When a headless body is found on a local jogging trail, DI Bernard Watts and his understaffed and underfunded team are quickly called in to investigate. What begins as an horrific murder quickly becomes more complex as more remains are found – those remains being much older, but clearly linked to the current death.

As DI Watts and his new assistant officer, Chloe Judd, struggle to find links between the cases, Watts finds things getting more and more complex – not helped by Judd’s over-enthusiastic methods, as she is desperate to prove that she can do the job assigned to her, to the detriment of the case. Oh, and there’s a criminologist who shows up called Will Traynor who somehow manages to get his name on the cover.


This takes me back to when Sarah Ward’s first book, the excellent In Bitter Chill, came out. The copy I had billed it as the first Inspector Sadler mystery, but DC Connie Childs was the most interesting character in it. Other people clearly agreed, as the series is now markets as the Connie Childs series. Traynor did not really catch my interest – he’s a tortured criminologist who can solve every case apart from the disappearance of his wife. It’s brave to do the same background idea as that of the immortal Adrian Monk. Of course, I don’t know where A J Cross is going to go with that story in the future, but as a set-up, it didn’t grab me.

Luckily, DI Watts is a good lead, with no major issues apart from a bit of impatience, and I found his relationship with the pathologist rather sweet. Chloe is the character who, for me, brought the book to life – her desperation to succeed, and the reasons behind it made her a distinctive character and one that I would want to read about again.

The plot works pretty well, although at times it struggles to maintain focus in the central section. With a number of apparently unrelated deaths, it is hard to keep an eye on where things are going, and you could make, I think, a good case that links between two of them should have been picked up very quickly, leading to the killer a lot sooner.

There is distinct promise in this series, depending, of course, on which characters the author chooses to focus on. Personally, I’d stick to Watts, Judd and Chong (the pathologist) – they have the ability to hold a series without the need for Traynor, but it will be interesting to see where things go from here.

Dark Truths is available from Severn House on September 30th. Many thanks for the review copy.

Everything Seems To Be Stacked Against DI Watts Solving This Case

The novel opens with an amorous couple on a remote trail decides to leave when they believe that someone is watching. The next morning a body of a young woman was discovered in the parking lot of that trail. The acting Chief Inspector Brophy appoints Detective Inspector Watts as the senior investigative officer. For the past five years or so, DI Watts headed the now defunct cold case unit. Due to the lack of available officers, Brophy assigns Police Constable Chloe Judd, a young inexperienced officer, to assist Watts. Once at the scene, the body already is being processed by pathologist Connie Chong. Watts and Chloe learned that the victim was stabbed and decapitated post mortem, and the head is missing. There is a blood trail leading off into a field. Soon a partially buried skull is found in the field. The skull was identified as a woman who disappeared ten years earlier. Brophy now arranges for criminologist Dr. Traynor to assist Watts. Watts and Dr. Traynor have a troubled history. The novel takes are off from here.

The main storyline quickly escalates in complexity with more victims and sparse leads. The pressure to solve the case from Brophy escalates just as fast. Young Judd’s inexperience causes multiple problems. Lastly, Dr Traynor’s search for his dead wife’s body keeps him focused on tying her death into this investigation.

As expected for the first novel in series, the B-storyline is extensive, rich, and well integrated into the main story line. For all of the major characters, Watts, Judd, Chong, and Traynor, the reader learns their history and how they have arrived at this point in their lives. Also, the interactions between them reveal much into each’s unique personality. I really felt I knew these characters and could empathize with them and their situations. The novel secured my attention and kept it throughout the novel.

There less than ten instances of vulgar language in this novel. There are not any sex scenes. The few scenes involving violence do not emphasize the violence. One scene is gory but quickly described. Based on this there should not be anything objectionable for a reader from these areas. Now, the setting of this novel is in central England. There is use of much British informal language. I used the embedded dictionary in my e-reader quite often. For some words even the dictionary was found lacking. Easy access to the Internet provided understanding of those words.

I enjoyed reading this novel, and it secured my attention but not as strongly because of the main storyline complexity was a step above most police procedurals I have read. This may result in the reader needing to pay a little more attention. The series is titled as A Will Traynor Forensic Mystery. To me Traynor was a supporting character in the novel. These issues were the worst aspects of the novel for me. I enjoyed the extensive in intertwined B-storylines that made the characters very real for me. Lastly, I liked the last two paragraphs of the novel, a real nice touch. Based upon my experience, I rate this novel with four stars. I am eagerly waiting for the next novel in this series. I believe that you will have same experience after reading it.

