Blood Games by Liz Mistry

This is a powerful story about a series of murders, mainly carried out on young people who are chopped to death with a machete.  Nasty.

One of the things that is good about this series of detective investigations is that the main character, D.S. Nikki Parekh, is not merely someone who works at the police station putting together the clues to find out who the serial killer is. Instead, she lives in the challenging area of Bradford where the investigations take place, and is part of fabric of the community. She has her own issues, having been brought up in a dysfunctional family herself, so she can clearly understand the perspectives of the perpetrators as well as the victims.

Blood Games is the fourth book in the series, and is written clearly with tough uncompromising realism about the cultural issues of the Yorkshire city. The narrative is apt and from the points of view of the police, victims and perpetrators so the story is broad and balanced. In this book the themes are grief, family, loyalty and social expectations.

A non-stop, earthy journey of a read, visceral and sometimes gory, but the relentless ride is well worth it.

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Published by HQ on 26 January 2022.
​Advanced review copy supplied by the publisher.