Friday, 9 November 2018

#BlogTour #Talisman by David Evans @CarolineBookBit @DavidEwriter @OrchardViewBook

Talisman by David Evans
Wakefield Series #3
Publication Date: 1st November 2018
Published by Orchard View Publications
336 pages
Genre: Crime/police procedural

The final instalment currently available in the Wakefield series certainly opens with shocking scenes, and I have to say a huge thank you to Caroline Vincent from Bits about Books for organising a great tour and raising awareness for a series which may possibly have missed my radar - I hope many more people give this series a try as I for one have thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. Fortunately for fans such as myself I understand a new instalment is due out early in 2019 so we won't have long to wait to see what happens next for Strong and Souter.


Book Description:

A man’s body found naked and shackled to a frame in a house fire; a body lying undiscovered in a bath for over a year; massive European funding for a controversial construction project. Is there a link between the bodies and the business deal? And what exactly is the Talisman Club?
In the third instalment of the Wakefield series, DI Colin Strong and best friend, journalist Bob Souter must work together to bring the guilty to justice before time runs out.

My Review:

 As with the previous novels in the series the opening scenes happen in a seemingly separate time frame to the events which the detectives are investigating in the main body of the book. However as information filters in and names crop up as part of the investigation, links start to look possible but without concrete evidence the team struggles to prove their suspicions. With denials of association between significant people in the enquiry, the case is not going to be easy to crack. What (or who) are they hiding, and more importantly why are they not helping the police?

This style of writing - the author's MO if you like - suits me as a reader as I find I am looking for links straightaway between the two crime scenes but with the author cleverly trickling the vital clues into the narrative along the way I am never 100% sure that my train of thought is heading in the right direction.

DI Strong's team once again work well together to solve the case, with journalist and personal friend Bob Souter on the fringes of the investigation bringing the news to the front pages whilst asking his own questions and assisting the police in his own, considerably less official capacity - often using rather dubious methods.
Corruption in higher places once again raises its ugly head in this third novel and the whole novel has a very real feel to it, and could quite easily be the subject of newspaper headlines in today's world of developers and council officials working closely together to get plans approved for new housing or retail outlets. But what is the mysterious Talisman club, and why is nobody being honest about its existence? Who are the members of this seemingly secret society and what are they hiding? The truth will have you turning the pages in the search for answers, not wanting to stop reading until you know.

I have been completely immersed in this whole series, and have to admit that it is the first set of books I have binge-read since my childhood. The characters have developed perfectly from book one through to the conclusion of Talisman and events tie up nicely through the series making it an ideal set of books you can either pick up and read one instalment without feeling you've missed too much or, as I did, read from the start and keep on going. There is just enough information to give you a hint of what happened without spoiling the earlier books should you want to go back and read them out of order.  I can't imagine anyone not wanting to read more once you get a taste of David Evans' writing. I am looking to pre-order book 4, Tainted, as soon as I can - it's due out in February 2019 and I cannot wait!

About the Author:


David Evans is a Scots-born writer who found his true love as well as his inspiration for his detective series, in Wakefield. Having written all his life, in 2012 he decided to go for it – successfully as the next year, in 2013, he was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger Award.
The Wakefield Series became an International Bestseller in June 2017 with success in Canada and Australia as well as the UK.
Early 2018 Disposal was published, the first book in the Tendring Series, a new detective series, set in north Essex in the 1970s.
Now, whilst awaiting the fourth book in the Wakefield Series (coming early 2019), the first three books in the Wakefield series have been republished by Orchard View Publications with brand new covers.
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