Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

I’ve not involved myself all that heavily with Masterton’s
books (shocking for a horror reader, I know), so getting approved for this ARC was a welcome surprise. I didn’t realise at the time that it was part of a series, but to be honest, it didn’t really matter- the story is of the kind that allows you to pick up no matter where you come in.

We follow our two detectives, Patel & Pardoe, as they deal with a decidedly weird case of coffin flies invading the bodies of people they have no business flying about in. Some of the gore and descriptions of the violence and deaths that occur were absolutely epic, whereas others felt a bit laughable (looking at you, fuzzy grey man).

I think the concept was really strong, but it just could have gone a little harder into some of the themes. If you’re going to have the dead walking, give us a little bit more of a description and nastiness. The flies were definitely in the lane of gross, however, and I found that compelling as a device.

I understand why Pardoe is our main protagonist, but I did find him a little tiresome at times. The repetition in parts of this one too also did get to me a bit, but it was still a fun, supernatural police procedural. With a little more cutting and some little changes to the language, it would have been an easy four star for me.

DI Patel and DS Pardoe are the police's answer to ghostbusters and once again they are back with another wacky supernatural case to solve, this time its dead bodies and flies, lots and lots of flies, this has Graham Mastertons old school style of writing, (please don't be offended Mr Masterton) but it's clunky, cliched with awful cockney and heavy on the gore and quite frankly mad and brilliant at the same time, please don't read it, expecting the great writing that he does with his Katie Maguire series, this isn't it, but read it without any expectations except a gore fest and you will be fine, my only criticism would be that the end was rushed, it could of been fleshed out a lot more.

House of Flies blends supernatural horror with procedural police drama, delivering a story that moves at a steady, almost episodic pace—much like a TV crime series. The plot revolves around a series of eerie, insect-infested crimes, with swarms of flies acting as harbingers of something far more sinister.

It features disturbing imagery—particularly the recurring swarms of flies—and incorporates religious themes to support its horror elements.

However, while the premise is compelling, the experience is marred by occasional moments of unnecessary racism that felt out of place and off-putting. These moments disrupted the flow and detracted from the overall story. Despite the well-paced structure and intriguing supernatural twist, House of Flies ultimately wasn’t for me.

The idea of supernatural detectives pulled me in right away, and the pacing was refreshingly consistent—no slow, saggy middle like many mysteries fall into. While it didn’t offer much in terms of twists or tension, it stayed engaging throughout. That said, the repetition got tiring fast; I lost count of how many times I was reminded that they’re the pair for supernatural cases. Still, despite an ending that felt a bit too far-fetched for my taste, it was an easy, enjoyable read with a fun premise that kept me turning the pages.

This was another Patel and Pardoe novel which features the two detectives investigating cases which appear to be linked to the supernatural. An easy read.

What an interesting concept this was! The pacing was also fantastic sometimes with detective stories they’ll start with a lot of action and then simmer down until it’s almost a race to the finish. This was engaging throughout, though there is no real tension or twists. At times I did get a bit sick of the repetition, how many times did I need to learn they were the pair who dealt with supernatural cases. Overall this was a very easy read, maybe the ending was a bit too far fetched for me, but it was still enjoyable.

Masterton delivers a police procedural with a supernatural twist with his latest novel in the Patel and Pardoe series.
This time the detectives find themselves investigating a series of strange deaths by a mysterious figure targeting Catholic religious figures in which the bodies are left bloated and crawling with flies.
It's a mostly solid procedural that clicks along at a brisk pace and shows glimpses of Masterton's horror smarts - particularly with a number of gory death sequences. But the mystery kind of just unfolds without any real twists or tension, making this a breezy if somewhat forgettable read.