Lock your windows. Lock your door. And don’t look outside…

At the local university a series of incidents is raising alarm. Someone is breaking into students bedrooms through the windows.

But things get even more serious when a corpse is discovered on the outskirts of town. DI Charley Mann, dealing with her own problems, is drafted in to investigate. At first there doesn’t seem to be a connection, but Charley suspects otherwise.

Following the evidence draws Charley into a web of shady local characters struggling at the margins. It seems the break-ins are no random event. Worse, more lives are at stake.

On her own, and facing a stand off, Charley will have to find a way through. It’s either that, or more people will die…

DI Charley Mann is back in her third instalment. This time what seems like two individual cases become linked over the course of the team’s investigations. A young woman is found murdered with a slab of concrete on her face and her clothes pulled down and a student awakes to find a naked man in her room who on her awaking climbs out of her fifth-floor window.

What I love about the DI Charley Mann books is how realistic and true to life they feel. They come across as authentic, just as if you are reading about an ongoing real investigation in the news that has been given full access. This is what occurs when you have an ex-Detective Superintendent as one of the authors.

The storylines flow well and I was kept intrigued at all stages in the investigations. Who was this young woman with bright pink hair that people thought was homeless but everything wasn’t as it seemed? Why was someone climbing into student’s rooms, undressing, and then waiting for them to wake up? Two bizarre cases that don’t seem to be linked until one vital moment.

Charley is a great character. She is a workaholic, loves a challenge, is fair and kind to her staff, and is instinctively clever. She is also just like everyone else and has plenty of flaws.

If you are looking for a detective thriller that will keep you entertained, have you trying to put all the pieces together alongside the characters, and keep you invested in the plot until the very end then this is the series to pick up. Persecution might be the third book in the series but I believe you can also read it without having read the first two. Grab yourself a copy today, you won’t be disappointed.

R.C. Bridgestock is the name that husband and wife co-authors Robert (Bob) and Carol Bridgestock write under. Between them they have nearly 50 years of police experience, offering an authentic edge to their stories. The writing duo created the character DI Jack Dylan, a down-to- earth detective, written with warmth and humour.

Bob was a highly commended career detective of 30 years, retiring at the rank of Detective Superintendent. As a police civilian supervisor Carol also received a Chief Constable’s commendation for outstanding work.

The couple are the storyline consultants on BAFTA winning BBC One police drama Happy Valley and series 3 of ITV’s Scott & Bailey.

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