#BlogTour-‘Nothing Else Remains’ by Robert Scragg

About the book…

When Max Brennan’s estranged father and then his own girlfriend go missing in quick succession, he turns to his old friend Detective Jake Porter for help.

As Max is then attacked in his own home, Porter and his partner Nick Styles waste no time in investigating.

But when their main suspect turns up dead, alongside a list of other targets, it seems the case is much bigger than it first appeared.

With events spiraling, can Porter and Styles catch the killer before another victim is claimed?

My thanks to the team at Allison and Busby for my gifted review copy of ‘Nothing Else Remains’ which is out now in hardback,audiobook and now paperback editions.

An ill fated arrest at the beginning of this book, which appears as a hangover from Book 1’s main plot, results in video footage of DI Jake Porter going viral.

So when his old boxing buddy, now photo journalist Max Brennan contacts him urgently for his help, luckily he is on administrative leave and can devote his time to finding Max’s father and girlfriend.

Max’s father has recently resurfaced in his life, and they are building a tenuous and tentative relationship so when he visits Gordon and finds his house completely empty, he doesn’t know if this is par for the course or what he should be feeling about this sudden abandonment. All he has to go on is the name of an estate agents, ‘Beacon Estates’. This doesn’t ring any alarm bells until his girlfriend, Jenny, does not come home from work and the last thing she looked at on her computer was… Beacon Agents.

Smelling a rat, he asks Jake for advice and before long both men are plunged into a nightmare . Max is attacked which brings in Porter’s sidekick Nick Styles. Nick’s wife has concerns that Jake is a magnet for trouble, a bit of a rogue when it comes to following the rules since his own wife died , and is massively worried that he will drag Nick down with him.

A police procedural with bite, this goes to unexpected places which keeps you bobbing and weaving on your feet as you follow this meticulously plotted police procedural. I could not guess what was going on and was happy to be led by Jake and Nick as they dig into the case.

I took the title to mean that ‘nothing else remains’ except the truth, as in the old Sherlock adage, when you eliminate the impossible, that is the only conclusion which can be drawn. However, what you do with that truth is entirely another question…

I can see why Robert Scragg has been lauded by his fellow crime writers, he creates a gripping and compelling narrative that is very enjoyable- whilst advancing the characters plot arcs, he does not sacrifice plot for explanations of what happened in Book 1, ‘‘What Falls Between The Cracks’

What this means is that I am super keen to go back to that one and also to keep an eye out for more by this author!
Very recommended for those who love crime drama such as Elizabeth George‘s Lynley/Havers series.

About the author…

Robert Scragg had a random mix of jobs before taking the dive into crime writing; he’s been a bookseller, pizza deliverer, Karate instructor and Football coach. He lives in Tyne & Wear, is a founding member of the North East Noir crime writers group

Links-https://www.robertscragg.com/

Twitter @robert_scragg

@AllisonAndBusby