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The Coldest Blood (Paperback)

by Jim Kelly (Author) "The hoar frost hung in the curved canopy of the magnolia tree, a construction of ice as perfect as coral ..." (more)
3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Michael Joseph Ltd (6 July 2006)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0718149564
  • ISBN-13: 978-0718149567
  • Product Dimensions: 23 x 14.8 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 766,945 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Product Description

A man lies hidden in an abandoned boat. Stifling screams, he draws a knife across his arm, letting the blood flow free. Soon he'll be dead - and life can begin again. Three decades later Declan McIlroy, a 39-year-old loner, is found frozen to death in his flat as Arctic temperatures grip the cathedral city of Ely. His is not the only cold death that winter, but nevertheless reporter Philip Dryden has worrying doubts - for it seems Declan may not have been alone as he slowly froze to death ...Dryden's suspicions harden when days later he finds the body of Declan's best friend Joe - frozen within a shell of ice on the doorstep of his secluded Fenland farmhouse. Soon Dryden is picking his way along a disturbing trail of cruelty and betrayal to a brilliantly executed crime. And to a chilling, half-remembered mystery from his own childhood ...

About the Author

Jim Kelly is a journalist. He lives in Ely with the biographer Midge Gillies and their young daughter. The Coldest Blood is his fourth novel, following The Moon Tunnel, The Fire Baby and The Water Clock, which was shortlisted for the CWA John Creasey Award for best first novel of 2002. In 2006 Jim Kelly was awarded the Dagger in the Library by the Crime Writers' Association for a body of work 'giving greatest enjoyment to crime fiction readers'
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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews
5 star:
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4 star:
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Average Customer Review
3.4 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing, 10 Oct 2007
By D. Cameron (England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Coldest Blood (Paperback)
This is the latest in the series which features the local journalist, Philip Dryden, whose patch is the Fens in East Anglia. I have been a big fan of this series which also features a sidekick in the shape of a big, eccentric taxi driver called Humph and Dryden's wife, who has been in coma but in this book has recovered slightly. I loved the earlier work because it was very well written and evocative of the Fen landscape. the characters were believable and there was some humour (sadly missing in this outing) however this book was a huge disappointment. The plotting is unbelievably complicated and there are dozens of suspects all invoved in various subplots and the denouement was ridiculous. I struggled to keep up with it all even though i read it over only a period of 3 or 4 days. tortuous and unbelievable.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Kelly's latest will chill you and grip you, 19 Jan 2007
By J. F. Bell "Julian Bell" (Twickenham, Middlesex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Jim Kelly's crime novels offer so much more than just a gripping plot (though they offer that too - he does not drop a stitch in this department). The Coldest Blood, his latest, creates a kind of East Anglia of the mind - its depiction of Ely and its environs in the clutches of a post-Christmas cold snap was riveting, and made me, as a Londoner, deeply nostalgic for pre-global warming winters. The story cracks along, with each chapter ending having you anxiously turning to the next one, and Dryden (the journalist / detective) develops satisfyingly, as his relationship with his coma-bound wife becomes more complex. The symbolism of blood and ice throughout is unobtrusive but powerful. Highly recommended - an immensely clever and literate writer.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Frozen Fens!, 13 Dec 2006
By J. S. Bundy (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Coldest Blood (Hardcover)
This is the coldest book I have ever read.

Once again we are in Drydens stamping ground of Ely and the surrounding fen lands. Whilst Dryden is writing an article about hypothermia he gets drawn into the previous lives of two unfortunate people who have frozen to death. All, of course, is not what it seems and we are transported back to a seemingly idyllic summer holiday some 30 years before. We are also given an insight into Drydens childhood.

As before we meet Humph and his disreputable taxi, his language courses, and dog. We also learn more about Dryden's relationship with Laura, his wife.

I raced through this book desperate to get to the end and then sat down and re read the last third to really enjoy the descriptions of the frozen environment.

As with all Jim Kelly's book this is a fine read, well thought out with enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. However it is the description of the freezing fen lands and coast that makes this book so special.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Good but not the best
First Sentence: The dagger lay on his naked thigh, its blade as cold as a rock-pool pebble.

Journalist Philip Dryden is researching two stories. Read more
Published 11 months ago by L. J. Roberts

3.0 out of 5 stars So, So, Cold
Well this book kept my interest until about the last thirty pages, when I reached what I thought was rather a confused ending. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Charlie_Crocker

3.0 out of 5 stars In a corner
I did not find this book as disappointing as other reviewers, however Jim Kelly has written himself into a corner with poor Laura, left to cope with her 'Locked in Syndrome' in a... Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2008 by Dr. Peter G. Upton

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing
I agree with everything the previous reviewer has said. Over complicated, silly ending and a completely unrealistic plot. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2007 by J. Hill

4.0 out of 5 stars Typically well-written
This is a multiple murder mystery, set during a very depressing winter in Ely, with its core in events 30 or so years ago. Read more
Published on 15 April 2007 by johnverp

4.0 out of 5 stars gripping and well written
i have read all of the novels in the Philip Dryden series and enjoyed the first two; i found the third, the moon tunnel, rather tedious. Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2007 by D. Cameron

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