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It is a great pleasure to welcome Val Penny to my pages, on her blog tour to celebrate the new edition of The First Cut.
Author Biography
Val Penny has an Llb degree from the University of Edinburgh and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.
Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction books, and novels. Her novels are published by SpellBound Books Ltd.
Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.
The First Cut – Blurb SPB
It’s hard to escape a brutal past.
A vicious killer is on the loose and victims include an academic and members of Edinburgh’s high society.
DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines of the case and forced to look on impotently when the hunt for the killer ramps up, because the Murder Investigation Team finds out that the killer is her relative.
Has someone from Jane’s birth family returned to haunt her? Is one of her relatives involved? Where will the killer strike next?
This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
The exciting novel is the first in Val Penny’s new series of Scottish thrillers.
Here is my review:
A Case Hanging on the Perpetrator’s DNA
Jane Renwick, born Smith, experienced a troubled childhood but pulled herself out of trouble and achieved self-respect. Her life is fulfilling, with friends and colleagues, including her wife Rachel Anderson, at her job as DC in Edinburgh.
A series of murders occur in Edinburgh, and it is up to the combined forces of local police and MIT Glasgow to catch the murderer. The hunt is urgent, especially because of the grisly aspect of the killer’s MO and possibly psychopathic traits.
Ms Penny brings her usual storytelling skills to the fore with twists and turns, notably the genetic complications that keep Jane from taking part in the chase. All in all, Ms Penny leaves it up to the readers’ perception to figure out, who’d done it. Her characters are fleshed-out, believable humans that appeal to any bookworm’s emotions.
The story is fast-paced, and its point of view fluctuates between Jane Renwick’s and the murderer’s heads.
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©HMH, 2023