The Death Messenger (DS Matthew Ryan #2) by Mari Hannah

Excellent crime thriller/police procedural featuring a killer with a very unique motive.

This second in the series (regretfully, I missed the first one), starts as Detective Superintendent Eloise O'Neil and Detective Sergeant Matthew Ryan of the Northumbria Police are setting up a newly formed unit that could have the potential to deal with international issues or really hot assignments. Their first case starts when they receive a DVD depicting a bloody murder scene in a lock-up close to the River Tyne. There is no body, but the detectives don't imagine for an instant that this is a hoax. From the beginning, the pair is stymied by a lack of evidence, motive and suspects. They are joined by husband and wife Frank and Grace Newman -- both with the type of experience and skills needed by this new team to figure out what's going on as several high profile murders subsequently take place -- all seemingly at the hands of the videographer sending the DVDs. The team gears up and follows where the few leads take them to seek out the person or persons behind these deaths where the victims appear to have no connection. What is the link and, despite being thwarted by higher ups in the government, how in the world is this new unit going to work it all out. NO SPOILERS

I enjoyed this and definitely will want to read the next in the series. The major drawback for me, and what really detracted from my overall rating, is the constant and ridiculous crushing that Matt is doing on Eloise. Give me a break! If he'd spend less time thinking about and mooning over her and worrying about her safety and mental well-being, he might be a better, more effective sleuth! It got old really fast and if that romantic pap was left out of the story, it would have hummed along at a better pace instead of dragging with all that sappy stuff. She's his boss, they are a two-person team with support personnel, so either get it on or let's get over it. It really diminished my perception of Eloise as a super duper strong leader with all her mopey sensitivities and he was like a love-sick puppy around her. ENOUGH!  That said, when all that wasn't being focused on over and over, I liked the premise and the complexity of the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the e-book ARC to read and review.

This is the second in a series and, though I did not read the first, I wish I would have!
Genre - Police procedural/ crime thriller