Black Heart: Detective Dan Riley, Book 1

I really enjoyed this book. I read it straight after 'The Couple on Cedar Close' and was not disappointed.I've studied psychopathy at some length as layman, and this author deals with the topic with skill.Great plot and sympathetic characters.I like her writing style very much.However,I can't believe I'm alone here in protesting about some awful grammatical gaffes which stopped me from ever giving this book 5 stars.Don't authors check their own texts before publication ?A thin fragment of something is a 'sliver' not a 'slither' ! The word was used 4 times and only once spelt correctly.People would not 'clamour' up a cliff edge they would 'clamber'.The third participle in the UK is 'got' not 'gotten' as in the USA and which sounds really clunkily out of place in an English context.There's a large list but I won't bore you further although I'd love to.These crass mistakes are ruinous to the continuity between author and reader as they jolt you back to reality from an otherwise truly absorbing experience.Instead of being lost in the story, thoughts such as "Oh they must have an American proof reader" or even "Did anyone actually proof read this at all?" invade.I accept that the characters may come up with grammatical variations but they should not be in the commentary.A pity because I think both books are otherwise everything a good crime drama should be.

This was one of those books that I just picked up and before I knew it I found myself lost in the pages and almost at the end without moving my backside from the sofa! A cracking hook to drag me in and a fast moving, intriguing plot that kept me reading!A dark twisted fairy tale sees Goldilocks play out her own special showing of the classic tale! This is one woman who has no boundaries on how far she will go in her quest and Black Heart provides an intriguing exploration of the whys behind her action. It was chilling to read the parts of the book that were told from her point of view, being taken inside of her head was not a pretty place to be!I loved Dan Reilly’s character, although his grief did seem a bit full on at times. Oh dear, that makes me sound like not a very sympathetic person! I am honestly and I did feel for him! It was just a massive part of his character. That isn’t a negative though as it soon becomes clear that Dan’s grief very much impacts on his behaviour and his decision making, which makes for some very interesting reading! Dan’s story was told in the first person; I’m not always a fan of the first person POV but it worked well for Dan as it dragged me inside of his head, which wasn’t always the happiest place to be given the experiences in life that he has had. Despite his intense levels of grief, there was just something about Dan that drew me to him and I would definitely be keen to find out where he goes in the next instalment of this series!Full of intrigue, twists and turns this one is perfect to sit down and lose yourself in for a few hours!

4 Star RatingI love Detective Dan! I had no idea what to expect at all with this book.  I'd actually purchased the third book in the series, realised it was the third book, then went on to buy the first and second book and WOW I'm so glad I did!  I LOVED this book!It could easily be considered a stand-alone book, so if you're not into a series, don't worry about that.  In fact I'm guessing I could've just stuck to the third book I'd purchased with out bothering with books one and two, but like I said, I'm so glad I did!"Goldilocks" in a psychopath.  She reminded me very much of Villanelle from Codename Villanelle by Luke Jennings.  The story didn't at all, but the character absolutely did.  It's a strange thing when you really like the character who's quite clearly a total psychopath. There's Detective Dan who has a heart breaking past, who you can't help but love.  It's so nice to have a main character you love.  He's so down to earth and understanding.  He's investigating the murders made by Goldilocks.The twists are fantastic.  There was a completely unexpected twist that left me thinking "oh, how's that going to turn out?" and I couldn't wait to get to the part where I was going to find out exactly how that turned out!I love the fact the chapters are so short.  I can't put a book down that has short chapters.  It keeps my distracted mind engaged.  However unlike most people who like smaller chapters because they can then leave the book and go back to it easily enough, it makes me constantly think "just one more chapter" and then I'm waving hello to the rising sun at 4am!The story is an excellent fast paced story, never a dull moment.  However I did feel that it was a little rushed once we got to the resolution.This isn't beneficial to anyone who's maybe using this review to consider reading the book, but my best friend in school was called Kizzy too, one of the characters early on in the book.  Just had to say so because it's such a strange name lol.So there it is.  I would definitely recommend reading it.  I've already told my bookworm sister she has to read it too!  Enjoy, if you do read it :)