This police thriller was both gripping and gruesome, the police characters are well written an likeable, the killer is revealed to the reader prior to the police finding out but this provides some great tension when a chracter unknowingly puts themselves in danger.
Excellent story

This book was everything I hoped it would it be.
I was hooked quickly and completely unwilling to put this down. I devoured this book in just one sitting. I have no regrets and can’t wait to read more by this author.

This is the first book that I have read of the author, and it certainly did not disappoint.
DI Gravel is on the hunt of a horrific murderer and in particular, young women. He is scared for his daughter.
This is book 3 of the series but can be read as a stand alone. It's fast paced and dark, a must read

5☆ A Must Read! Got under My Skin!

Portraits of the Dead is a creepy, dark, sadistic psychological crime thriller. The Book Cover was enough to creep the hell out of me.

I'm a big fan of John Nicholls so when I was given the opportunity to read this one I jumped at the chance.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.
Sometimes I'm in the mood for a gritty thriller. This one packs a punch. This is the 1st book in the series but I don't think it's necessary to read them in order.
What an ending this book has!

REVIEW


Review for 'The Carmarthen Murders' by John Nicholl.


Read and reviewed via NetGalley for John Nicholl and Boldwood Books


Publication date 20th June 2022


This is the fifth book I have read by this author and it was previously published as Portraits of the Dead. It is also the first book in the 'Carmarthen Crime' series. I have previously read 'Killing Evil' and 'The Doctor' (First book in the 'Dr David Galbraith' series) and 'The Wife' (Second book in the Dr Galbraith series) and 'The Father' (Third book in the Dr Galbraith series) which I would also highly recommend.

I was originally drawn to this book by its unique eye catching cover and its intriguing synopsis and title. I am a huge fan of true stories and although this book is fiction it is based on a true story. I loved John's other books called 'Killing Evil' and 'The Doctor' (which is the first book in the Dr Galbraith series), 'The Wife' (which is the second book in the Dr Galbraith series) and 'The Father (which is the third book in the Dr Galbraith series) and if this is half as good as they are it's bound to be a page turner. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Boldwood Books. I have yet to read a book published by Boldwood Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).


This novel consists of 32 chapters. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!


This book is based in Carmarthen, Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 , UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture. The fact that I live in Wales and only live a few miles from Carmarthen is amazing as I'm hoping to recognise a few local places.


This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonists are Emma, Detective Inspector Gareth Gravel. "The Man", DI Clive Rankin and PC Carys Williams. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.

This book was reviously published as Portraits of the Dead.


'The Carmarthen Murders' discusses some topics that may trigger some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book John discusses/includes strong language and sexual abuse.


OMG!!!! Yet another fantastic success by John!! What a read!! Just Wow!!! This is one of the best psychological thrillers and series I have read in a long time,in fact that I have ever read!!!


The book is written perfectly and with such vivid descriptions it really feels that you are with the protagonists walking the streets of Carmarthen with your heart pounding in a race against time.


Clear your schedules before picking this up because you won't be able to put it down!!


The storyline is absolutely addictive and gripping. I seriously WOULD NOT even start this book unless you have cleared your schedule because you will not be able to put it down!!! I absolutely blew through it in one sitting and it genuinely was unputdownable!!! A true page turner absolutely rammed with suspense, tension and everything you want when you read a psychological thriller. This would be absolutely amazing if turned into a movie, if done right of course!!! This is an absolutely gripping and addictive storyline. I absolutely loved John's 'Galbraith series' and when I discovered this series was being republished I couldn't wait to get stuck in. I didn't think John would be able to bring out another series as good as the Galbraith one as that was utterly explosive but yet again he managed it! For anyone interested in 'The Galbraith Series' the books in order are 'The Doctor' (previously published as 'White Is The Coldest Colour'), 'The Wife' (previously published as 'When Evil Calls Your Name' ) and 'The Father'.

This book is an absolutely explosive and addictive start to what promises to be an action packed series. I love the fact that this book is based in Carmarthen which is literally 15 minutes away from me by car. The fact that I recognised so many places really brought the story to life. John really describes Carmarthen perfectly and even when this book is filled with crime and murder he manages to portray the beauty of local areas. The storyline is absolutely ram packed with crime, mystery, murder, suspense, tension, and everything you could ask for in a page turner. It also has just the right amount of humour in to lighten the mood which I always love in crime books. I was absolutely mind blown on so many occasions in this book and one part especially had me shouting out WTF!! I just could not believe what I was reading and my partner had a earful about how shocked and absolutely devastated I was about what happened. Will I say more? Nope, sorry for the tease but you'll just have to pick up a copy to find out what I mean. I can't go spoiling it for future readers now can I? I love how John wrote this book giving the readers so many different perspectives from various characters so you get such a good insight into what is happening including from the killer. Again, I was completely shocked when I found out who that was so seriously a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS John I cannot remember the last time I was so mind blown by a book!! I think I'll have to leave this here as I dont want to risk giving anything away but needless to say this book is an absolute must read with an unexpected ending. I would love to see this turned into a movie!!

It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with not only the lead protagonists but also any characters that may make repeat appearances during the series too.

