The Aidan Waits series is now on it’s third book and as this series gets darker and Aidan Waits spirals even further into a cycle of self destruction and self loathing, the more I love it. My goodness, Joseph Knox can write. His writing is atmospheric and really absorbing. The plotting is original and steeped in reality and the dialogue is sharp and laced with menace.

In this latest instalment Waits is still languishing on the night shift, an elephant’s graveyard for those police who’ve stepped out of line and ended up persona non grata. Waits and his partner, the distinctly unlikeable Peter Sutcliffe, are guarding Martin Wicks, a mass murderer who’s nearing his final days in hospital. As much a fishing exercise as it is a guard assignment, Waits and Sutcliffe are tasked with getting Wicks to give up the location of the body of one of his victims but fate has other plans and Waits ends up fighting for his life as well as what’s left of his shattered career.

Reading the first two books in this series is an essential as Waits’ tragic back story continues to have a huge effect on his life. He gains a new partner in Naomi Black but the relationship is far from smooth sailing as they try to work around their mutual mistrust. Waits is struggling to escape the demons of his past and while the last book let some of his back story unfold, this one is him trying to pick up the shattered pieces with limited success.

If you like your crime fiction dark then this series is an absolute must. I read an interview with the author recently where he said he’d thrown everything at this book and now needed to take a step back. I’m selfishly hoping it’s not for too long as this series is fast becoming an essential when talking about British crime fiction. In my mind these books are already classics and this third novel in the series stayed with me for days afterward. Absolutely outstanding.

Dark and deeply atmospheric modern noir. Despite coming into the Aidan Waits Thriller series at its last instalment, I barely noticed that I was missing anything. Instead I was instantly drawn to the mysterious and unlikely "hero", Detective Aidan Waits. It was easy to be drawn into the sometimes disturbing world of Aidan Waits, filled with complex and compelling characters. Knox writes with mystery, dark humour, and intelligence. He winds the plot, crafting subtle clues and hints throughout the novel masterfully. A truly compelling novel.

Book 3 in the anti-hero DC Aiden Waits gritty hard-hitting series. Troubled Manchester cop Waits is on death watch duty, guarding terminally ill serial killer Martin Wick in hospital, hoping to find out where his final victim is buried. But things take a shocking and spectacular bad turn, when someone kills Wick and another police officer. This dark and seedy tale has all the ingredients for an engrossing read - complex characters and a multi-layered tension filled plot, peppered with just the right amount of dry humour.

This book was fast paced. Hard to put down. It flowed well and it was very well written. It caught hold of me and had me hooked from the start . I was literally on the edge of my seat reading this book.

I had not read the previous books in this series, but I just might after this one. The book was engaging and a real page-turner. It was dark, twisted, and ran like.a rollercoaster. This gives me confidence to check out his other works.

Thank you Netgalley for a chance to read this book in exchange for my honest review!

Let me start off first by saying: “I will be purchasing the first 2 books of this series” I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Plenty suspense and mystery, Another we’ll put together read and I’m looking forward to reading the others.

Detective Aidan Waits and his partner are normally on the night shift together but have been assigned to guard Martin Wick, a notorious murderer dubbed “ The Sleepwalker” after he was found at the murder scene of a mother and her two young children covered in blood claiming he did not remember killing them. There was another daughter whose body was never found and they are hoping for a deathbed confession. An attack during rolling blackouts at the hospital leads to a new investigation- who was the intended target? Was it Aiden it was supposed to be on duty ? Why kill a man with only days left to live?
Detective Waits is reluctantly given the case by a man more interested in how he can use the information to further his career than justice and assigned a partner he is not sure he can trust.
It started off a little slow and I had guessed some of the reveals but it was an enjoyable read. I would recommend it to those who like the Joe Pike, Lucas Davenport characters.
Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for the e book in exchange for my opinion. Solid 3.75 Stars

Rats! This book was archived before I sent it to my kindle. I’ll look for a physical copy when it comes out.

