View source for Flesh and Blood (DS McAvoy 11) by David Mark

{{infobox1
|title=Flesh and Blood (DS McAvoy 11)
|author=David Mark
|reviewer=Sue Magee
|genre=Crime
|summary=It's number eleven in the series.  I found the plot a little far-fetched and too gory but then, I'm a wuss.  If you're an Aector fan, you'll love it.
|rating=3.5
|buy=Maybe
|borrow=Yes
|pages=256
|publisher=Severn House
|date=June 2023
|isbn=978-1448309375
|website=http://www.davidmarkwriter.co.uk/
|cover=1448309379
|aznuk=1448309379
|aznus=1448309379
}}
It's something of a surprise to find that you're dead, particularly when you're thinking that you're actually on a break with your wife and children, but that's what happened to DS Aector McAvoy.  Whilst he was relieved to find that he was still, officially, alive, it was difficult for Detective Superintendent Trish Pharoah.  Her protegee - McAvoy - was still alive but the partially clad man who'd dashed from her flat in the early hours of the morning when it was obvious that someone was tampering with her car, was not.  Thor Ingolfsson was Aector McAvoy's doppelganger - and not everyone who commented on this was doing so kindly.  It had always been suspected that Pharoah was sweet on Aector.

Aector now has to worry about whether or not he was the intended target of the attack.  Who goes that heavily armed if you're just going to nick a car?  Trish has shown that she doesn't want Aector to return home: is she hiding something - or is she worried for his safety?  Trish is obviously going to be suspected of being involved in Ingolfsson's death but she has no intention of handing herself over.  She needs to find out what's going on - and why.  She turns to Tom Spink, her old mentor.  His wife, Gillian, has been in and out of respite care for a while but someone has got to Tom Spink before Pharoah.

It's edge-of-your-seat stuff - and (in places) more than a little bit gory.  In fact, for me, it was a bit too gory but then I'm a wuss about such things.  The writing's good and the plotting is well done, though and it makes for an exciting, engaging read.  I thought the concept was a little far-fetched this time around but if you're deeply involved in Aector and Roisin's world you'll probably love it.

I'd like to thank the publishers for letting Bookbag have a review copy.

[[David Mark's DS McAvoy Novels in Chronological Order]]
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