I previously met the main protagonist Detective Inspector Gareth Gravel in the Galbraith series and I was pleased to "meet" him again. Not quite the hero that some may expect Grav is sarcastic, has an attitude problem, loves to swear and has nicotine stained teeth but at least their his own! All of this made him one of the most realistic characters I have ever met in a book and he had me laughing out loud on several occasions!! I love that he says it how it is and doesn't hold back. I also enjoyed meeting Detective Sergeant Clive Rankin who was another huge part of the team and is very likeable. All the characters are realistic and strong. Grav and Clive made a great team in and out of work and they worked perfectly together. I love the fact that neither of them were completely by the book and both had great attitudes and personalities. The killer made me feel absolutely sick, an ABSOLUTELY perverted sicko and it wasn't just them that shocked and disgusted me. However, sadly they are just as realistic as the other characters. Regardless of whether you love or hate them these characters worked perfectly to make this book absolutely unputdownable and I cannot wait to get stuck into the next book in this explosive series 'The Tywi Estuary Killings'. Keep your eyes peeled for my review for that.

I really cannot compliment and recommend this book more. It is a heart racing, nail biting, suspense packed psychological thriller that will stay with you for one hell of a long time.

Congratulations John on yet another absolutely addictive nail biting edge of your seat novel. This is exactly why you are on my favourite author list!!! As always I'm looking forward to reading your next page turner!!!


Overall a unputdownable, heart racing, nail biting and addictive psychological thriller


Genres covered in this novel include Fiction Classics, Contemporary Urban Fiction, Thriller, Hardboiled Mystery, Adventure Fiction, Psychological Fiction, Suspense, Psychological Thriller, Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction Classics, Mystery, Urban Fiction, Police Procedural, Death & Grief, Cromer Fiction and Crime Thriller amongst others.


I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as Charlie Gallagher, Mark Edwards Lisa Regan, Carol Wyer, DK Hood and anyone looking for a page turning series.


276 pages.


This book is just £1.89 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback via Amazon at the time of review which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!


Rated 5/5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.


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Dude, I loved this book. The story was a slow hill climb for me regarding the plot. When DS Rankin started his real interrogation that’s when the book picked up for me. I loved how Darby’s character written. I think that he was one of the best characters in the book. At the end, I think that writer did a wonderful job of explaining and entertaining me with the all the secrets to the crimes that the killer imposed.

I wasn’t aware when I requested this book that it was just a renaming and new cover for an older book under the name portraits of the dead, which I read and loved a few years back, I just remember when I did read it back then that it was a fantastic read and I gave it 5 stars

My review from 2016 also posted to Amazon in 2016

Oh WOW WOW. John Nicholl has done it again with this his third book. Absolutely brilliant. Having read and loved both 'White is the coldest colour ' and 'When Evil Calls your name' I was a little bit nervous about reviewing this one in case it didn't live up to the other two. Well I had nothing to fear. This book for me was absolutely brilliant. It was a sick, stomach churning, chilling psychological thriller. This book kept my attention from the very first word right up to the final word of the book. John Nicholls books keep getting better and I can't wait to read more by this extremely talented author.

There were lots of twists and turns in this novel and I wasn’t really sure who to trust – everyone seemed to be keeping secrets and lying about what they were up to. There were several red herrings and some misdirection that had me suspecting all kinds of things!

Wow this was such an amazing book. I really couldn't put it down. It's the first book in a new crime series and if the first book is anything to go by its sure to pack a punch. I just couldn't get enough of this page turning novel. From the very start I could tell that this story was going to be an epic read. The writing style was amazing it was so engaging and fast paced. I even lost track of time while reading it nearly forgot to make tea lol. The story is so exciting, thrilling and equally gruesome at times. I don't read crime novels all that often but I certainly found a gem in this one. I also have the next 3 books in the series so I'm very excited to continue this journey. 

There were plenty of unexpected twists and turns and I certainly couldn't predict the ending it was pretty cool and very satisfying. I really can't recommend this book enough. You certainly won't be disappointed reading it.

Only the highest of praise goes out to the author and publishers for creating such an incredible story and start to what I hope will be an exciting roller coaster series. 

The above review has already been placed on goodreads, waterstones, Google books, Barnes&noble, kobo, amazon UK where found and my blog today https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-carmarthen-murders-by-john-nicholl-boldwood-books-5-stars either under my name or ladyreading365

There's a sort of old fashioned police procedural atmosphere that you can see in the way they relate to women.
It's like travelling back in time but after a couple of chapter the storytelling, the characters, and the plot hooked me and I had to keep on reading.
A dark thriller, a good cast of characters, a twisty plot.
I'm glad I discovered this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

(Carmarthen Crime Book 1)
Book one, What a great start to what can only be a great series of books.

One missing girl. Five bodies. Time is running out.

When nineteen-year-old university student Emma goes missing, Detective Inspector Gareth Gravel is called in. But what is a simple missing person case soon turns into something much darker as Gravel’s inquiries lead him to the graves of five young women - each of whom looks just like Emma.

Strong and entertaining story line, a book that will you guessing throughout. Part way through i realised I had previously read this book, but that didn't matter with the amount I read it's easy to forget some of the details. A great read even a second time around.

