Another gem from Damien Boyd.  I enjoyed the device he employed to enable DI Dixon and DS Winter to work together once more despite their personal relationship normally precluding it.  I thought it a brave move to start the book without Dixon anywhere near the investigation. In reality, no detective is going to be available for all of all the investigations which crop up.  It was good to see positive working relationships between officers of all ranks, with even the one senior officer who appears to be horribly jealous of Dixon's success, getting put in his place when he tried snide comments.   

The author drip fed little twists along the way to pique the readers' interest but saved the best one for the end.  I am confident that it will come as a surprise, but it doesn't come out of nowhere.  The outcome is once again the result of Dixon's lateral thinking, unique insight and willingness to step outside of protocol.

I do enjoy this series and eagerly anticipate each new book, whilst this one was well worth waiting for, I am now impatient for the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley I got to read this book pre-publication. I have read all on his books and this one doesn't disappoint.....only problem is I read it too fast and now will have to wait even longer for the next installment ! Each story is set around a specific environment and this one is the canal system  on the west of the UK. I love all the characters and each has a unique but equal part to play. Whilst an easy read and not much "shot-em up" action as there is with US novels I thoroughly enjoyed this and would recommend to all for a great summer read.

D.I. Nick Dixon has to abandon his vacation plans when a child disappears. Fears go through the roof when another child is taken and the police’s main suspects in both cases wind up dead. The only real connection the missing children have in common are their abusive and neglectful parents, the same people who are being murdered. Does Nixon have a vigilante on his hands? You may have a hard time deciding if you really want this killer to be caught

I would like to thank Netgalley and Amazon Publishing UK for an advance copy of Dead Lock, the eighth novel to feature DI Nick Dixon of the Somerset police.

Nick and his partner Jane are on holiday in the Lake District when 10 year old Alesha Daniels goes missing. As Jane is Alesha's protection officer she returns to Somerset immediately but it's only when a second child goes missing that Nick returns because he knows her grandfather. 

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Lock which is tense read with some amazing twists. Mr Boyd does an excellent job of conveying the stress and tension involved in looking for a missing child and then takes the plot in directions the reader could not anticipate. I was absorbed from start to finish, wondering what the outcome would be. I found it interesting that I was so hooked despite there being no murders until much later in the novel as, normally, it's the whodunit aspect of a novel that attracts me and that even when the bodies turn up they seem almost incidental in comparison to what happened to the missing girls. I'm impressed at Mr Boyd's ability to draw the reader in and hold them captivated.

The early days of the hunt for Alesha take place without the protagonist, Nick Dixon. I thought I would miss him but it works really well, conveying the urgency of the officers and the well oiled procedure they implement. I found it fascinating. When Nick returns the novel takes a different turn. The urgency is still there but the focus changes from the physical search to the who and why. It takes Nick's lateral thinking and ability to see the essentials to make the necessary breakthroughs. He more or less solves the case singlehandedly. Is this a fault? It depends on your point of view. It's probably not very realistic but it makes for a satisfying read.

Dead Lock is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.