Catch As Catch Can
By Malcolm Hollingdrake

Review written by Louise (Lou) @Lou_Bookmarks

Catch As Catch Can is an excellent first crime fiction novel set in Liverpool by Malcolm Hollingdrake. There is atmosphere and a terrific rhythm in the artistic writing that gives it an edge, on the backdrop of noteable landmarks and the streets of Liverpool.

Published by Hobeck Books, I thank them as a member of their Advanced Reading Team for gifting me a copy.

FInd out more in the blurb and short review below. Discover what book is coming soon by Malcolm Hollingdrake. I can tell you, it’s a good second book to Catch as Catch Can.

Blurb

A mutilated body apparently washed up on a windswept beach…

A violent criminal gang preys on moped riders across the area…

A teenage girl is desperate to escape sexual exploitation…

It’s a tough introduction to Merseyside for Detective Inspector April Decent, who’s just arrived from her native Yorkshire. Together with new colleague Skeeter Warlock, Decent quickly discovers there’s a sinister link between them all, one that will bring them face-to-face with some uncomfortable home truths.

Catch as Catch Can is the first in the Merseyside Crime Series from Malcolm Hollingdrake – bestselling author of the Harrogate Crime Series.

Review

Check out the mysterious cover and the abstractness of it as it reflects the Mersey in Liverpool. The book has great artistic qualities, such as the rich, imaginative descriptions. that hooked me in. It feeds into the imagination in a curious way. A flip of a coin and the book becomes darker and more intense as a tattoo parlour needs investigating, once the right one with a particular design is found. Readers are plunged into a dark world in Liverpool of exploitation of women. Detective Decent is on the case with her team to investigate. There are many great new characters to get to know in this debut novel and they have a definite northern feel and are really interesting to get to know how they work together and who they are.
It’s sinister and gripping as it goes on into delving into the crimes. Piercing through bits of the darkness here and there are subtle shades of lightness in some of the conversations that transpire from the investigation.

The book, set in Liverpool, highlights some of the landmarks of the city and the author uses the sprawling city well, so those familiar or unfamiliar with the city will get a sense of place and enjoyment out of it.

It is part of a series set in Liverpool. The next book is Syn and publishes soon.