The Sleepless Ones

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Description

A gruesome murder at an abandoned farmhouse spirals into an investigation of a crime ring that has operated for decades A car abandoned by a ramshackle Cotswold farm draws the attention of local police officers. When DCI Guillermo Downes arrives at the farmhouse he finds a sickening scene of devastation and destruction. Now Downes has a murder investigation to run. But what were the ransackers looking for Why didn't they take anything And could there have been a witness who made a lucky escape At first Downes struggles to find answers. But as he and Graves follow the threads of this case past crimes come to light. The criminals Downes is chasing have been used to getting away with it. But when a local boy goes missing it might be the key to breaking this case once and for all.

Reviews

DARK, GRIPPING AND UNEXPECTED -- LINWOOD BARCLAY
An Argentinian DCI in the heart of middle England brings a thoughtful outsider's viewpoint to a murder that has troubling links to unsolved crimes from the past. Guillermo Downes'sintelligent, intuitive policework keeps the pages turning * Sunday Times *
An intriguing debut . . . the plot [has] a strength and texture that help set it apart . . . Taut and told with panache, it ushers in a suitably spiky police hero * Daily Mail *
Marrison's tense debut expertly evokes a sense of place . . . the highly unusual denouement will catch most readers by surprise * Publishers Weekly *
A gripping thriller . . . a readable, complex tale, astutely paced . . . If the mark of a good whodunnit is that you can't actually guess whodunnit, then The Drowning Ground does its job well. Despite following the plot closely, I was still taken aback by the denouement * The Herald *
Move over Morse * Oxford Times *
With an intricate plot with numerous twists and an intriguing cop with a complex history, Marrison rivets the reader straight through to the novel's chilling conclusion. An author to watch, he scores high with this impressive debut * Richmond Times Dispatch *
An assured dbut which promises much for the future -- crimefictionlover.com
So many characters with so many secrets and deviant behaviours make this dbut mystery by James Marrison a real winner. The author's complex plotting, haunted characters, and gorgeous descriptions of winter are an absolute joy to read even as the action takes one suspenseful turn, then another and then another to an unexpected denouement. When it seems as though all the clues have been resolved, Marrison saves one last shocking revelation for the final chapter.. . . Expertly setting us up for the next chapter in the series ( I can't wait!), Marrison writes lovingly of his new hero, Guillermo Downes, a detective plagued by demons both internal and external yet determined to expose murder most foul whenever and wherever he can -- curledup.com
A masterful novel . . . The protagonists are wonderfully portrayed. Downes is a bit of a mystery, a man born in Buenos Aires of a Argentinian mother and an English father. What led him to leave his homeland and make a life for himself in this small English town Perhaps the answer will be revealed in the next novel in the series, something I'm eagerly anticipating -- marilynmystertreads.com

Author Bio

James Marrison is a journalist whose writing has appeared in a number of national newspapers. James Marrison now lives in Buenos Aires, which provides the inspiration for his lead character, Argentinian-born detective Guillermo Downes. The Sleepless Ones is James's second novel, following on from his debut novel The Drowning Ground.