Thank you to NetGalley and HQ Digital for my copy of Dead Man Walking by M K Murphy.
How have I missed this author.
This is a book that draws you in and keeps you there.
Sergeant Rick Turner is on the eve of the biggest case of his life.
A complex case that has taken months to bring to trial, money laundering, smuggling, murder.
Then the prosecutions main witness is murdered. Everything is going wrong and Rick doesn’t know who he can trust.
There were so many twists and surprises. Loved the book and the characters.
Will be catching up on this author back catalogue.

Whether writing as AD Garrett or Ashley Dyer, whether using the name Margaret Murphy or the new initialised version, this writer is always entertaining and her novels never fail to engross the reader. This feels like something of a change in her writing style, although the set-up is familiar in crime fiction. The lead character is a cop with somewhat dubious moral values, and whose brother, a criminal, he hasn't seen for ages. All is not as it at first seems, and situations are set up to deceive. The underworld of smuggling and drugs and gangs is very well researched and convincing and Dead Man Walking is a very enjoyable read.

This is a complex police procedural-style thriller. Detective Rick Turner has found the evidence to bring down an organised crime boss who awaits trial. A key hostile witness is killed, and the prosecution's success is threatened. Finding himself a target, the threat level rises and becomes personal for the detective. A detailed and complex plot and backstory slows the pace slightly, but it's necessary to get to know the characters and their relationship dynamics and how Rick's past affects his life in the present. It's a suspenseful and gritty urban set story that is contemporarily relevant. I like the detective protagonist, the investigation team dynamic and the twisty plot. It uses sensory imagery well, making the characters, events and setting easy to visualise.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

This is the first in a new series, there's a lot of potential but it's a bit too slow burning and you have to patient.
When it gets to the point is a gripping and gritty novel that kept turning pages.
I will surely read the next as I'm sure it will fast paced and action packed
3.5 upped to 4
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Dead Man Walking is the first instalment in the Detective Sergeant Rick Turner series, a police procedural set amongst the shadows and wheeling and dealing of old London town. Working in and around the criminal underworld, Rick has been called to give evidence at the trial of Thomas Unwin, a businessman that The National Crime Agency had been chasing for years to no avail for everything from drug smuggling to human trafficking. Now, it is Rick Turner who had discovered a connection between two deaths - murders for hire - set in motion at Unwin's behest. Not long after in a palatial London hotel, a man dressed in a black trilby and cashmere coat enters the room belonging to a Mister King and swiftly executes him using two shots before leaving barely 90 seconds later.

The hit is relayed back to Turner almost immediately as now it seems as though his key witness Austin King has been taken out with the sole intention of safeguarding Unwin and his dangerous legacy. It isn't long before things become a whole lot deadlier and more personal for Rick Turner himself including the kidnap of his girlfriend. This is a rip-roaring thriller brimming with excitement and action from the get-go, and I was surprised by just how rapidly we were launched in amongst the high-stakes drama and premature celebratory mood of the police force and detectives who had been wanting to collar Unwin for decades in the making. It packs a real punch, and I raced through it in a single sitting feasting on the twists and turns and gasp-worthy moments of shock and awe. Packed with secrets, subversion, tension, crosses and double crosses and a cast of some of both the most tenacious and the most evil characters, Murphy has once again hit the mark square in the middle. Our protagonist DS Turner is athletic — a runner and skilled aikido street-fighter.

With a highly developed sense of responsibility and duty, he’s an introvert whose main focus is his work. It’s no accident that he went into the hierarchical, rule-bound profession of policing: he believes in following the rules — some would say slavishly — which pisses off his bosses and his peers about the same. But Rick grew up tough in a nasty tenement on an East London estate where he was subjected to lawlessness and extreme peril every day, and the rules help him to make sense of the world — they provide his moral anchor. His hard-won insights into criminality, plus sharp instincts and intense curiosity have made him the brilliant cop he is today. And he is relentless in the pursuit of justice.

3.5 stars
This is a good crime thriller but a bit of a slow burner.
Rick is due to give evidence at a high profile court case and is shocked to hear the key witness has been murdered in his hotel room just before it’s due to begin.
His girlfriend is then kidnapped and Rick is threatened to lie in court.
Just when he needs help, someone from his past comes to help, but Rick can’t work out how he’s getting all the information.
There’s a few twists and turns which I enjoyed and overall this is a good read.
Thanks to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

A great read although it took a while to get going and a longer while for me to get all the plot intersections straight in my head!
Well worth a read but be sure to have time to dedicate to read a big first chunk!

This book had me on the edge of my seat wanting to know how it all played out. I read it in one sitting and found it really entertaining. Great cast of characters, plenty of twists and a few red herrings. It ticked all the boxes for a great thriller.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my approval to read and review.

The plot revolves around a court case of a major underworld criminal and the extent he goes to so he is freed of all criminal charges. DS Rick Turner is the detective that brought him down. Rick is sent a message to say his girlfriend has been kidnapped and he must follow their instructions if he wants to see her alive. The story is full of plot twists and turns and the ending really surprised me. I couldn't put the book down. The dynamic of all the characters in particular, Dave, Rick and Sam was so real! I really hope that there is a second book.

A thriller which explores the criminal underground in London from different viewpoints .Rick is a detective involved in the trial of a crime boss when one of the witnesses is found murdered in a hotel room. There are other witnesses that can be called to the stand but there are complications. Slow to get going, the pace picks up when Rick meets up with someone from his past.
The plot is quite convoluted with unexpected turns which definitely kept my interest . The main characters were well portrayed though I wasn't sure about a couple of charcters (Jess and Rick's superiors) but that leaves plenty of room for further episodes. I`m also not so sure about Rick's relentless investigation without much sleep and the timescale took some concentration to sort out . All in all a great read though and I look forward to discovering more from this author.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

I can’t pretend to know everything that was going on in this book – Who’s he again? Is he a goodie or a baddie? Who’s he working for? – but I couldn’t put it down! The twists and turns, the intrigue, the back and forth and veering off in so many directions had me gripped. I was very disappointed in the actions of some of the characters, one in particular, but I loved Sam and hope there’s a sequel with him and his brother in it. This was a well written, exciting, and all round fabulous book with a great ending. How on earth do authors think up all this stuff??? Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read.