Happy publication day to Liz Mistry and Blood Games. My review for the blog tour is written with thanks to Rachel Gilbey at Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me on the tour and to the publisher for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

THREE MURDERS. ONE MISSING BOY. THE GAME IS JUST BEGINNING…

When a body is found at the edge of Chellow Dene reservoir Detective Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik are quick to arrive.
 
This is the third murder in the space of a few weeks. Each murder has a completely different MO, but there is one common theme… all the victims are teenagers. The dead boy reminds Nikki of her nephew, and she feels more helpless than ever.
 
But then another boy goes missing. And this time his parents have been sent a threatening package too. The pattern is different again – is the killer just playing a game?

Can Nikki find the strength to uncover the shocking truth before the killer strikes again?

Review:

It’s been brilliant to catch up with Detective Sergeant Nikki Parekh and her team in Blood Games. Nikki is understandably having a difficult time following the events of the previous book, but I love that we can still see glimpses of her feisty, determined character despite her mental health issues. Mistry has approached the subject of mental health with the greatest sensitivity and understanding. Nikki’s partnership with Detective Constable Sajid Malik is wonderful once again and I love the way they bounce off each other and have each other’s back. As the case that is central to the novel involves the young people in Bradford, I enjoyed getting to know Charlie and Haqib a little better too.

As Blood Games is set in Bradford, I am familiar with a few of the locations that Mistry uses. The sense of place throughout the novel is very strong and it helped me to be able to picture exactly what was happening. Although I am familiar with the geographical locations, there is also a strong cultural element to Blood Games which is less well known to me. I feel that Mistry has handled these sensitive issues very well in a way that allows the reader to learn more about the situation whilst still being kept on the edge of their seat by a fast paced novel. It is researched well and it is very relevant to the issues in modern society. 

Throughout Blood Games, there are chapters narrated by “The Fixer”. I was intrigued the whole way through as to who this person was and what their motives were. As the story comes together, the role of “The Fixer” becomes clearer and this paves the way for a very tense and engaging ending.

Blood Games is available from Amazon.

You can follow the rest of the blog tour here: