Talking of the Dead by Michael Dylan

Timy reviews Talking of the Dead, the third book in Michael Dylan‘s DI Simon Wise Crime Thriller series.

Review(s) of previous book(s): Rich Men, Dead Man, The Killing Game

Possible fit for The Sound of Madness Reading Challenge 2024 prompts:

Joker prompt that goes with anything: Now We Are Free

Sometimes, ambition can be a dangerous thing.

When a wannabe gangster kills a rival dealer and steals their drugs, he thinks he’s made the big time. But all he’s done is become the most wanted man in London — and it’s not just the police hunting him down.

For Detective Inspector Simon Wise, the murder of a drug dealer seems an easy case for his team to solve. But he should know London doesn’t do easy. Someone else is searching for the stolen drugs and they don’t care who they kill to get them back.

Still haunted by ghosts from his past and with his personal life falling apart, the odds are stacked against Wise as he tries to stop more bodies from piling up. Can he find the killer in time, or will he end up dead himself?

TALKING OF THE DEAD is the third book in the DI Simon Wise Crime Thriller series, set on the streets of London. If you like gripping police procedurals, dark characters, and a relentless pace, then this book is for you.

This gripping page-turner is perfect for fans of Mark Billingham, Peter James, Simon McCleave, L.J. Ross, Alex Smith and J.M. Dalgliesh.

And just like that, we are already on book 3 of the DI Simon Wise series. Which I think pretty much tells you that I’m enjoying this series a lot. Now, this review will be a bit shorter than usual for 2 reasons: this is a third book and it always gets tougher to review books as a series moves ahead, and also because I’ve been procrastinating on this review and my memory is about as good as a goldfish’s. Also fair warning, the review might contain mild spoilers for the previous books.

We are a few months after the events in The Killing Game, but it doesn’t seem like Wise could catch a break. His team is short staffed, his brother threatened his family’s life and he could lose his job at any moment because he kept his past secret. All in all, doesn’t seem like he’ll have a peaceful lead-up to Christmas. To make things worse, there is a new case he needs to investigate that’s going to have consequences he never saw coming.

There are a couple of plotlines going on, but as time goes on it gets clear that everything is connected. There is the investigation about Tom that reveals Simon’s secret at last that also causes strains in his personal life. When his wife learns about what’s going on, naturally, she gets pissed off. Not that it excuses her behaviour regarding’s Simon’s dad, which was a super below the belt kick from her. Simon tries to get himself placed into the investigation, but naturally the higher ups aren’t all that keen. There is also the new investigation that starts as a drug-related murder and blows out of proportions quite fast as people keep dying. And it also reveals a deeper plot about a gang war as a new big dog tries to take over everything. Seemingly not giving a fuck who get hurts along the way. And we also have a personal tragedy playing out before our eyes as we get to know a little more about one of Simon’s colleagues. I’m not going to tell you who, although it gets revealed pretty early on.

So there is quite a lot going on, so it’s not that surprising that the investigation itself got a little out of focus. This, I wouldn’t have minded much, but since we, the readers got a clear picture of what was going on all across the board, the mystery was lost. We know early on who did what and who the culprits are, and while it’s interesting to see how the dots are connected, and how Simon reacts, I found myself a little bit less invested. That’s probably why it took a little longer than usual to get through the audiobook. Well, that, and the fact it was a very busy time for me when I read it.

Even though Talking of the Dead probably won’t be my favorite book within the series, it still had a lot going for it. There were tense moments, heartbreaking moments, and holy shit moments aplenty. And you know, I like that with each book we get to know someone a little bit better on Simon’s team. That makes me wonder who is going to be next and what twisted fate Dylan holds for them. I’m slowly starting to realise that no one who they seem to be and that keeps things interesting for sure. Not even talking about the psychopath that is Tom. Man, there is a lot to unpack there, and I can’t wait to see where the story will go from here.