Borderlands by LJ Ross

Today Mandie. is back with her thoughts on book 14 in the DCI Ryan series by LJ Ross, Borderlands. Here’s what it’s all about:

About the Book

When the gods made man, they made a weapon…

After uncovering a fresh wave of corruption within the ranks of Northumbria CID, Detective Chief Inspector Ryan was looking forward to an uneventful summer. But, when a young woman is shot dead on the remote army ranges of the Northumberland National Park, Ryan is called in to investigate.

Meanwhile, violent crimes are being committed across sites of historic importance in the North East, the perpetrator leaving only a graffitied symbol as their calling card. As the body count rises, Ryan and his team must unravel the mystery behind its meaning – before it’s too late…

Murder and mystery are peppered with romance and humour in this fast-paced crime whodunnit set amidst the spectacular Northumbrian landscape.

Mandie’s Thoughts

I am beginning to think I am running out of ways to say how much I love the DCI Ryan series and can’t believe that Borderlands is the 14th outing for Ryan and co. There have been little changes to the team and their dynamic over time but never to the detriment of the series and that is a real credit to LJ Ross as she has as much invested in her characters as her readers do. 

Ryan and Phillips are called in to investigate the death of an unidentified woman on the firing ranges at Otterburn Camp. Why the woman was there is a complete mystery and to add to the challenge, they have to work along side the Army, who are determined to follow their own rules regarding the investigation. Things are just not adding up and they cannotbe sure what is due to a cover up. This time they don’t have the team to back them up in the same way that they have in the past as Lowerson and Yates are investigating an increase in hate crimes in the area that are not confined to one specific race or religion and Mackezie is enjoying a bit of down time with Sam who now appears to be a permanent fixture in their lives. 

There is another element to this book that makes it just that little bit different but as you read to the end you understand its significance and puts this particular story well and truly in the here and now. Despite the team not all working together on one investigation, they still all have each other’s backs and it’s nice to see this slightly different dynamic in action with Jack and Melanie sorting out both their personal and working relationship at long last.

The action is as fast paced as ever and the multiple investigations have you wondering if the team are spread too thin to solve both cases as they struggle to find motives and perpetrators, but it would be a very dull book if everything was easy with the results handed to them on a plate. The mix of police investigation and personal lives makes this series a little bit different and for me just that little bit more engaging.The team are like family to each other and with each new insight into their lives they become family to the reader too. I am looking forward to book number 15 and who knows maybe a bit of an easier time for the team (although I very much doubt it)

About the Author

LJ Ross is an international bestselling author, best known for creating atmospheric mystery and thriller novels, including the DCI Ryan series of Northumbrian murder mysteries which have sold over four million copies worldwide.

Her debut, Holy Island, was released in January 2015 and reached number one in the Amazon UK and Australian charts. Since then, she has released a further sixteen novels, all of which have been top three global bestsellers and fourteen of which have been UK #1 bestsellers. Louise has garnered an army of loyal readers through her storytelling and, thanks to them, several of her books reached the coveted #1 spot whilst only available to pre-order ahead of release. Her eleventh novel, The Infirmary, is a prequel story and is also available as a major Audible Originals audio-drama starring Tom Bateman, Kevin Whately, Bertie Carvel, Hermione Norris and Alun Armstrong.

Louise was born in Northumberland, England. She studied undergraduate and postgraduate Law at King’s College, University of London and then abroad in Paris and Florence. She spent much of her working life in London, where she was a lawyer for a number of years until taking the decision to change career and pursue her dream to write. Now, she writes full-time and lives with her husband and son in Northumberland, where she enjoys reading all manner of books, travelling and spending time with family and friends.

Louise is a keen philanthropist, and is pleased to have supported numerous non-profit programmes in addition to founding several of her own, including the Lindisfarne Reading Challenge and the Lindisfarne Prize for Debut Crime Fiction.