Bamburgh: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 19)

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DCI Ryan voices what everyone is thinking “The man’s got all the charm and personality of a rainbow trout. Royal Mail 48™ – the aim is to deliver your parcels within two working days, with a small minority within 3 working days upon handover in the United Kingdom. Maybe revealing he’s the bad guy after half the book would have kept me interested and not continually rolling my eyes at the things that kept happening. You can really tell that Ross has a lot of love for her characters, and I most definitely want to go back and start to get to know them better! The only reason I kept reading is because I think every book should be given a chance to redeem itself.

One of the previous books tried to clear the force, but still we found some rotten ones in the previous book. I love reading about the north east and I have discovered a lot of places in my local area through these books. When a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn’t think much of it—except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body.in what’s now a hugely successful series for Ross, is yet another good addition to the ongoing story of Ryan, his wife, Anna, his investigative team, Frank and his wife, Denise, Melanie and Jack… or, it would be, except I have one small gripe.

The ending is dramatic and there is always the thought that she may not be able to avenge her sister but could end up dead herself. To find out more about the many philanthropic ventures Louise has founded and sponsored through her publishing imprint, Dark Skies Publishing, please visit ‘Philanthropy’. Then the author begins the murder mysteries with one of the two murder mysteries which run concurrently throughout the story. I absolutely loved the banter between Ryan and Phillips, and really enjoyed the way that Ryan supported the rest of his team and how they all came together to get this mystery solved.

Nothing wrong with all that – it’s in keeping with her character and the way in which her sister’s murder has not only torn her family apart, and haunted her for years but also set her on her current career path. When the book opens we already know from the last one that the killer of Melanie’s sister, Gemma, years ago, has left his DNA on a victim from the previous book – a Thai woman who survived brutal injuries and captivity. LJ Ross is such a natural storyteller than you can’t help but become completely involved and engrossed in the lives of her characters. However, I have to admit that I found quite a few elements of this installment reminiscent of previous ones. With a new DCS to contend with and hundreds of cold case files to sift through, the chances of uncovering a dormant killer seem unlikely.

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit, set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape. When a cantankerous old woman dies at her home in the sleepy, picturesque village of Bamburgh, DCI Ryan doesn't think much of it - except, that is, for the small matter of it having been his wife who happened to find her body. The crime and investigation didn't grip me at first, but what held my attention was the fantastic characters. Yet again the author has a police officer this time Mel hiding information from colleagues and taking the law into her own hands. Then another body turns up amongst the sand dunes at the base of the mighty castle fortress, and he decides it can't be a coincidence.What bothered me about this book (and I really loathe being critical because its so readable) is the fact it’s the third book in this fine series to use almost identical plot and character development to drive the story.