Original Skin

Written by David Mark

Narrated by John Curless

David Mark draws on his experience as a journalist to pen Original Skin, the sequel to his debut novel, The Dark Winter. Detective Sergeant aector McAvoy is a cop with a troubled past and a deep-seated need to see justice served. Here, he faces off against a new foe--a serial killer bent on revealing his victims' darkest sins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: May 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781470347314

David Mark

David Mark spent seven years as crime reporter for the Yorkshire Post and now writes full-time. A former Richard & Judy pick, and a Sunday Times bestseller, he is the author of the DS Aector McAvoy series and a number of standalone thrillers. He lives in Northumberland with his family.

Reviews for Original Skin

[fhudnell-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A British police procedural set in Hull, the book combines sex clubs, politics, drugs and travelers. While the plot was original and the language colorful, I did not find it a compelling story until the last quarter of the book. The book is written in the present tense, which felt awkward, like reading a transcript of surveillance notes. The main character is a police detective sergeant with a traveler wife. His chief characteristics are that he is very tall and loves his family. These characteristics do not constitute a personality. I was given a free advance copy of this book with the expectation that I would review it. Were it not for that, I would not have finished the book.

[loisb-2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Goodreads - First read. Long, complicated story with many threads. It wasn't the quick read that I was hoping for. And my unfamiliarity with British slang hampered my enjoyment. R-rated for subject and language.

[gmmartz · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I thoroughly enjoyed "Original Skin'.... it's a great procedural with a couple excellent characters on the 'good' side (McAvoy and Pharaoh) that form the base for a wonderful series moving forward. McAvoy, in particular, is a great addition to this genre. He's full of contradictions: huge body, quiet persona; prefers to work using conventional procedures, but is quite capable of making logical leaps; gentle, but more than able to be physical; a homebody who's madly in love with his wife and kids, but who seems to be unable to keep his eyes from wandering over Pharaoh's physique..... To me, McAvoy's quirks, as well as David Mark's excellent writing, strong plot, and sense of place, that make Original Skin a winner.

Without spoiling the plots (there are a couple), an informal investigation into a suicide turns into a look at the lurid side of sex parties mixed with politics, while at the same time the local drug trade is being taken over by a new ultra-violent gang. McAvoy is the guy pushing the informal review, while also participating in the investigations into the violence created by the drug gang. Pharaoh semi-condones the suicide investigation and is injured in an encounter with a thug in the course of the drug gang investigation but makes a strong recovery. Both story lines are tied up nicely at the end, with the perpetrator of the suicide-that-really-wasn't being a little surprising but, based on the people involved in the parties and their anonymity during their assignations, not totally unexpected. All-in-all, this is a strong addition to the McAvoy series and I look forward to more.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the second book in the series and just as good as the first. The author does a great job of enlightening readers who are reading this series for the first time or for those like me, who just need a reminder of just what went on in the first book. This book contains gentle humor as well as more serious subjects and crimes. A wonderful addition to an excellent series and I look frward to MCAvoy's next outing.

[jan0fleming · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Four marked souls. Life is never quiet with Simon Appleyard and Suzie Devlin around. Fun-loving friends - their body markings as colourful as their sexuality - the pair's lust for life is matched only by their hunger for taboo pleasures. Life is never quiet for Councillor Peter Tressider. A successful local businessman, Conservative politician, and Chairman of the Humberside Police Authority, he is a man on the up, and a magnet for the press. Life is currently anything but quiet for DS Aector McAvoy. A recent explosion in violent drug-related crime in and around Hull has seen the flame-haired, gentle giant's workload drastically increase. One silent killer. A guilty secret - born of sex, politics and the criminal underworld - has given rise to a fresh evil; one that will soon stain each of these lives, linking their fates as painfully and intricately as tattooed markings on virgin skin. Original Skin is a crime novel that leaves a permanent impression. Half serial killer thriller, half gritty police procedural, it examines the imprints that our darkest sins leave upon us, and just how far we will go to keep them covered.

Even darker and grittier than its predecessor. I am rather taken by the lumbering gentle giant that is Aector McAvoy with his traveller wife and his innate sense of justice. Trish Pharoah as his boss is beautifully drawn- brash, witty, ambitious and funny as hell. A tightly plotted, multi layered story that keeps you reading well into the night.

[picardyrose · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Bad guys are very, very bad. Torture is upsetting.