Luca VesteDEAD GONE

I picked up this book after hearing author Luca Veste as part of the LockedUp Festival in July 2020. In particular his references in one session of the virtual book festival to having enjoyed both Malory Towers and Stephen King. I figured that was a literary grounding I could get on board with.This isn’t a hugely original police procedural, but it’s a good read. The telling of the story is told across different timelines and from the perspective of different participants, initially separate and then starting to weave together as the plot progressed. A very familiar style to any Stephen King fan. It’s a challenging one for a novice novelist to handle and to be honest it didn’t work for me (although I’m a huge King fan and have no issue with the theory of this style of writing). It was at times confusing and made it really difficult to get into the book. In the second half it came into its own though as the links between the different perspectives became clearer and the main detective became less about the heavy handed hints of past sorrow and more of a developed character.A satisfying resolution and signs of a main character with the potential to grow across a series I will be giving the sequel a go.

The first in the Murphy and Rossi series and the characters are good, with interplay between them. It’s one of those stories where you think you know what’s going on but I was misdirected a couple of times. Someone at the University is carrying out experiments and keeping people in captivity in some cases. Others he’s just killing and leaving spread-eagled around the town. It’s a well-crafted story and we get to know a little of the two detectives’ backgrounds too. Good start to a series.4.5

This is the first book I've read by this author. It's also the first in a series featuring DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. A great start - I will certainly be seeking out the others in the series.A serial killer is murdering victims who have a connection with the university, and Murphy and Rossi are tasked with solving the case.It becomes apparent to them, and us, that the victims were part of highly dubious psychological experiments carried out by the perpetrator. The experiments are described in letters left on the bodies for the police, but are also seen through the eyes of some of the 'subjects'. It's all very chilling and has obviously been well researched.The book moves along at a cracking pace. I really enjoyed Murphy's relationship with Rossi, and also with his best friend Jess. He has clearly has some issues, both personal and professional, in the past, and these are touched upon in the book.I thought it was a highly original story, that played out really well. I was partly right in guessing who the perpetrator is, but there was a big twist regarding that, that I didn't see coming at all. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

I'd read a lot about Luca Veste and how much people were looking forward to his new book. I decided to make a start with Dead Gone.This is the first novel that introduces Murphy and Rossi. I liked their relationship and feel there is plenty of room for it to grow in subsequent books. I was less sure of Murphy's backstory as this felt a bit forced to me, however, it did not detract me from enjoying the book overall.The book focusses on catching a serial killer who is carrying out psychology experiments on human victims and who writes letters to the police explaining some of the actions undertaken.It is well paced and kept me wanting to pick it up and find out what happened next. I loved the fact it was all set in Liverpool and I recognised many of the places mentioned.I'd happily read another of Luca Veste's books.

Dead Gone- Luca Veste 4.5*A gripping thriller with lots of twists and turns. A woman disappears but it is not thought strange by most of the people that she knows as she has been known to take herself off in the past. Her boyfriend and mother are not quite so sure. Murders occur with links to psychology and the university. DI Murphy who is heading the investigation, has memories that he needs to deal with but keeps shutting that part of his life away.A real page turner and detective story of a more unusual kind. We get insights every so often from a psychological journal (which being interested in the subject I enjoyed), along with letters to Murphy from the killer giving clues to his “psychological experiments” the main one being isolation and light deprivation. The very thought of living in the complete dark making me shudder.A very enjoyable read.