Dark Memories by Liz Mistry

It's hard to write a review for this series without using the word 'gritty'. Set in Bradford, the issues the city faces, like many other post-industrial places, make a rich background. Poverty, social unrest, homelessness, drug abuse, racism, domestic violence, child abuse and homophobia could make these novels depressing reading.

Instead, this third book in the series about a woman detective focuses on typical police work of the region and especially serial killers or murders. Each character is fully developed so that when reading a chapter it is obvious whose perspective it is by the unique voice. None of this flicking back to the title to find out whose point of view it is. The detective has her own life with her partner, children, mother and sister, all typically human with their own past and hurdles. The story is fast and the people are realistic.

There is no glamour in this book but neither is it sensationalist or exploitative. Despite the hardships of those involved, this is a story about love, loyalty, courage and resolve above anything else. What Dickens does for London, Liz Mistry does for Bradford. Only with a bit more grit.

​Recommended read for those who like tense crime thrillers.

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Published by HQ Digital on 29 January 2021.
​Advance review copy supplied by the publisher.

Urban Grid: Gritty Metropolis ​