Deadly Betrayal by OMJ Ryan | Book Review

I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Deadly Betrayal by OMJ Ryan
Published by Inkubator Books on 22 November 2020
Genres: Crime, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Mystery & Detective, Police Procedural
Pages: 274
Format: ARC, eBook
Source: Author
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She knew too much. She had to die.

Victoria Carpenter, a high-ranking government official, is found hanging in her garage – an apparent suicide.

But her husband has another theory – he is convinced she was murdered.

And when the post-mortem results confirm foul play, DCI Jane Phillips and her Major Crimes team find themselves on the hunt for her killer.

As Phillips begins to dig, she realises there are powerful and wealthy people who may have wanted Victoria dead. People who are willing to do whatever it takes to stop her investigation.

In a terrifying case that takes her to the other side of the world and back, Phillips puts her own life on the line as she battles local power-brokers and Hong Kong’s murderous Triads.

Facing corruption and treachery at every turn, can Phillips catch Carpenter’s killer before he disappears forever? Or will she herself fall victim to a deadly betrayal?

Deadly Betrayal – the fourth book in a gripping new detective series featuring DCI Jane Phillips.

OMJ Ryan proves that a series can only get better with every installment.  Deadly Betrayal was his most addictive outing so far.  Travelling these pages is akin to walking along a tightrope.  The fab four are back, they are more human than ever, with the fragility of the human condition pulsing at the forefront, demanding attention.  Ryan tore up the rulebook and catapulted his readers into the deep underbelly of Hong Kong and how the two countries intermingle in a frenzy before a finale that is likely to have you on edge.  The DI Jane Phillips series always feels like a homecoming, its became my favourite crime series by far.

DI Phillips and the gang are back.  Both Jane and her Major Crimes Unit are called to investigate the apparent suicide of Victoria Carpenter, a high-ranking government official in the planning department.  The opening chapter was like a mallet to the temple, we didn’t know the who or the why, but you knew some serious shit was going down.  The tone was set, and the reader felt like a fly on the wall, it was real and vivid, and it broke me out in a sweat. 

The investigation is swift, and the action doesn’t stop for a moment.  I struggled to keep up with my brain and the rate at which I need to turn the pages.  Deadly Betrayal was brutal and raw.  Why was Victoria Carpenter found hanging in her garage?  The husband is quite insistent that she wouldn’t kill herself, it has to be murder…but who would want to kill a gentle woman…her husband?  Another government official?  Things aren’t adding up but it’s up to Major Crimes to sift through the evidence with a fine-tooth comb.  The grief and the pain were palpable it penetrates through the pages into the reader’s mind. 

Deadly Betrayal is a race against time.  An investigation that crosses time zones and cultures.  The reader is given a little insight into DI Jane Phillips backstory when the investigation takes her to Hong Kong.  You feel the oppressive nature, the dark underbelly, and friends aren’t necessarily friends any longer when you go about snooping in places that you shouldn’t be.  The neon lights, the crowds and the fear becomes an enemy rather than ally as it has in the past, both her and Jonsey will be lucky to get out of the island alive.

Deadly Betrayal also examines the humanity of these incredible characters.  Bov is back in active duty after being injured in the last installment.  We see the effects of post traumatic stress disorder and it is manifesting itself as him losing his bottle.  Jones is also struggling in his home life.  He turns up to work looking tired and bedraggled and the stench of stale alcohol is a lingering presence.  Just what has him on edge and tetchy?  I loved this aspect of the narrative because we get to see them as a multi layered character, their job isn’t all there is too them.  They are people with emotions and problems, just like you and me.

Deadly Betrayal is deliciously dark and gritty, with its brilliantly drawn characters and tightly plotted narrative, it just simply refuses to let go.   

ABOUT OMJ RYAN

I’m OMJ Ryan.

I spent the first twenty years of my career working in the radio and entertainment industry across the UK and Australia, collaborating with household names, celebrities and music icons and accumulating a host of international writing and radio awards, before taking the leap into full time writing in 2018.

Since then, I’ve not looked back, writing stories for people who devour exciting, fast-paced crime thrillers by the pool, on their commute – or those rare moments of downtime before bed.

My mission is to entertain you from the first page to the last.

Born and bred in Yorkshire, I’ve lived and worked in a variety of cities across the UK including Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Glasgow, as well as Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, before settling in the north east of England with my wife Kim and young son Vaughan.

Thank you for checking out my website and I hope you enjoy catching up with Detective Jane Phillips and the rest of the Major Crimes Team.

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