Today I pass the blog baton to Mandie who has a review of Deadly Vengeance by OMJ Ryan. This is the latest book in the Detective Jane Phillips series. and you can read her reviews here for earlier books in the series Deadly Silence and Deadly Secrets. OUr thanks to Emma Welton of Damppebbles Blog Tours for inviting Mandie to join the tour and publisher Inkubator books the gifted copy for review.
About the Book
Some people can never escape their past.
Available from: Amazon
When the fifteen-year-old daughter of UK munitions dealer, Sir Richard Hawkins vanishes without a trace – the race is on to find her. But Sir Richard and his wife’s worst fears are realised when they receive a video of Hollie, tied to a chair, with a masked man holding a gun to her head.
The ransom demands are simple, pay four million pounds in cash – or they’ll never see their daughter again. DCI Jane Phillips is assigned to the case, and has no idea of who, or what she’s up against. But as the investigation unfolds, it becomes clear Hollie’s kidnapping was the work of a formidable gang – who operate in the shadows and will stop at nothing to get what they want.
As the pressure mounts, can Phillips and the team find Hollie before it’s too late? Or will this investigation signal not only the death of the Major Crimes Unit, but one of her beloved team, as well?
Mandie’s Thoughts
Deadly Vengeance is the third book in the Detective Jane Phillips series. I have read the first book but for some reason not the second, however this did not spoil anything for me as these books can clearly be read as standalone books.
This time Phillips and her team are called in to investigate the kidnapping of Hollie Hawkins, the teenage stepdaughter of Sir Richard Hawkins. Not happy with the way she appears to be handling the case he calls in some favours and she finds herself saddled with Chief Inspector Harry Saxby, a kidnapping and negotiation expert who worked for the Met Police. Phillips automatically has her nose put out of joint and she finds herself constantly undermined by him as he seems to think he knows best yet does nothing to help the investigations.
Hollie despite first appearances was not quite the helpless little rich girl and her attitude caught one or two of the kidnappers by surprise, but I think also earned her a little bit of respect.
Phillips clearly has the respect of her team and they work well together. They are all of the same opinion of Saxby and cant see why he has been brought in other than to smooth over the ego of Hollie’s father who has a real case of “Don’t you know who I am” syndrome and is more concerned about himself than either Hollie or her mother. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that there was a young girl caught up in the middle of it all I would have been quite happy if everything went wrong. I will admit that I hated one or two of the characters and they weren’t actually the kidnappers.
With investigations hampered by their commanding officer who at times appears to be more concerned with how the lack of progress in the investigations make her look, than in finding Hollie alive and every lead appearing to be a dead end you are left wondering if they will find Hollie before the ransom is paid.
Although the clock is clearly ticking, I wouldn’t say that this was an in your face, fast paced book as I think if it was the investigations would feel rushed. You can feel the tension building though with the pressure from several parties bearing down on Phillips and her team to the point that it puts their lives at risk with potentially devastating consequences. Deadly Vengeance is a great addition to the series and I look forward to seeing what Phillips and co end up investigating next
About the Author
Hailing from Yorkshire, OMJ Ryan worked in radio and entertainment for over twenty years, collaborating with household names and accumulating a host of international writing and radio awards. In 2018 he followed his passion to become a full-time novelist, writing stories for people who devour exciting, fast-paced thrillers by the pool, on their commute – or those rare moments of downtime before bed. Owen’s mission is to entertain from the first page to the last.
Author Links: Twitter | Facebook | Website | Instagram
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