Bad Moon Rising by Francis di Plino (a review)

I was offered a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Bad Moon Rising is the first book in a crime fiction series (4 so far)featuring Detective Inspector Paolo Storey and his team. It is, I do feel I must point out from the offset, at times a very violent book. The perpetrator of the crimes is not a nice person....not even close. The thing is though, for all the violence and nastiness what you have here is a very good story indeed.

In his own way D.I. Storey is very much what you would expect of a leading copper character - broken marriage, family issues, going off on his own hunches etc, but he doesn't come across too badly out of all that. He is a character that feels believable, not too much of the "woe is me" thing going on. His team all play their parts admirably and there is enough potential with this team to make me want to read more.

As for the main story itself - somebody is killing off the local prostitutes is the short version I guess. There are a few side stories as well - Storey's daughter doing her own investigation at school, the colleague who wants Storey to investigate the possible spousal abuse of a friend. All the little bits tie up nicely but it is a hell of a ride to get to the end. There are at least 4 possible culprits and quite a few red herrings along the way so it'll certainly keep you guessing.

As the first book in a series this is an admirable effort and I will certainly be reading the rest of the D.I. Paolo Storey books. I'd happily suggest you give them a try too.

4.5/5 stars