‘The Hard Way’ by Duncan Brockwell

Synopsis

Sometimes there is only one course of action…

When intruders enter a radio station and kill a famed presenter it sets in motion a chain of events that will push the Metropolitan Police to their limits.

Officers Hayes and Miller are on the trail of a suspect and when Eric Helsey is detained, the police realise they have arrested the wrong man. 

As the case grows more complicated with each revelation, and the body count rises, they find themselves investigating a series of crimes, all of which may be linked. 

But what ties the murder of the radio host with a Turkish casino owner and the killing of two employees at a valve factory?  

Hayes and Miller find themselves in a race against time to get to the truth before more people are hurt…

My Review

I have been a fan of Duncan’s work for a while now.  I haven’t quite caught up with everything that he has written but I am getting there.  I read the synopsis for ‘The Hard Way’ and it certainly sounded like the sort of book I have come to expect from Duncan – a gritty, fast paced psychological thriller.  Well ‘The Hard Way’ certainly ticked all those boxes and then some.  I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Hard Way’ but more about that in a bit.

I was drawn into ‘The Hard Way’ from the very first word on the very first page.  It was as if the book had developed a hold over me and it was a hold that I wasn’t willing to break.  To say that reading ‘The Hard Way’ became addictive is a massive understatement.  I just couldn’t put the book down.  My Kindle wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me.  I couldn’t bear to miss a single second of the story.  I was intrigued by the murders and I had to keep reading to see if my suspicions as to what was going to happen were spot on or wide of the mark.  The pages turned increasingly quickly as I worked my way through the story.  I found ‘the Hard Way’ to be an unputdownable, gripping page turner of a story.

‘The Hard Way’ is superbly written but then I have thought that to be true of Duncan’s books in general.  He certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draw you into what proves to be a compelling story.  For me, the story hit the ground running and maintained a fast pace throughout.  Reading ‘The Hard Way’ felt like being on a scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with more twists and turns than you would find on a ‘Snakes & Ladders’ board.  Duncan is a master storyteller, who certainly knows how to keep the reader guessing and on the edge of their seat.

In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Hard Way’ and I wholeheartedly recommend this book to other readers.  I will certainly be reading more of Duncan’s work in the future.  The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.