This was a brilliant read. As soon as I started reading this book I just knew I was going to love it. Highly recommended

His third victim by Helen H Durrant.
Di Matt Brindle book 1.
A man is shot dead and his body is dumped on the moors. His arm is stamped with the Chinese symbol for sorry.There have been five unsolved murders with the same hallmark. The police can’t find any motive or connection between the victims.Bella Richards was close to the murdered man. She lives with her five-year-old son and has begun a new life in the local area. But although clearly grief-stricken, she is not telling the police everything she knows.Detective Talbot Dyson wants his most trusted inspector on the case. But DI Matt Brindle is out of action. He was badly injured and his sergeant was killed in a criminal ambush. He is drawn into the investigation and must decide whether he wants to go to back to his old life.What is the real connection between the victims and who will be next?
A brilliant read. Loved Matt. Great start to a new series. Twisty and tense. 5*.

Thank you NetGalley and Joffe Books for this arc.

AWWK! once again, I'm reading a series backwards! The good news is that I've finally caught up on this series of Matt Brindle stories. And it's a very good series. This is the first of the Matt Brindle stories and a great introduction to a wonderful cast of characters. This procedural moves at a good pace, fast but not at whiplash speeds and kept my interest throughout. It started off with an investigation into some seemingly random killings by another (lazier) DI, but when Matt became involved, the investigations began to merge. More and more questions came up as more and more answers started to come. There were several "bad" guys to choose from ranging from the super creepy to nearly normal.

The characters of the police team were well developed and mostly sympathetic and likeable. Enough of their personal lives were revealed during the story, but not so much as to overwhelm.

I have read a few of Helen H Durrant's books and I must say I have not been disappointed in any of them. This one is another well written murder mystery with interesting complex characters. It will keep you guessing to the end. I received ARC of this book from Joffe Books and voluntarily reviewed it.

Helen H. Durrant has done it again with her latest book - His Third Victim. This is a stand alone book. A man is shot dead and his body is dumped on the moors, and his arm is stamped with the Chinese symbol for sorry. WoW, What a beginning of a new series of books by Helen. There are lots of twists and turns that will have you guessing right till the end. I would Highly recommend this book and author.

Yet, again with another 5☆ review from me and she is fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Joffe Books for an advance copy of His Third Victim. - Just Brilliant x

Another great Helen H Durrant book, this one is a stand alone. She never fails to disappoint
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

"All she had to do was make him happy. It wasn't much to ask, but his chosen ones always seemed to fail him in one way or another."

A serial murderer is at work in Huddersfield, Yorkshire. His 'perfect' crimes have gone unnoticed, as he has made sure that the women his victims are not even reported missing. How? He also kills everyone that would be likely to do so... The police are confused as the victims seem random - the only thing connecting them is that the victims have all had a stamp on their body with the Chinese calligraphy for the word 'sorry'.

The East Pennine Police have the murders on their books. They are puzzled by the fact that the stamps on the bodies are different colours. There are three green, two red, and now... a blue. Chief Inspector Dyson is unsatisfied with the DI and DC that are currently working the case. His best man, DI Matthew Brindle is on sick leave after suffering from an ambush the previous year. A grenade ripped into DI Brindle and left his sergeant, Paula Wright, dead.

When Chief Inspector Dyson goes to Brindle's home to enlist his help with the case, the temptation is just too great for Brindle, who acquiesces, and returns to work, much to his mother's disgust.

"He'd sworn he would never return, that nothing and no one could tempt him. But he'd been wrong. It was in his blood and wouldn't let him be."

We meet Bella Richards. Bella is the single mother of a young son. When her lover is murdered and found with a blue stamp on his body, she is devastated. Then, shortly thereafter, her Aunt is also found murdered with the very same stamp on her body...

Bella is somewhat of a mystery to the police. It would seem that she has no personal history older than two years. Before that time she does not seem to have existed. And now... Bella's young son has been abducted! How could all of these events possibly be related??? Why is Bella lying to the police who are trying to help her?

