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Thank you for the lovely review copy. Yay.

Joe Parker is Manchester’s top criminal defence lawyer and Sam Parker – his brother – is a brilliant detective with the Greater Manchester Police force. Together they must solve a puzzling case that is chilling Manchester to the bone…
Danger sometimes comes in the most unexpected guises. The Death Collector is charming, sophisticated and intelligent, but he likes to dominate women, to make them give themselves to him completely; to surrender their dignity and their lives. He’s a collector of beautiful things, so once he traps them he’ll never let them go.

Firstly this is book 2 in this particular series – whilst it can be read as a standalone novel quite easily I would recommend you read “Next to Die” first if you havent already, if for no other reason than I can be pedantic about these sorts of things and it would make me feel better. Plus you would have two in a row then and that would surely make you feel better.

In this instalment the brothers deal with a miscarriage of justice, a new murder investigation gone awry and a dangerous killer that may be closer to home than they think. Some magnificent plotting once again, added depth to brothers Joe and Sam, at least one of Neil White’s trademark compelling death scenes and some edge of the seat moments made for a superb read once again. I literally bit my fingernails at the possible outcome for one character I loved dearly – Mr White has killed me once before when it comes to horrific outcomes,  no way I was falling for safe mode again or making any assumptions.

Tightly woven and absolutely addictive, completely authentic because its coming from a place of knowledge – of the systems, of the people who inhabit that world – and it shows, there were absolutely no downsides here for me, I was in it all the way. I still havent made up my mind which of the brothers I love the most, they are so very different and yet alike as brothers are, perhaps I should do the parent thing and say I love them both equally. The main point is they are very real and you want to follow along with them, in fact you can’t help it.

Crime fiction is one of the biggest markets and it is often difficult to see the gems in the myriad of choices out there – since I read Fallen Idols and fell in love with the writing I have avidly devoured everything Mr White has written and have never once been disappointed. Each one has been better than the last, this is no exception – Next to Die kicked off Sam and Joe’s story, this one improved and expanded on it and I can only see good things to come. If I could have the next 5 or 6 books now that would be fantabulous – where IS the Doctor when you need him…

I’ve been humerously accused of being Neil White’s biggest fan quite often – its a title I’d wear proudly and  not in a Kathy Bates kind of way either although I’m sure he would like to hide sometimes. There is a reason for this – its because the books are brilliant. Great writing, great stories, great characters, great mysteries. Every time. Whats not to love?

5 bright shiny stars and a Unicorn for this one.

Happy Reading Folks!