Really enjoyed this latest Thriller by Joseph Knox. Full of mystery, suspense, and a tragic and ultimately good main character in Aiden. I truly wasn't sure how this one would end, and that's ALWAYS the tell of a good story. This is another captivating and engaging read by the Joseph Knox.

Aiden Waits #3 and Waits has a contract on his head by mobster Zain Carver who Waits has stolen from in the past. However the contract states that Waits cannot be a police officer at the time of the hit because of the blow back that would cause. Well that shouldn't be a problem as Aiden is generally despised by his superiors on the force and is one more slip up away from the unemployment line.

In this book, Waits and his partner Sutty are charged with protective duty of terminally ill mass murderer Martin Wick with specific instructions to get the burial location of Wick's final teenage victim. It doesn't take long for all hell to break loose in the Hospital and before we know it, Wick has been assassinated, 1 cop is dead and another cop is in a coma........and is it relevant that just before he died, Wick whispered to Aiden that he was innocent ?

In book 1 "Sirens", we met Aiden Waits and learn he has been a crooked cop, but even though he makes some bad choices you kinda find yourself cheering for him.

In book 2 "The Smiling Man", Aiden showed tremendous growth into a hard working, yet still flawed police officer.

In this one, Aiden is constantly lying to his partner and withholding evidence on their current case in order to try and protect himself........which was very annoying but necessary as he navigates a dark and gritty Manchester with both good guys and bad guys hunting him.

Thanks to Joseph Knox, the publisher and Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I’ll admit this was a slow burn for the first 30%; I think possibly due to it being a third in a series, but once I’d settled in, I was gripped. So much so, that I’ve already ordered the first two books in the series.

Our MC Detective, Aidan Waits certainly is a complex and damaged character, who clearly has had quite a past and has ‘walked the line’ on numerous occasions, he’s also fallen off and hung on by a thread! I do enjoy a flawed protagonist, and Knox certainly delivers one. The writing is sharp and there’s no unnecessary waffle.
The story begins on a hospital ward and Waits has been assigned to watch a convicted mass murderer die, however things suddenly turn into chaos and an attack leads to another death and another police officer critically injured. Waits’ problem is the murderer’s final whispered words, which throw doubt on the entire investigation and conviction.

The book is packed with brilliantly written characters and an intelligently written plot, keeping enough realism in it to avoid the OTT crime thriller errors that can alienate the reader. This is a smart book which blurs the line between right and wrong, and good and evil. Some great black comedy moments and a flawed lead that you can’t help but root for.
Super read! Looking forward to starting at the beginning of the series now.

This started off a little slow for me, somewhere between quarter and halfway I was thinking I might give up and skip to the end to find the resolution and move on. But it's like the book knew my intentions because it suddenly became very interesting and I could barely put it down. I figured out one of the twists and then the author gave us a few more. I'm looking forward to the next one, and wished I had started with book one but I didn't realize it was a series.

A riveting crime/mystery perfect for fans of Jo Nesbo's Harry Hole or Chris Brookmyre's Jack Parlabane characters.

Aidan Waits is as damaged a police officer as you can get and the author writes him so well that he feels authentic and the reader can really connect with him. Despite his flaws and rule bending you can't help but empathise with him and root for him to succeed. The other characters are loveable/abhorent/intriguing too and the story really comes to life as you engage in their tales.

There were some unexpected twists (although I partly guessed Esther's story very early on) that keep the pace going.

I actually have the first book in this series on my to read pile so will definitely be going back to it. Can't wait to see what is next in store for Aidan Waits after this too.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and author for this advanced read copy.

