Cold Sacrifice: A Detective Ian Peterson Mystery

By Leigh Russell

When three dead bodies are discovered in Detective Ian Peterson's hometown of Kent, it becomes clear that a vicious killer is on the loose. And without his trusted colleague, Detective Geraldine Steel, by his side, Ian's left to take the lead on a complex murder case with few clues.

The first victim is a middle-aged woman named Martha, brutally stabbed to death in the local park. Her husband, who did not report her missing, is the prime suspect until a young prostitute, Della, reveals his whereabouts the night Martha was murdered. But then she is strangled to death in her apartment. While the police are frantically gathering evidence and looking for a connection, a second prostitute is suffocated.

With nothing but the timing of the murders to tie the three women to one another, Ian and his new partner, Polly Mortimer, struggle to make sense of the case and find the elusive killer before he strikes again. But by the time Ian realizes the truth, it may be too late to save Polly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 29, 2014
• ISBN: 9780062325716

Leigh Russell

Leigh Russell is the award-winning author of the Geraldine Steel and Ian Peterson mysteries. She is an English teacher who lives in the UK with her family.

Reviews for Cold Sacrifice

[sf6w · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book has all the ingredients of a brilliant story line – from the very start the author laid bare the bones of a rattlingly good tale full of potential and promise; however, for me, the author missed the opportunity to flesh out the story and give the reader something to really get their teeth into. Instead, at times, she seems to focus on seemingly inconsequential minutiae of some of the characters’ lives and relationships (mostly Ian and his disgruntled, dissatisfied wife Bev) which bear no particular relevance to the plot. I would rather she had told us more about the crimes, the victims and the suspects rather than leaving them lacking in noticeable depth and the reader lacking any great attachment to them. The story is based around 3 murders which take place within a two week time frame. Throughout the story the author weaves a thin Dan Brown-esque thread to the plot centred on a religious sect. This was merely sprinkled lightly and rather superficially throughout the book and its relevance not made clear until almost the very end – had this thread been developed more fully it would have made for a much more tense and gripping read. To her credit though, Ms Russell did keep me guessing “whodunit” almost right to the end. I have not read any of Leigh Russell’s books before but I know she has had quite a following of fans for her DI Geraldine Steel novels. I hope they won’t be disappointed by this the first of her DS Ian Peterson series. Unfortunately I was left somewhat flat by this book – I hoped for greater things. It is a very light read and I think seasoned crime readers will find it tame to say the least. Having said all that, it is a very readable book and it has not deterred me from trying the next in the series when it is published. It will be interesting to see how DS Peterson’s character evolves. Give it a go.

[celticlady53 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Cold Sacrifice is a psychological thriller with a likable detective, Ian Peterson. This is the first of a series featuring Ian and his colleague Detective Geraldine Steel. Women are being murdered in Kent and it is the detectives job to find out who is doing the killing and why. Add to this the reader learns a bit about Ian's marriage and how he is not really happy. He loves his wife but she does not understand the scope of his job, she thinks he loves his job more than him. Can these two detectives find the killer before he strikes for a fourth time? Guess you will have to read it for yourself. I did enjoy this book and would love to continue reading the series. I love a great procedural novel and this one is one of the better ones I have read. A real page turner. If you love a good British mystery than this one is for you!!

[bjmitch_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Readers of Leigh Russell's Geraldine Steele series will enjoy this new one featuring Detective Ian Peterson. They had worked well together but she's gone to London now and Ian is married and going for promotion to Detective Inspector.Poor Ian is finding marriage a rough go. His wife for some reason expected that after they were married he would spend less time at work, that she could expect him home every evening and could make plans for them to go out without him canceling due to his job. Of course that hasn't happened, and with his home life getting more unpleasant by the day, his job has become even more important to him. His long-for promotion seems to be taking forever; he feels stuck in a bad situation.Meanwhile, his new case involves the murder of a middle-aged woman in a park. She was stabbed, yet has no defensive wounds. Her husband is the prime suspect because he inherits quite a bit of money. The marriage, they learn, was terrible and they had only stayed married because as a devout Catholic the victim refused to consider divorce. There is a teenage son who everyone says was close to his mother. The husband, knowing he's the most likely suspect, pays a stripper to give him an alibi. As Ian investigates this link, he spends a lot of time at the strip club and with the girl and her roommate and little boy. All of the people involved give Ian life situations differing from his and giving him perspective on his own life.I found the plot somewhat far-fetched but the characters for the most part sympathetic. There is a boy being abused by his mother's boyfriend, disaffected teens caught up in a cult, and the strippers trying to live day to day with little hope of a better life, and Ian wanting only a happy home for him and his wife. RecommendedSource: Witness/Impulse Imprint, HarperCollins