A chilling read, a real edge of your seat story line. highly recommend. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series of books.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review "The Carmarthen Murders" by John Nicholl. This is the first book I have read by this author, and it is a fitting debut.
When 19-year-old Emma goes missing, Detective Inspector Gravel and DS Gavin begin an investigation that turns out to be anything other than routine, as it appears that whoever has Emma is responsible for at least 5 other kidnapping/murders, (and they all look like Emma). So where is the missing girl? Is she still alive and captive or has she been killed and buried elsewhere since the current killing field has been made public?
Emma, meanwhile, is wondering if she will ever be rescued from her captor, who is genuinely demented.
This edge-of-your-seat thriller is not for the squeamish but recommended for fans of the genre.

Emma, a 19 year old college student is abducted, and imprisoned in a room with just a small bathroom off to one side. She is given a new name - Venus 6. She soon learns her captors rules, and tries to comply to keep herself alive. Rule one, she MUST call the man, Master.
DI Gravel & his team are tasked with finding Emma as soon as they can.
A couple of weeks later, a body of a young woman is discovered. She has blonde hair ljust ike Emma. A further 5 bodies are discovered, all with a similar build, and all with blonde hair. This is the work of a serial killer.
This is the brilliant, first book in a new series, and is the first one I have read by John Nicholl. Fast paced, with great characters, and a story full of the mysteries of a depraved mind. I loved it so much that already I have bought the next in the series.

An excellent first of a series book. A student is missing and she isn’t the first this killer has taken. It is up to DI Gravel as the detective leading the case, to prevent another girl going missing. A good thriller written by someone with obvious experience in the field, leading to a believable story.

This is a rerelease (previously published as Portraits of the Dead), set in 1998 Wales, but my first introduction to John Nicholl. The story starts with Emma, a 19 year old college student, being abducted from her lodgings by a serial killer and sadist who has bee operating under the radar for years as, up until now, he has been targeting women not likely to be missed. DI Gareth "Grav" Gravel takes the lead on her case, and his team pit their tenacity and intellect against the abductor. The story is told from multiple perspectives: the abductor, Emma, Grav, and members of his team, among others, and as such we get to hear the killer's thoughts and motivations firsthand. I found the characters a bit shallow, perhaps because there were so many to "flesh out", but the plot held several surprises; I was going to give this book 3 stars, but the ending bumped it up to 4.

The Carmarthen Murders by John Nicholl is the first book in the new DI Gravel series. This book was called "Portraits Of The Dead" This book was a fantastic book I was gripped from the beginning till the end.

Emma a University student who is 19, wakes up alone in a room, and has with no idea where she is or how she got there!?!
Shortly after she wakes up, a voice comes through an intercom in the room and tells her to do everything he says. He changes her name to Venus 6 and she has to call him "Master" If she does not do what he tells her to do, he will kill her, just like he’s killed others in the past.
Emma, then searches the windowless room in the dark, trying to find a way out but only finds black and white portraits of barely dressed girls stuck onto the walls............strangely, they all look like her.
She also notices in a corner of the room theres a video camera and its pointed right at her.........
Is he watching her every move???? Is he watching her now?
Who is he???
Emma recognises his voice but where has she heard it before???

DI Gravel is called in to work and finds himself working on a new case of the disappearance of Emma. Then, 5 bodies of young women who each resemble Emma are unearthed. DI Gravel knows he needs to work hard to catch this sadistic killer before he kills again.

Can DI Gravel find the Emma before it's too late?

I only found this author by accident and WoW what a writer John Nicholl's is. I just love the way he writes, the way he makes you a part of this book. It's creepy, dark and very disturbing that will make you have goose bump's. Its a fast read and OMG what a brilliant cover to this book. So, No reading this book at night!!!
Once I started to read this book I could not put it down and will keep you on the edge of your seat and up all night!.
The ending to Portraits Of The Dead is 10/10 book with a Perfect ending.

I Highly recommend and a must read book with a brilliant twist! especially if you want a book that will have you looking over your shoulders.

5☆ A Must Read! That gave me Goose Bumps!!!! This will be a author I will stalk now for his books.

Many thanks to Boldwood Books for an ARC. and John Nicholl for writing a fantastic book.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. I like books like this and really enjoyed this fast paced who dunnit, would recommend.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review. It is dark and mysterious...intriguing...It is dark, at times, and difficult to keep reading, wondering what might happen next. Other times, it is difficult to put down...waiting for what happens next. This is a talented and gifted author.

Omg I had forgotten how good this author is. Really excited when this landed in my inbox it goes straight to the top of my reading pile. A new book by one of my favourite authors. Previously published as Portraits of the Dead, was I disappointed hell no I still devoured this book in one sitting. A Master of the Psychological who brings all his characters to life. Sadistic, chilling and bloody terrifying. Imagine waking up in a room naked, no windows and a disembodied voice fills this room demanding to be called Master and this is only the beginning. I loved this book first time round and it still has the same impact now. For all new readers all I can say is that you are in for a treat and welcome into the mind of the Master of the Psychological.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.