A debut novel with a very evocative title, LIE DOWN WITH DOGS, is centred around a burnt out, damaged Detective, Kyle Williams. After being shot and losing the love of his life in a disastrous undercover investigation, he's strangely best placed to take on the cold-case murder of two young lovers. There's something a bit personal about his determination to solve this, although the link he discovers between the undercover operation that went badly wrong, and this murder is almost enough to derail him completely. But as you'd expect, when it comes to corrupt cops, wealthy drug dealers, and a chance for revenge, there's no taking a backward step.
Williams is definitely one of those broken, morose, hell-bent on revenge style of detectives, that stick with an investigation, no matter the damage it inflicts on them. After all, there's nothing more healing than throwing the damage back in a few faces sometimes, and this crowd is very much the wrong sort, who need taking down a peg or two. The action is delivered in a fast-paced manner, and Williams is an odd combination of profoundly sympathetic and deeply annoying character that just works. It's a vivid, violent read, mired in the worst of Christchurch - a location normally prized for it's beauty and gentility. No surprise that this author is known for his cinematography - he's got an eye for location which shines through.
A worthy finalist in the 2025 Ngaio Marsh Crime Fiction Awards, Best First Novel category.
(You might be wondering why suddenly reviews of books read last year have begun to show up - I found all my notes from the time - too many backup drives / not enough indexing!)
Lie Down With Dogs
Back on the job after a disastrous undercover investigation, Detective Kyle Williams is hanging on by a thread. While recovering from being shot and losing the love of his life, he’s drawn into the dark, cold-case murder of two young lovers who got mixed up with the wrong crowd. When Kyle discovers a link between the cold case and the undercover investigation he’s trying to forget, the possibility of redemption is everything he needs. Corrupt cops and wealthy drug dealers might prefer to keep the past quiet, but when the chance for revenge arises, Kyle will take it, no matter who stands in his way.
In this engrossing, multi-layered crime story, past and present collides, hurtling toward a gripping conclusion. An action-packed epic of love, murder, and revenge.
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