A Matter Of Evidence by Rhys Dylan

A Matter Of Evidence by Rhys Dylan
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

One wrong does not justify another

In the desolate landscapes of SENTA, the Bannau Brycheiniog army training grounds, DCI Warlow and his seasoned investigators find themselves ensnared in a deadly game of shadows.

A man, recently released from prison after a 20-year wrongful conviction, is discovered dead, igniting a storm of doubt and suspicion. As long-buried secrets claw their way to the surface, the line between truth and deception blurs. With everyone involved in the original case now a potential suspect, they must tread carefully and confront the crimes of old as well as the present.

As the stakes escalate, can Warlow decipher the puzzle of the past before the present claims another victim?

DCI Warlow and his team are called in to investigate when a young man – who had only recently been released from prison after a wrong conviction overturned after nineteen years – has been murdered. As they look into the original crime and the resultant mess left behind the team discovered that more than a few people had reasons to keep this freed young man from telling the truth. Can they right these past grievous wrongs?

I have been really enjoying this slightly grittier Welsh based crime/mystery novels but have to admit we’re fast reaching the stage where there’s a number of plots arching across multiple novels and the team are getting more and more settled in together. While I do feel this book can be read by itself, there’s a few strong sub plots that have carried over from the previous few books. Additionally, I don’t feel this book ends quite on a cliffhanger, but it was very very clear to me what is about to happen almost immediately after this book has finished and I find myself really eager to carry on and not wait through a few other reads. So I was quite grateful that I already had the next book in the series waiting for me and I’ll be moving directly onto that next book. I have a strong feeling some other readers might feel the same as me and while this plot wraps up I’m very eager for the dangling thread left right there on the last few pages and so I’d strongly recommend readers consider having the next in the series on hand.

I really enjoyed this main plotline – how the team were determined to right the wrongs of the past police team who let this young man slide into the system and never tried to own their own errors. I also enjoyed how parts of the plot were quite convoluted and how I guessed some of it but also made inaccurate guesses in other places of the book. I thought a number of things wound together very well and while there wasn’t as much closure on some of the longer running plots that I’m eager to see wrapped up, there was some movement in them and that was good to read too.

Readers who enjoy a slightly more complicated British Police Procedural series should find this enjoyable. I admit it’s a little gritter and less “small town” or “comfort read” as many other British mysteries out there, but the plot is solidly written, and I find the series as a whole enjoyable.