As with most police procedurals, I admit I enjoy the policeman's 'back story' as much, if not more, that the crime case itself. In the case of Detective Inspector Matt Brindle, this proves true once again. He is an interesting character. In his mid-thirties, badly injured - and traumatized by the death of his partner, he lives in 'Brindle Hall', the large Georgian manor house owned by his family for generations. His mother, lady of the manor, does not want him to return to work as she fears for his well-being. While he was off work, he had decided to open his rather grand home and the surrounding grounds to the public. Though everyone thinks the family to be wealthy, the upkeep of the manor has decimated their finances and they really need some cash to fend off imminent bankruptcy.

When Matt returns to work with the CID, he is paired with Lily, a new, very young, female sergeant. I enjoyed reading about how they are adjusting to their partnership and how they work.

As far as the case went, there was no shortage of possible suspects to leave the reader guessing. The pacing perfectly kept up the suspense, and the characters seemed genuine and believable. Then there is the surprise when the reader learns the identity of the murderer. I had my suspicions, but once again, I was wrong. The climax of the novel occurs in memorable scenes at a remote Yorkshire farmhouse.

So far, Helen H. Durrant has never disappointed me and I highly recommend this mystery to anyone who likes character-rich police procedurals. The publisher's website states that this is a stand-alone mystery, but I am fervently hoping that we will meet D.I. Matt Brindle in further novels...

A BRAND NEW STANDALONE DETECTIVE MYSTERY FROM #1 BEST-SELLING AUTHOR HELEN H. DURRANT

A man is shot dead and his body is dumped on the moors. His arm is stamped with the Chinese symbol for sorry. There have been five unsolved murders with the same hallmark. The police can’t find any motive or connection between the victims. Bella Richards was close to the murdered man. She lives with her five-year son and has begun a new life in the local area. But although clearly grief-stricken, she is not telling the police everything she knows. Detective Talbot Dyson wants his most trusted inspector on the case. But DI Matt Brindle is out of action. He was badly injured and his sergeant was killed in a criminal ambush. He is drawn into the investigation and must decide whether he wants to go to back to his old life.

What is the real connection between the victims and who will be next?

This is a detective mystery full of twists and turns, with a stunning edge-of-your-seat ending.

-----------------------------------------

This is my first time reading a Helen H. Durrant book but I know I will be reading many more in future. I want to catch up on all the other books she has written because I enjoyed this one immensely.

What originally drew me to reading the title was the synopsis, in particular, the Chinese symbology hallmarks stamped on each of the victims when they were discovered. This is the part that intrigued me the most.

Well written and immaculately paced, Ms. Durrant clearly knows how to write interesting and easy to read crime fiction. There were plenty of plot twists and turns and some great red herrings thrown in there. Full of suspense and managed to keep me enthralled the whole way through. Excellent.

I also enjoyed the characters very much. The killer is an intelligent and ruthless individual and I do hope that this is the beginning of a new series that will feature DI Matthew Brindle in the (hopefully) upcoming instalments as I would like to learn more about him and see his character developed more. It hasn't been announced whether this will be the first book in a series or not yet as far as I know. Although, in the description it does say standalone and that concerns me that this is a one off only but we shall see. Either way I will read more of Durrant's writing in the future!

Joffe books tend to have some fantastic authors and titles in their catalogue and I would urge other thriller readers to give Joffe books a go, you won't be disappointed!

I would like to thank Helen H. Durrant/Joffe Books and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is a brand new standalone mystery and I absolutely loved it. I shall be looking out for more books from this author.

This book seems to link a series of threads from a number of other plotlines: the estate-owning detective; new identities; obsessive men...but it manages to rise above the cliches and capture the reader in a rollicking yarn. I stayed up late to finish reading despite the end not being a surprise. Some decent characters are introduced who will be worth following.

An enthralling tale full of suspense and intrigue. Definitely recommended.

This is the first in a series of the first of Durrant's work that I've read. I liked that this police procedural is set in Britain and it was a fairly good contribution to the genre. The serial killer in this book was definitely an interesting case. I also like the character of Brindle and can see that there is room for a lot of growth and depth as this series develops. I did find the plot a little predictable at times. And the ending was so incredibly rushed, I felt very cheated. It's strength is that it is a good book if you like police procedurals or thrillers without all the gore and disturbing psychological elements. I would read more in the series although I'm not sure I would deliberately seek it out.

