On the whole I did enjoy this book, although it did take me a few chapters to get used to the writing style.

A body of a young girl is found in an alleyway, she is 14 year old Melanie Cooke, she is found to have DNA under her finger nails and so is seemingly an open and shut case.

Interspersed with this story are the voices/stories of three men Al, Saul and Leo, who all have their own issues, sexual and otherwise, but as the book picks up pace this all becomes clearer.

To be honest I found DI Vogel a puzzle, I find it hard to believe that someone who has been a policeman for so many years would blush at so many things?? Also do we always need to have policemen with personal issues, as Vogel seems to be having?

Recommended and would read another one in this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Black Thorn for giving me the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 Stars

DI David Vogel has his hands full being first called to investigate the death of a young female teenager. Although Vogel knows this is just a child, it's nothing out of the ordinary ..so he thinks. The girl was supposed to be seeing a school friend, but she was dressed more for a date. Who was she really meeting?

The evidence ..or lack of ... leads him to suspect three different protagonists. But who are they ...and is any one of them capable of cold blooded murder?

This is a dark, compelling crime thriller / psychological thriller. The excellent story line includes three suspects. The reader learns who they are though alternating chapters. Saul, Leo, and Al all have their secrets ...and their secret lives.

This is the first in an intriguing new series featuring Bristol detective, DI David Vogel. Looks like this will be a most interesting and compelling series.

Many thanks to the author / Severn House /Black Thorn/ Netgalley for the digital copy of DEADLY DANCE. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

A 14 year old girl is found dead in an alley in the red light district of Bristol, DI Vogel and his team are investigating but nothing is as it seems.The story is told through several characters which I quite like .This is a brilliant psychological thriller which has many facets including paedophilia ,a very difficult subject but the book was so well written that I was totally gripped .I liked Vogel I would like to learn his back story he seems a nice guy with a stable home life which is unusual for a cop !! Bodies are turning up and now there seems to be a connection .It took a long time for me to realise who the murderer was because the story was so good I was holding my breath almost at the ending .I look forward to reading about Vogel again .Many thanks to the Publisher the Author and NetGalley for my review copy in return for an honest review .

A gripping and interesting novel that kept me hooked till the end.
I loved how it was told by different POV, the well written cast of characters and the mystery.
I found this novel action packed and fast paced.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

Absolutely loved it what a great story couldn’t put it down I found it very intriguing and exciting, at first I thought the other people were nothing to do with Melanie’s murder but I couldn’t have been more wrong the twists and turns were excellent and the ending just blew me away and what a brilliant character Vogel is and his wife Mary such a lovely person so looking forward to reading more of her books.

When I started reading this book I was a bit apprehensive as the story developed, this was not the type of book I normally read. Police procedural yes, I love them, psychological insights into the killer’s mind, no thank you. The story is told in the first person of several different characters, all very separate characters who have quite unsavory desires and actions. Their behavior is appalling . They each are unhappy with their behavior, but can’t seem to get past their strong desires. I didn’t come to sympathize with the characters, but they were plausible. The writing is concise, and at times quite gripping. With this book, I did something I’ve never done before, I read while traveling in the car, maybe others do this with abandon, please note I was not driving! But for someone who suffers motion sickness, it was a real risk for me, but I just couldn’t put this book down.
Thank you to netgalley and Black Thorn books for an advance copy.

Fourteen year old Melanie Cooke is found dead in the streets of Bristol in the early hours. What at first looks straightforward proves to be anything but.

DI Vogel becomes increasingly overburdened with suspects...

‘Deadly Dance’ by Hilary Bonner is set in Bristol and focuses on several brutal murders over the course of the narrative. Told through the voices of a paedophile, an impotent man and a closet gay man, the reader is shown just how badly people can fool themselves and, in the process, damage others.
Heading up the team that investigates the crimes is David Vogel, a devoted family man and tenacious member of the police force. The story begins with the death of fourteen-year-old Melanie Cooke, whose anonymous murderer appears in the Prologue, sounding appalled by what he has done. Yet, as the story develops, we are soon drawn into what appears to be the convoluted thinking of two more men, horrified by their own desires.
Much of the success of this novel depends on whether the killers’ identities can be kept secret from the reader until the point at which the author wishes to reveal them. However, it wasn’t all that difficult to deduce what was happening, and thereafter who might be in the frame.
Whilst Bonner writes well enough, there is nothing in this novel, other than the interesting central premise, which makes it memorable. There are a good many police procedurals on the market currently. To stand out from the crowd, three dimensional characters, vivid settings and gripping, credible storylines are essential. Sadly, ‘Deadly Dance’ is lacking these vital components.
My thanks to NetGalley and Black Thorn for a copy of this novel in exchange for a fair review.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Black Thorn for the ARC.
Oh My Goodness - what an unusual Thriller! Warning, though, passages cover, sometimes graphically, thoughts, feelings and actions concerning paedophilia and homosexuality.

