Today I’m delighted to be a stop on the blog tour for the latest novel in Val Penny’s Edinburgh crime fiction series: ‘Hunter’s Rules‘. I’ve loved these books since I read the first in the series: The DI Hunter Wilson Crime Thrillers.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.
Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories,nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.
BLURB
A bloody scene brings Hunter and Meera’s romantic plans to an abrupt end.
A young woman attacked in a hotel lift has life changing injuries. Her wounds match those inflicted on two women who were murdered.
When Hunter is identified as a suspect in the case, he must establish his innocence to lead his team and solve this bloodcurdling crime.
Is the same person responsible for all three crimes?
Will the girl in the lift finally identify who is targeting these young women ?
Hunter will stop at nothing until he catches the unhinged killer.
MY REVIEW
In ‘Hunter’s Rules’ I enjoyed yet another fast-paced journey alongside Val Penny’s characters as she develops their relationships with each other over the course of this series: the police and their banter; the loveable rogues Frankie and Jamie who always seem to graze very close to breaking the law but instead end up helping their pal, ‘Blondie’, in the police; Jamie’s jailbird ‘pop’, Ian Thomson, constantly advising his son over the phone; Arjun Mansoor, the much-feared criminal whose long-term prison sentence does nothing to prevent the operation of ‘his long reach’, and the evasive, slippery interviewees who always have something to hide which they don’t want anyone else to know about, but which hampers the police in finding the murderer.
This story opens with the discovery of a young woman in a lift at Edinburgh’s most prestigious hotel, the victim of a gruesome attack by, we presume, a psychopath with a fetish for collecting human eyes. Hunter and his beloved, Meera, once again find their romantic plans disrupted by a vicious murder demanding their immediate attention; and the familiar team at Police Scotland whom we have grown to love, begin their lightning-speed teamwork. The story powers along with Val Penny’s now-familiar blend of humour, racy dialogue, insights into the distorted criminal mind, and cat-and-mouse interviews in the unsavoury surroundings of the police interview rooms, accompanied by very dodgy coffee.
One of the many aspects that give this novel its edge are the intermittent passages in the mind of the killer: set out in italics; they show the killer pleased with his handiwork, seeking to get close to the recovering victim, often just giving the police the slip by a hair’s breadth: this device ratchets up the tension.
A dramatic and shocking denouement rewards the reader in this the latest of Val Penny’s popular DI Hunter Wilson crime series.
LINK TO BUY
WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS
Website – https://www.valpenny.com
Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.co.uk/Val-Penny/e/B07C4725TK
Author Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/valerie.penny.739
Author Twitter Page @valeriepenny
Author Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/valerieepenny/
The author wants to see and share your posts.
Please include the hashtag #HUNTERSRULES when you are sharing your posts
Why not sign up to join my mailing list? You’ll receive my monthly newsletter straight to yoiur inbox . I share gems and snippets from my research discoveries and news and insights from the writing and publishing worlds, plus you’ll be the first to know when I have a new book coming out.
Hello! My name’s Sheila and I write under the pen name of SC Skillman. I live in Warwick with my husband and son, and my daughter currently lives and works in Australia.
I was born and brought up in Orpington, Kent, and have loved writing most of my life. I studied English Literature at Lancaster University, and my first permanent job was as a production secretary with the BBC. Later I lived for nearly five years in Australia before returning to live and work in the UK.
My output includes mystery fiction, and historical and paranormal nonfiction. Each of my nonfiction books is illustrated by 100 original full colour photos, mostly taken by myself, and others by my son and daughter (both talented photographers!)
In March 2023 I was the Nonfiction Adjudicator at the Scottish Association of Writers Annual Conference in Glasgow. I’m a member of the Society of Authors and the Association of Christian Writers.
My nonfiction books on Warwickshire are published by Amberley and include Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire and A-Z of Warwick. I’m now researching a fourth book for Amberley: Paranormal Gloucestershire. I also have a new contemporary fantasy novel in progress, called Director’s Cut.
In addition to my published books, I blog weekly on scskillman.com about books and films I love, people and places of inspiration, life, spirituality, history and travel.
I’m also a public speaker and have spoken to many groups and organisations about Paranormal Warwickshire, Illustrated Tales of Warwickshire, the quirky tales of Warwick, the art of writing nonfiction, and the power of story. Do get in touch with me if you’d like a speaker for your group!
scskillman.com 