This novel is creepy, dark and atmospheric and I really loved it. It is the first novel featuring Meg Dalton, the new DI in the Derbyshire Police. She has a troubled past that slowly unravels through the novel. She has also unresolved issues and she is broken by the guilt that she feels over her sister.
The novel starts with a great opening. A man slowly dying in a cave. The man’s name is Peter Hamilton and he is a patent lawyer. The cave his body was found in is called by the locals The Devil’s Dice and the legend say that people go there to kill themselves. What at first looked like a suicide, it quickly turns into murder as Meg finds out that Peter Hamilton had many secrets. And even all the people around him seem to be hiding something, from his wife to his siblings, from his colleagues to their wives.
While Meg investigates she has other things to deal with: someone seems to be after her and there is a male colleague who constantly throws cutting remarks at her because she is a woman. On the personal side, she is worried about her mother who lately seems forgetful and she is clearly hiding something.
I liked the character of Meg, she is flawed, troubled and complicated, but she is a good detective and good daughter. The other characters are (mostly) likable and engaging, but what I liked most was Meg’s relationship with her colleague Jai and their funny and witty exchanges.
The author adds a mystical touch to the plot with the elements of the cursed house, the Greek mythology, the legend of the Devil’s Dice, and the witchcraft. The setting of Derbyshire and Peak District is dark and atmospheric and it suits perfectly to the story.
THE DEVIL’S DICE is the first novel in a series and I really look forward to reading more about these characters and from this author.
Thank you HQ for providing me with an early copy of the book.
THE DEVIL’S DICE was published in the UK on March 8th.
Book After Book 