Dragon’s Breath by Rhys Dylan
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

In the mountains, some secrets are deadlier than the storms.

A man wanders lost on a filthy night in the Black mountains of Wales.

Despite the valiant efforts of the rescue services, he does not survive.

Is this an accident? Or malice aforethought?

DCI Warlow and team are drawn into a mystery that soon spirals into more deaths and a poisonous trade.

A devious killer is abroad. One that cares for nothing other than their own twisted greed. The dragon’s breath taints everything it touches.

And no one is safe.

DCI Warlow and his team are called in to investigate when a young electrician is left to die in a remote region in the Black Mountains. With plenty of questions – and a distraught family left behind – can they unravel what really happened, when everything merely leads to more questions.

I have been greatly enjoying this series and found this to be a particularly strong addition to the collective. While it’s clear there is plenty of working history and connections now between the team, I still found this mystery to be suitable for new readers to pick up and begin fresh. While there are a few references to things that occurred in previous books broadly speaking I thought there was nothing too onerous or difficult for readers to easily pick up and understand. More importantly, the murder mystery within this book was clearly defined and contained in this story.

I admit I felt a greater connection to the characters knowing their shared history. I was also pleased the team’s personal lives all seemed to make some good progress. In particular DCI Warlow had a breakthrough that’s been clearly needed for at least the last few books, and we also had some good progress with Catrin and her personal storyline which was just lovely to see. This all felt really satisfying along with a very well written murder mystery. I was pleased that I guessed quite a bit of the plot – but there were still enough surprises and freshness to the plot that some of the twists I didn’t see coming at all.

I found this to be a good balance between characters personal story arcs progressing and a well written and deeply interesting murder mystery. The Welsh setting was an absolutely bonus – and this remains the only Welsh mystery series I know of. A lovely change of pace and tone to the more usual British police procedural style of books and a series I can strongly recommend. Thoroughly enjoyable.

The Last Throw by Rhys Dylan
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

This time, it’s more than personal.

Within the tranquil confines of a west Wales village, peace gives way to pandemonium as a trivial theft transforms into a devastating tragedy.

DCI Evan Warlow confronts what initially appears to be a straightforward case, only to find himself ensnared in a web of deceit. And when a routine press assignment also exposes a team member to a malevolent scheme, chaos begins to spiral.

From idyllic coastlines to rugged peaks, Warlow races across diverse landscapes in pursuit of answers and to foil a deadly adversary. In an electrifying narrative of suspense and sacrifice, he must forge unconventional alliances to tilt the scales in his favour before it’s too late.

DCI Warlow and his team are called in when a robbery at a remote convenience store appears to end in the car park in a murder. Before the team can really grapple with the conflicting evidence one of their own falls into mortal peril and the team need to divide their time between their fresh murder case – and a situation that is anything but routine.

I have been greatly enjoying this series and the more personal case in this story has been brewing for the last few books. In that sense it was a relief to finally have both some momentum on this case but many of the threads for this have now been tied up. This author has a tendency to frequently leave some items of various plotlines weave through multiple books so I was really happy to see a few of these finally resolved, though do admit there are clearly a few items still remaining for the next few books.

I also really loved how Rhys finally got to really spear-head his own case here. As one of the junior members of the team I was impressed and quite happy to see how far he’s grown and come in this series and while there was of course still some oversight from the senior members I had a lot of pride and emotional investment in Rhys and his flourishing in his career so that was wonderful to read.

While I do think this book can be read independently there is still a fair bit of cross over now between previous books. I feel the plots and team members can be enjoyed just with this story – but for a richer and more emotional connection I do feel at least some of the previous books should be read for a deeper understanding. This is a series worth the investment.

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.

The Light Remains by Rhys Dylan
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

The games people play…

When a revered sports legend falls victim to a brutal home invasion, a nation is shaken to its core. Outrage swells and the press and powers that be demand answers.

DCI Evan Warlow, fresh from a well-earned vacation, is thrown into the cauldron to lead the investigation. But the victim, despite his iconic status, has secrets of his own.

Amidst the chaos of jealousy and rivalry that swirls around the case, a darker underbelly emerges. The pursuit of truth transforms into a gripping hunt, but whose truth is the team hunting?

Something else lurks in the labyrinth of deception. Something vile and twisted that could strike again at any moment… unless it’s found.

