First Cut is the Deepest: Harry Devlin Series, Book 7 [Kindle Edition]

I am new to Martin Edwards's writing and have read a couple of the Lake District stories, which on the whole I prefer. Harry Devlin has the potential to be quite an interesting character and it's refreshingly different to have a crime story set in Liverpool, although it is a very grim Liverpool and the constant darkness and urban decay becomes very oppressive and even boring after a while.There is surely more to Liverpool than that.This is a very bloody set of murders and the motivation for them strikes me as farfetched, as does the characterisation of the murderer. I can't elaborate for fear of spoiling the plot.A problem with Devlin, as with so many of these freelance investigator/lawyer/journalist heroes is that we are supposed to believe he is powerfully attractive to women, but the writing gives us no reason in his character, conversation or appearance to explain why he should be. Another drawback to one's enjoyment of this book is that there are too many downright weird people in it, any one of whom could be a vicious murderer, so that we don't much care which one it is. My other criticism applies to Edwards' other novels as well as this one- his characters are unrealistically ready to commit suicide. This is a lazy way of clearing the stage- on the whole even very vain people don't throw themselves off buildings just to make a dramatic exit. One suspects that Edwards is not confident enough of his plot's ability to conceal the murderer and this is why he overloads it with unnecessary complications.