The Crocodile is the first in a series for me. It is Italian Noir and certainly lives up to the darkness of the noir genre. There is a sense of hopelessness that permeates the book and the detective, Inspector Lojacono’s, life. The crimes seemed senseless as they went on until they were finally tied together at the end. I found the sense of place really well done but I was not as pulled in by the detective. The writing and the story line were both good, I am on the fence as to whether I will read another or not.

The Slaughter Man is the second in Tony Parson’s series after The Murder Bag, which I did enjoy. This was well done and kept me guessing pretty far along in the book. Quite a few red herrings and assumptions made with connections to a prior case. Well written and thrillingly paced with great tension. This is a series I am really enjoying. Just a quick warning, the case does involve child abuse/trafficking and might be disturbing for some readers.