Review Status Drift by Ian Robinson (The Book Folks)
As regular readers of my reviews may well be aware, I am a huge fan of Ian Robinson’s work and a major reason in this series is the central character DS Sam Batford, who walks the fine line between corrupt cop and heroic detective.
It is that sense of challenge that makes the book so attractive, testing the reader’s own moral code – do they condemn a character whose flaws reveal him as corrupt or do they admire a detective whose methods may be questionable but who gets the job done and makes sure that the bad guys get locked up?
That quandary is at the heart of the books in this excellent series and provide the author with a way of creating a sense of jeopardy that never leaves the reader.
The tension builds as the story progresses, depicted by an author whose own police career provides him with an instinctive feel for the realities of life as a police officer operating in the highest echelons of organised crime. Truly compelling.
The latest in the DCI John Blizzard series of crime novels by John Dean has been published.The Meek Shall Inherit (published by The Book Folks) is the author’s 25th crime novel to be published and is available in ebook format with paperback and hardback to follow shortly, from Amazon.In the novel, when an elderly couple walk into Abbey Road Police Station and announce,…See More
A few years ago, I ran a creative writing course and, at the beginning of one of the sessions, I asked my fifteen students how they worked.The result was fifteen different answers –one author wrote everything by hand then typed it onto their computer, another wrote it all in note form then linked the notes together, one did not edit anything until everything was…See More
Writing is an art form which combines two skills which appear, at first glance, to have nothing on common – unrestrained creativity and well-controlled discipline.However, good writing is not possible without either of them. To explain, as I write the latest DCI Jack Harris crime novel, I am being disciplined and following the synopsis that I developed right from the…See More
I am part of the team that organises an annual short story competition for young writers in Dumfries and Galloway, as part of the run-up to Kirkcudbright book week 2025 in March. The competition is run by the event organisers Kirkcudbright Book Week Society and Kirkcudbright Library. Myself and Lesley Garbutt from the Library are the judges and this year we have asked…See More
One of the strongest features of Kirkcudbright Book Week right from its early days has been the popularity of crime fiction - and the 2025 event is set to continue the tradition.The programme to run in the South West Scotland town between March 3-9 includes appearances by several best-selling crime fiction authors as well as those starting out on their writing…See More
Writing a long-running series of novels, as can so often be the case for crime fiction authors, brings its own set of challenges, not least how do you keep the writing fresh for reader and writer alike?As I start the latest DCI Jack Harris novel for my publisher The Book Folks, the twelfth in the series where the action is divided between the North Pennines and southern…See More
You need to be a member of John Dean Crime Novelist to add comments!
Join John Dean Crime Novelist