“Welcome to The Killing Pool, a book that’s so dark you may well need a torch to read it.” That’s how DeathBecomesHer began her review of Kevin Sampson’s Liverpool-set novel. The Killing Pool is the first in a series featuring DCI Billy McCartney. We are introduced to him and his boss, Hubert Hodge, in the opening chapter, set in 2012. Both attend the scene of a gruesome killing. A headless corpse bleeds out on the floor and the pair realise that two years of hard work looks doomed, because the victim is the Kalan Rozaki, youngest son of a notorious Kurdish crime family… and their key informant.

The action is set partly in the present day, but we journey back in time as the various characters are established and explored. This is a gritty, hard punching tale, with final, gob-smacking twist.

Read the full review here.