I thought that since I just got an eARC of the fourth book in the series "Death Shall Come" was it about time I got the review written for the first book in the series. As usual did I not start this series from the beginning, I have a special talent for starting in the middle or so in a series and with this one did I read book two "Dead Man Walking" first. And, I loved it! And, now I have read all three books and can't wait to start book four.

The Dark Side of the Road was nice to read since it gave me the full story of what happened at Belcourt Manor. I read a lot of what happened in the sequels, but it was very nice to get the whole picture. Ishmael Jones arrives at Belcourt Manor after getting an invitation to join the Colonel to spend Christmas at Belcourt Manor with him. The mysterious Colonel and Ishmael work together, but they never really socialize together and the Colonel also hints that something is wrong at his family home and that's why he is returning for the first time in years. But, when Ishmael arrives is the Colonel missing and his family and guest are a really odd bunch of people. And, could it be that the Colonel is right, is there someone there out to kill the people at the manor? It gets even worse when they all get snowed in...

If you read more of these books will you start to notice a pattern. Ishmael Jones travels to a mysterious mansion/castle etc. to solve something, and it often ends with a lot of dead bodies. The first sentence in the blurb "a country house murder mystery with a supernatural twist" is very fitting. That's what it is and if that's what you're looking to read then you will like this book. It has a very interesting main character; Ishmael Jones who has a mysterious past. I quite like him and his partner Penny, although in this book they are not yet partners. The book has a lot of action, banter, and brutal killings. Perhaps it's not that hard to figure out or suspect who the killer is, especially when more and more of the family members and guest starts to die, but it's such an enjoyable book. Personally, did I like this book a bit extra because I wanted to read how Ismael and his partner Penny met. ( )

I loved this author’s Nightside series and I feel like this is just a rewrite of that. The main character uses some of the exact same lines as the main character in the Nightside series. ( )

This is a fun book to read when you want something different. While it has the feeling of an Agatha Christie novel it soon gets past that. The villain is who you would expect but their not what you would expect. I enjoyed the mystery playing the way it. The author wrote a very smart, tense, yet easy to read story. The characters are easy to like,so the story never gets boring. I think if you like a mystery in the style of the X-Files than you'll enjoy this book.

I read this book through NetGalley. I thank them and the publisher for this book. #NetGalley ( )

I have enjoyed several of Simon Green's books over the years, and this was no exception. For some reason, I was a bit leery of reading this, thinking it was possibly a book in the middle of a series, and having maybe not read the possible prior stories, I would be left on the darkside of the road (sorry for the pun). There need be no worries. Whether this is a first or a stand-alone novel, I felt there was enough background on characters and their history to make the story enjoyable, yet also leave me wanting to know more about the main character, Ishmael Jones. The overall plot was a bit boring, reminding me of an old movie I saw many years ago, and when I was explaining the book to a friend, they said "Oh, like CLUE" and I had to agree it sort of was similar. Either way, the story had a few different twists than just a normal 'the butler did it'- type mystery. Was a delightful read, and I shall keep my eyes open for future Ismael Jones stories!

I received an ARC from Severn house publishing through Netgalley.com in exchange for a review. ( )

I must admit I started this book without really knowing what it was about. A new book by Simon a Green, I'm in.

If you like his stories you will likely enjoy this one, though a couple of the plot points were telegraphed a bit, but that didn't really ruin the story for me.

A great introduction to some new characters in a new universe, I am looking forward to Ishmael's next adventure, which is sure to get better and better. Though I really would like to see a return to the Deathstalker universe (hint, hint) ( )