The Death Collector ( Joe and Sam Parker 2)

Travel Guide

Oh Manchester. You’re not a happy city in this book! Following on from equally Mancunian ‘Next To Die, this once again trawls the streets, alleyways and canals digging up the city’s slurry and trying to fix its criminal and financial failings.

Against such a grim and gritty background, ironic then that the name of Joe’s law company is called Honeywells. Nothing sweet about the work they do or the ways they do it, but then there is always that nasty sting in the tail….

Even the lights of the city mark it out as being in the shadows –

“The lights of Manchester were visible now in the distance, a vast orange an and yellow glow like a different country, bright and brash and noisy. The other way was just blackness”

When Joe is called to the police station at two thirty in the morning, the harsh reality of meeting a young lad, carl Jex, who claims to have information on a miscarriage of justice is clear. Where once cases were exciting now they are just part of the job, but this one is different as Carl then goes missing overnight. This is not the first member of the family to disappear either.

Meanwhile on the Yorkshire moors, sam is called to a dumped body. Suspicious of the mess his  boss and others have made of the investigation, Sam goes his own way. Turns out the two cases are linked so Joe and Sam come together once again on different sides of the criminal fence.

Then it’s all gloves off as the cases comes to court and the courtroom is yet another chilling side to Manchester’s underbelly –

“The courtroom was all about the battle, the punch and the counter punch”