Death in a Lonely Place by Stig Abell

I know Stig Abell from Times Radio, and I also follow Times Radio on X, so I knew he had written some books and was interested to discover his writing style. This appears to be the second in what will be a series of Jake Jackson mysteries, but it didn't seem to matter that I hadn't read the first one.

As you might expect from Stig, it was well thought out and complex enough to stay interesting all the way through. The storyline draws on disturbing themes featured in the news such as child abduction and murky services offered on in the dark web where evil deeds are sold to anyone wealthy enough to afford the price.

The cast of characters is diverse, and made more interesting for that, and the protagonist Jake Jackson is possibly Stig's alter-ego. Jackson is an ex police detective who has inherited a remote property with no easy means of communication with the outside world. It had been his intention to cut himself off from the mainstream of society but life has a way of pulling him back in to deal with crimes happening close to his home.

I enjoyed the way that Jackson's character is broadened out by the type of wholesome food he chooses to cook and descriptions of his cultural choices in music and literature. If this book was ever made into a film you must not expect to see Jason Statham playing the lead as this is more a job for Benjamin Cumberbatch with the addition of a beard.

The book was absorbing with all the threads neatly tucked away by the end and I would happily read more from the series if they appear on the library shelves. It will be interesting to see how the same characters play out with a different storyline.

Comments

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