I have been absolutely gripped by Steven Dunne's third novel Diety for the past two days and even though I have not read the first two novels in this series featuring D I Damen Brook I was hooked from the opening paragraphs. Deity will be published in hardback by Headline on 26 April 2012, the paperback is released on 21 June. Set in the city of Derby and featuring the dark and brooding Detective Inspector Damen Brook, this is number three of a series, the follow-up to The Reaper and The Disciple. I'm really picky about crime novels, I want a clever plot with characters that are three-dimensional, realistic and intelligent, I want a plot that grips, that makes me lose track of time and that I don't work out for myself before the end. Deity delivers all of those things, and more, much much more. This is one of the cleverest, slickest and at times, terrifying stories that I've read for a long long time - a sick, twisted psychopathic serial killer matched by an intelligent, if somewhat flawed Detective. Damon Brook has a history which is referred to during the story, not having read the first two books in the series in no way spoils this one, the reader learns enough about Brook's past to understand his psyche, and to warm to him, and to forgive his straightforward, almost rude mannerisms. Brook is investigating two cases which on the face of it appear quite separate - a couple of murdered 'tramps' who are missing some vital organs and the disappearance of four local college students. As Brooks and his team delve deeper into each case, it becomes clear that they are linked, it also becomes clear that there is a dangerous, warped and extremely clever person behind the horrific crimes. With clever twists along the way, a couple of red herrings thrown in for good measure, some seriously scary detail and a cast of characters who jump from the page, this book ticks every ingredient for a perfect read. My mission now is to get out and buy copies of the first two in the series.

I hadn’t read the previous two books in this series but I didn’t feel disadvantaged. I was quickly drawn into the world of DI Damen Brook and his loyal sidekick DS Noble. Brooke is a flawed personality, he has a gruff manner, doesn’t remember his colleagues names or court friendship (his colleague DS Noble seems to be one of the few people that can connect with him) although as the story progresses, his human side does come to the surface. He seems to be very much affected by a previous case which is mentioned here (The Reaper) and which leads to some tension between him and his superiors. He is however an extremely good detective and as a result this book is a thrilling ride of tension and pace. There is a lull in the middle where the pace slows however the story picks up again and I couldn’t put it down until I had come to the end. There are enough twists and surprises to keep the reader’s interest and the two seemingly separate threads of the story are cleverly plotted. One of my favourite authors is Peter Robinson and his Inspector Banks series and this is certainly of a quality to rival those books. All the characters were well written and believable as was the dialogue. I shall now be on the lookout for books one and two in order to read the back story of DI Brooke and Steven Dunne will be on my list of authors to read in future. If you like well plotted, police procedural stories that are also page turners then I’m sure you will enjoy this one.

This story requires patience as it goes off track in and out of different avenues and mind boggles you at times. Good story but i prefer to read in sequence.