No Time to Cry: Constance Fairchild Series 1 (The Constance Fairchild Series)

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My thanks to Headline/Wildfire for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Nowhere to Run’ by James Oswald in exchange for an honest review. Lady Constance Fairchild or Con as she likes to be called, is a Detective Constable currently suspended from duty after the case she worked on in the previous book, which led to some high profile arrests of people of importance including some police officers. Which explains why she is not well liked around the station. She is being hounded by the press being called ‘posh cop’. Cover note advertising claims "hallmarks of Val McDermid Ian Rankin" - publishers need to print something on a cover to attract buyers who might believe such a claim. As with the Inspector McLean series, there are subtle aspects of the mythical and supernatural woven into the story. In ‘Nowhere to Run’ ancient Welsh mythology and legends are referenced. On compassionate leave following the death of her mother, Detective Constable Constance Fairchild thought renting a cottage near Aberystwyth, Wales would get her far enough from London to finally relax. But trouble always seems to find Con, and it's not long before she is cooling off in a police station cell after defending herself from two would-be rapists.

The first one is the DCI Gilchrist series authored by Frank Muir. The featured protagonist, called Andy Gilchrist, is a detective inspector domiciled in St Andrews, a coastal town in Scotland. As we meet her again at the beginning of Nowhere to Run, she is sorely in need of positive energy. Battered and bruised from everything she has experienced, she is suffering from PTSD and has taken compassionate leave combined with a sabbatical. She’s now camping out in a cottage on the rugged coat of Ceredigion, hoping that nature’s positive energy will work its own brand of magic on her troubled soul.

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I would like to thank Netgalley and Headline for an advance copy of Nothing to Hide, the second novel to feature DC Con Fairchild of the Met. In custody she meets a young Ukrainian woman, Lila, who confides in Con that she's been forced by her manipulative boyfriend into prostitution and running drugs. Fearing for her life, she has run away from him, only to end up in the cells. I enjoyed the Welsh mythology at the centre of the plot, and it was good to have a story set in Ceredigion, but there was some terrible cod-Welsh dialogue of the "see boyo" variety that really grated. This wasn't helped by an audiobook narrator who couldn't do a Welsh accent or pronounce some basic Welsh words.

As J D Oswald, James has written a classic fantasy series, The Ballad of Sir Benfro. Inspired by the language and folklore of Wales, it follows the adventures of a young dragon, Sir Benfro, in a land where his kind have been hunted near to extinction by men. The whole series is now available in print, ebook and audio formats. The second book, The Book of Souls, revolves around a series of gory deaths wherein the serial killer has been striking during Christmas every year for a decade. The victims, who are all youthful women, are murdered in the same way: their throats cut, undressed, and their corpses sparkling clean. However, when detective McLean’s fiancee, Kirsty Summers, is targeted and the perpetrator seemingly leaves a clue, the detective is happy to finally nab the perpetrator. McLean has nipped the killings in the bud, or so he thinks. Con is frustrated by the restrictions being placed on her. With family issues very prevalent, she is exhausted and demoralised as all sides of her life, both private and professional, seem to be collapsing around her. But Constance Fairchild is determined, resourceful and fearless. She isn’t afraid to take risks, at times putting her own life in serious threat. She is a fighter who believes in searching for justice at all times. She is indefatigable, completely unwavering in her search for the truth.Having read and thoroughly enjoyed No Time To Cry by James Oswald, I was delighted to finally get the opportunity to read the second book in this fantastic crime fiction series, Nothing to Hide. As ever with Mr Oswald there is a hint of the otherworldly. It’s incredibly nebulous and mostly there is a rational explanation but still... This is reinforced by the ritualistic nature of the mutilations which adds to the swirl, just because you don’t share the murderer’s beliefs and their reason for killing it doesn’t make the victims any less dead. I never know what to make of it but I enjoy the dubiety of it all. Now this book can be read as a standalone. However, given the fact that Constance (or Con as she likes to be called) is still off-duty due to her role in the previous case. There is a lot of references to the first book. It doesn't detract from the story in hand, but for me now I don't see the need to read No Time To Cry as I basically know how it pans out.