A nationally loved retired sports hero is brutally hurt during a home invasion. When he dies from those wounds the aggregated burglary case is turned over to homicide – and DCI Warlow and his team. Pressured from the public as well as their own managers, Warlow and his team do their best as they do for every case. Can they unravel all the threads and find out who could do such a seemingly senseless crime?

I have been greatly enjoying this Welsh based police procedural series. I feel this book can absolutely be read alone – though the team has quite a strong history together now and readers who prefer to read their stories in order might want to go back and start at the beginning. Everything is very well explained in this book I feel, and certainly I think the crime and plotline is very well encapsulated here and no prior reading is strictly necessary.

While many of the books in this series have a slightly gritter feel to them I do feel this book is more about the smaller towns in Wales and the tight knit communities. I enjoyed how there was a few different threads in this plotline, and they were all given a good weight and for quite some time I found myself piecing everything together along with the team. Any one of these threads could have borne fruit and been part of the murder mystery so I feel the author did a really good job of juggling a number of balls in the air but also making them all quite realistic and very well balanced together.

A strong police procedural style of murder mystery, made even better to my mind for being based in Wales which I still find quite an interesting and different setting, making this a standout read.

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

One of our own…

DCI Evan Warlow believes that murder is a cardinal sin. Even when the victim is a drug dealing, money-laundering criminal. But when a police officer is shot in the same incident at a tranquil beach near Tenby in South Pembrokeshire… Suddenly it’s personal. What appears, on the surface, to be a falling out between partners in crime soon spirals into an operation involving gang warfare and a great deal of money.

But even Warlow is not prepared for what lurks beneath the surface of this most terrible of crimes. The truth, hidden under a tangled knot of lies, will lead him to a terrifying conclusion, and that most dangerous of beings; a killer with nothing left to lose.

Another fast paced, gripping police procedural that will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last page.

Two police officers are shot following up what at first appeared to be a minor phone call. DCI Evan Warlow and his team are called in to investigate and what superficially looks like a simple matter quickly becomes murky and intricate. Can Warlow and his team untangle what quickly becomes quite a dangerous situation?

I’ve been greatly enjoying this Welsh-based police procedural series and found this to be an excellent addition. While the team has quite a history of working together now and they’ve formed quite a solid routine and pattern I still definitely feel readers should be fine to pick this book up and read it without having read any of the previous history. The plot and workings between the team are quite clear and the depth of connection between them all is quite a pleasure to read to my mind.

I was interested that there were a few longer-running story arcs that popped up in this book and clearly there’s a thread with Molly – the daughter of one of the detectives – that progressed a nice amount in this book. I thought the author did a really good job balancing between the police procedural aspect to the case and the plotline of the murder mystery but also showing the private lives of the team and moving some of their emotional growth forward as well. I thought this showed a good balance and a lot of talent on the author’s part.

Readers looking for an action-orientated story or a faster moving pace might not find this quite fits the bill for them, but for readers who enjoy a solid murder mystery with quite a few roaming parts should find like I did that this is a well written and well-paced book with interesting characters and an enjoyable plot. A good book in an interesting series and I’m definitely looking forward to the next installment.

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

The egg man cometh…

When a delivery driver stumbles across the dead body of a reclusive author in a remote area within a stone’s throw of the Llyn Brianne dam, his first thoughts are that the elderly man has had a heart attack.

But the knife sticking out of the corpse’s chest tells a different story.

Dial in some missing walkers, a secretive cult, and the unwelcome presence of paranormal-hunting podcasters and DCI Warlow has his work cut out getting to the rotten heart of the case.

DCI Evan Warlow and his team are called in when a delivery man stumbles across the dead body of an elderly man stabbed to dead out front of his home in the isolated far northern reaches of Wales. Even though the area is extremely hard to reach and very isolated, the few neighbors on offer are somewhat questionable and as Evan and his team dig deeper into the victim’s previous life more and more questions appear. Can they work out what elements are really at play here?

I am really enjoying this Welsh police procedural series. I feel these are just a little bit darker and grittier than the usual British police procedural books I read. I really enjoy the Welsh elements to this story – the different landscape, the few Welsh words and colloquiums thrown in and the different atmosphere to the writing itself. While I find there are a number of British and Scottish series out there this remains the only Welsh series, I’m aware of and I really enjoy it.

I found the pace of this book just slightly slower than some other mysteries out there. I didn’t mind that but know it might not appeal to all readers. There were also clearly a few different sub plots rolling around and I couldn’t help but feel the two kidnapped girls plot could have potentially moved at a slightly faster pace since it wasn’t clear even by the half-way mark into the book exactly what was going on with them.

