Review: The Ice Killer (DI Barton #3) by Ross Greenwood

 

Print Length: 443 pages

Publisher: Boldwood Books (November 5 2020)

From Goodreads.com:  

Once, her heart was empty. Now it's filled with ice…

Ellen's therapist told her to forget the past, but the life she’s left with is boring. All she wants is to be happy and normal, but the approaching long bleak nights of winter loom threateningly in front of her, especially as she'll be alone.

When the secrets her mother put in place to protect her are uncovered, Ellen learns the frightening truth. Her history is darker than she imagined. She's not who she thinks she is, and the real her is a very different person to the one that others have mistreated and exploited.

If she has any hope for a future, Ellen must find answers about the past. This winter, there will be vengeance on Ellen's mind, and DI Barton will struggle in his hardest case to date.

How can he find the truth when all the victims and witnesses are dead?

                                                         *******************

My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I am a big fan of this series. I love the way this author blends in the first person perspective of the killer with the third person point of view of the police team investigating these cases. And what gruesome cases they are! 

Unlike most of the other offerings on the market today, with the DI Barton books, you know exactly who is behind the crimes - and to some extent, you even know the how and why of it as well. To me, this makes these books more interesting because you can focus on the policing aspect of them without having to distract yourself by trying to figure out who the culprit is. 

It also gives you the ability to be able to sympathize (to an extent anyway) with the killers which is definitely not an easy thing to accomplish.  In this third installment, we meet Ellen - a woman suffering with mental illness who has been dealt the absolute worst hand in life repeatedly. She is used by the men in her life, and when she finds them years later looking for closure (or trouble depending on how you view things), they use her again. Causing her to snap and extract her revenge. Deep down, she knows she is going to be caught sooner or later, but that knowledge still isn't enough to keep her from carrying on her crusade. And then when there is the small chance that she might actually get away with it? Well - I guess you'll just have to read it to find out what happens. 

As for DI Barton and crew - this book finds him as acting DCI - a job that while he is clearly capable of doing, he's mentally not ready for as evident by the fact that instead of sitting in his office dealing with that aspect of the job, he's still on the streets with Zander and Strange, investigating crime scenes, interviewing suspects and just generally being in the thick of the investigation as he's used to. I was glad to see that while his title may have changed for this book, his bond with his team and lust for the truth wasn't diminished. 

Sadly, as of right now, this third installment of the DI Baron series will also be the last (unless we can change the author's mind in which case he should consider this me begging him to continue - I would love to read more from this series).

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

                                                              *******************

                               
                                                        The Ice Killer is available from Amazon.com