An enjoyable story,with lots of twists and turns. Good characters which I hope to visit again.

Another first class thriller from Helen H. Durrant. Plenty of fast paced action and a lot packed into the plot. This book is very cleverly written revealing the plot bit by bit. Matt and Lily are a likeable team. I hope there will be more books about them.

Thank you Net Galley. A very enjoyable police procedural by Ms. Durrant. She is an author who delivers. Interesting characters, plot and writing. Highly recommended.

The detectives are faced with a dilemma. There have been five murders with the same MO and no leads. DI Matthew Brindle returns to help. After an injury in an earlier investigation he had given up on policing. Together with a new recruit DC Lily Haines who is as bright as a button they endeavour to solve the crimes. Bella and her son Oliver are in a witness protection scheme because her husband had committed a crime. Things start to go very wrong for her and she finds herself in some terrible situations. While reading I recall thinking that it doesn't say much for human nature that the families of crooks should be ostracised when they have not personally done anything wrong. The book goes at a fair pace and the plot is intricate with some interesting characters. Thank you to Netgalley and joffebooks for letting me read it. I shall post my review where possible and my blog.

Very good book. Great characters and plot. Really did not like the ending. Would love a saga.

HIS THIRD VICTIM is a brand new standalone detective mystery from best-selling author Helen H. Durrant. I have read and enjoyed all her Calladine & Bayliss, and Greco books so I was intrigued to see she had started another series, with the introduction of DI Matthew Brindle and his team. Another winner that will keep you guessing right to the end.

A man is shot dead and his body is dumped on the moors. His arm is stamped with the Chinese symbol for sorry.

There have been five unsolved murders with the same hallmark. The police can’t find any motive or connection between the victims.

Bella Richards was close to the murdered man. She lives with her five-year son and has begun a new life in the local area. But Bella is holding back information…she is not telling the police everything she knows.

Detective Talbot Dyson wants his most trusted inspector on the case…DI Matt Brindle. But Matt is out of action after being badly injured and his sergeant was killed in a criminal ambush. He is pulled into the investigation and must decide whether he wants to go to back to his old job.

This is a fast-paced detective mystery novel with believable characters. I predict this is going to be another winning series.

Many thanks to Helen H. Durrant, Joffe Books and Netgalley for the ARC.

An excellent stand alone thriller from Helen H Durrant.DI Matt Brindle is asked to come back to investigate a case when a mans body is found murdered and dumped on the moors after battling his own demons.Bella Richards has just moved to the area and knew the victim and as the case develops and more links and bodies turn up Brindle is faced with a race against time to solve the case I .have read previous books by this author and this one is up there with the best of them,once again Helen H Durrant delivers a compelling creepy thriller which is full of twists and turns to the very last few chapters and had me guessing who the killer was.An excellent stand alone 4 star thriller.

I would like to thank Joffe Books and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘His Third Victim’ by Helen H Durrant in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.
The ‘Apology Killer’ likes a particular type of woman and has killed several as they don’t live up to his expectations. He now has his eye on Bella Richards but firstly he has to take her young son and kill everyone else associated with her.
DI Matt Brindle has been on sick leave from East Pennine CID but has been persuaded into returning by DS Talbot Dyson. His first investigation is to discover the identity of the killer they call ‘Mr Apology’ who leaves round print marks in differently coloured ink on the bodies of his victims.
I’ve read all of Helen H Durrant’s novels and enjoyed every one, but when I started ‘The Third Victim’ I wasn’t sure I was going to like it as much. I was wrong! I liked the characters, found the plot intriguing, and as the story unfolded I was unable to put it down. The only disappointment that after the tension had built up nicely with lots of red herrings scattered along the way I’d expected a more dramatic conclusion which unfortunately was lacking. Nevertheless, I found the book easy to read and the storyline kept me guessing till the end.