Investigating the murder of a colleague is never easy.

Synopsis

Meet Zoe Finch, West Midlands Police’s newest Detective Inspector. She’s outspoken, ambitious, and damaged. And she’s working a case that could make her career, or cost her everything…

Fresh from the success of the Canary investigation into depravity and corruption at the highest levels, Zoe has attracted attention. Not least from Assistant Chief Constable Bryn Jackson.

But when Jackson is brutally murdered on the night of his retirement party, Zoe is dragged into a case that’s deeply personal.

All the evidence points to the victim’s downtrodden wife, who has secrets of her own. But Zoe begins to suspect all isn’t as it seems. Could Jackson’s death be linked to the Canary case? And what is her new boss, DCI David Randle, hiding?

Seeking out the truth will force Zoe to confront her own past and put her career, and her team’s lives, on the line.

Deadly Wishes is a gritty crime thriller perfect for fans of Angela Marsons, Caroline Mitchell, and the BBC’s Line of Duty.

My review

Zoe Fish is the newest Detective Inspector of Wes Midland’s Police. When Assistant Chief Constable Bryn Jackson is brutally murdered just before his retirement, everyone is looking to find the culprit as soon as possible.

But Zoe has a reputation and that reputation is used against her during the investigations. Yet Zoe is determined to find out the truth and figure out of Jackson is linked to the Canary Case.

Zoe is an example of how the Police should work… wanting to figure out the truth and not being afraid to find some dirt.
Her heart is at the right place, and she treats her colleagues equally. It’s not because she is higher in rank that she suddenly is someone else and treats her people like plebs. She still respects them and knows what the strengths of each one of them has.
But this doesn’t mean she cannot be strict when she has to be.

I also was left a bit astonished how people would dismiss Zoe and dislike her because of her past. They wanted her to do some less important tasks, but here Zoe’s determination got in the way. She does not like to be put aside and want to work actively to get the case solved as soon as possible and putting the real culprit away.

Yet the further I got into the story I got faced with the problem that not everybody in the Police has the same method.
It becomes rather quickly clear that Bryn Jackson is not the good guy in this story. His death makes things more complicated when looking for the murderer.
He was not the husband people would expect and he has more secrets hidden.

For me it was rather easy to dismiss some people, because I just couldn’t see them doing it. Yet I found myself wondering who it was…
It’s easy to say who didn’t do it, but to find the one who did, and have the proof is not an easy task.

Until the very end I had no clue who was guilty or involved. And when the truth came out, I somehow was not that surprised, yet I was anyway… I guess my subconscious knew it all along but it didn’t come to surface.

Zoe is someone to admire, a good person in a deceiving ugly world. I’m eager to see what other adventures are awaiting her!