Publisher: Sphere (Little Brown) | Publication Date: 30th July 2015 | Edition: Kindle (Netgalley)
I’m delighted to be taking part in Neil White’s The Domino Killer book tour. Today, I review his excellent book – PLUS you will find an author profile for this talented chap at the end of the post.
BOOK SUMMARY:
When a man is found beaten to death in a local Manchester park, Detective Constable Sam Parker is one of the investigating officers. Sam swiftly identifies the victim, but what at first looks like an open and shut case quickly starts to unravel when he realises that the victim’s fingerprints were found on a knife at another crime scene, a month earlier.
Meanwhile, Sam’s brother, Joe – a criminal defence lawyer in the city – comes face to face with a man whose very presence sends shockwaves through his life. Joe must confront the demons of his past as he struggles to come to terms with the darkness that this man represents.
Before long, Joe and Sam are in way over their heads, both sucked into a terrifying game of cat-and-mouse that threatens to change their lives for ever…
The Domino Killer is a sinister concoction of ingredients, brewed methodically to perfection.
Joe Parker represents criminals for a living, not all of them as innocent as they plead. As a lawyer, it’s his job to offer the best 
defence, regardless. His detective brother, Sam, catches the wriggling blighters.
While accepting a new client to defend for suspected arson of his own car, the brothers are drawn into the sociopathic world of a serial killer who has a penchant for young girls and a shedload of misery. As their sister was killed eighteen years previously, the investigation into her unsolved murder is unofficially reopened like an old wound exposing all kinds of nasties and guilt.
First impressions are deceptive in this tale. The story creeps along like a snakes belly, leaving a tricky trail of clues in its wake. Why this viper struck in this way makes no sense; the discovery of a man’s body in a park will lead the brothers and those they care for into a personal hell, where someone is setting them up for a fall in a clever little cascade.
It goes without saying that a lot of people are going to get hurt, as they are manipulated from a shady chat room scene. But what exactly connects each of them? It will take all of the Parker brothers’ resolve to join the dots, especially when suspicion comes knocking on one of their doors.
Sam, Joe and Joe’s assistant, Gina, an ex-copper who worked on his sister’s case, are soon faced with dilemmas galore – their professional ethics tell them one thing, their moral compass will steer them somewhere else entirely.
Trust. Grief. Revenge. The good guys contend with all of this. They are not heroes. They are portrayed as ordinary folk and are therefore guilty of a ‘severe lack of judgement syndrome’. This creates a more plausible and compelling plot, as they’re only human after all.
Can they stop the domino effect before one of them falls? Only if a dark truth from the past is revealed.
Although I did have an inkling of the final outcome it was still well played. It’s the first Neil White book I have read, but it certainly won’t be the last.
Most definitely recommended by me.
Rating: 4/5
Note: Although this is the 3rd book in the Parker Brothers’ series it can be read as a stand alone.
Buy the book: The Domino Killer Published on 30th July 2015.
Author links: Twitter | Website | Amazon UK
Thanks for stopping by,
(My sincere thanks to @Lizzy11268 for organising the Neil White book tour. Thanks also goes to the publisher and Netgalley for providing an advanced copy of this book for review.)
Little Bookness Lane 