Into Deadly Storms by Judi Daykin

Into Deadly Storms is the second book in Detective Sara Hirst series by Judi Daykin.

Set in the mysterious beauty of North Norfolk, Into Deadly Storms is the perfect blend of mystery, suspense and everything that screams ‘thrilling!’

We have three PoVs in this story. Sara’s part of the story mostly involves solving the murder mystery, juggling between work and family/relationships. Danni is a young woman who gets herself involved in a sinister plot – thanks to her good-for-nothing boyfriend. Meanwhile, Sophie is a teacher at a local school – one of her students does not come to school one day and she ends up at his care home; Sophie is an addict and the student is her dealer.

Three women, three interlinked stories. The story starts with the killer planning to dispose off the body of his latest victim. The victim is fifteen and nobody would miss him at school – after all, he’s a nobody. A walker finds a dead body in the woods and calls for help. Sara and her team arrives at the scene and the investigation begins.

Meanwhile, Sophie has snorted her last dose of drugs and wants to replenish her stock. But Callum Young, her dealer and a student in her Lit class, hasn’t arrived. She goes to his care home and learns he’s not there either. Drugs are discovered in the boy’s room and the police are called in. Later, the dead body found in the woods is identified as that of Callum.

Danni’s good-for-nothing boyfriend steals from a dealer. As a punishment, Danni is used as a mule to transport illegal documents. The dealer’s brother ends up liking Danni; she now has to play the role of ‘girlfriend’ until the brother is safely moved to Italy.

I really enjoyed reading Into Deadly Storms. Three angles to the story – all equally interesting. Characters are well-portrayed and the suspense is well-maintained throughout the story. The storytelling is excellent. The only niggle I had is, the ending didn’t seem to do justice to the suspense built-up from the start.

The author has included some real-life scenarios in the book. Sara is half-Jamaican. There is a scene where Sara visits a family (a supposedly ‘modern’ family) – racist abuses are hurled at her. She’s not new to it though. Another character that stands out from the rest is Danni. Danni knows how to make use of a situation. Instead of the fight or flight option when cornered, Danni takes decisions based on what-works-in-my-favor-the-most. As the story ends, we see Danni in a new light – a tad villainous though.

Overall, Into Deadly Storms is an engrossing and interesting read. If you are looking for a unique police procedural, do give this book a try.

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I received an ARC from Joffe Books in exchange for an honest and unbiased opinion.

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