Against the Clock

(A DCI Harry McNeil Crime Thriller, Book 10

By: John Carson

Narrated by: Angus King

The body of a teenager is found near Portobello Beach in Edinburgh, wrapped in plastic. She went missing five years ago but it's obvious she only died recently.

Inside the plastic is the dress she was wearing when reported missing. Where has she been kept and why has she been killed now?

The dead girl's abduction mirrors that of two young girls who have gone missing in the past two weeks.

DCI Harry McNeil is assigned the case with the help of two colleagues from Glasgow, who have discovered the body of a young girl in an abandoned leisure park.

Now an eight-year-old girl is snatched from the beach. Is it connected to the other two older girls who have gone missing?

As the detectives follow the clues, they know they're dealing with somebody who is not only a deranged killer but who will disappear with his victims. Just like he did five years ago. Harry and the others are pulling out all the stops to find the girls, but all of them know, they're running against the clock....

©2021 John Carson (P)2023 John Carson

Carson Continues to Disappoint Across the Board

This review is of the series overall. Harry was engaging as an officer and the first couple of books were pretty good. The more Carson writes of this character, the worse the books get. He kills off people who don't need to be killed off, and has, obviously, never heard of the writing concept of the "economy of characters." He has so many DCIs and DIs and DSs and DCs coming together from different areas in Scotland that it's hard to keep up with who is who and why they are even there. The books are also exceedingly short compared to others and the denouement often involves someone you haven't even heard of yet. (I know, let's add yet another character!) Too many characters and not enough decent material. I stuck with it as long as I did because Angus King, but even precious Angus can't rescue this series.

Worst in the series

This book is pretty boring. Too many underdeveloped characters. Not enough emotional investment in any of them. Too much useless banter. I listen only to listen Angus’s voice