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The Cobalt Sky
Edward Ransome is one of England's most famous artists - rich, a friend to celebrities and known for his devotion to his craft for almost fifty years.
Then someone steals his favourite painting - the painting that set Ransome on course to fame and fortune but was never sold and rarely seen.
Sam Dyke is hired to find the painting, and the thief, but quickly discovers that the loss of the painting is only one of the many losses suffered by Ransome, and his family.
What's more, whoever stole the painting is keen to keep it a secret, and committing murder to do so is not out of the question.
Soon Dyke finds he has more than a simple burglary on his hands - it's a case that spans generations and includes more than one ordinary crime.
The Cobalt Sky is a subtle but exciting exploration of the ways in which families can hurt each other over time ... without even trying.
From the two-time winner of the Chanticleer Reviews CLUE Award in the private eye/noir category, for The Bleak and The Innocent Dead.
Then someone steals his favourite painting - the painting that set Ransome on course to fame and fortune but was never sold and rarely seen.
Sam Dyke is hired to find the painting, and the thief, but quickly discovers that the loss of the painting is only one of the many losses suffered by Ransome, and his family.
What's more, whoever stole the painting is keen to keep it a secret, and committing murder to do so is not out of the question.
Soon Dyke finds he has more than a simple burglary on his hands - it's a case that spans generations and includes more than one ordinary crime.
The Cobalt Sky is a subtle but exciting exploration of the ways in which families can hurt each other over time ... without even trying.
From the two-time winner of the Chanticleer Reviews CLUE Award in the private eye/noir category, for The Bleak and The Innocent Dead.
319 pages, Kindle Edition
Published September 1, 2019
3 people are currently reading
10 people want to read
About the author
Keith Dixon
89 books79 followersKeith Dixon was born in Yorkshire and grew up in the Midlands. He’s been writing since he was thirteen years old in a number of different genres: thriller, espionage, science fiction, literary. He’s the author of seven novels in the Sam Dyke Investigations series and two other non-crime works, as well as two collections of blog posts on the craft of writing. When he’s not writing he enjoys reading, learning the guitar, watching movies and binge-inhaling great TV series. He’s currently spending more time in France than is probably good for him.
Learn more about Keith by following him on Twitter @keithyd6, by reading his blog at www.cwconfidential.blogspot.com or connect with him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SamDykeInvest...
On his website you can download a couple of free books and find out more about the others: www.keithdixonnovels.com.
His Amazon page from which you can buy all the books is here: http://www.amazon.com/Keith-Dixon/e/B...
Learn more about Keith by following him on Twitter @keithyd6, by reading his blog at www.cwconfidential.blogspot.com or connect with him on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/SamDykeInvest...
On his website you can download a couple of free books and find out more about the others: www.keithdixonnovels.com.
His Amazon page from which you can buy all the books is here: http://www.amazon.com/Keith-Dixon/e/B...
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
September 5, 2019
An art theft? What does Private Investigator Sam Dyke know about art?
That was my first question when starting to read ‘The Cobalt Sky’, Keith Dixon’s latest invitation to share the world of his acerbic north of England private eye. However, the successful Sam Dyke series, of which this is book ten, though they can be read as standalones, has shown this reader that first appearances, and thoughts, can be far from the mark. As the pages passed and the pace quickened, the chase to find the painting takes second place. First, to a violent attack on detective Dyke himself, then to a murder. And what’s worse, though Dyke uncovers a spaghetti-like mixture of family hostilities that span generations, his usual sharp-witted perspicacity seems to have deserted him, and he knows it.
This is probably the most complex case author Dixon has presented his investigative creation and it allows a parade of fascinating personages to populate the pages of this superb crime thriller. Of particular note, to me at least, was the relationship between Dyke and the ageing artist whose missing watercolor initiated the case. It allows fans of the Sam Dyke novels another peek at the detectives psyche, and in passing, raises many questions about his rapport with his own father. Perhaps the subject of another novel?
Dixon’s writing always sets such a high standard, drawing the reader into the midst of intriguing tales of mayhem committed by curious characters that are elaborated with an eye for detail. The bar may be high, however, without a doubt, this was the most enjoyable of the Sam Dyke crime novels to date, and that’s saying a lot! Wholeheartedly recommended!
