Review - Taunting The Dead by Mel Sherratt

What an awesome novel this was!  Exciting and thrilling.  Could not put it down!

Steph Ryder is a rich bitch, and trophy wife to husband Terry, a dubious character and property developer that the police have their eye on.  Difficult daughter Kirstie is mixing with Lee, son of Phil Kennedy - Terry’s right hand man, and Steph tells her not to see him anymore and that if her dad finds out he’ll be furious.   Steph drinks a lot to drown out the fact that on the outside, her life should be perfect, but inside, it’s not all it may seem and she is desperately unhappy.

Steph’s best friend Carole, has a soft spot for Terry and wishes that she had Steph’s life instead of working all hours yet still struggling to make ends meet in the restaurant she owns with husband Shaun.  They borrowed money from Phil and owe it back with considerable interest, but Phil tells Shaun that he’ll wipe his debt off in exchange for him “taking out” someone. Shaun knows it’s tempting, but as a good person, really doesn’t think he can do it, although he’s actually given no choice in the matter. 

When Steph is found dead with her caved in, a number of people have a motive for murdering her, and there is a long list of suspects including her husband for the police to work through. 

Detective Sergeant Allie Shenton, obsessive about her job and about finding the man who ruined her sister’s and family’s lives, is married to Mark who finds the energies she puts into her job instead of her marriage sometimes just too much, even though he tries hard to support her.   Allie’s instincts tell her that Terry is hiding something, yet she appears to be taken under his spell and charmed by him all the same. 

The book was riveting, gripping right from the first page, and I really couldn’t get enough of it.   I could feel my heart thumping at times, anticipating what was going to happen next.    You were left guessing until the very last chapter, who actually killed Steph and whether they were going to get away with it. 

The last paragraph, was totally unexpected and I wanted to immediately pick up the next book in the series.  The only problem is that it hasn’t been finished yet but I can honestly say that I’ll be counting down to the day when it’s published.    Come on Mel, please hurry up! 

There was lots of blood and gore in the book, but not so much that it made a vulgar read, it was kind of necessary to the plot.  The characters were created well and believable although I’m very glad that I don’t come into contact with any of them.   And to think that I thought Stoke On Trent was a quiet little town in the Potteries where Robbie Williams came from!  

Mel Sherratt is married and is from Stoke on Trent and has always been interested in reading and writing, winning a writing competition when she was just 11.  She has been dabbling with writing for over ten years and it was when she changed her genre from women’s fiction to crime thriller that her writing flourished. 

Mel's website can be found by clicking here.  Mel also hosts a blog called High Heels and Book Deals which can be found by clicking here   where she reviews books, interviews authors and talks about books.

You can follow Mel on Twitter and more importantly, you can buy this awesome crime thriller at Amazon by clicking here.