The Blurb
When a young woman makes a distressing middle-of-the-night call to 911, apparently running for her life in a quiet, exclusive beachside neighbourhood, miles from her home, everything suggests a domestic incident.
Except no one has seen her since, and something doesn’t sit right with the officers at Hampstead County PD. With multiple suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies, and interference from the top threatening the integrity of the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an increasingly puzzling case that looks like it can have only one
ending.
And then the first body appears, and Casey’s investigation plunges her into a darkness she could never have imagined…
Black Reed Bay introduces a breathtaking, powerful and addictive new series, fronted by the fantastic Detective Casey Wray, from the CWA-nominated author of Blood Red City and The Dark Inside.
My Review
Reynold’s Casey Wray, otherwise known as Big was my kind of female cop, strong determined, full of sass yet she still retained an underlying vulnerability, the odd lack of confidence and fear. Reynolds brilliantly portrayed a woman who had fought hard to get where she was, despite the knocks, the sexism from male colleagues along the way.
If she had fought hard for her current position then Reynolds didn’t make her new investigation easy, a missing woman, a questionable unreliable set of suspects and characters and a family she took to her heart who she needed to discover the answers for.
There was definitely no preamble as Reynolds plunged us and Wray headlong into the missing Tina Gray. The vision of a young woman distressed, knocking on doors seeking safety as she weaved along a dark desolate road was a precursor to the vivid imaginary throughout the whole of the novel.
Black Reed Bay itself, felt unfriendly, inhospitable as you felt the wind whip at Wray’s face, and when the bodies started to turn up, Reynolds narrative sent a veritable shiver down your spine.
The intricacies of the investigation were complex, the layers many and the obstacles placed in Wray’s way numerous. At times you felt Wray’s frustration, the thought she was hitting a brick wall as she questioned her own boss’s motives, had to decide where her own loyalties lay. Her partner Cullen was her rock, her polar opposite and I loved the banter and deep down mutual respect Reynolds gave them. Tragedy was never far away yet Reynolds gave Wray a resilience that you admired, made you will her on to get to a successful ending.
And what an ending, a big yes to Reynolds for the hold your breath exhilaration of those final scenes, of betrayal, but ultimately justice and answers for those that so desperately needed.
What a start to what will hopefully be a new series and the return of Casey ‘Big’ Wray. I have a feeling there are more complex’s and equally intriguing investigations to follow. Am I correct Mr Rod Reynolds?
I would like to thank Orenda Books for a copy of Black Reed Bay to read and review and to Random Things Tours for inviting My Bookish Blogspot to participate in the blogtour.
About the author
Rod Reynolds is the author of four novels, including the Charlie Yates series.
His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger,
and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018);
the Guardian has called the books ‘pitch-perfect American noir ’. A lifelong
Londoner, Rod’s first novel set in his hometown, entitled Blood Red City, was
published by Orenda Books in 2020.
Rod previously worked in advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in
novel writing from City University London. He lives with his wife and family and spends most of his time trying to keep up with his two young daughters. Follow him on Twitter @Rod_WR
mybookishblogspot 