This is Knox's third Aiden Waits thriller and our (anti-)hero's life seems to be going from bad to worse. He and his boss have been given the unenviable job of guarding a dying mass murderer, Martin Wick, when an attacker manages to breach security - killing Wick and one officer and seriously injuring Aiden's boss, Sutty. The fact that Aiden was out of the room and is totally unharmed doesn't endear him to his superiors - his copybook is already blotted with a string of drug and corruption offences - and they now pressure him into running an investigation into Wicks' murder alongside the official one. Aiden's past and, in particular, his terrible childhood, are a large part of this book but the pressures of the present - political manoeuvring by senior officers, a female PC set to watch his every move and the fear of retribution from a powerful local drug lord - are what keep us on the edge of our seats. Aiden spends most of the book trying to plan his escape and trying to avoid being killed - I spent it never knowing which was the most likely to happen.

Knox has once again delivered a story full of plot twists and dramatic events. Aiden Watts is a deeply flawed character but I think we fully understand where his flaws came from and are willing him to prevail over the forces ranged against him. Does he succeed? Does he ride off into the sunset with a happy ending (and, just possibly, the girl)? I'm not telling - you'll need to read this gripping series of books to find out.

Grim, gritty, realistic, noir. These are the words that first came into my mind when finishing this, the third in a searing series of police procedurals that I read in one breathless sitting.

I won't give spoilers but all I will say is that sometimes it is hard to tell who the real villains are - the police or the criminals.

The Aidan Watts is gathering steam and momentum and aficionados of good crime fiction should get on the bandwagon - you won't be disappointed.

The Sleepwalker, by Joseph Knox, is the third outing for DC Aidan Waits, following on from the excellent Sirens and The Smiling Man.

The book starts with a thrilling action sequence in a hospital where a mass murderer is slowly dying. It then moves through a number of twists and turns, alongside subplots and returning characters from the previous books.

I really enjoyed this and think Joseph Knox is already among the best of the UK's current crime writers. The books are dark and gritty, as with Ian Rankin, but with very sharp dialogue and dry humour along the lines of Reginald Hill. Highly recommended!

An absolute page turner! I haven't read the first two in this series but I don't think it impacted my ability to enjoy this book - or maybe just a tiny, little bit. I was immediately engrossed in the story line and was easily able to become comfortable with the characters. I did figure out the mystery, but I don't think it's because is wasn't well done, I think it was because, like the characters in the book I followed the clues the author provided and detected it on my own. I'm not sure everyone reading this will do that. Maybe I am wrong?

The author did a great job with the main character and I was able to get enough sense of his troubled background to understand his character, but maybe I didn't get enough of his history with his nemesis to completely understand their relationship. But again, I knew it was seriously rocky and it was enough to get me through.

I am leaving off that last star though because I just didn't get enough sense of place. Being American I needed just a sentence or two along the way to place me more grounded in the geography of the area. I'm pretty sure they were in London - ? But as they moved around I needed a bit of guidance. Were they in the heart of? Going north of? On the outskirts of?

I also, very enjoyably, found the author to have a lot of odd turns of phrase. Like 'showing people your underarm' and 'screwing up the newspaper'.

Definitely the best noir I’ve read this year! The Sleepwalker is the third dark thriller in the terrific Aidan Waits series.

Down these dark hospital corridors a man must go... Aidan and his shady partner Sutty are watching a serial killer called The Sleepwalker die. The Manchester Police are hoping that the prisoner will tell Sutty where he left the body of his last victim. Instead, he denies the killing immediately before both he and Sutty are bombed in the hospital room.

While this is only the beginning of the twisty tale, I can’t even begin to tell you more without it being a spoiler. What I can do is highly recommend this gritty British noir for its impeccably nuanced characters and impressive plotting. Every noir fan must read this book! Fans of thrillers and police procedurals (though Aidan is not one to follow many rules) will enjoy it also. 5 stars!

Thanks to Doubleday UK and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Great read. The author wrote a story that was interesting and moved at a pace that kept me engaged. The characters were easy to invest in.

Excellent thriller! It was so addictive and gripping. I literally couldn't put it down.
I loved the atmosphere, the characters. It was so energetic and realistic. I read this holding my breath.

I'd definitely recommend Joseph Knox to all thriller lovers. Amazing writer.

Thanks a lot Netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review.