Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of THE SMILING MAN in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars

This was my first time reading a book by Knox, and even though this was the second book in the series, it was pretty easy to pick up and read as a standalone. I thought it was a well thought out mystery with many twists and turns.

I am not sure if reading the first book would have helped with the characters, but there seemed to be so many players in this book I had to really focus on figuring out who was who. I felt that most of the characters I did not connect with much, but by midpoint I was starting to really enjoy Aidan Waits' personality. While I didn't care for him initially, he definitely grew on me.

There was so much going on at all times, I had to stay alert and focused, but the ending was such a great payoff. I enjoyed the second half of the book very much, once the drama really picks up and starts moving. I will definitely keep an eye out for the next book in the series!

I did not read Sirens, but I cannot wait to read Sirens.

From the first page of this neo-noir thriller I was sucked into the enthralling dark world of late night Manchester and the flawed detective Aidan Waits.

This is a police procedural with a noir bend and a grittiness that goes with the genre.

If you have not read Sirens, do not worry, this is a stand alone novel full of twists. I really enjoyed the plot, the writing, and the character of Aidan, who is both mysterious, deeply flawed, and yet has a strong moral code he lives by.

I am grateful to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for my advanced copy. I cannot recommend the book enough.

THE SMILING MAN by Joseph Knox is the second book in the Aiden Waits series, and the follow-up to “Sirens”, which introduces the troubled young British detective Aiden Waits who’s been caught between a rock and a hard place, and who’s been assigned to a seemingly impossible task by his superior in order to avoid being imprisoned, with the understanding that his career is all but over at that point.

Amazingly, Aiden lands on his feet unexpectedly, and is once again assigned to the night shift with a partner no one else could work with. Peter “Sutty” Sutcliff is a despicable character, who has been hardened by injuries suffered that affect him both physically and mentally after an attempt to rescue a woman that causes his injuries by torching a building with him in it.

Sutty and Aiden are on patrol when a radio call comes in for sexual assault/harassment complaint, and Sutty tells Aiden to go interview the young woman alone, with a wisecrack about him being “good with the little girls”.

Earl, a handsome young man opens the door at the address given and lets Sophie, the complainant, know he’s arrived.

Sophie tells Aiden that she’s being blackmailed into having repeated sex with an older man named “Ollie” that she connected with at a club that caters to middle aged businessmen by allowing college- aged girls free admission along with complimentary drinks, ensuring a constant source of attraction for the older men.

Aiden learns that Ollie has threatened to publicize a video of his and Sophie’s initial sexual encounter unless she complies, so Aiden follows up by looking for him at the club they met at.

“Incognito” is a club owned by Guy Russell, an older man of somewhat disreputable character who appears to know Ollie, but refuses to give any information; yet Aiden is approached by Guy’s daughter Alicia who works at the club upon leaving, and she provides him with Ollie’s full name and address.

Soon after Aiden interviews Ollie aka Oliver Cartwright, a well known TV political personality, thereby warning him against any further attempts to blackmail or harass Sophie, he and Sutty get a call to investigate an alarm going off at the recently closed Palace Hotel, a landmark with a long history.
Aiden finds an injured guard on the third floor who’d been missing at the front desk, only to find a dead man on the fourth floor who’s apparently been murdered and is seated in a chair amidst a few unusual circumstances; one being the total lack of identification, and the other being a frozen smile-like grimace on his face earning him the nickname of “The Smiling Man”.

Investigation into the unknown man initially produces nothing in the way of results, as medical and dental procedures have been taken to hide his identity, although several years previous to his death.

Superintendent Parrs, Aiden’s feared boss, arrives at the hospital after the partners have interviewed the injured guard, and he summons Aiden to his car for a private conversation to go over the recent cases, with specific instructions; one of which is to keep Sutty out of the loop on the
Palace investigation, something seemingly impossible to do, and for reasons unknown.

Aiden, as he’s demonstrated previously, will do pretty much as he pleases ignoring orders from his superiors to get results, and past personal history and relationships become intertwined with his involvement on the cases he’s assigned to, and as a result of irking Superintendent Parrs by not following a hands-off order on Oliver Cartwright, he’s further punished by Parrs’ assignment of him to “the dustbin fires”; a minor but irritating rash of dumpster fires taking place hindered by the fact the culprit is good at hiding his identity in areas of video surveillance, thus leaving no physical or video evidence to go on.

Parrs also informs Aiden that he’s previously put a halt to an attempted hit on Waits; as long as he’s an officer, with the clear understanding that his life is dependent upon staying on the force.

Can Aiden once again overcome insurmountable odds to both stay alive and solve all of the cases, especially revealing the identity of the Smiling Man, without harm to himself or those he cares about?

Superb follow up novel to the first book in the series, THE SMILING MAN is even better than the book before it, and author Knox balances several events taking place throughout the book both past and present ; yet somehow tying everything together with no filler along the way, everything fits perfectly to create a book that’s hard to set down once started, and easily is the best book I’ve read yet this year.

5 stars.

The Smiling Man is absolutely compelling and does not allow you to put the book down. Especially the further the investigation gets. Plus, the more the main character's past begins to catch up with him the more interesting I found him. I was also loving the writing style and the narration. Not to mention, loving the touches of background story. I am a big believer in a strong, and well-built, main character. Detective Aidan Waits was easily both of those things. He had many downfalls and faults, even some temptations that he would want to give into. Each were very realistic and tied well in with the overall story. His dark past increased the intrigue a lot. I did find his night shift partner Detective Inspector Peter 'Sutty' Sutcliffe to be rather pompous though.

To note: while I have not read the first book in the series, Sirens, I did not once feel lost while reading The Smiling Man. The author did a wonderful job giving enough background information.

