The Dark Horizon Paperback – 30 Jun 2014

The Dark Horizon is another winner is Simon Hall’s continuing TV Detective series. Once again TV crime report Dan Groves pits his wits against tricky clues & an often trickier home life.The city of Plymouth is preparing for the opening of Resurgam, a new & highly expensive shopping skyscraper & there are protesters out to prevent the project’s completion. In addition a mysterious figure know as The Cashman appears & hands out money to strangers, then disappears & leaves behind a baffling set of clues to his purpose.Tarnished hero Dan Groves makes his way through the superb plot with plenty of skill & some good luck in a story that is half character study & half tense crime drama.As always author Simon Hall’s gentle style of narration lulls you into a false sense of security & then hits you with a plot twist, a shock or an unexpected moment of humour. It’s a marvellous sleight of hand, a sort of literary Harry Houdini at work. He breathes life into every single character, no matter how fleeting an appearance they make. Of all Simon Hall’s novels this one is perhaps the most human.There’s only one disappointment…….now that I’ve read it I’ll have to wait once again for the next one.

Complex woven plot, written well so that I could follow it. Clever and topical.

Great to pick up on the characters created by Simon in his previous books. Set very much in Plymouth the book takes up the challenges posed by urban renewal and the controversies sorrounding it. For a city that has been blighted by so many doubtful building projects since the end of the Second World War we are provided with a powerfull backdrop for Simon's latest novel. His characters are as feisty as ever and in pursuit of their goals offering us an insight into a whole range of contemporary issues that affect our lives.

The latest book in the TV Detective series kept me guessing until the end, by which time I had grown very fond of two of the characters. I can only attribute this to their excellent portrayal by the writer. I only enjoy books with more than one story line and Simon Hall never disappoints. For those of you that have read the earlier books, you'll know that Dan has some 'sorting out' of his own to do. My advice is not to look at the last page until you've read the hundreds preceding it. Enjoy!

Simon has done it again a fantastic read all the old characters, full of suspense and excitement, Simon is really a great author Dark Horizon was a compelling read great story line that makes the characters come alive WELL DONE SIMON!!!!

Yet another excellent story from Simon Hall full of twists and turns , and as always his characters leap off the page ,the last two pages had me laughing and cheering with relief . A very good read. Patricia