The Murderer's Son
4 Stars

D.I. Rowan Jackman and his team investigate the murder of a woman stabbed to death in her kitchen, a crime that is reminiscent of a case from two decades prior. The case becomes even more convoluted when a disturbed young man comes into the station convinced of his guilt despite a lack of evidence. Is Daniel Slater a deranged killer or is someone even more sinister out there ready to kill again?

Joy Ellis's debut novel is an entertaining British police procedural despite one or two obvious plot twists. The mystery is gritty and gripping without any unnecessarily gruesome descriptions and the pacing is excellent. There are several red herrings to keep the reader guessing up to a certain point at which the identity of the villain becomes glaringly obvious.

The characters are compelling with sufficient characterization to engage the reader. That said, there is room for additional development for each of Jackman's team members, which will hopefully be forthcoming in future installments. Jackman's partnership with his D.S., Marie Evans, is particularly engaging as is his intriguing fear of the brilliant yet scary IT tech, Orla Cracken. It will be interesting to see how these relationships progress.

On a final note, the audiobook is narrated by the incomparable Richard Armitage. His range of voices is excellent even for the women, which is quite something given he has such a deep baritone.

Overall, an enjoyable listen and I will be continuing with the series. ( )

So glad I started this series - a great audio book perfect narrator - interesting gripping storyline. After a woman is found murdered, a young man turns himself in although there were no evidence he committed it - Daniel a Journalist had been investigating who his birth mother is only to determine that he is the son of a mass murderer and he believes that he is the same. ( )

In the Fens twenty years previously a farmer and his wife were brutally murdered, what possible connection could there be to a recent murder. And why would a reporter - Daniel Kinder - confess to the murder.
DI Rowan Jackman leads his detectives in the search for the truth.
Very engaging well paced plot and some likeable characters.
A NetGalley Book. ( )

I listened to the book on Audible. As a narrator, I would listen to anything Richard Armitage read - he does an amazing job of adding to the story. In this first book in her story, Joy Ellis creates an interesting and complex cast of characters working in a small police station. These detectives and police officers work overtime to do their job in solving crimes.
The interactions between characters is thoughtful and you can feel the closeness among the team. Additionally, you can't wait to find out who the real killer is. ( )

OK, but with Deceptive Cover
Review of the Audible Audio audiobook edition (2018) of the 2014 Kindle original

[2 bumped up to 3 for the narration by actor Richard Armitage]
I took a chance on "The Murderer's Son" due to its being an Audible Daily Deal for $3.95 on April 4, 2019 when I saw that it was performed by reliable narrator Richard Armitage. Overall the book was the standard serial killer investigation with a twist in that the main red herring was an apparent delusional confession.

The lead detective pair were a good team though and at least were not played as incompetents, although as per Ebert's Law of the Economy of Characters, the true villain was easily guessable after a few appearances.

There is some deception in the series of Jackman and Evans audiobook covers though. The series uses photographs of a pair of actor/models for the cover images which implies to most people that these are from an ongoing television or movie series. No such series exists however based on a search through IMDb.

Trivia Note
Although "The Murderer's Son" is the first published in the Jackman & Evans series, Audible indicates that the second published "Their Lost Daughters" should be the first book in the "Recommended Listening Order." ( )