Book Information

Book ID Asin: B01185UR6W
Book Title: A Mersey Killing: When Liverpool Rocked, And The Music Died (Mersey Murder Mysteries Book 1)
Book Author: Brian L. Porter
Book Format and Price:
Book Format Name: Kindle
Book Format Price: $0.00
Book Format Name: Audiobook
Book Format Price: $0.00
Book Format Name: Hardcover
Book Format Price: $13.05
Book Format Name: Paperback
Book Format Price: $11.99
Book Price: $0.00
Book Category: Kindle Store, Kindle eBooks, Literature & Fiction and unknown
Book Rating: 2,883 ratings

Book Product Detail

• Best Sellers Rank: #1,982 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
  • #11 in Traditional Detective Mysteries (Kindle Store)
  • #45 in Police Procedurals (Kindle Store)
  • #54 in Crime Thrillers (Kindle Store)

• Customer Reviews:
  4.3 out of 5 stars 2,883 ratings

unknown

Book Review

Name: James J. Cudney IV (Jay)
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Solid Crime Series with Likable Protagonists and Great Story
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 3, 2018
Review: Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to download the fourth book in the Mersey Murder Mysteries by Brian L. Porter. I enjoyed the book a great deal, and so, I've decided to go back to the beginning of the series and read them in order, starting with A Mersey Killing: When Liverpool Rocked, And The Music Died. Porter has kicked off a fantastic collection of novels involving the various detectives and police beginning with Detective Inspector Andy Ross and Sergeant Izzie Drake. If you're a fan of British crime fiction and methodical investigation, you're sure to love these books.

In this series debut, a body is found in the Mersey River. It's often difficult to obtain clues when the water can wash away evidence, but what about if the body has been there for over 35 years? Izzie and Ross have their work cut out for them, but as readers, we're privileged to know a little bit more. Porter's weaved alternating time periods in this story by showing us what happened in the past to a group of Liverpool musicians in the 1960s. As we get to know about 6 to 8 talents, we wonder... which one falls prey to a killer? As the story unfolds, we learn who it is, but there's also someone else missing, too. Did they escape to America to form a band? Are they hiding out from someone dangerous? Izzie and Ross solve the case but not before tearing apart a family who's been devastated one too many times in the past.

Porter's a definite talent. While his books are mysteries with a touch of suspense, love and thrills, they often wisely focus on the relationships between characters as the catalyst to drive the story. Whether it's getting to know the current day investigators, the past musicians, or who they've all become today, the plot and writing forces readers to care about what's happening to everyone. We see them going thru their days on all levels -- sometimes focused on the investigation, sometimes dealing with a personal issue. As the stories all begin to intersect, we begin to develop our own instincts as to who's guilty of murder and who's guilty of leading us astray.

Porter's style is very strong, clear and direct. His main investigator team works with different departments to determine the murder weapon, to check passports from 35 years ago, and to learn how to interpret clues that no longer make sense. We see the leads meet with their colleagues and form their own opinions, but hold back a bit of reserve knowing they haven't unearthed everything they still need to know. And when it all comes to a crashing finale, we worry whether the punishment fits the crime. That's the sign of a good storyteller -- to make us think critically.

Kudos to Porter for proving why building the right characters and setting can lead to a very promising and worthy book series. I'm looking forward to picking up the next one this fall... and getting invested in a series with 4 books already in the author's pocket. I'm sure there will be more just as sure as I am that I'll love them all!

Name: Book Lover
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Really liked the police working on a 33-year-old case
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 5, 2022
Review: Skeletal remains are found in the mud of the Mersey River. Detective Andy Ross and Sargent Izzie Drake are given the case. They discover that the body is 33 years old. It is fascinating to see what facts the Police, the medical coroner, a medical professor, and the rest of Ross's team can discover about this body. It is a 33-year-old murder and they do find out who did it!

Name: P.S Winn
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Oh, Mercy or rather 'Mersey'
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on June 4, 2022
Review: Go back to Liverpool in 1961, a great time in the music scene. Also, a great time for murder, it seems. Then, head to 1999 where the finding of skeletal remains show history is deadly. The author does a good job with the fell of the timelines in this tale and also with the police procedures. The incident happens on the Mersey River, so the author aptly titled this tale. This is a great, well told mystery that readers will enjoy.

Name: Martha A. Cheves
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: just like the Beatles
Date: Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on September 9, 2015
Review: When an old wharf and dockside warehouse renovation uncovers the skeletal remains of a murder victim, Detective Inspector Andy Ross and his team are given just over a week to determine who the remains belonged to or drop the mystery as a cold case. After all, it had been a cold case for over 30 years now so how could they possibly determine who the victim was much less who the killer was.

Judging by their research the body had to have been there from around the 1960s. Dental records from that far back were slim in help without a name to go with the teeth. The victim did have a break in the leg but again, there were probably hundreds of kids who broke their leg in the same area of this break. This was becoming a helpless mystery that may never be solved, that is until two brothers walked in to see if the remains might be those of their sister who disappeared in 1966.

Apparently she and her boyfriend had made plans to go to America in hopes of him pursuing a career in music. He and the two brothers, along with another young man had formed a band that simply wasn't going anywhere. They were called Brendan Kane and the Planets and Brendan was the boyfriend. When the group broke up Brendan decided to go solo but knew he, just like the Beatles, he would only make it big if he went to America. Then one day he and the sister, Marie, disappeared. Hopefully they were in America living a comfortable life but the brothers had a bad feeling that Marie never made it to America and was instead dead.

So, is the body that of Marie? Or could it be the body of Brendan? As the team put their clues and facts together they find themselves faced not only with the bones from the past but also with a murder that takes place just within a few days of finding the remains and yes the two are very well connected.

I've read everything written by Brian L. Porter and he has never left me disappointed but always wanting more and this book was no exception. I must admit that I had a clue after a certain character appeared within the book but still would have never guessed the final ending. This book kept me turning the pages as the action moved smoothly between the 1960s and the 1990s in such a way you were led from one era to the other without noticing the changes in time, making the whole story a seamless roller coaster of memories of times past. So keep writing Mr. Porter. You have a fan for life in me.

Home | Contact  | DMCA