Today I’m taking part in the blog tour for the latest DS Nikki Parekh novel. Many thanks to Rachel’s Random Resources for having me on the tour and sending me a copy of the book to review.
The Book:
The killer is closing in… can she find him before he finds her?
When Detective Nikki Parekh receives a set of threatening postcards, she knows it can only mean one thing… The man who escaped arrest after murdering her mother two years ago is back.
Each postcard has a similar message: You’re next Parekh.
As the post marks on the cards gradually get closer to Bradford, Nikki must do everything she can to protect her family and catch the killer before it’s too late.
But when human remains are found in a remote barn on the icy Yorkshire moors, Nikki’s attention is pulled away from her family. When a tattoo on the victim’s arm – the only means of identification – leads nowhere, the team have already met a dead end.
Purchase Links
https://mybook.to/DyingBreathLizMistry
https://mybook.to/DyingBreathLizMistryPB
The Review: This isn’t the first book I’ve read in this series so when I started it I expected it to be gritty and dark and it was. It doesn’t hold back on anything. I think I’ve missed a book in the series because some of what has happened to Nikki wasn’t anything I remembered. However there was enough explanation that I was able to work out what I needed to be able to still follow the story. I didn’t feel I was at a disadvantage because of that which was good, because a lot happens in this book.
We meet Nikki dealing with the knowledge that someone is trying to get at her and possibly her family as well. However this has to be balanced with the new investigation she gets when a crime scene is found on the Yorkshire moors. The investigation on the moors has more than one strand to it, which leads Nikki and her team into a world that I think most people know exists but try not to think about. This is where the grittiness I mentioned comes in. These stories always cover something real, something that goes on all the time, but because it’s not on the news or in the papers every day we tend to forget about it or think it’s not that bad, when in reality it’s far worse than we realise.
I’m not going to be more specific than that because that would lead to spoilers and I don’t do those. What I can say is that this story, and the previous one’s I’ve read, always make me think. They make me realise that even though my own circumstances aren’t as good as I might like, I’m incredibly fortunate that they aren’t as bad as some of the people in the books.
So, while Nikki is trying to work out what’s happened on the moor and who is involved, she’s also dealing with the direct threat to her and her family and the understandable tension and worry that brings with it. These two parts are handled brilliantly. The tension and emotions almost leap off the page. When I was reading (at night at times!) I was getting spooked myself and having to remind myself it wasn’t real and no one was after me.
This is another fabulous Nikki Parekh book. If you’ve not read these before it’s probably better to start with the first one but I wouldn’t say it’s essential. What’s more important is that you discover these brilliant reads for yourself.
The Author:
Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too. Liz has completed a PhD in Creative Writing on Diverse voices in crime fiction
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: @LizMistryAuthor / Facebook: @LizMistryBooks / Website: lizmistry.com
BookLoverWorm 
Thanks so much for this fab review. So glad you enjoyed Dying Breath
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