The Two O’Clock Boy – Mark Hill

TWO CHILDHOOD FRIENDS… ONE BECAME A DETECTIVE… ONE BECAME A KILLER…

One night changed their lives
Thirty years ago, the Longacre Children’s Home stood on a London street where once-grand Victorian homes lay derelict. There its children lived in terror of Gordon Tallis, the home’s manager.

Cries in the fire and smoke
Then Connor Laird arrived: a frighteningly intense boy who quickly became Tallis’ favourite criminal helper. Soon after, destruction befell the Longacre, and the facts of that night have lain buried . . . until today.

A truth both must hide
Now, a mysterious figure, the Two O’Clock Boy, is killing all who grew up there, one by one. DI Ray Drake will do whatever it take to stop the murders – but he will go even further to cover up the truth.

I really *really* enjoyed this book. Sharp characters, sharper writing, an interestingly different premise, and a suitably twisty plot, and that smug moment where you figure out who the killer is.

Only for Mark to pull the rug out from under you. Sneaky crime writers, you’ve got to love ’em.

The characters are great – the horribly compromised DI Ray Drake stands out as he helps Detective Sergeant Flick Cowley investigate the deaths linked to a children’s home back in the 1980s. The story jumps back between the modern day investigation and the time at the children’s home which becomes increasingly uncomfortable and dark as the plot unfolds.

If you’re a crime thriller fan, definitely one for your list.

Anyway, enough of my thoughts. You can read an extract over at Raven Crime Reads, then catch up with Mark over at Crime Thriller Girl’s blog talking about online secrets, and a Q&A with Liz at Liz Loves Books

You can find Mark Hill on twitter @MarkHillWriter or at his website, markhillauthor.com

Many thanks to Netgalley for the review copy. The Two O’Clock Boy is published by Sphere @LittleBrownUK Ebook: September 22nd 2016. Paperback: April 2017.