Books like The Long Walk — picked by fans

I was interested that the book was set in Mexico and with a female protagonist, so I was happy to give a new-to-me author a chance.

From the very first description of the detectives’ office in Acapulco police station, there was a level of detail that made me think, ‘this author is writing from real life’. Carmen Amato was a CIA analyst who lived in Mexico for many years. She knows what she’s talking about, from police corruption to cartel crime, and the blatant misogyny of people who should be on the same side. 

I had no idea where the story was going; nothing was telegraphed, and it was as raw and real as you could wish.

Beautifully written, I wanted more, more, more. I chomped through the next 8 books in the series, and eagerly await book 10.

This is a series of six short reads set in London with the eponymous PI Ryan Kyd. He's a man down on his luck, retired from the Met due to a dodgy knee. But his luck finally turns when he employs a new secretary/assistant, the lovely Carly. Poor Ryan is love sick for the gorgeous and gobby Carly. She's a streetwise sarf-Londoner who kicks everything up a gear with her wit and street-smarts.

The dialogue is a huge winner, funny, occasionally poignant, often downright hilarious.

But it's not all comedy - the books are also tightly plotted with a circus of weird and wonderful characters, quite a few on the shady side of legit.

Imagine a younger version of 'Minder' and you won't be far off.