A man is left brutally beaten in a park with words cut into his flesh. His dying words tell the police to look for a twin. Within days there are more victims, all horrifically killed and words carved into their bodies. Can DS Smith find the killer before more people are attacked?
The Twin is the 22nd book in the DS Jason Smith series. There are references to the previous book, The Viaduct, although no spoilers about the specifics of that case.
A savage hammer attack leaves the police horrified. The victim lives long enough to leave a clue to the perpetrator but another body is quickly discovered. The descriptions of the bodies are graphic and disturbing but the violence is not directly depicted.
The majority of the book is written to focus on the police investigation. There is some tension amongst the team based on events in the last book. One person in particular is struggling to fit in and Smith needs to negotiate this relationship carefully.
There are also some chapters which show The Twin’s perspective and gradually reveal his story and motive. I felt mixed emotions as the man is obviously emotionally damaged yet his actions are abhorrent.
The narrative is fast paced, dialogue-led and there are plenty of red herrings and twists which kept me guessing.
The Twin is an intriguing and grisly crime fiction novel. I love the police team and this series is just so good!
The Twin (A DS Jason Smith Thriller Book 22)
From bestselling author: Stewart Giles comes another brilliant addition to the Detective Jason Smith series.
‘This isn’t about you.’
The first victim is lucky. He is mutilated beyond belief, but he is allowed to live.
The second isn’t so fortunate. But the words carved into his chest are the same.
And when a third man is found with the same four words etched into his skin, Detective Jason Smith is wide awake.
Smith manages to get two words out of the first victim before he dies.
The Twin.
Who is this Twin?
Nobody knows, but he’s about to send Smith and the team into the stuff of nightmares.
What readers are saying about THE TWIN
Oh wow! I’m in awe of crime writers- just when you think you have seen (read) everything, something that surprises you comes along and also blows you away. This is that read.- Misfits Farm
This is a gritty read with some dark scenes. But to offset that, there is quite a bit of humour throughout. I love the way Stewart writes about Jason’s family. They come across as an everyday family, even with what Jason and Whitten deal with on a regular basis. Great storytelling. – Maureen
THE TWIN kicks off with a horrific discovery. Chilling, gruesome incidents keep your heart racing. The labyrinthine path to unravel the bewildering mystery will freeze you on the edge of your seat. Riveting chapters with unforeseen twists and turns send the pages flying by. Suspense builds during a tension filled race against time that culminates in a shocking finish you’ll never see coming. – Eileen
Its got every twist imaginable and hard to believe how a twisted mind can do this to innocent normal people, fantastic read to open your eyes, leaving you hanging on wanting the next chapter, and I LOVED IT. – Booklover Bev
Stewart Giles – Author Bio
After reading English at 3 universities and graduating from none of them, I set off travelling around the world with my wife, Ann, finally settling in South Africa, where we still live.
In 2014 Ann dropped a rather large speaker on my head and I came up with the idea for a detective series. DS Jason Smith was born. Smith, the first in the series was finished a few months later.
3 years and 8 DS Smith books later, Joffe Books wondered if I would be interested in working with them. As a self-published author, I agreed. However, we decided on a new series – the DC Harriet Taylor: Cornwall series.
The Beekeeper was published and soon hit the number one spot in Australia. The second in the series, The Perfect Murder did just as well.
I continued to self-publish the Smith series and Unworthy hit the shelves in 2018 with amazing results. I therefore made the decision to self-publish The Backpacker which is book 3 in the Detective Harriet Taylor series which was published in July 2018.
After The Backpacker I had an idea for a totally new start to a series – a collaboration between the Smith and Harriet thrillers and The Enigma was born. It brought together the broody, enigmatic Jason Smith and the more level-headed Harriet Taylor.
The Miranda trilogy is something totally different. A psychological thriller trilogy. It is a real departure from anything else I’ve written before.
The Detective Jason Smith series continues to grow. I also have another series featuring an Irish detective who relocated to Guernsey, the Detective Liam O’Reilly series. There are also 3 stand alone novels.
