Material Witness

REVIEW: You Can Run by Steve Mosby

In 2017, we are celebrating the 10th anniversary of Steve Mosby terrifying me with his dark, off-beat crime novels, a process that started with The 50-50 Killer. 

It's fitting therefore that this year Steve has graduated to giving me actual nightmares. As I drew close to the conclusion of his latest novel, You Can Run, late one night, with some difficulty I put the book the down, reasoning I needed at least some sleep before an early wake up call. This was a mistake. You Can Run followed me straight into my dreams and I had a disturbed night participating in and viewing the man hunt I had just been reading about. 

This has never happened to me before, and speaks volumes for the power of Mosby's narrative, the vitality of his descriptive prose and the haunting presence of his characters. Few other writers have the same ability to crawl under your skin.

Like Steve Mosby's other books then, You Can Run is not for everybody. The serial killer at its heart is vicious and depraved even by the standards of the genre. The imagery is hugely disturbing and few of the lives detailed in the tale are not shrouded by misery and pain.

But boy is it compelling. There are passages where you feel you haven't breathed for minutes so high is the tension. The plot is detailed, rich and intricate taking an unpredictable path through many damaged lives.

At the story's heart is the search for the Red River Killer, a killer who has been taunting police for decades after the abduction and suspected murder of many young women. His likely identity is fortuitously revealed when a random car smashes into a house and police find inside the dismembered bodies of suspected victims. As the suspect flees, the police pursue, the case apparently solved and only the arrest left to effect.

Only Detective Will Turner, an outsider in the ranks of the plain clothes coppers, sees a potentially more nuanced story. And as Mosby starts to reveal his story's layers, Turner begins to see the ghosts in the shadows of the Red River Killer. Turner's relationship with his partner Emma Beck, a more conventional and ambitious detective, is one of the highlights of the book. They feel like real people talking, arguing and resolving issues rather than cardboard cut-outs. It's a reminder that Mosby is really good at this stuff. Zoe Dolan, the DI at the heart of  The Nightmare Place, is one of my favourite characters of recent years, someone I hope he'll return to.

Mosby has always been good at bringing location to life and this book is no exception. The woods around the river scene of the first murder, and other key areas, are real enough that they carry over into your nightmares. While that's not ideal if you need to be up at 6am for work, it's a sure sign that a book has it where it wants you. 

And once again, Mosby has pulled that off. You Can Run is a dark, haunting read that you won't to put down. Especially at 2am. 

Previous reviews:

I Know Who Did It (2016)

The Nightmare Place (2014)

Still Bleeding (2009)

Cry For Help 2008

The 50-50 Killer (2007)

10 Questions: Steve Mosby (2007)

REVIEW: Need You Dead by Peter James (and the Roy Grace playlist!)

Do you ever get the impression that crime writers don’t like their lead characters? They put them through hell: personal, professional and in the blurred zone in between.

I found myself repeatedly coming back to this thought reading Need You Dead, the 13^th instalment in the entertaining and hugely popular Roy Grace series by Peter James.

Some of the misery comes with the territory of course. If you are chasing criminals, even around so vibrant a place as Brighton, you’re going to come across a degree of trouble. As with Hamlet’s uncle Claudius, so with Grace: ‘When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions’.

Consider thus. Even before the sad tale of the murdered hair stylist Lorna Belling, Grace is dealing with the fall-out of being shot investigating a previous case; the death of a popular team member; the ongoing trauma of his disappeared ex-wife Sandra; the return to the local force, in a senior position, of his arch-enemy Cassian Pewe.

And here the investigation into the death of Lorna Belling takes further dark turns as a member of Grace’s finds himself on the wrong side of the investigation. At the same time, Grace’s past with Sandy becomes a far more immediate issue in his present.

It’s classic Grace and classic Peter James, another lively chapter in a series that has maintained a high pace, high readability and high quality since the start.

All the hallmarks of James’ earlier work is here: the meticulous research and attention to procedural detail that has earned him the plaudits of real cops around the world; the intricate, mystery-laden plots that keeps the reader guessing; the care in character development.

And, of course, for all the trouble he heaps on them, it’s clear Peter James is very fond of his central characters, and in particular Roy Grace. The detective, now a Superintendent, and as embroiled in the politics of policing as much as the investigation, remains a steady, decent presence in a sea of troubles.

However tough things get with the brass and in the office, James shows his fondness for Grace by always giving him a little down time. During Need You Dead he finds the time to take wife Cleo to a concert.

And not there’s even a Roy Grace playlist, which you can find here at Spotify. They say that you know you’re getting old when the policemen start looking young. Another sign is when you share similar musical taste and similar eras to those who have been in the force for decades. So enjoy the mix of Dire Straits and The Proclaimers while we all wait for episode 14 in the Roy Grace story.  

Need You Dead, the thirteenth in the award-winning DS Roy Grace series by Peter James, is out 18^th May (Macmillan, £20.00)

 PREVIOUS ROY GRACE REVIEWS 

Dead Like You (2010)

Dead Tomorrow (2009)

Dead Man's Footsteps (2008) 

Not Dead Enough (2007)

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