Dying Breath by Liz Mistry
The killer is closing in… can she find him before he finds her?
When Detective Nikki Parekh receives a set of threatening postcards, she knows it can only mean one thing… The man who escaped arrest after murdering her mother two years ago is back.
Each postcard has a similar message: You’re next Parekh.
As the post marks on the cards gradually get closer to Bradford, Nikki must do everything she can to protect her family and catch the killer before it’s too late.
But when human remains are found in a remote barn on the icy Yorkshire moors, Nikki’s attention is pulled away from her family. When a tattoo on the victim’s arm – the only means of identification – leads nowhere, the team have already met a dead end.
About the author
Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Richand Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too. Liz has completed a PhD in Creative Writing on Diverse voices in crime fiction
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.
Social Media Links –
Twitter: @LizMistryAuthor / Facebook: @LizMistryBooks / Website: lizmistry.com
Review
‘Dying Breath’ is a book that will raise goosebumps, make you gasp, and reel you in with it's insanely good plot! This is the first Nikki Parekh book that I have read and I was seriously impressed. It's clear that this book is the culmination of an ongoing story from the previous books but it can be read as a standalone as enough information is given to a new reader to understand what is going on! I will be going back to the start of the series though as this book was brilliant. Just as a warning to readers the narrative of the main murder does circle round the issue of dog fighting and some readers may find it hard to stomach. However, Liz does handle this topic with empathy and a sense of humanity. Don't let that put you off as you would be missing out on a banger of a book!
Detective Nikki Parekh has been receiving postcards and they can only have been sent by one person. The person who killed her mother. Her father. As the postmarks on the cards show that he is steadily getting nearer to her family she increases the police presence at her house. Meanwhile, Nikki and her team have been called to a crime scene in an isolated barn on the North York Moors. Human remains have been found but there are few leads and soon the team have meet a dead end.
Despite coming into this book series as a new reader I was instantly engaged and became engrossed in the story and the characters. Nikki is a highlight - strong, flawed by trauma, intent on protecting her family, working on her demons and determined to find justice for the person who was killed.
Liz is a talented author. The level of tension that ramped up in this book was insane! It was already a high-stakes situation but it was drip-fed bit by bit until you just knew that a showdown was coming and when it did, oh boy… Also, how can someone so nice as Liz come up with such a digesting and hideous character as Nikki's father?! It has been a while since a character has managed to crawl into my psyche and made me shiver like he did.
Roll on the next book in the series as I want to know what happens now
