Title: Lying and Dying
Author: Graham Brack
Series: A Josef Slonsky Investigation #1
Publisher: Sapere Books
Publication Date: 1st August 2018
Pages: 282
Format Read: Ebook
Source: Courtesy of publisher.
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…
A
young woman is murdered and her body dumped near a railway station. It appears
as if the murderer wanted the body found. The case is taken by Lt Josef
Slonsky, a veteran of nearly forty years on the force.
Approaching
60, his days on the force are numbered but Slonsky isn’t ready to retire yet
and he still has a lot to offer as he is training young recruit, Navratil.
“Navratil? He’s all right. Got to learn
to pace himself though. You get nowhere rushing. Fortunately he has the great
advantage of having me to show him the ropes.”
As
the evidence is slowly gathered it all points to one person, a man in a high
ministerial position. But it’s not all cut and dried and the story follows many
twists and turns.
Slonsky’s
dry, irreverent humour makes for many laugh out loud moments. He is gruff at
times but has real concern and empathy when it is warranted.
Slonsky
has the obligatory slight disdain for his superiors and food is always foremost
on his mind.
“Slonsky smiled angelically and lowered
his bulky frame into the car. ‘My brain’s slowing down. It could do with a
pastry or two. Come on, lad, put your foot down’."
“The Minister told us to redouble our
efforts, Navratil. So we’re going for two beers and two sausages.”
Slonsky’s
policing methods are unconventional to say the least but he gets results so a
blind eye is turned to his practices.
The
story starts out with plenty of dry humour, sarcasm and witty banter between
the characters but as the case hots up the atmosphere becomes very deep and
serious and Slonsky drops his flippant manner.
Brack
includes snippets of Prague’s history and how the characters fit into these
events, which in turn explains their actions.
Lying
and Dying is an entertaining political crime mystery. Slonsky is an endearing
hero and even though the ending is somewhat unconventional it suits our
protagonist perfectly and I loved it.
The
first Josef Slonsky Mystery is an excellent start to a new series.
*I received a copy from the
publisher to read and review.
My rating: 5/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
 |
| Photo courtesy of Sapere Books |
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.
Check out the other posts and reviews on the Lying and Dying blog tour.