Lastly, the surrounding and supporting characters were well established as well. Each with their faults and strengths. Those characters helped move the story line at a good pace and give more necessary detail keeping the reading interesting.

This is the 2nd book in a series. I have not read the first but will be correcting that immediately. A real twisty mystery. Lots of little stories going on that the author never loses track of. Then he manages to pull them all together.
The characters are really 3D.
Looking forward to more from Mr. Knox.

This was the 2nd book in a series. I haven't read the 1st, but that didn't hinder my utter and complete enjoyment of this one. At all! I loved the story. I loved the mystery and suspense. And I absolutely adored Aidan!

Terrific gritty police story set in the dark dreary land of Manchester, England. Unlike many investigative stories, the lead character Aiden is not some perfect detective with a crack team of criminalists standing behind him, but a disgraced bitter guy living on the edge and haunted by his childhood and the things he does when he’s out of control. The ultimate story may be about those living in the edge, not the murder clues. From page one straight to the end, it is just an absolutely awesome read.

This was a very dark and twisty novels. I thought the author did a great job of character development. With the lead, Aiden, I felt connected to and despite his dark past and buried secrets I could relate to him and definitely found myself pulling for him in the story. The other character Sutty was a true piece of work. Excellent job of making this guy totally disgusting and creepy. No trust or love lost there. It’s a well written book when you both love and hate characters. Dark, moody, twisted and some violence. Great read!

First off I love the new cover! I got the chance to review the cover that has the smiley face on it vs the one that has an overshot of a town! Definitely love the new cover as it is much more eye grabbing and it is what first pulled me into this novel. Next.... OMG..... this had me hooked from page one all the way up to its amazing finish. i know i say in other reviews that I could not put this book down , but seriously on this one I was sop distracted reading I didn't realize it was 3 am and that i had to be up by 5 am. This book is that good! I loved the witty sarcastic humor in this book and enjoyed the characters as they were intelligently written and read well. This is the 2nd book in this series i believe but I didn't feel that only having read this one I missed anything. This book reads as a great stand alone, although I want to read book 1 and hopefully book 3 in this series. Aidan is one of my new favorite characters to follow and I feel  that I will be hooked on this series for a while! 5 stars from me.

I received a copy form Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Disconnected from his history and careless of his future, Detective Aidan Waits has resigned himself to the night shift. An endless cycle of meaningless emergency calls and lonely dead ends. Until he and his partner, Detective Inspector Peter ‘Sutty’ Sutcliffe, are summoned to The Palace, a vast disused hotel in the center of a restless, simmering city. There they find the body of a man. He is dead. And he is smiling.

I've never read anything by this Author. I found out later that this is his second installment of a series. I normally like to read in order, however the book was written were reading out of order doesn't really make a difference. I'l defiantly be getting the first one.

The book is written wonderfully. Joseph Knox has made a fan out of me. If you're looking for a book that grips you from the beginning this is it.

VEry intriguing mystery/hard boiled/ detective novel, with excellently drawn characters, that I could easily see on the big screen. Makes me want to read more in this series ASAP

Biting gallows humor and backstabbing deeds. Confidence men, prostitutes, and misanthropic cops who are addicted to the beat, and for some, to the drugs they’re supposed to keep off the street. Aiden Waits is a detective inspector in Manchester, UK, who has been relegated to the night shift because of past sins and thrown-upon political maneuvers. Joseph Knox’s character is akin to the dens of vice that only operate in the dead of night, and The Smiling Man is the perfect vehicle for readers to learn more about his checkered past.

Three cases vie for Waits and his immediate superior/ sometimes partner’s attention during the course of the novel: A sexual bribery case at the local university. Multiple fires set in trash bins throughout the city. An anonymous man found dead in a vacant hotel. Waits and his malcontent partner set out to untangle these barbed wire knots, and maybe get some semblance of stability back in their careers.

There are so many strengths to Knox’s second Waits novel. First and foremost is the outstanding original voice of his main character. While every cop in the novel shares a grimly sardonic view of humanity, Waits fights the tide of the force and can be optimistically sarcastic and almost sanguine, yet most of the time, for the reader’s amusement, only in his own head. Knox’s has quips and one-liners on practically every page that are equally sick and hilarious. The back and forth between the partners and the witnesses is great, and I’m not sure if I’ve ever read a better bad cop/ bad cop routine.

Joseph Knox’s The Smiling Man has an ending that I guarantee you will not guess, and several memorable twists along the way. I particularly liked that Knox revealed much about Waits’s background; I’ve read so many series in which the author pulls his or her readers along for endless pages without fleshing out the main character at all. That isn’t to say we’ve learned all there is about Aiden. I recommend this book to those of you ready to walk into the depths of the Manchester criminal element.

Thank you to NetGalley, Crown Publishing, and Joseph Knox for the advanced copy for review.

See review on blog site

Wow! Wow! Wow!

Thanks fo Netgalley who provides this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Want honesty? This was a fantastic read! Many books claim to be books one can’t put down; The Smiling Man is truly a one-sitting read...you won’t be able to put down.

The novel is a dark cop noir on the gritty streets of Manchester England. It follows detective Aidan Waits (a sort of ne’er-do-well with a shady past) as he is relegated to patrol the night shift with his partner, the sharp-tongued Sutty.

One particular hot night, the pair is called to a hotel report of a break-in. There, Aidan encounters a dead man whose grimace gives way to the title—The smiling man. But finding out who killed the man in the hotel is but one of three plots Joseph Knox deftly weaves into a tense, suspenseful, darkly comedic mystery.

What sets this book apart from others in the genre is: the strong voice—human, and humorous; swift pacing; and superb realistic dialogue.

This book will be (or should be) a hit with many readers!