The Mayfly - James Hazel

It's happening again.

A mutilated body discovered in the woods.
A murderous plan conceived in the past.
A reckoning seventy years in the making . . .

Charlie Priest, ex-detective inspector turned London lawyer, is hired by influential entrepreneur Kenneth Ellinder to investigate the murder of his son. But Priest is no ordinary lawyer. Brilliant, yet flawed, this case will push him, and those closest to him, to the edge.

Priest traces the evidence back to the desperate last days of the Second World War. Buried in the ashes of the Holocaust is a secret so deadly its poison threatens to destroy the very heart of the establishment. 

With more victims going missing, Priest realises that not everyone should be trusted.As he races to uncover the truth, can he prevent history from repeating itself?

Meet Charlie Priest, the new kid on the block. Formerly in the police force and now head of a successful solicitor's practise Charlie is dropped in at the deep end in a mystery that means absolutely nothing to him. Priest isn't your usual solicitor either, having a family background that's unorthodox, to say the least.

Surrounded by the best people he can employ, Georgie Someday, Vincent Okoro and a whizzkid accountant called Solly, Priest is going to need all the help he can get to make it out alive at the end. A man who viciously attacks him in his own apartment is later found brutally murdered, with Priest's business card in his pocket, and a former police colleague of Priest's wastes no time in accusing him of being involved. When the murdered man's family arrive and beg Priest to find out what happened to the man there's no escaping his involvement.

Shifting back and forth between the present and just after WWII has finished it becomes apparent that whatever is going on has far-reaching consequences and involves some pretty nasty ideas that you'd think by today would have lost their appeal.

The Mayfly rockets along at a cracking pace, from the first page to the last it's impossible to put it down and the fact that you become so involved with all the characters draws you in even further. For a debut novel, James Hazel has produced something pretty spectacular and one that will stay with me for some time. The author doesn't hold back and there are some vivid and gory details involved but the mystery at the heart of the book will keep you turning the pages because you will, quite simply, need to know the significance of The Mayfly.

A tip if you want to get a good night's sleep? I highly recommend you don't pick up The Mayfly to read in bed... I ended up having to put the book down on page 373 as I could not stay awake any longer even though I was sure there was something big coming! Priest and his cohorts kept my attention and I can't wait to get my hands on the next Charlie Priest adventure. I only hope that the interlude between The Mayfly and book two isn't too long.

The Mayfly - James Hazel

ISBN - 9781785762970

Publisher - Bonnier Zaffre

Release date - June 15th, 2017

Find - Goodreads | Book Depository

Many thanks to Bonnier Zaffre for a review copy in exchange for an honest review!