Edna Burnside and Lily Bainbridge – Two elderly spinsters whose cottage backs upon the “Old Vicarage” where the body was found. He’s smart and very intuitive and even though he’s not the lead on the case you know damn well he’s going to be the one to solve it.

However, I thought that the plot was above average for police procedurals and I would read another book in the series. It was clear from the very beginning that the book is well-written and has a great cast of interesting and well-developed characters. Rather than this making him an unlikable or unappealing character, however, Russ Thomas finessed all these things into a man I now want to know much more about. Adam has a difficult family background and has gone through a rebellious teenager stage to end up following in his father's steps and joining the police force.

If you’re looking for original characters, a strong plot and vivid descriptions, ‘Firewatching‘ is the novel for you! But there’s someone watching from the shadows, a sinister observer with an even more intimate link to the murder and a disturbing obsession with fire.

Several more interesting characters here: DCI Jordan - - Adam's godmother who is protecting him on the job, DI Jim Doggett - - the veteran homicide detective who strangely seems to want Adam's help, and Constable Amina Rabbani, young Muslim officer who desperately wants to make it to a homicide job. Because we’re seeing most of the story through Tyler’s eyes, we’re also led along by his hopes, assumptions and fears, which in turn distracts the reader from the fairly obvious clues. A strong police procedural with themes of family secrets, arson, and perversion which reads more like the work of a seasoned and successful novelist, rather than the debut novel which it is. Now quite feeble, they know something that could help Tyler and his team, yet are unable or unwilling to do so. Let’s move on but before we do, here’s a newly created fictional detective team that I think has tremendous potential.Along with ambitious Constable Amina Rabbani and despite his link to the suspect, Adam manages to stay on the case, determined to get to the bottom of the mystery. Used to working on his own, he has been partnered up WPC Rabbani, an aspiring detective, who gets put upon by DC Doggett and DS Daley.

The story isn't pretty, quite painful to read about the disturbing scenes that occurred in the past.I don’t need to know what he is wearing, what he is thinking, what he is feeling, wearing, feeling some more, thinking….

His highly acclaimed debut novel, Firewatching, is the first in the DS Adam Tyler series and published in February 2020. He makes the snap decision not to tell his superiors, certain that he and only he can solve the crime. For me, hinting at Tyler’s backstory while racing to stop more deaths, felt really natural and kept a realistic balance to the story. Told over the period of a week and set in the sleepy village of Castledene, Sheffield, Firewatching is a dark and twisty police procedural introducing Detective Sergeant Adam Tyler, a cold case reviewer with a troubled past, and the sole representative of South Yorkshire's Cold Case Review Unit. Though I am sure there are many authors who will point out, writing is a proper job especially when you are published – eventually.He's often the victim of ridicule, and bullying and, as the scar on his face proves, he often has to protect himself from himself.