About The Book
What do you do when the poison comes from within…?
The body of a young woman is found strangled by the side of the road.
There are no obvious clues to what happened, apart from the discovery of a large amount of cash concealed on her person.
The brilliant, but lazy, Lieutenant Josef Slonský is put in charge of the case.
With a wry sense of humour, a strong stubborn streak and a penchant for pastries, Slonský is not overly popular with the rest of the police force. But he is paired with the freshly-graduated, overly-eager Navrátil, whom he immediately takes under his wing.
When fingers start to point inwards to someone familiar with police operations, Slonský and Navrátil are put in a difficult position.
If what they suspect is true, how deep does the corruption run? Are they willing to risk their careers in their pursuit of the truth?
Anyone could be lying - and others may be in danger of dying…
My Thoughts
Since the first page I loved this book, the main characters even if they have their own peculiarities, they have a singular sense of humour and let me say that the mystery was quite addictive!
This is the story of two detectives; a good but lazy old one, the Lieutenant Josef Slonský and a clever but new detective, Navrátil. They make a strange couple, but they are ready to investigate the curious murder that they have in hands, even if they don't know who she is or why she has so much money inside... And when things start getting worse, instead of stop to investigating, they will have more motivations to discover the truth.
The book is based in Prague, that's why the names are not the typical English ones we are used to, but the story is so well written that you feel transported to Prague and their beautiful (but deadly) streets. I have to admit that every time I read the name of Navrátil (that is the name of one of our main characters) I think of a box of medicines, don't ask me why! So getting used to this name for a character was quite difficult! ;)
This had been a twisty, funny and clever book, a must read for any mystery book's lover; the case is twisted and interesting and the characters connect with the reader in their own way, making this book a great read.
I really can't wait to read the new adventure of Josef Slonský and Navrátil!
About The Author
Graham Brack hails from Sunderland and met his wife Gillian in Aberdeen where they were both studying pharmacy. After their degrees Gillian returned to Cornwall and Graham followed. This is now called stalking but in 1978 it was termed “romantic”. They have two children, Andrew and Hannah, and two grandchildren, Miranda and Sophie.
Graham’s foray into crime writing began in 2010 when he entered the Crime Writers’ Association’s Debut Dagger competition and was highly commended for The Outrageous Behaviour of Left-Handed Dwarves (reissued as Lying and Dying), in which the world was introduced to Lt Josef Slonský of the Czech police. The Book of Slaughter and Forgetting (reissued as Slaughter and Forgetting) followed and Sapere Books have published book three, Death On Duty,
In 2014 and 2016 Graham was shortlisted for the Debut Dagger again. The earlier novel, The Allegory of Art and Science, is set in 17th century Delft and features the philosophy lecturer and reluctant detective Master Mercurius. Sapere Books will publish it as Death in Delft in 2018.
Labels: 2018, Blog Tour, Book, Crime, Mystery, Review
What do you do when the poison comes from within…? 
Graham Brack hails from Sunderland and met his wife Gillian in Aberdeen where they were both studying pharmacy. After their degrees Gillian returned to Cornwall and Graham followed. This is now called stalking but in 1978 it was termed “romantic”. They have two children, Andrew and Hannah, and two grandchildren, Miranda and Sophie.