The Murder of Miss Perfect was the first novel by Mark Elkid that I had read. I didn't know what to expect but I was lucky enough to receive an advance copy from the publishers, SpellBoundBooks, in exchange for an honest review.
The Blurb
Detective Chief Inspector Jim Pendlebury almost died at the end of his last big case.
Three years later, he is struggling to cope with forced retirement and the frustration of failing to convict the teacher accused of killing an 18-year-old student after seducing her.
Now, he must try one more time to search for the vital piece of missing evidence the Police failed to find during the initial investigation .
Whatever the cost, this time he will make sure justice is served for the cruel murder of the beautiful young woman the media dubbed Miss Perfect.
The Review
I read voraciously and my favourite genre of book is crime novels. As a result of this, I often second guess the author. However, not so with The Murder of Miss Perfect. This fresh take on the police procedural surprised me and took me aback at every turn.
The prologue of the book sees DCI Pendlebury lose his last case. The parents of the victim were as surprised as he was because everybody is convinced about the defendant's guilt.
The first chapter then begins by sharing with the reader the beginning of Pendlebury's retirement, his health problems, adjustment to retired life and his family dymanics. But even time with his grandchild does not allow the main character to get over the disappointment and disbelief of his last murder case. He finds out where the defendant now lives and makes an excuse to have a few days away to track him down.
From this point onwards the story becomes more and more interesting and exciting, but as always, I will not give any spoilers, suffice to say that the twists and turns of the story combined with the humour of the writing blend together to form a unique novel and an excellent crime novel. Even with all the police procedurals I have read, my detective skills were foiled at every turn. The Murder of Miss Perfect really had me completely fooled. This is an extremely clever story told from multi view points in an unusual and unique way. I highly recommend The Murder of Miss Perfect and look forward to reading more novels by Mark Eklid as they are published by SpellBound Books.
The Author
Long before Mark Eklid first became a published author, writing was his living.
His background is as a newspaper journalist, starting out with the South Yorkshire Times in 1984 and then on to the Derby Telegraph, until leaving full-time work in March 2020.
Most of Mark’s time at the Telegraph was as their cricket writer, a role that brought national recognition in the 2012 and 2013 England and Wales Cricket Board awards. He contributed for 12 years to the famed Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack and had many articles published in national magazines, annuals and newspapers.
Writing as a profession meant writing for pleasure had to be put on the back burner but when his work role changed, Mark returned to one of the many half-formed novels in his computer files and, this time, saw it through to publication.
The Murder of Miss Perfect (July 2022) is his first novel for SpellBound Books, but Mark has previously self-published Sunbeam (November 2019), Family Business (June 2020) and Catalyst (February 2021). The earlier three are to be re-published through SpellBound soon.
All four are fast-moving, plot-twisting thrillers set in the city of his birth, Sheffield.
Mark lives in Derby with his partner, Sue. They have two adult sons and have been adopted by a cat.