The Path of the Bullet

Cambridge Mysteries #1

by M.C. Jacques

A ruthless assassin at large in the UK and heading for a target in Cambridge… an office steaming with jealousy and passion… a hero’s body found in a war museum and a disconsolate man – gnawed at by ghosts from his distant and recent past – charged with finding the murderer.

With a steadily increasing fusion of murder, intrigue and suspense, the floundering Mark McKay finds himself thrown onto a hotbed of deception, fraud, incest and even a neo-Nazi’s murderous intent.

Set in Cambridge at around the turn of the millennium, The Path of the Bullet, the first of the new Cambridge Mysteries series, explains how McKay forsakes his hermitic existence on the Lincolnshire coast and becomes attracted to the beautiful city of Cambridge in both mind and body.

200 pages, ebook

Published November 1, 2015

Reviews

[Eileen Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An exciting mystery story set in Cambridge around the year 2000.
Equipment in a local museum has been sabotaged and a body has been found.
Mark McKay has been asked to investigate and he soon finds the investigation more complex and sinister than he first thought.
I have not heard about M.C. Jaques previously, but will look out for more stories.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Troubador Publishing via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review.

[Kieron Mathews · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great

A good read really enjoyed it was confusing at times but understood it in the end recommend it to read

[Pia · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is a recent one, but language seemed to me quite old fashioned.
The beginning is confusing: we have the body of a dead soldier in a War Museum and one of the trustees seeks his best friend's son to help him solve the murder. From here it goes to terrorist cells in Cambridge and more murders.
There's mayhem at the museum, strange things happen to the exhibitions, more bodies appear.

Too many things happening, too many plots going on.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

[Crittermom · Rating 3 out of 5]

M. C. Jacques is an author with promise. He is a skilled writer, but that isn't quite enough to redeem The Path of the Bullet. Although an entertaining read, the novel is a mish-mash of the improbable and the highly unlikely. As in cooking, there are three central components to a good novel - technique, quality ingredients, and overall recipe. Jacques has technique down, but adds too many ingredients to a recipe that hasn't been thought through fully.

Someone has been sabotaging equipment at the Royal War Museum, Tuxford. In most instances the sabotage has been detected before anyone has been injured. But one particularly complex setup has resulted in the death of a retired soldier, a frequent visitor to the RWM.

When Mark McKay is contacted by one of his father's friends, he is intrigued by the Wing Commander's unusual request. He wants Mark to investigate the happenings at the museum, both the sabotage and the murder. The police have not gotten far in their inquiries, and it is likely the culprit is a museum employee. The police are also interested in the case Mark discovers ties to a sleeper terrorist cell located in Cambridge.

What starts as a seemingly straightforward case becomes more and more complex as McKay delves into the background of the central players.

The novel moves forward at a slow but steady pace. There is a lot of information and it is important to pay attention if you want to keep up. In some ways, Jacques makes the plot too complex. He is trying too hard. The sabotage makes no sense, particularly if the culprit is part of a terrorist group. Definitely blows the concept of low profile since the culprit is obvious. Another aspect I don't care for is that McKay gets all relevant information from a friend. McKay learns little on his own. The murder is solved when the killer hangs himself and leaves a recorded confession. Pretty much everything is handed to McKay, apart from the traps he walks into. I'm also uncertain as to whether a neo-nazi would work with Islamic militants.

Jacques is a decent writer. McKay is well developed, but many of the other characters are broad sketches based on popular stereotypes. Would I give Jacques a second chance? Yes, his writing skill warrants trying another of his books.

3/5

I received a copy of The Path of the Bullet from the publisher and Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

--Crittermom

http://muttcafe.com/2015/12/the-path-...

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark McKay has personal issues but responds promptly to the call of a friend to investigate the murder of a soldier at the Royal War Museum. As McKay begins to interrogate the workers, he discovers there have been numerous acts of sabotage kept quiet. He also gets several leads that point to one female employee, Sarah Millar. There is a theory that the killing may have had connection to a terrorist cell. McKay visits the bar and café near Sarah’s apartment, running into several Arab characters.

McKay gets help through email research provided by an American journalist who was an old college friend. He also coordinates with the local police. McKay gets mugged early in the investigation. Later a second body is discovered with two different bullet wounds that confuse the investigation even more.

The story starts out and moves at a very fast pace. In the first few pages it is easy to be confused by multiple suspects but the author repeats the list at about 12% making the characters and their connections clear as they are explained to McKay. I liked McKay’s character and I really liked the British jargon and descriptive, fast tone of the writing. It felt the story was on fast forward which was disconcerting for that first 10% but after that I liked it. The story and action blended well to keep me engaged. There is a bit of time jumping where the author moves forward in time so that some of the comments are reminisces but I found that to be an interesting technique. I would be interested to read more in this series. I recommend this to readers who enjoy a fast, PI centered mystery.

I received this title through NetGalley for an honest review.

[Cath De Zwaan NY · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book for a second time as I guess it reminds me of a vacation I spent with a friend in Cambridge UK about ten years ago. I reckon we may even have gone to the military museum featured in the plot. I've landed it a 5 because some of the other reviews are so obviously prejudicial and partisan. I mean, come on, how can it be 'rushed' and have too many subplots at the same time? Yeah, ok, maybe one or two of the characters are 'stock', but there some pretty colorful ones here as well.
It's not the easiest of reads, that's true, but it's made a new fan here.

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book has promise but needs a serious editor. I love a good British novel, and especially those with British spelling. The characters do not have much character, and a lot of the terminology and abbreviations leave those of us across the sea scratching our heads.

[Vanessa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This felt a bit rushed and slapdash - also, rife with unnecessary exclamation points. Could have done with one or two subplots less and be all the better for it.

I received an ecopy from the publishers and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.