Devils Chimney

 

DEVIL'S CHIMNEY BY ADAM LYNDON- Crime

Barnes has just become a detective and is both nervous and thrilled at the prospect. His last collar was that of a house burglar whom he and his colleague, affectionately known as HRH due to her initials, caught whilst out on foot patrol. They found the thief inches from Harriet's door and her place had not only been turned over but there was a threatening message on the wall. When she is found dead a few days later it turns out she had secrets- those of a not so nice kind. Barnes is determined that he will crack his first case and do right by his former partner however it looks like the thief knows more than he is letting on and had the best alibi for when Harriet was killed- he was in custody. 

This is set in the early 2000’s which as the author explains is when mobile phones were just that- nothing smart about them. I quite liked this fact as sometimes it makes life that little bit more simplistic and on the flip side more “ real” detective work has to be done as things can’t easily and quickly be looked up. I liked Barnes but was a little suspicious of one of his actions- perhaps the naivety of a new detective however his intentions are good ones. A story with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader interested making for a highly entertaining read.  

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DEVIL'S CHIMNEY BY ADAM LYNDON MEET DETECTIVE RUTHERFORD BARNES IN THIS BRILLIANT NEW CRIME SERIES FROM A SERVING POLICE OFFICER. Discover an absolutely gripping crime thriller with a massive twist. On a wild and stormy night on England’s south coast, ambitious young police constables Rutherford Barnes and Harriet Holden are doing the rounds when they see a burglar fleeing the scene of the crime. And it’s Harriet’s house. The ground floor is ransacked. Scrawled in red across one wall are the words: DEAD COPS SLEEP LONG. Then a few days later, Harriet’s battered body is discovered in a shabby seafront hotel. Newly promoted to Detective, Barnes vows to discover who killed his partner, and why. Harriet had a dark secret. As Barnes uncovers a layer of corruption which threatens to expose people at the highest levels of the force, he has a terrible choice to make: justice for Harriet — or his career. Perfect for fans of Joy Ellis, Helen H. Durrant, Bill Kitson, Michael Hambling, Peter James, Angela Marsons, Rachel McLean, J.D. Kirk, Rachel Abbott, Elly Griffiths, J.M. Dalgliesh or Patricia Gibney. WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT DEVIL’S CHIMNEY:  “Packed full of unexpected twists and turns.” Sheila M.  “Pulled me in and held me to the end.” Dawn T.  “Cracking good police story. Complex and twisty.” Joan  “Very good and gripping.” Kay C.  “Some really convoluted twists and turns. I loved it.” Rob  “Excellent sense of place, strong characterization . . . authentic and detailed police procedure, and a thrillingdenouement” Oliver T.  “A real page-turner. I thoroughly enjoyed it.” Mike B. THE DETECTIVE DC Rutherford Barnes is young, good-looking and ambitious — perhaps too ambitious for his own good. His all-consuming desire for promotion makes him vulnerable to temptation. His happy marriage to nursery school teacher Eve is marred only by the couple’s inability to conceive, leading Barnes to throw himself headlong into his work. THE SETTING Set against the picturesque landscape of the South Downs, the Sussex seaside town of Eastbourne is packed with tourists during the summer — but it can seem pretty dismal during the winter months. Only fifty-odd miles from London, the town is not immune to the violence which occasionally spills over from the city. Pockets of deprivation and criminality exist alongside reminders of Eastbourne’s more genteel past in the grand Victorian hotels that line the seafront, the pier and the bandstand. The town also boasts one of Britain’s best-known — and most infamous — beauty spots, Beachy Head.

Author Bio:

ADAM LYNDON

Adam was born and raised in Sussex. He has been a police officer for twenty years both in the UK and in New Zealand, working across a range of disciplines including uniformed ops, firearms command and as a detective in CID and specialist investigations.

He went around the world a couple of times, living in New Zealand for a year before realising home was where all the stories were. Adam writes gritty, Eastbourne-based police-procedurals with hard-edged authenticity, forming a daisy chain along the south coast alongside the likes of Graham Hurley and Peter James. He has been married for twenty years and has four children. His ambition, as his children keep reminding him, is to own a dog.