A Bad Bad Thing

By Elena Forbes

Published by Blackthorn Books

What’s it about?

After a police operation ends in catastrophe, DCI Eve West is suspended. She faces expulsion from the force, until John Duran – a violent criminal Eve incarcerated, still serving his sentence – offers to help clear her name. But nothing comes without a price.

Duran wants Eve to help free a fellow prisoner, who he claims has been wrongly convicted of murder. But as her investigation takes a dark turn, Eve finds that more than just her job is at stake, and realises Duran is a dangerous man to trust . . .

What I think:

This is a slow burner that is well worth sticking with as there are twists galore coming.

Eve is complicated and not particularly likeable protagonist. She is distant and cold. She keeps herself to herself and keeps her colleagues at arms length. It took me a while to warm to her, but as more is revealed about her past and you see her in action there is lots to admire about her.

The books begins quite dramatically with a botched investigation that goes horribly wrong. Eve is suspended from her role as DCI in the Metropolitan Police and facing the end of her career.

She receives a request from John Duran , a violent career criminal that she put in behind bars, to help investigate the possible wrongful conviction of a murderer in return for information that could clear her name.

The investigation takes Eve into high stakes world of horse racing as she investigates the murder Jane McNeil, A former employee of Westerby Racing. The case become more and more complex and dangerous as Eve works to uncover the truth.

Eve is partnered by Dan Cooper who runs 4Justice a charity that works to investigate possible miscarriages of justice. He too is a flawed individual who drinks too much and has plenty of his own problems. They’re relationship builds slowly as they both have to learn to trust each other as the different strands of the case come together.

This kept me guessing right until the end – and the twists kept coming. The conclusion, no spoilers from me, is complex and very satisfying. And there is the promise of more from Eve and 4Justice which I sincerely hope is the case (😄).

Stick with Eve and you will not be disappointed. This is a gripping police thriller with lots of twists to keep the reader guessing.

You can order a copy of A Bad Bad Thing using the links below:

Amazon UK: https://amzn.to/3n8OMcN
Waterstones: https://bit.ly/3ekKcUR
Book Depository: https://bit.ly/3tTxrY1
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3tLYCUo
Hive.co.uk: https://bit.ly/3gtM8wK

About the author:

Elena Forbes worked for a number of international investment groups before becoming a full-time writer. She is the author of four previous thrillers in the Mark Tartaglia series, the first of which, Die with Me, was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Award. She lives in central London.

Thank you Blackthorn Books for the gifted copy and to Damppebbles Blog Tours for inviting me to be a part of this thrilling blog tour.