Ryan’s Christmas by LJ Ross

Today Mandie continues her DCi Ryan catch up with a review of Ryan’s Christmas. A little out of season, but then we like to be a bit contrary plus we need to keep the books in order. 😉 Here’s what the book is all about:

About the Book

Christmas can be murder…

After a busy year fighting crime, DCI Ryan and his team of murder detectives are enjoying a festive season of goodwill, mulled wine and, in the case of DS Phillips, a stottie cake or two—that is, until a freak snowstorm forces their car off the main road and into the remote heart of Northumberland. Their Christmas spirit is soon tested when they’re forced to find shelter inside England’s most haunted castle, where they’re the uninvited guests at a ‘Candlelit Ghost Hunt’. It’s all fun and games—until one of the guests is murdered. It seems no mortal hand could have committed the crime, so Ryan and Co. must face the spectres living inside the castle walls to uncover the grisly truth, before another ghost joins their number…

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

Mandie’s Thoughts

You would think that at Christmas Ryan, Anna and co would be able to sit back, relax and enjoy the holiday period like the majority of us. As nice as that sounds it would make for a rather dull read. Caught out by severe weather Ryan, Anna, Frank and Mackenzie end up having to take shelter in Chillingham Castle with a group of people who are there for a ghost hunt. When someone is murdered, they have to find out who did it and why but without their usual back up or access to modern technology.

I am beginning to think that as much as I would love Ryan and co to be on my side if I was in trouble, I think that if they turned up anywhere I was staying I would beat a hasty retreat as I am not sure if trouble follows them or they have a knack of finding it. Once again LJ Ross has given her readers a great read with just the right amount of mystery and tension. As the secrets of each of the castle’s inhabitants are revealed, you will find yourself trying to see if you can work out who the killer is before Ryan does and who else may be targeted. If I am honest this is one of my favourites of the series as there is the added twist of age-old ghost stories and they have to go back to old fashioned detective work and not rely on modern technology. The location of Chillingham Castle is just brilliant and as they carry out their investigations, I can picture the place perfectly due to the descriptive writing I have come to expect and love in this series. At book number 15 in the series, you have to wonder what else is in store for Ryan but I can guarantee that Ryan’s Christmas will have you reaching for book number 16 to find out.

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.