The Waiting Game by Sheila Bugler

The Waiting Game

By Sheila Bugler 

This is what the publishers have to say about ‘The Waiting Game’.

DI Ellen Kelly's career seems to be stalling – again. And her feelings for Jim O’Dwyer feel like they’re spiralling out of control. Meanwhile, someone is out there, stalking the weak, bringing misery and fear, and it’s Ellen’s job to stop them. Could it be that this time, for the first time, Ellen is the one trapped in the web?

I really enjoyed ‘Hunting Shadows’, Sheila Bugler’s first book about DI Ellen Kelly, so I was really pleased to be sent a review copy of this one.

The plot of ‘The Waiting Game’ is quite complex and it takes a while to get to grips with all the different strands and work out what is going on. There’s a stalker out there, but who are they and who are they really after? Chloe knows that someone has been getting into her house at night, and she’s been attacked. When will the police take her seriously? Monica approaches the police with a similar story. But Chloe and Monica claim not to know each other, and Ellen and her colleagues can’t find a link.

Full of chilling twists and turns, I found the story gripping as it explored some very dark events. This story is not for the squeamish.

In the first book we found out quite a lot about Ellen’s back story. In this book she’s moved on a bit form the death of her husband, but her new relationship, with Jim O’Dwyer is about to become yet another problem. I enjoyed the little vignette’s of Ellen’s private life – her children, her parents and her brother and his partner. Again, the author cleverly works those relationships into the plot when her work life begins to encroach dangerously on her family life.

The depiction of Ellen’s colleagues, especially DC Raj Patel, is also nicely done and adds to the authenticity of the story.

Overall an enjoyable read with plenty to hold the interest.

Thanks very much to the publishers for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more here.

You can read my review of 'Hunting Shadows' here.

Hunting Shadows by Sheila Bugler

Hunting Shadows

By Sheila Bugler

This is a dark tale, and the darkness works on a number of levels. Firstly, it's about a missing child and the terrible repercussions on her family that her absence causes. But it's also dark because the main character, DI Ellen Kelly is battling to cope with the death of her own husband and the damage this has done to her family.

It also turns out that Ellen has to live with the fact that she took the law into her own hands and confronted her husband's killer. There's a lot of back story here, and I assume it will continue to be explored in future Ellen Kelly mysteries. I hope so, anyway.

Possibly one of the most moving, and disturbing, aspects of the story is that concerning Rob York, father of Molly - a previous missing child whose story had the most tragic of endings. Rob's misery, and the extremes it leads him to, become instrumental in the case, and yet another thing Ellen has to deal with on top of her family problems and the, sometimes equally serious, issues of her colleagues.

On top of this we have a twisting and turning plot, and a genuinely gripping race against time.

I recommend this book to thriller lovers, and look forward to more in the series.

Thanks very much to the publishers for a review copy of this book.

You can find out more here.