Synopses & Reviews
A series of suspicious deaths has rocked Hull, a port city in England as old and mysterious as its bordering sea. In the middle of a Christmas service, a teenage girl adopted from Sierra Leone is chopped down with a machete in front of the entire congregation. A retired trawlerman is found dead at the scene of a tragedy he escaped, the only survivor, forty years ago. An ugly fire rages in a working-class neighborhood, and when the flames die away, a body is discovered, burned beyond recognition. Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy is sure there is a connection between these crimes, but his fellow officers are not convinced—they would rather get a quick arrest than bother themselves with finding the true killer. Torn between his police duties and his aching desire to spend more time with his pregnant wife and young son, McAvoy is an unlikely hero: a family man more obsessed with being a decent cop, a physically imposing man far more comfortable exploring databases that being gung-ho with his muscle. Compelled by his keen sense of justice, McAvoy decides to strike out alone—but in the depths of the dark winter, on the hunt for a murderer, it’s difficult to forget what happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of a killer’s blade…
Review
“Fast moving and tightly plotted, with strong characterization and a likeable protagonist, this is an extremely promising debut.”—The Guardian
Review
PRAISE FOR ORIGINAL SKIN
“Dark, disturbing and gripping… Graced with a complex plot and stunning imagery, Original Skin stands as a worthy successor to Mark's debut, The Dark Winter…. Readers who revel in thrillers marked by intelligence and originality will celebrate the continuation of a fresh and fascinating series.” -Richmond Times-Dispatch
“Compelling … Richly satisfying and told with remarkable flair, [Original Skin] confirms Mark as one of the darkest of the new faces in British crime writing, and not one to miss.” —Daily Mail (UK)
“Sophisticated plotting, in-depth characters, and sharp dialogue elevate British author Marks gritty second police procedural featuring Yorkshire Det. Sgt. Aector McAvoy. Mark expertly brings together two seemingly unrelated investigations while weaving in McAvoys devotion to his young family and sensitivity to the Roma background of his wife, Roison, whose extended family becomes involved in his inquiries. Fans of John Harvey and Peter James will find much to like.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“A dark and nasty police story with strongly drawn characters, an unsettling story, a twisty plot, and a surprising ending… Snap it up.” -Examiner.com
“McAvoys second is an excellent police procedural featuring sex, violence, and complex characters who are quirky but likable.”—Kirkus
“Readers will immediately be drawn to the compelling, contradictory personality of McAvoy.
Review
PRAISE FOR THE DARK WINTER
“Outstanding… Readers will want to see more of the complicated McAvoy, who well serves a sophisticated and disturbing plot.” -Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An exceptional debut from an exciting new talent. David Mark is an original and captivating new voice.” -Val McDermid
“An impressive debut. John Harvey readers should take note.” -Booklist (starred review)
“Fast moving and tightly plotted, with strong characterization and a likeable protagonist, this is an extremely promising debut.” —The Guardian (UK)
“An unusual and accomplished debut with tight plotting and intelligent writing. Mark credits his grandparents with being ‘champion storytellers and hes clearly inherited the gene.” —The Daily Mail (UK)
“A promising debut…certainly provides a trip to Hull and back.” —The Telegraph (UK)
Review
Praise for THE DARK WINTER by David Mark: “British crime reporter Mark’s outstanding first novel, a suspenseful whodunit, introduces Det. Sgt. Aector McAvoy…Readers will want to see more of the complicated McAvoy, who well deserves a sophisticated and disturbing plot.”—Publisher’s Weekly (Starred)
“[A]n impressive debut. John Harvey readers should take note.”
—Booklist (starred) “With a poetic intensity in its prose, an unpredictable plot and a Scottish detective, Mark’s novel gripped me from its opening pages.”—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel “It will not be long until new voices in the genre are hailed as the ‘next David Mark.’”