That was my first question when starting to read ‘The Cobalt Sky’, Keith Dixon’s latest invitation to share the world of his acerbic north of England private eye. However, the successful Sam Dyke series, of which this is book ten, though they can be read as standalones, has shown this reader that first appearances, and thoughts, can be far from the mark. As the pages passed and the pace quickened, the chase to find the painting takes second place. First, to a violent attack on detective Dyke himself, then to a murder. And what’s worse, though Dyke uncovers a spaghetti-like mixture of family hostilities that span generations, his usual sharp-witted perspicacity seems to have deserted him, and he knows it.
This is probably the most complex case author Dixon has presented his investigative creation and it allows a parade of fascinating personages to populate the pages of this superb crime thriller. Of particular note, to me at least, was the relationship between Dyke and the ageing artist whose missing watercolor initiated the case. It allows fans of the Sam Dyke novels another peek at the detectives psyche, and in passing, raises many questions about his rapport with his own father. Perhaps the subject of another novel?
Dixon’s writing always sets such a high standard, drawing the reader into the midst of intriguing tales of mayhem committed by curious characters that are elaborated with an eye for detail. The bar may be high, however, without a doubt, this was the most enjoyable of the Sam Dyke crime novels to date, and that’s saying a lot! Wholeheartedly recommended!
December 31, 2019
I was drawn to this book because the mystery at the heart of it concerns a painter, his idiosyncratic process, and a forgery of one of his works. I often enjoy crime novels and thrillers that are concerned with the theft of or search for artistic artefacts. Fortunately, this being the tenth in Dixon’s Sam Dyke series of detective books was no barrier at all to enjoying it as a standalone.
Keith Dixon is a British writer of crime fiction who likes to combine elements of the hard-boiled USA detective style with a British approach to crime solving. So if you enjoy UK settings (Crewe, Manchester and Alderley Edge), a dogged, private investigator hero who is more witty than he is flawed, car chases that occur at slow speeds, and the brandishing of almost no guns – then this may well be your kind of detective story. It reminded me rather of the Cormoran Strike series by ‘Robert Galbraith’.
This intriguing epigraph opens the book: “What usually has the strongest psychic effect on the child is the life which the parents have not lived.” (Carl Jung) And the story does span generations. The family at the heart of the book splintered long ago. Each damaged member has determinedly not thought in years about the events which lie at the bottom of the book’s central mystery. Now Sam Dyke comes knocking on their doors, hired to get to the bottom of a puzzle which nobody realises, to begin with, is related to their ongoing, familial unhappiness. Dyke unwittingly puts each of them, and himself, in danger when he does so.
Indeed, the book is as much an examination of the damage families can do to their members as it is a novel about forgery and death.
Dixon draws in a variety of strands to enrich the book. It is a testament to his skilful plotting that none of them feel like red herrings (although one or two of them are).
The book is beautifully written and cruises along like a well-maintained Bentley.
** Received an electronic book file in exchange for an honest review **
Keith Dixon is a British writer of crime fiction who likes to combine elements of the hard-boiled USA detective style with a British approach to crime solving. So if you enjoy UK settings (Crewe, Manchester and Alderley Edge), a dogged, private investigator hero who is more witty than he is flawed, car chases that occur at slow speeds, and the brandishing of almost no guns – then this may well be your kind of detective story. It reminded me rather of the Cormoran Strike series by ‘Robert Galbraith’.
This intriguing epigraph opens the book: “What usually has the strongest psychic effect on the child is the life which the parents have not lived.” (Carl Jung) And the story does span generations. The family at the heart of the book splintered long ago. Each damaged member has determinedly not thought in years about the events which lie at the bottom of the book’s central mystery. Now Sam Dyke comes knocking on their doors, hired to get to the bottom of a puzzle which nobody realises, to begin with, is related to their ongoing, familial unhappiness. Dyke unwittingly puts each of them, and himself, in danger when he does so.
Indeed, the book is as much an examination of the damage families can do to their members as it is a novel about forgery and death.
Dixon draws in a variety of strands to enrich the book. It is a testament to his skilful plotting that none of them feel like red herrings (although one or two of them are).
The book is beautifully written and cruises along like a well-maintained Bentley.
** Received an electronic book file in exchange for an honest review **
October 21, 2019
This new story is Number 10 in the series, but my first read in the series and of Keith Dixon’s books.
I found I had no problem reading this as a stand-alone, there isn’t pages of past adventures, so very accessible to a new reader like myself.
The first thing that struck me is that you can appreciate the high quality of writing by the author. A writer that can spin a great tale without the need of gratuitous violence, blood or bad language.
