ShortBookandScribes #BookReview – Sleeping Dogs by Russ Thomas
Sleeping Dogs by Russ Thomas is published by Simon & Schuster and is out now in paperback, eBook and audiobook. My thanks to Sarah Harwood PR for sending me a review copy.
THE LIES OF THE PAST . . .
When an anonymous tip lands on his desk, DS Adam Tyler is intrigued in spite of himself. The disappearance of a young mother twenty-four years ago was big news, but the case was never solved – this tantalizing new lead is something he simply can’t ignore. But the letter has set in motion a dangerous chain of events, and Tyler’s search for the truth soon leaves him fighting for his life.
. . . LIVE IN THE PRESENT
With Tyler out of action, DC Mina Rabbani must step up to lead the Cold Case Review Unit in his absence, retracing Tyler’s steps and uncovering his secrets to figure out what he was working on. But as she begins to put the pieces together, the case starts to hit frighteningly close to home. Without DS Tyler to protect her, Mina realizes that now she’s the one with hard choices to make.
And this time she’s on her own.
Sleeping Dogs is book four in the DS Adam Tyler series by Russ Thomas and it’s a series that I love catching up with. In this book, we return to Sheffield and to settings and landmarks that I know, but the storyline is a bit different this time. It’s told in the very recent past and the present, with Adam investigating an anonymous tip-off without involving his colleagues (standard Adam), and then DC Mina Rabbani investigating what happens to Adam when he gets a bit too involved.
Whilst I missed Adam’s character in the parts when he was out of action, I really enjoyed seeing Mina step forward and take on a bigger role. She’s such an interesting and promising character and I’ll be interested to see what happens to her next (given the ending).
The unfolding of the two strands worked really well, with all the pieces being slotted in place as it went along. The plotting is tight and I found I didn’t want to put this book down. This is a police procedural but that’s not all it is. It’s got heart and emotion, it has a touch of police corruption, interesting characters, an intricate dual time narrative storyline, and an in-depth investigation that kept me absolutely gripped. I loved Sleeping Dogs and I really hope there is more to come from DS Adam Tyler.
Russ Thomas was born in Essex, raised in Berkshire and now lives in Sheffield. After a few ‘proper’ jobs (among them: pot-washer, optician’s receptionist, supermarket warehouse operative, call-centre telephonist and storage salesman) he discovered the joys of bookselling, where he could talk to people about books all day. His highly acclaimed debut novel, Firewatching, is the first in the DS Adam Tyler series and published in February 2020. Nighthawking and Cold Reckoning, the second and third books in the series, followed in 2021 and 2022.
To find out more, visit his website or follow him on Twitter: https://russthomasauthor.com T: @thevoiceofruss
