Grave's End (DS Alexandra Cupidi #3) by William Shaw.

Grave's End is the fourth novel in this Kent based British crime thriller series. It can be read as a stand-alone and new readers will not feel left out. You could even read this fourth book, enjoy it and start the series from book one without anything spoiling your enjoyment. Grave's End gets off to a creepy start when a man's naked body is found in a freezer. Detective Sergeant Alexandra Cupidi and her team are on the case to solve this murder.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Grave's End. Characters from the previous novels return like friends at a Christmas party. The plot is very complex and when another body is found both DS Alexandra Cupidi and the reader wonder if the two deaths are connected. When you go to bed after a reading session, your head is buzzing as you wonder who to trust and what the devil is behind it all. 

I loved how the issues around class conflicts, housing development, planning consent and local politics all played an integral part of the story. Grave's End is not a basic police procedural as there is lots more to this tale. There are even short chapters written from the point of view of a Badger. Don't worry if you know nothing about badgers as this old badger will teach you all you need to know. I found the badger tale gave this novel so much extra added value.

I found Grave's End to be a very entertaining read with lots to think about. I loved the rural locations, the wildlife and the bonds which developed between the characters. How Alex, Bill, Jill and Zoe bounced off each other was great to watch, it was as if the reader was the quiet one in the corner while the four of them got to the bottom of how and why the naked man was found in the freezer.

I like William's writing style, it is very easy to follow and roll along with. Character development is spot on. William has done it again, it is wonderful how he has published these 4 books in the series with the quality of each one being top notch. I can find nothing wrong with Grave's End and found it an OUTSTANDING read that gets the top score of 5 stars from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Quercus for giving me a copy of this book on the understanding that I provide an honest review.

Grave's End was written in 2020 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.