Sam Dyke is an interesting protagonist, I think I definitely want to read more.
He is tasked with finding a missing painting, a painting held dear to the artist and one that the thief doesn’t want anyone to find and will go any lengths to keep people silent.
This isn’t just a murder mystery who-dunnit. It’s an exploration into a troubled, fractured family, and how far families can drive themselves apart.
I was hooked from early on, a thoroughly gripping tale as Sam is pulled this way and that as he hunts down the bad guys.
Great writing, with a cleverly crafted plot. A real good read. I’ll be looking forward to reading both more of Sam Dyke’s previous adventures and future tales to come.
Highly Recommended
4
I found I had no problem reading this as a stand-alone, there isn’t pages of past adventures, so very accessible to a new reader like myself.
The first thing that struck me is that you can appreciate the high quality of writing by the author. A writer that can spin a great tale without the need of gratuitous violence, blood or bad language.
Sam Dyke is an interesting protagonist, I think I definitely want to read more.
He is tasked with finding a missing painting, a painting held dear to the artist and one that the thief doesn’t want anyone to find and will go any lengths to keep people silent.
This isn’t just a murder mystery who-dunnit. It’s an exploration into a troubled, fractured family, and how far families can drive themselves apart.
I was hooked from early on, a thoroughly gripping tale as Sam is pulled this way and that as he hunts down the bad guys.
Great writing, with a cleverly crafted plot. A real good read. I’ll be looking forward to reading both more of Sam Dyke’s previous adventures and future tales to come.
Highly Recommended
4
October 29, 2019
#10 in the Sam Dyke series, but can easily be read as a stand-alone.
Sam Dyke, a private investigator is hired by Charles Ransome to find out who stole one of his father’s paintings and replaced it with a forgery.
Edward Ransome, or ER as he is known, is the artist. The painting, No 1, holds an emotional link for him. This is the painting that started his career, but more than that, it has memories for him.
The Ransomes are not a likeable family, monied, privileged and selfish, but who really wants to hurt them? And Why?
I feel this is unique in that with cast of characters that is really quite small, so much is happening. There is murder, art theft, violence and intrigue but also the story of a broken family and how the cold, lack of showing any real emotion has affected them all. Very well plotted with a few surprises along the way. Gripping from start to finish.
Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour, for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book. This is my honest, unbiased review.
Sam Dyke, a private investigator is hired by Charles Ransome to find out who stole one of his father’s paintings and replaced it with a forgery.
Edward Ransome, or ER as he is known, is the artist. The painting, No 1, holds an emotional link for him. This is the painting that started his career, but more than that, it has memories for him.
The Ransomes are not a likeable family, monied, privileged and selfish, but who really wants to hurt them? And Why?
I feel this is unique in that with cast of characters that is really quite small, so much is happening. There is murder, art theft, violence and intrigue but also the story of a broken family and how the cold, lack of showing any real emotion has affected them all. Very well plotted with a few surprises along the way. Gripping from start to finish.
Thank you to Anne Cater and Random Things Tours for the opportunity to participate in this blog tour, for the promotional materials and a free copy of the book. This is my honest, unbiased review.
November 19, 2019
The Cobalt Sky is my first Keith Dixon novel, and it’s part of the Sam Dyke series. This can be read as a standalone, no issue. I’d really like to go back and read the rest of the series though, because I imagine all the books are this good.
The pacing is fantastic. As the pages turned, the plot got more exciting and I found myself reading late into the night. It was almost impossible for me to put this one down. I love the complexity of the case. It’s a wonderful crime thriller that held my attention and surprised me quite often.
I love Keith Dixon’s writing style. He draws his readers in and keeps them on the edge of their seat. The characters a compelling and the details are I intriguing. I am a new fan and I can’t wait to read more. Highly recommended!
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Random Things Tours. All opinions are my own.*
The pacing is fantastic. As the pages turned, the plot got more exciting and I found myself reading late into the night. It was almost impossible for me to put this one down. I love the complexity of the case. It’s a wonderful crime thriller that held my attention and surprised me quite often.
I love Keith Dixon’s writing style. He draws his readers in and keeps them on the edge of their seat. The characters a compelling and the details are I intriguing. I am a new fan and I can’t wait to read more. Highly recommended!
*I received a copy of this book as part of a blog tour with Random Things Tours. All opinions are my own.*
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews