Amazing! It is hard these days for a book to stand out in the highly competitive crime genre but this book does and how! Gripping from start to finish, with spectacular writing, pacy and tense, this book is nothing short of a masterpiece, carefully crafted to transport and mesmerise. The story takes you over and you care for the characters and detectives alike. Absolutely brilliant. A sublime story from one of the best new crime writers of today.

I have to say, this book had me from the opening pages, it kicks off with you holding your breath, by the time i'd finished it, I needed an oxygen tank. OMG
AND THIS IS A DEBUT. Wow I can't wait to see what more this author has in store for us. I can see this becoming another of my must read detective series. Eagerly awaiting the next one.
​I love discovering new authors, and this is certainly one that's been added to my 'must read any future books' list.

When pawnbroker Ivor Harris is found dead, having been tortured and killed with a hammer to his head, it's down to Zac and his team to not only figure out the whys of this brutal attack, but it's down to them to solve it.
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What an interesting character Detective Zac Boateng is, I really think i'm going to enjoy this character and following him on journey. Still struggling to come to terms with the death of his daughter 5 years previously. Zac takes any opportunity to jump back into investigating the case. This is all done without the knowledge of others. His little girl was gunned down on trip to the shop with her daddy, and this is something Zac will never get over. Maybe if he got the answers he needed he could move on from it. But how far would a father go to get answers?
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I'm not sure where Bookouture keep finding these amazing writers, but i'm so glad they do.

Thanks Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. A determination to track down his daughters killer takes over Detective Zac Boateng's personal and work life. It leads him on many dangerous paths. I found this book quite sad. But I couldn't put it down until I found out the answers too. I can't wait for the next one. Highly recommend it.

Wow what a fantastic book. it started out with absolute tragedy for Zac and the tension just kept building right throughout the book. It was the kind of book that kept me turning the pages not wanting to put the book down because I had to see what was going to happen next. I loved the characters in this book and the plot line was interesting and captivated me. A really good read, cant wait for the next one in the series.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of The Murder List, the first novel in a projected series to feature DI Zac Boateng of the Met's Lewisham MIT.

Zac and his team are called out to a grisly murder scene where pawnbroker Ivor Harris has been tortured and killed by a hammer in his head. It doesn't take long to identify a suspect, Darian Wallace, and a motive, revenge but locating him proves extremely difficult, perhaps because Zac is not devoting his full attention to the case. While investigating Ivor Harris he gets the opportunity to delve into the case files on his daughter, Amelia, who was collateral damage in a drive by shooting 5 years previously and what he finds there sets him off on his own, unofficial investigation.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Murder List which is an exciting read with plenty of twists and turns. The novel is told from both Zac and Darian's points of view so the reader is fully informed of their thoughts and mindsets. Normally I'm not interested in sharing the criminal's point of view but it works well in this novel, mostly, I think, because Mr Merritt does not spend too much time on self pity and concentrates more on his actions and efforts to evade capture. Darian is a highly intelligent man so some of his evasion tactics are masterful but his downfall will always be his rage and need for respect. He is well drawn and very believable.

Zac Boateng is an interesting character. He is a dogged detective with a happy marriage despite the loss of his daughter. His quest to avenge her leaves him slightly unhinged and desperate as he tears up the rule book and threatens everything he holds dear. It is a credible picture of a desperate man but it seems out of character for a man who is normally cool and laid back. It would be good to see him without this baggage to be able to judge him better.

I like nothing better than a good police procedural so I loved those aspects of the novel where the search for Darian marries modern policing with instinct and experience. They don't always get it right but it makes for fascinating reading as it seems a very realistic portrayal of modern policing.

The Murder List is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

The beginning of "The Murder List" is particularly poignant. Detective Zac Boateng is enjoying an early morning run with his daughter Amelia. At some point during the exercise he loses sight of Amelia and is shocked when a number of gun shots are clearly heard. The unthinkable has happened his beautiful Amelia is now lying before him fatally wounded finally succumbing to the gunshots and dying in the arms of her father.

We fast forward 5 years and Detective Boateng together with work colleagues Nasim Malik, Pat Connelly and DS Kat Jones is called to the scene of a violent crime The location is a pawnbrokers shop where the owner Ivor Harris has been bludgeoned with an axe left embedded in his skull. What follows is a detailed, intricate, tangled story that will test the ability and patience of Zac to the limit. Whilst attempting to discover and apprehend the pawn shop killer there appears to be a trail going all the way back to that fateful day in 2012 and Amelia's death. As evidence mounts, a culprit is identified who must not only contend with the wrath of Zachariah Boateng but it in addition a lone sniper, ex military who has been hired to execute him for reasons soon made clear.

Although the plot of this book is good it is the character and flaws of Boateng that set The Murder List above the average thriller. He is consumed by his inability to protect Amelia and is tortured each and every day that he did or could not save her.."Never give up. You owe it to that person you loved. To the memory you still love, that no one can take away"... So will the ending of this fast paced thriller give our lone detective some inner peace and the courage to be a good father to his son Kofi and wife Etta? You dear reader of my review will have to discover that for yourself but rest assured the journey will be exciting full of doubt and yes some hope....Many thanks to the good people of netgalley and the publisher Bookouture for a gratis copy of this excellent thriller in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written.