Holy Island: A DCI Ryan Mystery (The DCI Ryan Mysteries Book 1)

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A few days before Christmas, his peace is shattered and he is thrust back into the murky world of murder when a young woman is found dead amongst the ancient ruins of the nearby Priory. Nonetheless, given that he is a homicide detective, he also deals with demons from past cases that often haunt his days. This book was totally gripping from start to finish and the ending had me mentally saying 'oh no what next'. I did find though that Kevin Whately has such a recognisable voice that I found it hard to associate him to anyone other than Lewis in a police officer capacity.

It was fascinating listening, especially as a long standing fan of LJ Ross' DCI Ryan series, I was familiar with the characters. Accusations abound in the small, close-knit community, and ‘old’ religions spar against ‘new’ while fear runs like wildfire through the streets. Working with people lying to him, minimal clues, I came to the same discovery he did, especially when it came to the sad demise of one of the victims.If you are new to this fabulous series then you can start with this book, and if you have read the series up to date this is a look back to the case that changed Ryan’s life. The Hacker is a murderer who gives him nightmares, after it became personal, and it is this case that is the centre of The Infirmary. With an investigation already underway, Ryan, DS Frank Phillips and DI Denise MacKenzie need to sort through the facts that they know and eliminate a growing list of suspects to stop someone who is fast becoming the most notorious killer in Newcastle.

Given the strange markings on the girls body, in addition to where and how she was placed in the priory, his superior, Gregson, suggests that he needs an expert in ancient religions, symbolism, and ritual murder. His gruff, no-nonsense exterior and bawdy sense of humour belies a soft-hearted interior, which he reserves for those he loves. This is a murderer unlike any they have seen, someone clearly so dark in mind that what they do to their victims is horrific, torturous. The story itself is addictive, and if I was reading this, I would pick this up and no way would I put it down until I finished it.I could feel my heart pounding the closer to the end that I got and the build up of emotions grew stronger and was a bit of an emotional wreck by the end.

The minute details, where you have people walking in the background, answering the phone, running in the street all added to the story. It was good to read how the relationship between his colleagues has developed and what took him to Holy Island.I’ve read all of the DCI Ryan books before this one and I really enjoyed finding out where it all began. To the close-knit team of police in Northumbria CID, Ryan is still an outsider; aloof and uncompromising. The murders are grisly and shocking in their manner, making this a chilling but compelling crime thriller. Detective Chief Inspector Ryan retreats to Holy Island seeking sanctuary when he is forced to take sabbatical leave from his duties as a homicide detective.