Blog Tour: Shatter Creek – Rod Reynolds

Hampstead County Police Department is embroiled in scandal after corruption at the top of the force was exposed.

Cleared of involvement and returned to active duty, Detective Sergeant Casey Wray nonetheless finds herself at a crossroads when it becomes clear that not everyone believes she’s innocent. Partnered with rookie Billy Drocker, Casey works a shocking daytime double homicide in downtown Rockport with the two victims seemingly unknown to one another.

And when a third victim is gunned down on her doorstep shortly after, it appears an abusive ex-boyfriend holds the key to the killings. With powerful figures demanding answers, Casey and Billy search for the suspect, fearing he’s on a murderous rampage. But when a key witness goes missing, and new evidence just won’t fit, the case begins to unravel.

With her career in jeopardy, Casey makes a shattering discovery that threatens to expose the true darkness at the heart of the murders … with a killer still on the loose

Rod Reynolds is the author of five novels, including the Charlie Yates series. His 2015 debut, The Dark Inside, was longlisted for the CWA New Blood Dagger, and was followed by Black Night Falling (2016) and Cold Desert Sky (2018); the Guardian has called the books ‘Pitch-perfect American noir.’

A lifelong Londoner, in 2020 Orenda Books published his first novel set in his hometown, Blood Red City. The first in the Casey Wray series, Black Reed Bay, published in 2021, was shortlisted for the CWA Steel Dagger, with its long-awaited sequel, Shatter Creek, out in 2025.

Rod previously worked n advertising as a media buyer, and holds an MA in novel writing from City University London. Rod lives with his wife and family and spends most of his time trying to keep up with his two daughters.

My thoughts: Even though she’s the one that exposed the corruption in the police department, Casey is still being treated as though she’s tainted, and the new lieutenant is the worst for this. She’s all over Casey, threatening to demand a transfer for her, taking her off the tricky case they’ve landed, blaming her for an over keen identification of a suspect, even when the evidence didn’t fit.

Two people have been killed, there’s a missing witness, then another murder, that may or may not be connected. Something seems off about the case from the beginning. Casey and her team are putting a lot into the investigation, trying to identify the missing witness, a young woman with a small child, trying to deal with the crazy wife of one of the victims, who is throwing her weight around.

The higher ups aren’t happy, the stench of corruption lingers, there’s still an open case on the department with the feds, more heads may need to roll. Now this mess, could there be a connection?

Casey is a diligent detective, she sees things others miss and wants all the answers, she’s not happy with the decision to pin all three deaths on a dead man, it doesn’t make sense. So she keeps looking. And with her new boss threatening her badge, what has she got to lose?

Smart, tense, full of sudden twists, with a brilliant protagonist, the writing is compelling and the plot keeps you intrigued. Excellent.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour, but all opinions remain my own.