Flesh and Blood

Mark’s 11th “DS McAvoy” book (following Blind Justice) is a violent, gritty police procedural filled with vitriolic hatred. Detective Inspector Aector McAvoy is on holiday when he hears he’s supposed to be dying after an attack on the streets of Hull. Turns out it was the lover of McAvoy’s boss, Trish Pharaoh, who was brutally attacked with an ax outside her home. He resembles McAvoy, a big ginger-haired giant. Rumors fly and McAvoy and Pharaoh come under suspicion. She goes on the run, knowing her supervisor won’t give her a fair hearing. Both officers are playing into the hands of several master manipulators with connections to a serial killer whom they arrested and put away for life years earlier. As Pharaoh tries to discover why men she cares about are under attack, her action and McAvoy’s inaction leave them vulnerable, and targets. With the police indecisive as to whether to attempt to save her, the proliferation of cell phones, podcasts, and criminal acolytes, the two are never safe.