Happy Tuesday everyone! Today I’m sharing my review of Michael Fowler’s first instalment of the Dr Hamlet Mottrell Investigations, See Them Die. I read an early version of this back at the end of 2020 so I was keen to reacquaint myself with the story.
Massive thank you to Caoimhe O’Brien of Sapere Books for my advanced e-copy of See Them Die. I also had preordered a copy which arrived on my kindle last Thursday.
The Blurb
A hard-boiled urban murder mystery you don’t want to miss. Perfect for fans of Peter Robinson, Ann Cleeves, Faith Martin and L J Ross.
Can Dr Mottrell catch a killer to clear his name…?
Three years ago, forensic psychologist Dr Hamlet Mottrell’s life was completely destroyed when an intruder killed his wife and unborn child and slashed his wrists to make it look like a murder-suicide.
Though the case against him was dropped, Hamlet remained guilty in the eyes of many, and was forced into a life of solitude.
But then he hears of another brutal murder case and becomes convinced it is the same person who attacked his family.
He gets in touch with Detective Sergeant Alix Rainbow, one of the only people who believed him when he was initially arrested, and convinces her to help him track down the vicious killer.
But when more deaths occur, she starts to question everything.
Can Hamlet find the real killer and clear his name? Can he keep Alix on his side?
And will they be able to stop the murderer before any more innocent lives are taken?
SEE THEM DIE is the first crime novel in the Dr Hamlet Mottrell Investigations series: dark, gritty murder cases investigated by a forensic psychologist.
What Did I Think?
Having read and loved some of Michael Fowler’s Hunter Kerr and Scarlett Mackey books, I was keen to get to know his new characters of Dr Hamlet Mottrell and DS Alix Rainbow. How would the partnership of a murder suspect and detective pan out? I was intrigued to know!
Hamlet was suspected of killing his family but professed his innocence til he was blue in the face. With a lack of evidence, he disappeared for society but when the death of a former colleague is reported, he re-emerges from his isolation and bangs on Alix’s door looking for answers. What ensues is one hell of a treasure hunt of the sickest nature.
Now this twisted treasure hunt the killer sends Alix and Hamlet on using technology, I thought was rather ingenious! QR like codes of the murderous variety and boy do the revelations shock! Oh my, I felt myself properly tense up as I read what Alix and Hamlet saw.
See Them Die is one twisted crime thriller with a new unique partnership. Fowler’s writing engulfed my attention, ensuring its capture as this new pairing chased around South Yorkshire trying to catch this twisted killer with a shocking climax. This is a hard hitting read with characters I want to see lots more of with equally brutal and chilling investigations (just the way I like them)! Can’t wait for The Wedding Killer in July!
Who Is Michael Fowler?
Following retirement, after thirty-two years as a police officer, working mainly as a detective, Michael Fowler returned to the deadly business of murder, as a writer. His past work brought him very close to some nasty characters, including psychopaths, and gruesome cases, and he draws on that experience to craft his stories: there is nothing gentile about the novels he writes.
He penned his first DS Hunter Kerr novel in 2010 and he says that writing about Hunter is like writing about himself.
“In many ways I am inextricably linked with Hunter Kerr. His career shadows mine to an extent and many of his experiences were mine. South Yorkshire remains a key element in my books. It’s Hunter’s patch and we both know it well.”
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