I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from Severn House with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank Severn House for the opportunity to read this novel early.

I always enjoy novels featuring Criminal Profilers so I took a punt on this one - Dark Truths- and it was a really good read, great page turning quality and some intriguing characters. 

It's also somewhat of a serial killer thriller adding to the idea that I would like it - the plot is cleverly achieved so it stays unexpected. 

I loved the Will Traynor character, obsessive yet insightful with a dark past that distracts him from the present. The police team he works with here is well rounded and bring their own personalities into the mix and the killer is suitably obscure and dangerous.

Overall a great start to a new series and I look forward to the next.

Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.
I enjoyed this book, but found it a bit confusing at times. I had to go back a few times because I had difficulty with all the possible suspects.
The headless corpse of a young woman is discovered and D.I. Watts and his team are baffled, especially when they find more heads and cannot for the life of them figure out how these victims are connected. Criminologist Will Traynor is brought in, much to Watts' discomfort. Traynor is still reeling from the disappearance and probable murder of his wife 10 years ago and Watts believes he's not the right man for the job as his main concern is finding his wife's body. On top of that Watts is saddled with a new inexperienced recruit, PC Chloe Judd.
I definitely felt for Traynor, but understood Watts' concern. Watts is a character I didn't wholly take to, he seemed a bit harsh. Chloe tries hard, too hard sometimes, but I liked her, she's feisty, works her buns off and desperate to do a good job.
On the whole it's a good book, although I really had to pay close attention or I would lose the plot. The ending wasn't too surprising, but satisfying. I look forward to the next one...assuming it's the start of a new series. Recommended.

3.5 stars

This is the first in a series featuring criminologist Will Traynor although the subtitle is a bit of a misnomer. The crimes/investigation we follow are set in Birmingham & while he is part of the investigative team, the story focuses much more on local DI Bernard Watts & the shiny new PC he gets saddled with.

It all begins with the body of a headless jogger. That would be more than enough to kick off any investigation but unfortunately the site has a few more surprises in store. When links are made to past crimes, Watts & his crew are soon overwhelmed by an increasingly complex case.

Like police forces everywhere, Watts’ station is suffering from a lack of funding & manpower. He’s desperate for help but less than thrilled with the chief’s solution. Joining the team are Will Traynor, a criminologist with a tragic past & brand new recruit PC Chloe Judd. Thank goodness he has ace pathologist Dr. Connie Chong to lean on.

Watts is an old fashioned copper who ran the cold case unit until it was disbanded. This is his first active case in a while & he provides the steady hand & experience needed to guide the investigation. He & Connie are compelling characters I enjoyed spending time with. Both are intelligent & committed to getting the job done.

The plot is layered & well written but a couple of the main characters let the story down. Will is a man on the edge & by his own admission, AWOL much of the time. His mental state is due to an event in the past that has him seeing ghosts everywhere & I found it hard to believe he’d be deemed fit for service. The other would be Chloe. Her uniform is barely out of the package but that doesn’t stop her telling Watts how to run things. For me her inexperience was not an issue…..everyone has to start somewhere. It was her OTT behaviour & tendency to pout that made her come across as childish & inappropriate instead of as a professional young woman.

Despite an abundance of creepy discoveries, this is not a fast paced read. Much of it is taken up by to-ing and fro-ing from various locations & pouring over the same information again & again. But I guess that’s what you do when an investigation stalls. It’s the grunt work that eventually makes a difference. Most of the action is reserved for the last couple of chapters when everything suddenly falls into place & our killer is unveiled.

It’s decent start to a new series & after the ending, I have a feeling Traynor will figure more in the next instalment.

It’s a murder that defies explanation. A female jogger has been found dead on a jogging trail and her head is missing. Police are stumped, so criminologist Will Traynor is brought in to attempt to uncover evidence that will point to a motive and a killer. Traynor comes with a lot of baggage and DI Bernard Watts isn’t to thrilled to have to deal with him and an inexperienced PC at the same time on such a public murder inquiry. Traynor may have a questionable past, but he knows his job…inside and out