Never Somewhere Else by Alex Gray

Never Somewhere Else by Alex Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 3 days

Publisher - Sphere

Pages - 308

Blurb from Goodreads

When a series of young women are discovered strangled and mutilated in a Glasgow park, it is up to DCI Lorimer to find their killer. He enlists the services of Dr Solomon Brightman, a psychologist and criminal profiler.

My review

A young woman's body is found mutilated and strangled in a Glasgow park, she isn't the first and the police know they need to find and stop the killer before another woman is killed. DCI Lorimer is in charge and enlists the help of Solomon Brightman, a profiler and psychologist. The two work together and with the help of a witness they uncover significant information on how the killer is operating. Before long, it appears no one is safe, young women or people involved in the investigation!

It has been a while since I read Alex Gray, it is always good to read a story set in or around places you know, well I think so anyway. The chapters are relatively short which I generally enjoy in books, especially when you are working and can't spare long periods to read some days. The prologue kicks off with a murder so your attention is grasped immediately, the characters however took me a bit longer to warm up to.

There is plenty to keep your interest peaked, the police investigation goes along at an acceptable pace and Dr Solomon does some digging at the same time. Clues pop up, some twists and turns and overall it was a good read. I would read this author again if I came across her, I won't be rushing out to buy up the whole series though, 3/5 for me this time.

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Five Ways to Kill A Man by Alex Gray

Five Ways to Kill a Man by Alex Gray
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 5 days

Pages - 424

Publisher - Little, Brown Book Group

Blurb from Goodreads

A beautifully crafted, darkly atmospheric crime novel from one of Scotland's most talked-about crime writers An unpredictable killer is loose on the streets of Glasgow, experimenting with death. Beginning with brute force, the murderer moves on to poison and drowning, greedy for new and better ways to kill. Faced with a string of unconnected victims, DCI Lorimer turns to psychologist and friend Solomon Brightman for his insights. Lorimer is also assigned to review the case of a fatal house fire. His suspicions are raised by shocking omissions in the original investigation. Some uncomfortable questions have been buried but Lorimer is the man to ask them. As the serial killer gets closer to Lorimer's family, can the DCI unmask the volatile murderer before the next victim is found too close to home?


My Review

DCI Lorimer has a dangerous killer on his hands, to begin with they seem to kill indiscriminately and it takes a bit for the police to catch on their is a serial killer. However once the killer has gained confidence and targets their preferred group, the police pull together and set about "catching their man". Lorimers personal woes are laced through the story, his family life, inlaws. This seemed to be to give the reader a bit more understanding and depth of the character but there is actually a bit more to it which is revealed later.

In under 30 pages we had three murders so the book starts off quite fast paced. The descriptions of locations and minute details are emphasized so even if you are unfamiliar with Glasgow, you get quite a picture. I think for some people it adds enjoyment to a story if you know some of the places it is based in and it was one of the things I did like in this book. I believe this is quite a few along in a series, however I haven't read the previous ones and got on fine with this one.

It isn't too often I guess who the killer is however with this one I did. The build up and all the small things are explained very clearly however the motive is largely left to the reader to gleam from the details that are given. For me this brought the overall enjoyment of the story down and raised questions as to why the killer did a lot of the things they did. I don't like loose ends although some readers enjoy books that do that, for me it is a 3/5. I would read this author again but I won't be rushing to get anymore or chasing up the back catalogue.

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