Blood Games By Liz Mistry Book Review

Welcome to my review of Blood Games (Detective Nikki Parekh Book 4) By Liz Mistry. As I haven’t read any of the previous three books in this series, I felt this was a difficult one for me. I can see that it’s a good, well-written series though so I may go back to it later and see if that improves things!

Click me to go to my Review

THREE MURDERS. ONE MISSING BOY. THE GAME IS JUST BEGINNING…

When a body is found at the edge of Chellow Dene reservoir Detective Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik are quick to arrive.
 
This is the third murder in the space of a few weeks. Each murder has a completely different MO, but there is one common theme… all the victims are teenagers. The dead boy reminds Nikki of her nephew, and she feels more helpless than ever.
 
But then another boy goes missing. And this time his parents have been sent a threatening package too. The pattern is different again – is the killer just playing a game?

Can Nikki find the strength to uncover the shocking truth before the killer strikes again?

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 (Winky and Scumpy) 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, Rich and Fearless’, whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.

When I saw this book and chose it (from reading the synopsis), I didn’t realise it was the fourth book in a series. This usually doesn’t bother me, and I read it as a stand-alone, and that’s typically fine. However, I felt like I had missed a lot of the background this time, making it a better read. I will probably re-read it once I have read the first few in the series and try it again.

There are numerous murders in the local Bradford area. The victims are all teenagers, but each murder has a different MO. DS Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malki work to solve the puzzle until Parekh goes off sick for a while and a new DI takes over.

I liked this concept, the confusion caused by what seems like numerous murderers, the lack of a link between the victims or the apparent cause. However, I found this hard to get into and the pace difficult. I couldn’t really grasp all that was happening because I was so far through the series and did not understand the backstories or why these things were relevant. Some became clearer as I got through towards the end, but I admit to struggling to continue in places.

Continue I did, though, as I really wanted to know what happened and who was behind all the events. The characters were well developed, but obviously, a lot came from the previous books, so I didn’t feel like I understood them well. They were primarily likeable, though, and I got the gist of their pasts.

The ending was interesting, and I enjoyed it; it’s well set up for the next book.

Overall, I felt that the plot was chaotic for me, which I assume is down to not having read the previous books. A large slice of the vital information needed to solve the case was quickly handed to Parekh, making it unbelievable. Some of the events became more understood after knowing perpetrators; why it was that way became more apparent. Still, I would have thought they would have been extra careful given their lack of experience.

This is obviously a well-developed series, loved by many, so I am sure that it would have made for a better story; it just didn’t work out that way for me.

Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

Title	Blood Games
Author	Liz Mistry
Series	Detective Nikki Parekh Book 4
Format	eARC
Page Count	417 Pages
Genre	Mystery & Thriller
Publisher	HQ Digital
Release Date	26th January 2022