Far From The Tree (Thirty Miles Trilogy Book One) by Rob Parker (Hardback Publication)

 

Far From The Tree (Thirty Miles Trilogy Book One) by Rob Parker.

Published in hardback 2nd July 2021 by Red Dog Press.

From the cover of the book:

Twenty-seven bodies, vacuum-packed, buried in a woodland trench - some have been there for years, some for just days.

DI Foley finds himself the Senior Investigating Officer on one of the largest murder cases the country has ever seen. This could make his career.

But as new discoveries unfold, this horrific gangland crime suddenly gets personal. Too personal.

Foley has a choice. Solve the crime and risk his family? Or leave well alone?

To a man like Brendan, that’s no choice at all…

Far From the Tree is the first in the Thirty Miles Trilogy and was an Audible #1 Bestseller.

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If you have been following my blog, you can hardly fail to be aware that I am a big fan of Rob Parker's work, and have absolutely inhaled his Ben Bracken series and standalone titles. So I was chomping at the bit to get into Rob's new series, especially since it is set in his own backyard of Warrington.

Far From The Tree, the first in a new crime trilogy from Rob, offers a wonderfully gritty Northern Noir police procedural story, with a very different kind of hero from Mr Bracken. This time, our protagonist is Detective Inspector Brendan Foley - a man who has spent his whole life in Warrington, slap bang in-between Manchester and Liverpool, and whose roots go deep into the local area. He is a dedicated police officer, but Foley is not your normal run of the mill copper, because he has a few skeletons he would rather like to keep hidden in relation to his family background - ones that are straining to burst out into the open as the horrifying case of the Warrington Twenty-seven gets underway.

The investigation is destined to derail Foley, as it becomes very personal indeed, and there are plenty of delicious wtf moments throughout that hit you like the proverbial truck, as the chilling truth becomes clear. 

This story is full of everything you want from a gritty police procedural and crime caper. It is so evocative of 70s and early 80s crime stories, but with a clever modern twist - think The Long Good Friday and the wonderful Fox with Peter Vaughan (should you be old enough to remember this), all tied up with a big Line of Duty ribbon (in blood red, of course). There are good guys, bad guys and those who cross both sides of the line - of both the male and female variety - which give this very wide appeal, but it also brings in some interesting reflections about parenthood and the weight of family secrets that gives it real emotional depth. I particularly enjoyed smart, gutsy DS Iona Madison, who Rob uses to share his love of boxing with the reader.

Parker takes you to some very dark places, ramping up the suspense with perfect pacing that will have you sitting on the edge of your seat - and periodically falling off at the big hitting moments - and sets everything up beautifully for book two, which I am now eagerly awaiting.. There are also the most delectable of little titbits in this tale that will have fans of the Ben Bracken books grinning.

Unusually, this new trilogy was first released in audio format, which has given it the kudos of making the Audible best sellers list before coming out in print - and can tell you that it works beautifully in both formats. 

I think it's fair to say that this is the kind of book Rob Parker was born to write. I have seen Rob blossom as a writer with each successive book, as he matures and gets to grip with his craft, and he uses every bit of his considerable skill here - weaving multiple threads and complex characters to great effect, and completely drawing you in to the world he has created. And can I just say, as a connoisseur of a clever book title that Far From The Tree is a beauty, and the way Parker plays with many shades of meaning around this theme is absolute genius!

Far from the Tree is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer, or direct from Red Dog Press HERE.

Thank you to Meggy Roussel of Red Dog Press for sending me an e-copy of this book in return for an honest review, and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour. I have also purchased a signed, special edition hardback for my own book collection.

About the author:

Rob Parker is a married father of three, who lives in Warrington, UK. The author of the Ben Bracken thrillers, Crook’s Hollow and the #1 Audible bestseller Far From The Tree enjoys a rural life, writing horrible things between school runs. Rob writes full time, attends various author events across the UK, and boxes regularly for charity.

He spends a lot of time in schools across the North, encouraging literacy, story-telling and creative-writing, and somehow squeezes in time to co-host the For Your Reconsideration film podcast, appear regularly on The Blood Brothers Crime Podcast, and is a member of the Northern Crime Syndicate.