How can a simple job interview end in complete carnage?
When Mandy Paige seeks Kent Fisher’s help to find the mother who abandoned her as a baby, he has no idea of the mayhem his investigation will unleash. With only a photograph of a woman he once knew, he discovers she left her office one Friday afternoon twenty years ago and never returned.
Did Helen Cassidy escape an abusive husband or was she abducted and murdered?
People connected to Helen begin to die in mysterious circumstances. An old foe returns, leaving cryptic messages on the windscreen of Kent’s car. He seems to know Kent’s every move, hounding and taunting the sleuth, attacking those who can help him solve the mystery.
When the main suspect dies, Kent’s investigation lies in tatters – until he realises he’s not the one pursuing the killer. The killer’s pursuing him.
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for No Love Lost today. Many thanks to Robert Crouch for inviting me and for sending me an advance digital copy of the book.
No Love Lost is the sixth novel in Robert Crouch's Kent Fisher series and by now the environmental health officer turned amateur sleuth is well-used to investigating murders - but as the tagline to the book states; this time it's personal.
Although these are stories which lean towards the cosier end of crime fiction, they still have a contemporary feel and there are a number of shocking moments during the course of this book, including a heartbreaking scene which will be particularly upsetting for returning readers to the series. As with all the Kent Fisher novels, No Love Lost can easily be enjoyed as a standalone but with such strong characters, it really is worth reading the previous books to truly appreciate how they have developed over time.
Kent's personal life is always an important element of these books and in No Love Lost, his amorous past is brought into focus as a surprise announcement results in a long-forgotten mystery coming to light once more. As he tries to discover what really happened to Helen Cassidy - was she murdered or did she choose to disappear? - he discovers a complex entanglement of relationships and secrets. Robert Crouch understands just how to create puzzling mysteries that keep readers hooked, with the cliffhanger endings to many of the chapters tempting me to read on, and the red herrings sprinkled throughout cleverly encouraged my own (unsuccessful!) attempts at sleuthing.
Kent's work at the council and at his animal sanctuary adds further layers of drama to the proceedings ensuring his often rather chaotic life is consistently fascinating. The sanctuary is preparing for its Grand Opening and Kent also has to deal with staffing concerns and doubts about how to balance looking after the animals while encouraging visitors. Meanwhile, his role at the local council is more uncertain than ever and the difficulties of trying to manage a service amidst financial constraints and with an obstructive councillor means Kent's growing dissatisfaction with his job is entirely understandable and undoubtedly reflective of a number of real-life council employees.
After a relatively settled period in his love-life, Kent is single again but there is always a hint of sexual tension between him and both his ex, Gemma and his close friend, DI Ash Goodman. I have a definite favourite and hope that he eventually feels the same way but I did warm a little towards Gemma this time! I've said this before and stand by my assertion; the Kent Fisher Mysteries would make a cracking television series. The superb characterisation, evocative landscape descriptions and the witty dialogue all perfectly complement the intriguing cases that Kent attempts to solve - and as always, Columbo the Westie steals every scene he is in! No Love Lost is the most emotionally affecting story so far and I must commend Robert Crouch for the way he is developing this hugely engaging series; these are characters I remain invested in, and as events here mean more change lies ahead, I'm eagerly anticipating the next book!
No Love Lost was published on 15th September 2020 and can be purchased from Amazon UK where it is also available on Kindle Unlimited, and Amazon US.
Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Robert Crouch is the author of the Kent Fisher murder mystery series. Set in today’s world, the books pay homage to the traditional murder mystery and classic whodunit.
Based on his career as an environmental health officer, Kent Fisher is a different kind of detective, described as ‘unique in crime fiction’ by one reviewer.
Having left environmental health, Robert now writes full time from his home on the East Sussex coast. He loves walking on the South Downs with his wife, Carol, and their Westie, Harvey, reading crime fiction and photography.
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