Louise Blackwell makes for an engaging protagonist, and the beautiful and atmospheric setting is an added bonus. In this her fourth outing, Louise is once again torn between her work and her familial responsibilities. She is sleep deprived, mistrustful, very lonely, and under pressure. A perfectionist, she is a woman who finds delegating difficult, so she is her own worst enemy at times.

Once again, her nemesis on the force, DCI Tim Finch, intrudes upon Louise’s life – and not in a good way. Her desire to make Finch face up to his corrupt misdeeds is distracting her from the case she is working on.

Meanwhile, Louise is fighting her attraction to DS Thomas Ireland who has been her friend at the station since her move from Bristol three years previously.

This plot featured some very twisted minds. In addition to Louise Blackwell’s narrative, we also hear from the young woman who is responsible for the brutal branding attacks. A young woman whose psyche is warped irreparably by a traumatic event in her past.

Body modification, scarification, etc. is a theme running throughout this novel. Perhaps it is because I’m older, but I simply don’t see the value or appeal in such practices. I was pleased to read that DI Louise Blackwell agrees with me. Nonconformity, aberrant behaviours, police corruption, and exerting power over others are prevalent themes.

I love how I completely fell for the ‘red herring’, and was convinced I knew who the criminals were. I was so wrong…

The story ended positively, which I found satisfying. There are some changes in store for Louise in the next book, and the segue was done with panache.

In case you haven’t yet guessed, I enjoyed “The Mark” and its predecessors, and I’m eager to read the next novel in the Louise Blackwell series which is called “The Pier“. Highly recommended to all who enjoy police procedural crime fiction.

4.5 stars rounded up

I didn't realise this was part of a series when I requested it, but it worked well as a standalone and I am now going to go back and read the others in the series.
I liked the setting as it is somewhere that I haven't really explored and it completely grabbed me in.

I was given a free copy by netgalley and the publishers but the review is entirely my own.

Book 4 in the DI Louise Blackwell series. A good addition to the series that had lots of twists and turns ! Looking forward to the next one!

I absolutely love this series, I can sit down to read a chapter and get totally lost in the story only to find several hours have passed, I love the characters especially Louise and Thomas. Louise has so much on her plate, trying to co parent her orphaned niece, dealing with aging parents who are grieving for their son as well as having a senior officer who is trying to get rid of her. In spite of this she is respected by her team and heads them well.
This case is both disturbing and intriguing and I read it in one sitting. I absolutely loved the end and hope to read the next installment soon.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

The Mark by Matt Brolly is the fourth book in the brilliant Detective Louise Blackwell, series and I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish. and is another great book that has been written well, with great twists and turns throughout especially as it had you guessing right till the end

I highly recommend this book and all of Matt's books

Big Thank you, NetGalley, Amazon Publishing UK for my ARC in exchange of a review.

Police procedural set in and around Weston Super Mare. Part of a series featuring Detective Louise Blackwell. Good characters and intriguing story,well written.

Excellent read! Matt Brolly hits the mark every time! A gripping page turner that I couldn’t put down. 5 stars

A young man is found on the beach with a strange symbol branded into his flesh,he has no idea who is responsible.
When more people are found branded and then someone dies of their injuries Louise suspects they will have a serial killer on the loose.
A great read with characters you feel you know, the writing is so good as usual from Mark Brolly!

Great book, by an author I will read more of! Thrilling plot, great writing and brilliant characters. Highly recommend to others.

A great addition to this series. Plenty of twists and turns, could not put it down until it was finished. Definitely worth reading!

This is a great addition to the series. It's tense and compelling. A solid police procedural and I'm looking forward to reading more of the series.

I loved this addition to the Louise Blackwell series. It was by far one of the more interesting ones and didn't dwell endlessly on her home issues. I will eagerly await her next one.

The Mark is a very good story, well written, and with a great plot. The crimes described are terrifying, marking people without their consent transforming their lives forever is something unbearable. The culprit had a totally distorted notion about the meaning behind marking someone, and the reasons prevailing for doing so were definitely placed in her mind after what had happened at younger days. Louise relentlessly chases the culprit to the point of putting her family in danger, her own life in danger, and at the same time is able to deliver justice against her nemesis in the force even though she cannot understand how once she fell for his charm (unexisting charm!). The story is fast-paced and with a good ending with a dash of romance.
Although I have not read the previous books in the series it did not impair my understanding of the story, which I highly recommend.

Love Matt Brolly books - so was really pleased to be given an advance copy of this book!

I enjoyed this book as it explored Louise's personal life a bit more and we began to learn about the woman behind the police officer.
The story was a bit dark but I found it really exciting and it held my interest, I devoured it in an evening!

A well written thriller which 'gets going' from page one. A reminder of Louise Blackwell's past was helpful for readers, like me, who have not met her before. The book is set in the seaside town of Weston-Super-Mare which the author describes accurately. The male characters are very well drawn but the female characters, less so.
Whilst the main plot, involving branding and murder, appears, initially, to be linear, it is in fact not and very cleaver writing. A 'second-string' story line regarding sexual harassment, whilst interesting, doesn't add very much to the story but does to the continuing development of Louise Blackwell. I look forward to her next outing.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Another brilliant book in the series. Matt Brolly never disappoints. Recommended.

A fast paced thriller. I really enjoyed this book and wish that I had read the others in this series- I will now!
Thank you Netgalley and Amazon Publishing for introducing to Mark Brolly and giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased opinion.

This is the fourth book in the DI Blackwell series and it ends a story arc from the first book, dealing with Blackwell's professional life. But before that can happen, she has an odd attack to solve, but when more people are harmed, she realizes that she isn't just dealing with attempted killings, there is an unknown pattern. Then when a murder does occur, suddenly everything her team thought they knw gets turned on it's head. It's an interesting book of opposites, and how resolution takes a team effort. i'll be very interested to see where Matt takes the characters next!

This is #4 in the series with DI Louise Blackwell, and my first encounter with her character. I haven't read the other books, but as far as I can tell, that didn't cause any problems, so I guess they can be read as is without missing out too much.

Main character DI Louise Blackwell has been demoted and is now working in Weston- Super-Mare. There, she and her team are confronted with victims who have been branded
The investigation leads them into the world of tattooists and that of body modification.
Additionally, there is also a #metoo situation, which is smoothly woven into the plot.
There is also room for character development, we learn how Louise is trying to cope with the loss of her brother Paul; and the fact that she is now living with her parents and her niece Emily.

Exciting and highly original police procedural, with much going on. Read in one day, couldn’t put it away.

An above average police procedural thriller set in and around Weston Super Mare featuring D.I Louise Blackwell and her team - excellent characterisations by the way.

Branding on the human skin is The Mark and the smells are awful but well described! The victims include a drug addict, a young girl and then a young man.- all are found dead. Who is next, what is the connection for Louise investigate?

Add to this mix the author brings in DCI Tim Finch who is not necessarily Louise's biggest fan. but may have other evidence connected in a separate investigation. No more spoilers, but with an unexpected and excellent ending.

Thanks to Net Galley and Amazon Publishing UK for the chance to read and review.