was a journalist who his wife Sandra claims was working on a big case when he was killed. She further states that he was not at the run down hotel to meet a prostitute, but was investigating the death of Charlie Santiago and the local police department’s somewhat questionable practices. Sandra entreats Sep to look into the cases and prove that her husband James was not doing anything wrong.
Sep sets out to investigate the two cases and whilst following clues and leads, he uncovers some interesting connections between the two cases. When Sep uncovers a more solid link between the two deaths, some serious bad guys set out to do him harm.
What follows is an interesting and adventurous romp around the little city. The book was fairly well written, but the plot lost its way sometimes. I said “huh?” to myself a few times. I don’t know if the author intended it to be so, but it was rather funny in places. Are police officers really that clumsy? Do they really recover from physical attacks that quickly? Oh well… This is my first Ken McCoy novel, and I went to Amazon to look at his other books.
I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.
DI Septimus “Sep” Black of the West Yorkshire Police
Charlie Santiago falls to his death from an office window. It appears to be a murder. DCI Wood – a rather lazy and inept individual – is quick to shuffle the investigation off to the cold case squad when it is barely a few weeks old.
Some months later, perhaps a year or so, James Boswell is found dead in a run down and decrepit hotel room. He was a journalist who his wife Sandra claims was working on a big case when he was killed. She further states that he was not at the run down hotel to meet a prostitute, but was investigating the death of Charlie Santiago and the local police department’s somewhat questionable practices. Sandra entreats Sep to look into the cases and prove that her husband James was not doing anything wrong.
Sep sets out to investigate the two cases and whilst following clues and leads, he uncovers some interesting connections between the two cases. When Sep uncovers a more solid link between the two deaths, some serious bad guys set out to do him harm.
What follows is an interesting and adventurous romp around the little city. The book was fairly well written, but the plot lost its way sometimes. I said “huh?” to myself a few times. I don’t know if the author intended it to be so, but it was rather funny in places. Are police officers really that clumsy? Do they really recover from physical attacks that quickly? Oh well… This is my first Ken McCoy novel, and I went to Amazon to look at his other books.
I want to thank NetGalley and Severn House Publishers for forwarding to me a copy of this book to read.
April 29, 2024
This is an interesting read featuring DI Sep Black, although I struggled with the plotting which left me confused at times! There is a lot of humour throughout as Sep investigates the death of a man who fell from his office window. I just can't put my finger on why it didn't work for me. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.
January 4, 2018
A second brisk adventure featuring the wildly capable DI Black. Crisp dialogue, an ever-unfolding, involved plot, and lots of dead bodies; all wrapped up neatly at the end.
March 28, 2018
It’s rare when I can't finish a book - however, I could not finish this one - it was like reading the script of a third rate, made for TV detective series, or some old "B" mystery movie made in the distant past. Just could not take any more of the dialogue and hero worship.
June 25, 2022
A good read
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews