Title: Sleeping Dogs

Author: Russ Thomas

Genre: Crime Fiction

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Publication Date: 24th October 2024 (Paperback)

Rating: 5/5

Cover:

Summary:

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.

Review:

I’ve loved this whole series so far and Sleeping Dogs may just be the best yet! I could not put it down. The setup of Sleeping Dogs is so brilliant. DS Tyler is put out of action by an act of violence and his protégé, DC Mina Rabbani, is forced to step into his shoes as head of the Cold Case Review Unit whilst also trying to work out what Tyler was secretly working on and what led to his attack. I was worried we wouldn’t get enough of Tyler himself because of this but that is not the case – the narrative is split between Mina in the present attempting to piece together the complex case Tyler had become obsessed with and Tyler in the weeks leading up to his attack as he tries to untangle a twisted web of lies and secrets. It works beautifully and had me completely hooked from beginning to end. 

I love these characters and I love the way Thomas is able to consistently shock and surprise me with twists and turns that I rarely see coming. This instalment is my favourite so far, it allows the smart and feisty Mina to take centre stage whilst giving me enough of the complicated and nuanced character of Adam Tyler to keep me more than satisfied. The rest of the cast is just as engaging and I sincerely hope this series continues for many books to come. I’m just gutted that I’ll now have to wait a while for the next one! Sleeping Dogs is intense, clever, twisty and totally compulsively addictive. I highly recommend this entire series to all fans of smart crime fiction. 

★★★★★

Huge thanks to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for my place on the Russ Thomas Blogathon. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

Buy the book:

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