Fourteen-year-old Melanie Cook left home one evening with her laptop and back-pack to study at a friend's house. By 4am the next morning she was reported missing; by 7am she had been found dead in a Bristol red-light district, her clothes were skimpy - not what she wore when she left home. She'd been strangled and assaulted.

Now........ unusually for me I'm unashamedly copying some from the book's description page..........

DI David Vogel is first on the scene, later joined by DC Dawn Saslow and DS John Willis.
The evidence points to Melanie’s father being the killer, but Vogel is on edge: the quick arrest is too easy, too straightforward.

When two more murders are reported, Vogel’s team broaden the search: new evidence suggests that there are three different, disturbed criminals. Any one of them could have killed Melanie, but which did? Vogel’s team inch towards the answer, never suspecting that the killer is watching them, too, waiting for his moment to strike.

.........because - I think to say much more would spoil the wonderful mental work-out any reader will go through trying to work out what is really going on!

David Vogel is thoughtful, caring and considerate of the facts and has his own back-story to tell.

Thoroughly recommended.

There was a lot going on in this book, and I had to keep my wits about me especially at first.Interesting story and idea, I do think it could have benefited from being shorter,but it was a good read, but not one I would rave about.Thanks for the ARC.

My first encounter with D I Vogel, an extremely interesting and intriguing story line, through murders with differing MO’s and victims, and seemingly three killer. As the story unfolds it becomes apparent that Vogel my be dealing with just one killer. A strange story with a surprising ending.

A Very Captivating Read But With Some Disturbing Aspects — Reader Be Warned

When I requested an advance copy of this novel for review, it was because I enjoyed reading and reviewing this author. I realized later that I had previously read and reviewed it from another publisher. Below is my original review as you, a potential reader, should have my initial impression of this novel.

Deadly Dance opens with the murderer showering off blood and vomiting. Realization of an act of pure evil was committed. Next, the heroine, Detective Inspector David Vogel, is at a crime scene. The victim is a 14 year old girl murdered in the wee hours of the morning and also was sexually assaulted. She was dressed as someone much older. The investigation starts with interviewing family and friends that was complex with a father, mostly absent, and a stepfather. The investigation starts off from here. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep you interested. In fact, at one point, I thought I had figured it out. I was warm, but as the old adage ends, “But no cigar!”

For more than the first half of the novel, every other chapter is about one of three individuals, Saul, Al, and Leo. Therefore, there are three sub stories paralleling the main story. Saul was once married and looking for another partner, Leo is a homosexual that doesn’t want to make a commitment, and Al has a predilection for very little girls. There doesn’t appear to be any connection between these story lines.

The B-story is very rich. The author uses the major character in each scene to describe in the first person the scene and their feelings or insights. The author adds information as asides for the reader. All of this is woven quite well into the main storyline. This literary technique enriches the depth of the characters, and, as a result, my enjoyment in reading this novel and capturing my attention to keep reading.

This aspect that enhanced my enjoyment in reading this novel also was the source of, for me, some disturbing reading. Saul, Leo, and Al are all sociopaths. I found reading into their minds disturbing especially on how they justify their actions at the expense of others. Second, most novels that I have read do have grisly murder scenes, but they are all after the fact, so facing the violence and grisliness isn’t in the readers face. There is one murder that is described in graphic detail. There also some graphic sexual situations described. As for language, there were only eight f-bombs, and some more British lesser vulgar terms. Therefore, reader be warned.

Overall, I am very conflicted with rating this novel. Minus the disturbing aspect, this novel exceeded my requirements for a very high rating. This novel captured my imagination so much that I finished the last 30% of the novel in a single read well into the early morning hours. The depth of the major character was most enjoyable. Based upon this, I would rate this novel with five stars. If strong sexual content, graphic violence, especially against a preteen girl, and delving into the mind of sociopaths will turn you off, this novel most likely is one star rating. I do believe in averaging the rating will not reflect this novel adequately because this novel probably will be one or the other. So, I am giving this novel a five star rating but with a very strong reader be warned caveat.

This is a good read. The story is told by different people and kept me interested the whole way through.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I have been looking for new authors so I decided to try this book. It was slow to get into and never really caught my interest and I didn’t connect with any of the characters. Some of the chapters were written from the viewpoint of different characters which I am not fond of. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

This story is narrated from multiple points of view which draws you further into the story than a one narrative read.

Called to the scene of a young murdered girl and very soon 3 suspects emerge all with secrets of their own, but who is the killet ?