Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by usbsticky
When the Guilty Cry by M.J. Lee
4.0
Spoilers ahead.
There are 2 cases in this book. Firstly, 3 severed hands are found in backpack in an abandoned house, the site of a previous children's home, where children were abused.
In another case, the Coroner's office is asked to declare the death of Jane Ryder, who disappeared at age 16. It has been 12 years since her disappearance. Nothing has ever been heard of her or from her and her parents want closure.
Ridpath is involved in both cases. In the severed hand case, they start off with trying to identify the hands, to see if it was a medical students' prank. If not, then to try to identify the hands by DNA or prints.
With the Ryder case, he starts off by interviewing all the people who knew her including her parents, friends, teachers, etc. An old picture of Jane at a festival is found. She is seen with a backpack, similar to the one with the severed hands. As the backpack is a very unusual one, it appears that the cases might be linked.
Mrs. Challinor, the Coroner is determined to hold the inquest in a few days by which time Ridpath must finish his investigation. Similarly the MIT is shorthanded and doesn't give Ridpath the time or help that he needs. But during an update, DCI Turnbull, who is Ridpath's superior suspects that Ridpath is close to breaking the case and steals the case from him.
As usual with this series, I have skipped the alternate POVs. I do not want to read them as I don't want to see what the crims are doing and it doesn't seem to make a difference. In fact, it seems to create more suspense as I don't see what else is happening.
One thing I thoroughly dislike is the repeated plot device of Ridpath's superior(s) throwing him under the bus and then finding that he's right in the end. This is DCI Turnbull's usual MO, with Superintendent Trent usually disbelieving Ridpath as well but giving him a few more days. By this time, Trent should honestly be putting her faith in Ridpath because he has been right in every book and Turnbull wrong in every book. Not only that but Turnbull is such an awful person and not conducive to a good working atmosphere at the MIT.
The ending is also a bit dodgy here. There are a few loose ends and a few things don't make sense. For example, they should have followed up on Jones (the inmate) more closely.
Apart from all of the above, this series has gotten better with every book. The build up of suspense in this book has been great. The author does a great job of making the characters real and interesting. And despite the great number of characters, he has managed to keep them all distinct and separate. I usually hate too much personal drama but the author has segued it well into this book. Overall, a great page turner that has kept me up late at night.
There are 2 cases in this book. Firstly, 3 severed hands are found in backpack in an abandoned house, the site of a previous children's home, where children were abused.
In another case, the Coroner's office is asked to declare the death of Jane Ryder, who disappeared at age 16. It has been 12 years since her disappearance. Nothing has ever been heard of her or from her and her parents want closure.
Ridpath is involved in both cases. In the severed hand case, they start off with trying to identify the hands, to see if it was a medical students' prank. If not, then to try to identify the hands by DNA or prints.
With the Ryder case, he starts off by interviewing all the people who knew her including her parents, friends, teachers, etc. An old picture of Jane at a festival is found. She is seen with a backpack, similar to the one with the severed hands. As the backpack is a very unusual one, it appears that the cases might be linked.
Mrs. Challinor, the Coroner is determined to hold the inquest in a few days by which time Ridpath must finish his investigation. Similarly the MIT is shorthanded and doesn't give Ridpath the time or help that he needs. But during an update, DCI Turnbull, who is Ridpath's superior suspects that Ridpath is close to breaking the case and steals the case from him.
As usual with this series, I have skipped the alternate POVs. I do not want to read them as I don't want to see what the crims are doing and it doesn't seem to make a difference. In fact, it seems to create more suspense as I don't see what else is happening.
One thing I thoroughly dislike is the repeated plot device of Ridpath's superior(s) throwing him under the bus and then finding that he's right in the end. This is DCI Turnbull's usual MO, with Superintendent Trent usually disbelieving Ridpath as well but giving him a few more days. By this time, Trent should honestly be putting her faith in Ridpath because he has been right in every book and Turnbull wrong in every book. Not only that but Turnbull is such an awful person and not conducive to a good working atmosphere at the MIT.
The ending is also a bit dodgy here. There are a few loose ends and a few things don't make sense. For example, they should have followed up on Jones (the inmate) more closely.
Apart from all of the above, this series has gotten better with every book. The build up of suspense in this book has been great. The author does a great job of making the characters real and interesting. And despite the great number of characters, he has managed to keep them all distinct and separate. I usually hate too much personal drama but the author has segued it well into this book. Overall, a great page turner that has kept me up late at night.