I’ve heard of Simon Kernick of course, but only read one of his previous books and that was some time ago.

I note that a number of his series seem to overlap and converge, which is an approach I really like. However… I’d recommend reading – at least this series – in order as it really felt like I came in midway through a conversation, as a result I’m conscious that most (or any) of my criticism of this novel generally stems from my lack of context as much as anything.