—Bookpage.com “Fast moving and tightly plotted, with strong characterization and a likeable protagonist, this is an extremely promising debut.”—The Guardian “The Dark Winter is a promising debut by David Mark… certainly provides a trip to Hull and back.”—The Telegraph Dark Winter is a fantastic debut of a police procedural series that takes place in northern England. Just as Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy seems to be able to put himself in the mind of a killer, David Mark has developed his characters so completely that the reader can almost put himself in the mind of McAvoy as he is connecting dots that no one else even sees. McAvoy may be a gentle giant of a man but he is also determined to get at the truth even if his job is in jeopardy. Luckily, he finds a believer in his boss, another dedicated officer who also is fighting to keep her job.—Nancy McFarlane, Fiction Addiction “The Dark Winter is an exceptional debut from an exciting new talent. David Mark is an original and captivating new voice.”—Val McDermid
Synopsis
Compelling Richly satisfying and told with remarkable flair. Daily Mail (UK)
When swinger Simon Appleyard is found strung-up and naked in his apartment, the authorities are only too happy to chalk it up to suicide. After all, a new gang has taken over the local drug trade, and Detective Superintendant Trish Pharaoh s Serious and Organized Crime Unit is run ragged. A murder investigation is the last thing they need.
But more bodies begin to surface, and all are somehow connected to the underground erotic scene. Although Detective Sargeant Aector McAvoy would be perfectly content to stay home with his wife and their newborn baby, he begins to suspect that murder is just the beginning. As his investigation brings him uncomfortably close to the local political elite, McAvoy realizes he is hunting a sadistic killer with a lust that won t be satisfied until the River Humber runs red."
Synopsis
The New York Timeshails David Mark's work as "in the honorable tradition of Joseph Wambaugh and Ed McBain." ORIGINAL SKIN is the second installment of the internationally acclaimed Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy series.
When swinger Simon Appleyard is found strung-up and naked in his apartment, the authorities are only too happy to chalk it up to suicide. After all, a new gang has taken over the local drug trade, and Detective Superintendant Trish Pharaoh s Serious and Organized Crime Unit is run ragged. A murder investigation is the last thing they need.
But more bodies begin to surface, and all are somehow connected to the underground erotic scene. Although Detective Sargeant Aector McAvoy would be perfectly content to stay home with his wife and their newborn baby, he begins to suspect that murder is just the beginning. As his investigation brings him uncomfortably close to the local political elite, McAvoy realizes he is hunting a sadistic killer with a lust that won t be satisfied until the River Humber runs red.
David Mark s latest Detective Sergeant McAvoy novel, CRUEL MERCY, is on-sale February 2017."
Synopsis
Detective Aector McAvoy returns in a thrilling new case set in Yorkshire; a series of salacious murders has him on the hunt for a sadistic killer in David Marks critically acclaimed series
When swinger” Simon Appleyard is found strung-up and naked in his Hull apartment, the authorities are only too happy to chalk up his death to a suicide. After all, a new gang has taken over the local drug trade, and Detective Superintendent Trish Pharaohs Serious and Organized Crime Unit is being run ragged by this well-connected and merciless group of criminals. With violent drug-related crime on the rise, the last thing the police need is an investigation of a depressed young mans death.
But more bodies begin to turn up, and all are somehow connected to the local underground erotic scene. Although Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy would be perfectly content to stay at home with his beloved wife and newborn baby, he begins to suspect that murder is just the tip of the iceberg. As his shrewd investigation brings him uncomfortably close to the local political elitepowerful people who would kill to keep their secrets buried, and who have the power to make or break his careerMcAvoy realizes he is hunting a killer who has plenty more targets in sight, and a lust that wont be satisfied until the River Humber runs red.
Synopsis
Compelling
Richly satisfying and told with remarkable flair.” Daily Mail (UK)
When swinger” Simon Appleyard is found strung-up and naked in his apartment, the authorities are only too happy to chalk it up to suicide. After all, a new gang has taken over the local drug trade, and Detective Superintendant Trish Pharaohs Serious and Organized Crime Unit is run ragged. A murder investigation is the last thing they need.
