Many thanks to NetGalley and to Storm Publishing for letting me see an advance reader’s copy of Silent Ritual by Andrew James Greig.
This is Book 2 in the PI Teàrlach Paterson series, and it didn’t disappoint. It was especially great to catch up with the whole gang and see them develop and grow and learn to trust each other.
While the team are looking into an open and closed murder, they start to wonder if it isn’t somehow connected to another mysterious death. And as they dig deeper, their own lives are naturally at risk.
This story grabbed me from start to finish. I didn’t want to put it down, and I forgot I was supposed to be reviewing it. Great depth, wonderful locations, really likeable characters.
I remembered how to pronounce Teàrlach’s name from Book 1 (I call him Charlie inside my head), but in case someone is coming into the series from Book 2 onwards, it would be good to have a quick reminder during the first chapter in which he appears.
Again, there are Americanisms and US English spellings in a Scottish-set book. I counted four Williams (including William Wallace), and I got confused between Detectives Johnson and John Jenkins.
There are one or two continuity issues, a couple of viewpoints switched mid-paragraph, and I think there may be some missing text just before Chapter 40 as Dee suddenly knows a lot more about Teàrlach’s life without him telling her. This should be ironed out during editing and proofreading, though.
While there are some complex sentences here and there, I always feel as though I’m learning something when I read one of Greig’s books. And the writing itself is lovely. Lots of depth, lots of colour. Wonderful!
I’m chomping at the bit now to read Book 3!
Five stars.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
