Hello - happy Friday.
I'm delighted to let you know that Broken Promises is out today! I am ridiculously excited and terrified at the same time, but really eager to see how readers feeling about me bringing Allie Shenton back.
At the front of the book, there is a recap of what's been happening since I left the series in 2015.
Allie Shenton, now forty-six, changed roles and became Head of the Community Intelligence Team, working on the estates around the city. However, when Detective Inspector Nick Carter retired in 2020, Allie got his position and is now based at Bethesda Street Police Station again. Allie is married to Mark.
Perry Wright, fifty, was a detective constable and is now Detective Sergeant in the team. He’s married to Lisa and has a six-year-old son, Archie.
Sam Markham is a detective constable and the designated office manager. She is living with her partner, Craig, and has a daughter, Emily, who is twelve. Sam is forty-three.
Frankie Higgins is new to this series, but he’s been part of the team as a detective constable for the past three years. He’s twenty-eight, married to Lyla and has a son, four-year-old Ben.
DS Grace Allendale mentioned in the book has her own spin-off four book series, starting with Hush Hush. She was seconded to Allie’s role as detective sergeant for three years and then worked on the Community Intelligence Team alongside Frankie. She has now moved to the Safer Estates Team, Frankie staying behind on the Major Crimes Team.
Family is everything. Loyalty should be...
The Limekiln Estate has witnessed many a dark crime over the years. When DI Allie Shenton is called out to a suspicious death, she isn’t surprised to see it’s a local she knows only too well. While the slaying of Billy Whitmore is on everyone’s lips, a woman is stabbed in her home. A day later and a third victim turns up.
Three known associates brutally murdered - the bodies are piling up quicker than the forensic evidence is coming back. Yet Allie senses there’s something more disturbing going on. She’s sure Fiona Abbott, Billy’s partner, is involved too.
With enemies from her past rearing their ugly heads, and the press and public up in arms, Allie has her work cut out to get to the shocking truth. Can she and her loyal team stop the killer who has a close-knit community living in fear? And by raking up secrets from the past, has she made the Abbott family the next target, especially fourteen-year-old Kelsey?
'Keeping true to the grit I adore in her novels, this book was emotive and a total sleep stealer!' Noelle Holten
This is the fourth book in the Detective Allie Shenton Series.
'A gritty, authentic, fast-paced read that you won't want to put down.’ Caroline Mitchell
‘Mel Sherratt is the new queen of gritty police procedurals.’ C L Taylor
'Keeping true to the grit I adore in her novels, this book was emotive and a total sleep stealer!' Noelle Holten
'An addictive, skilfully plotted novel that is an enemy of early nights and the definition of ‘one more chapter.’ Caroline Corcoran
‘I love all Mel Sherratt’s books.’ Ian Rankin
‘Sherratt is a unique voice in detective fiction.’ Mail on Sunday
