4 and 1 / 2 stars

DI Aliya Pereira is looking over a statistical report while DS Marc Bain is rattling on about the United States’ space program. DI Pereira gets called into DCI Parker’s office. They have a new case. Thirty-one year old Kevin Moyes who has been missing for two weeks has finally turned up – in a sandwich meat package.

Taking a ferry to Millport, they question the owner of the shop where part of Kevin was found. They comb the little town of Millport searching for other eateries that received meat from distributor MeatLux. From there they travel to the meat packing plant. They interview relatives, friends and acquaintances of Kevin Moyes. They pick up a tip about a traveling salesman named Dirk. They track down his wife and speak to her.

When Pereira and Bain happen upon the killer in an abandoned warehouse with her latest kill, they are surprised. As is the reader. But our story is not over yet. Chantelle, Kevin’s girlfriend, and her creepy four-year old son still have a part to play in our little drama.

I don’t know exactly what to say about this book. I confess to inappropriately laughing at parts. Fortunately, I was home alone. This book is very well written and plotted. The suspense starts out immediately and continues throughout the book. The chuckle factor decreased as the book went on. I liked the relationship between Pereira and Bain. They make a very good team, with Bain’s nattering on about inconsequential factoids a delight. Sufficient information was given about the main characters’ backgrounds as to make them interesting, but not so much that it intruded on the story. This is my first Douglas Lindsay novel, but it won’t be my last. I immediately went to Amazon to check out his other books. Very well done, Mr. Lindsay!

I want to thank NetGalley and be-ebooks/Bastei Entertainment for forwarding to me a copy of this good book to read and enjoy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bastei Entertainment for an advance copy of Cold Cuts the first novel to feature DI Pereira and DS Bain of the Glasgow Police.

Pereira and Bain get sent to Millport on the Island of Great Cumbrae to investigate a sandwich shop serving up pieces of Kevin Moynes instead of the expected pork. Fortunately distribution isn't widespread but it leads back to the processing plant where people are keeping secrets.

I thoroughly enjoyed Cold Cuts. It is novella length so it is the straightforward tale of a less than straightforward investigation but it packs a punch. Obviously the subject matter suggests that it may not be for the faint hearted but there is a black humour to it that amused me. I am familiar with the locations mentioned which adds to the enjoyment - I'm not sure that I have read a book where Millport features so prominently and not a bike in sight (cycling round the island is a rite of passage up here).

I like the characters DI Pereira is known to her colleagues as the box ticker - Asian bisexual - and while her new boss DCI Cooper is at pains to point out that he has nothing against her but he doesn't approve of positive discrimination she wishes it has worked for her! She's feisty. DI Bain is not as developed but seems to have an encyclopaedic knowledge of trivia which provides some amusing moments.

Cold Cuts is a short, entertaining read which I have no hesitation in recommending.