But more bodies begin to surface, and all are somehow connected to the underground erotic scene. Although Detective Sargeant Aector McAvoy would be perfectly content to stay home with his wife and their newborn baby, he begins to suspect that murder is just the beginning. As his investigation brings him uncomfortably close to the local political elite, McAvoy realizes he is hunting a sadistic killer with a lust that wont be satisfied until the River Humber runs red.
Synopsis
A series of suspicious deaths have rocked Hull, a port city in England as old and mysterious as its bordering sea. They have captured the attention of Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy. He notices a pattern missed by his fellow officers, who would rather get a quick arrest than bother themselves with finding the true killer. Torn between his police duties and his aching desire to spend more time with his pregnant wife and young son, McAvoy is an unlikely hero: a physically imposing man far more comfortable exploring computer databases than throwing around his muscle. Compelled by his keen sense of justice, he decides to strike out alone—but in the depths of the dark winter, it’s difficult to forget what happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of a killer’s blade…
Synopsis
An addictive thriller from New York Times bestseller and the acclaimed author of In the Woods and Faithful Place Tana Frenchs rise can only be called meteoric. Starting with her award-winning debut, French has scored four consecutive
New York Times bestsellers and established herself as one of the top names in the genre.
Broken Harbor is quintessential Frencha damaged hero, an unspeakable crime, and an intricately plotted mysterynestled in a timely examination of lives shattered by the global economic downturn. Mick Scorcher” Kennedy always brings in the killer. Always. Thats why hes landed this high-profile triple homicide. At first, he thinks its going to be simple, but the murder scene holds terrifying memories for Scorcher. Memories of something that happened there back when he was a boy.
Tana French's newest novel, The Secret Place, will be published by Viking on September 2nd, 2014.
Synopsis
A series of suspicious deaths has rocked Hull, a port city in England as old and mysterious as its bordering sea. In the middle of a Christmas service, a teenage girl adopted from Sierra Leone is chopped down with a machete in front of the entire congregation. A retired trawlerman is found dead at the scene of a tragedy he escaped, the only survivor, forty years ago. An ugly fire rages in a working-class neighborhood, and when the flames die away, a body is discovered, burned beyond recognition. Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy is sure there is a connection between these crimes, but his fellow officers are not convinced—they would rather get a quick arrest than bother themselves with finding the true killer. Torn between his police duties and his aching desire to spend more time with his pregnant wife and young son, McAvoy is an unlikely hero: a family man more obsessed with being a decent cop, a physically imposing man far more comfortable exploring databases that being gung-ho with his muscle. Compelled by his keen sense of justice, McAvoy decides to strike out alone—but in the depths of the dark winter, on the hunt for a murderer, it’s difficult to forget what happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of a killer’s blade…
Synopsis
A series of suspicious deaths have rocked Hull, a port city in England as old and mysterious as its bordering sea. They have captured the attention of Detective Sergeant Aector McAvoy. He notices a pattern missed by his fellow officers, who would rather get a quick arrest than bother themselves with finding the true killer. Torn between his police duties and his aching desire to spend more time with his pregnant wife and young son, McAvoy is an unlikely hero: a physically imposing man far more comfortable exploring computer databases than throwing around his muscle. Compelled by his keen sense of justice, he decides to strike out alone—but in the depths of the dark winter, it’s difficult to forget what happened the last time he found himself on the wrong side of a killer’s blade…
About the Author
Tana French grew up in Ireland, Italy, the United States, and Malawi. She is the author of In the Woods (winner of the Edgar, Anthony, Macavity and Barry awards), The Likeness, Faithful Place, Broken Harbor (winner of the LA Times prize for Best Mystery/Thriller) and The Secret Place. She lives in Dublin with her husband and two children.