You may be certain that what happened in the past, will stay in the past and that you can sleep peacefully and enjoy your sweet dreams. But sometimes it can turn into your worst nightmare ...

During the whole book I kept thinking : aha, now I know who did it! Every time there was that little hint that put doubt in my mind once more and made me change direction. How I love that!
I constantly had the feeling that nobody could be trusted. The story contained some kind of current that pushed me forward and only let me go ashore when everything was revealed.

I have no idea how long my list of good authors is, but after reading this book, it became a bit longer, once again.

Thank you, Chris Merritt, Bookouture and Netgalley.

Thank you to NetGalley and Chris Merritt for the opportunity to read this advance copy.

This is my first Chris Merritt novel, and after reading this I'm definitely going to be reading "Bring Her Back". I love all kinds of suspenseful stories, and this is one of them. Zac Boateng is a great main character, and Chris Merritt is one of those authors that weave you into the story and make you feel like you're there alongside the characters. Great book.

2nd book in Merritt's Zac Boateng series set in London and it was very good again. Things open with the apparent suicide of Zac's friend and former work partner Troy McEwen , shortly after Zac receives a text from Troy that states "Can you come over. We need to talk about back then." It soon becomes evident to Zac that "back then" refers to a police incident from 19 years ago that went sideways and lives were lost. When another person associated with that dark day meets their demise shortly thereafter, Zac knows the secrets of the past won't be secrets much longer. Not a new plot concept but the author really makes it work in this complex mystery with a slick finish. Thanks to Net Galley and Bookouture for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Engrossing, fast-paced story - and maybe better still, a character who's a highly capable cop tinged with vulnerability (in fact, he and his wife remind me a bit of another favorite couple of mine, James Patterson's Alex Cross and his wife, Bree Stone). I missed the first book in this series, but trust me, I'll be at the head of the line when the next one comes out (reportedly in early 2019).

Detective Inspector Zachariah Boateng, who is South African, works for the Lewisham Major Investigative Team (U.K.) and is married to Etta, an attorney. Their young daughter Amelia was shot and killed five years ago (I presume that was detailed in the first book). Responding to an invitation from old friend and police colleague Troy McEwen to come talk about "back then," Zac walks in to find Troy dead - an apparent suicide. Zac thinks otherwise, believing that Troy's death is connected to some mistakes that happened during a case they worked some 20 years earlier that they buried under the paperwork.

If Zac is correct about Troy's death being a murder, he believes he could be a target as well - as could others involved in that long-ago incident. When a another one turns up dead, Zac is certain he's on the hit list as well. Problem is, he can't conduct an official investigation of Troy's death without revealing everything he knows about what really happened back then - details he's never shared with anyone, including Etta; putting the spotlight on them could, in all likelihood, cost him his career and his marriage. So amid his other duties, Zac tries to work in surreptitious investigation of Troy's death, with the assumption that there's a single killer with the singular purpose of evening up the score. But can he find that killer before the killer gets to him?

The path toward that end is filled with speed bumps, misdirections and dead ends as expected - and the ending leaves the door a little bit open for future stories (also as expected with a series). The ride at times seemed a bit choppy and disconnected, but my overall take is that I enjoyed it - in no small part because the driver is such an interesting character that I want to read more about him. Many thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the advance review copy. Good job!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture for letting me read Last Witness by Chris Merritt for an honest review. All opinions are my own!

I request a lot from Bookouture (on my favorite list) because their books are always good, they never disappoint! My first time reading​ Chris Merritt and I don't regret it!

What if a suicide isn't a suicide but a murder? Who did it? Read and find out!

A good thriller/detective story you won't be able to put down until the very last page! Good plot, good characters, well written... a great read!

Review shared online on NetGalley, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon when published.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a copy of the book. As always, an honest review.

Overall I enjoyed Last Witness, but it didn't wow me. The premise is cliche, but it works. Supposed suicides that only a few people think might actually be murders. As I have found, cliches are cliches for a reason. Because they work. And it does work in this book. The story holds up and generally held my interest throughout. However it took me awhile to be completely pulled into the story. For it to really find it's footing. I think this might be since the story bounced around a lot at the beginning.