I absolutely love the main characters in the team. They all work together really cohesively and it’s clear how much they value and support one another. I also enjoy that they are all quite individual characters and watching them mesh together and interact is a real pleasure. I am really enjoying this series as a whole and can’t wait to read the next coming along.

A solid and well written Welsh police procedural, this book is worth giving a try.

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

Know thine enemy …

Evan Warlow is a man with enemies. As a DCI in the Dyfed Powys force, that comes with the territory. But when two of his most vicious critics are abducted and turn up dead in a macabre tableau, tough questions need to be asked.

The uncomfortable answers lead Evan and the team back to his roots and an old case that has haunted him for years. The deaths in the forest have all the hallmarks of a dangerous killer with no fear of consequences. And when one of Evan’s fellow officers becomes the next target, it’s clear that the murderer isn’t finished yet.

There’s a coppery aroma of vendetta in the air. Unless Evan and the team can get to the root cause of the killer’s twisted anger, there will be more deaths. And guess who’s next on the list?

DCI Evan Warlow has made a number of enemies on his many years on the police force. When two of his most vitriolic enemies are found tortured and murdered, there are a number of difficult questions to answer. Evan and his team continue to tirelessly pursue both the truth and to stop any more unnecessary deaths, but will they have the strength to come through this – one of their hardest cases yet?

I have been greatly enjoying this slightly gritty, Welsh based police procedural series. While there are a few longer-running plot arcs that run through numerous books together, there is definitely one main plotline for each book and the police investigation around it. So, while I feel each of these books can certainly be picked up alone, I equally feel that readers who have read some or all of the books can get a deeper connection to these longer-running arcs and get a more complicated and layered enjoyment of the stories.

I was particularly glad that two very long plots (one surrounding Evan and his sons, and the other dealing with a particularly distasteful work colleague) were very well handled and wrapped up in this book. While I could understand if there are a few tendrils of the work colleague that linger into the next book or so I definitely feel much better for having – I believe – the bulk of this storyline wrapped up. I also felt a bit bad for Catrin – one of Evan’s team members – being dragged into the muck with this and I am hoping all will resolve well related to her character.

The plot itself was very well handled I felt. The difficulty of having the two victims be genuinely awful people and not at all sympathetic, and in addition to that them being very much antagonists of our hero, Evan, made it a really interesting read to me. Seeing Evan and his team work just as hard to solve this murder as any other shone a lot of light on both the teams’ characters as well as their impartiality – their genuine desire to solve crime no matter who the victim might be. I really enjoyed the slightly different look this gave and it made what could have been a very uncomfortable book something different and fresh to my mind.

With excellent characters – both good and bad – and a solid, well-paced plot I am enjoying this series and am eager for the next installment.

Suffer The Dead by Rhys Dylan
Publisher: Wyrmwood Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Nothing bad ever happens in the countryside… right?

When a farmer and his son go missing whilst chasing rustlers, DCI Evan Warlow and his team are called in to investigate. Everything points to a botched raid by heartless thieves, but with no bodies, and little or no clues, the team quickly start chasing their tails.

The close-knit community reels from the shock, but not everyone the team comes across is being entirely honest, and it quickly transpires that, under their prim and proper facades, some have secrets they are desperate to keep.

But even Warlow isn’t prepared for the monstrous truth when, like a rabid sheepdog, it finally sits up and bites him on the leg.

He’s too busy trying not to get killed himself.

DCI Evan Warlow and his team had been sent far north to help a rural team investigate a father and son who have gone missing. Sheep rustling is a major problem in the quiet area and when blood and splatter is discovered on a barn next to the men’s abandoned car everyone fears for the worst. But as the team investigate, they uncover more problems hidden in the small community and soon no one is safe.

I’ve been really enjoying this Welsh based police procedural series. Written in a slightly gritter noir type of style this book hooked me from the beginning. While there is a fair bit of history between Warlow and his team members, I don’t feel readers should shy away from this book if it’s the first one they’ve come across. All the connections are quite well explained, and really the plot and setting is all easily encapsulated within this book so it stands quite well alone.

There was a bit of progress as well with the DCI and some of his personal/family story arcs which I really enjoyed. A part of me hopes we get a bit more history and background to some of the other team members in forthcoming books but there is enough of a feel of the slow-burn here that I am happy to come along for the ride, especially when the mystery and police plotlines are so well written and realistic.

I found this police procedural style of story a good read and particularly enjoyed the Welsh feel and setting.