Chez Maximka: Coldharbour by John Mead #BlogTour

Friday, 9 July 2021

Coldharbour by John Mead #BlogTour

Coldharbour by John Mead is a dramatic and tightly-plotted dark crime thriller, with a strong police procedural basis. It addresses such sensitive and grave issues as human trafficking, refugee camps and organised crime.

It reads perfectly well as a standalone, but it might help to understand the dynamics between the main protagonists as well as the police unit, if you've read the previous book(s) in the series.

A couple of years ago I read and reviewed The fourth victim, a crime thriller where we first encounter Detective Inspector Matthew Merry (now Chief Inspector).

In Coldharbour we observe a more subdued and mature Merry. There are personal issues which make him rethink his work-family life (dis)balance.

Blurb:

The Met Police’s Major Investigation Team East has its hands full: a rush of tit for tat gang related stabbings, a strangled housewife, the decomposed remains of a woman found in a ditch and more to come. Adding to their woes is their boss, Chief Inspector Matthew Merry, being distracted by his problems at home.

For Matthew’s wife, Kathy, her only concern is dealing with the aftermath of being drugged and raped by a co-worker. Will the trial of the man responsible be enough to give her the justice she demands. Or, as her therapist states, is it revenge she really desires. She doesn’t know. As her emotions see-saw from elation to depression, her only certainty is that her husband seems more concerned about his work than her.

And Matthew is only too aware of his failings both at home and work. But the police machine grinds on, seeking information and sifting evidence — justice is not their concern..

Kathy needs her husband's support more than ever. She's been sexually assaulted, and after months of delay the trial failed. Matthew thinks his wife is strong and is coping with the situation, since outwardly she maintains "a buoyant, enthusiastic air, but inwardly her emotions were in turmoil, and she could not express what she felt because she felt constantly changed". The failed trial brings a mental breakdown and depression. In anguish Kathy runs away to her old haunts in Portsmouth, only to end up as a witness in the ongoing investigation.

Matthew should be making it easier for his wife to adjust to life, but he believes he's no much help, "when I'm with her I want to help, although the truth is that in reality, there's nothing I can say or do that makes a difference." And Kathy feels abandoned and unwanted. "The simple fact was that her husband was putting his work before her..."

There is a lot going on, and action moves from the UK across Europe, following the leads of organised crime groups traversing the borders with ease. There are several separate investigations being conducted - the young woman killed in Coldharbour, the gang running a brothel, human trafficking ring, moving people across Italy and France.

The British, French and Italian police have to work together to find out the full extent of the organised crime operation. All the relevant information is shared. Gabrielle Jouvet from the French Police Nationale is trying to find out how her colleague died while on the undercover operation in the UK. She says, "the whole point of our operation was to assess the scale of what we might be dealing with. We are well aware that people are trafficked all across Africa, the Middle and Far East, across Europe, and even into North America". The British police is only too aware of the increasing cross-channel trade in people smuggling. "Despite the political rhetoric, such trade had increased since the UK had officially cut its links with the EU".

The theme of human trafficking is one of the major plotlines in this book. Some scenes are harrowing and hard to imagine, but if you watch the news and read the political news, then you will know that the author doesn't exaggerate the extent of the human suffering in the refugee camps and the misery of modern-day slavery.

Coldharbour is a chilling thriller, credible and gut-wrenching. This book will make you stop and think. You will be riveted all the way through.

Purchase Links –

UK - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Coldharbour-John-Mead-ebook/dp/B08NF7VK8N

US - https://www.amazon.com/Coldharbour-John-Mead-ebook/dp/B08NF7VK8N

John Mead

John was born in the mid-fifties in Dagenham, London, on part of the largest council estate ever built, and was the first pupil from his local secondary modern school to attend university. He has now taken early retirement to write, having spent the first part of his life working in education and the public sector. He was the director of a college, a senior school inspector for a local authority, and was head of a unit for young people with physical and mental health needs. When he is not travelling, going to the theatre or the pub, he writes.

John is currently working on a seies of novels set in modern day London. These police procedurals examine the darker side of modern life in the East End of the city.