When the book found it's footing halfway through, I just kept reading to find out who was the killer. I appreciated that both male and female police are represented well. Also, the characters' family lives are well established and create believable characters. The story still focuses mostly on the mystery, but it's evident that there's an entire backstory for all the characters. The author gives them a depth and realness that rounds out the story.

In general, the book has a bit of an unsure start, but comes together to intrigue the reader.

I was sure i'd heard the name Chris Merritt before amongst my reading circle but I know that this is my first time reading a book by him. "Bring Her Back", the Detective Zac Boateng series opener must have eluded me when it was released at the end of March 2018. At that time I wasn't taking such an interest as I usually would in the latest new books due to personal circumstances, this also accounts for the plethora of reviews that I will be continuing to post for many months to come that I was unable to post at the time.

Okay, it's safe to say Merritt has a new fan! This was a majestic second title and was just what I needed in this hot and humid weather to sit, read and chillax for a while. As I always say, I am sure there are various aspects of the returning characters lives that I am not provy too having not read the first one but this works beautifully as a standalone; it is certainly not essential to have been reading right from the beginning of the series. That said, I will be going back to the first in order to catch up on the characters development before the next in the series is released.

Troy McEwen, an old friend of Detective Boateng is found dead is his home in an apparent suicide but Boateng refuses to believe the official conclusion and is adamant he was murdered. He also thinks he could be the killer's next target. He begins his own covert investigation into his friends death and discovers a link to an incident that occurred decades earlier. Things went wrong that day - lives were lost and secrets were kept. Not for much longer it seems! As more and more people who were present on that fateful day are found dead, will Boateng be able to solve the riddle before the killer closes in on him?

This was an epic read. Tense, suspenseful and thoroughly gripping from first page to last. I loved the plot which was taut and intricate but not overly so. The characters were great, I look forward to learning more about them in future books. There were several effective twists and the pace was ideal, in my opinion. Dark and full of intrigue, a simply fantastic novel.

Many thanks to Bookouture for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Thanks to Bookhounds for the advanced copies. I honestly can't give this book enough praise… without doubt being added to my top ten of 2018… an absolute must read… I couldn't put it down.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of Last Witness, the second novel to feature the Met's DI Zac Boateng.

Zac gets a call from his close friend, Troy McEwen, whom he hasn't seen for a while, asking for a visit and chat about "back then". When he gets to Troy's house he finds him dead from a gunshot wound. The death is ruled a suicide but Zac thinks murder and starts his own covert investigation. As he investigates events overtake him and convince him that the death is linked to an incident in 1998 which he can't bring himself to think about, never mind tell anyone else, and that this secret could be putting him in the same danger as Troy.

I thoroughly enjoyed Last Witness which is a tense, fast paced procedural full of mystery and several good twists. It held my attention throughout and I raced through the pages, desperate to know the details of the 1998 incident. I guessed the killer's identity early on from the way the novel is written, despite Mr Merritt's efforts at misdirection, which incidentally are very good and had me doubting myself a couple of times. This guesswork did not, in any way, mar my enjoyment of the novel as there is so much more to consider. As I mentioned, the 1998 incident (I sincerely hope these vague mentions in this review of it frustrate you and arouse your curiosity in equal measure because reading the novel is the same), which is the root cause of the killer's motivation, is shrouded in mystery until near the end of the novel and makes for a compelling read. There is never a dull moment as Zac and the team are pushed one way then the other as they try to get to grips with a killer who always seems one step ahead. The plotting is skilful, the pacing excellent and the twists unexpected.

Zac Boateng is an interesting character. He has a happy home life, is good at his job and seems like a decent, honourable man but he has a darker side, not just his actions in 1998 but he is still determined to hunt down the man who gunned down his daughter, Amelia, five years ago. This need for vengeance is not explored in Last Witness but it is an essential part of his character and will I'm sure be part of any future novels.

Last Witness is a great read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

I have been eagerly waiting for this novel after loving the first 'Bring Her Back'' it was certainly worth waiting for. Once again a brilliant novel from Chris Merritt that I couldn't put down and I can't wait for the next part. It is the second part of the series but I think you could still read as a standalone, for me I would read the first part though just so you get more of the back story. Zac is fast becoming one of my favourite detectives he is flawed and makes mistakes but they are always for good reasons.

Excellent story line which was gripping from start to finish. Great characters. I would highly recommend this book.