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A Killer Legacy: A Scots detective must carry out a hitman's last wish, or die trying (DI Barney Mains Book 3) Kindle Edition
Fans of Ian Rankin, Louise Penny and Peter Robinson should love this crackling Rebus-meets-Poirot page-turner!
A serial killer is executed in a courtroom surrounded by police.
Who in their right mind would take such a risk? And why?
But in a South of France being torn apart by anti-British protests and deadly wildfires, nothing is as it seems.
Amidst the chaos, DI Barney Mains must somehow distinguish friend from foe.
For he has been landed with the victim's dying wish.
And it's something he just has to do.
Even if it kills him…
This is Book Three in the DI Barney Mains series. Book One, The Detective Wakes, and Book Two, The Major Minor Murders, are also available to read as standalone mysteries or in sequence.
The Series So Far
The starting point for The DI Barney Mains series is the simple belief that everyone deserves a second chance.
For staid Scots Detective Inspector Barney Mains, that opportunity comes during a simple flag-flying exercise in the South of France, in Book One The Detective Wakes.
But his personal journey is in a time and place where the stretching gap between rich and poor is ever more obvious. As the saying goes, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer - and that's been even more true in these pandemic years.
So, we embark on a voyage of self-discovery alongside Barney, in the company of a high-flying young female sidekick and a wise French police Captain in a twisty, entertaining read, spiced up with the odd murder and deliciously corrupt politicians.
The action switches between the UK and France with some abrupt twists as Barney gets drawn into a shocking plot and suddenly finds himself questioning the very system he's defended all his life.
Far from his old desk in a corner of Edinburgh Police HQ, he finds himself at the centre of reforms that could change the Western way of life for good.
In The Major Minor Murders, Barney has resigned from the force in protest over political interference and he's living the dream as an artist on the French Riviera. Until, that is, he learns that his estranged criminal brother is on the run from a murder charge back in Edinburgh.
Again, Barney and friends must lock horns with a crooked member of the privileged elite, not to mention two particularly ruthless killers, in this fast-paced race against time.
Despite the drama however, there's time to re-evaluate relationships in his troubled family and hopefully find a way to bury the past.
Then, in A Killer Legacy, the courtroom slaying of a hitman leads to Barney being landed with the victim's mysterious last wish. In a South of France being torn apart by wildfires and anti-British protests, he inherits information too hot to handle.
All he has to do is stay alive long enough to share it with the world...
- LanguageEnglish
- Publication dateMay 10, 2022
- File size1607 KB
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First 3$12.79
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First 3$12.79
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First 5$17.77
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All 6$22.67
This option includes 3 books.
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From the Publisher
There's treasure under the South of France sun - but death waits there too, in A Killer Legacy, book #3 in the DI Barney Mains Mysteries
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The hills above Saint-Jeannet near Nice in the South of France feature in the life-or-death drama featured on the cover of A Killer Legacy
"This is a masterful, breezy, edge-of-your-seat thriller..."
Extract:
The shirts over their noses and mouths were making little difference. And now it seemed that they would have more to contend with than this treacherous obstacle course and the thickening smoke.
For now they could hear it; the snapping and the roar. The fire was moving on the breeze. Straight for them.
‘Keep going. We’re going to make it. Remember we can run once we get to the top.’
Looking at the seemingly endless jumble of boulders still ahead of them, he was beginning to doubt they’d ever get the chance to run.
They just had to get ahead of the fire’s path. Either that or they had to get lucky, pray that the breeze would shift and carry the advancing, crackling wildfire away to the north, to pass safely behind them..
Editorial Reviews
Review
★★★★★"Excellent sub-plots neatly woven together kept me guessing. It's a police procedural with a twist and Jim knows how to do it." - Goodreads reviewer.
★★★★★"A surprise on every page and a major twist at the end. I have thoroughly enjoyed all three of the Barney Mains mystery series. -Goodreads reviewer
★★★★ "This is a masterful, breezy, edge-of-your-seat thriller..." - Goodreads reviewer
From the Author
For some reason, the two words immediately suggested a fairly boring, older detective.
Creating a sparky young female sidekick for him in DC Ffiona McLuskey was an obvious conflict in the making and then in France we just had to have a brilliant Poirot-like Capitaine.
So the central characters came easily. And while I grew up in the Edinburgh, Scotland area, I have in the last twenty years come to know and love the glorious South of France.
While settings for the books are specific, the themes are familiar everywhere; the gap between rich and poor, the excessive power of the so-called elite of society, the enduring belief that there are still heroes in the world who, however imperfect, will somehow find a way to win the day.
From the Back Cover
Who in their right mind would take such a risk? And why?
But in a South of France being torn apart by anti-British protests and deadly wildfires, nothing is as it seems.
Amidst the chaos, DI Barney Mains must somehow distinguish friend from foe.
For he has been landed with the victim's dying wish.
And it's something he just has to do.
Even if it kills him...
This is Book Three in the DI Barney Mains series. Book One, The Detective Wakes, and Book Two, The Major Minor Murders, are also available to read as standalone mysteries or in sequence.
About the Author
Based in East Lothian, near Edinburgh, Scotland, he spends much of each year (in normal times) in the South of France, the main setting for the DI Barney Mains series, with tolerant wife Jean and rampant Irish Terrier, Jack.
After a full-on career as a campaigning newspaper reporter, he and Jean launched their own recruitment company in central Edinburgh and for twelve fun-packed years worked closely together alongside their brilliant team - without spilling a single drop of blood.
The Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, on the other hand, have provided a host of dramatic locations just perfect as inspiration for the odd spot of fictional gore.
Locals, blessed with scenery ranging from unspoilt mountain villages to the classic palms-and-marinas coast, claim that they can be swimming one moment and ski-ing a little over an hour later. It's a claim not yet put to the test!
Besides, when not writing or travelling en famille, Jim's more than likely to be off scouting locations or on a hike in the hills with his ever-ready buddy, Jack.
Product details
- ASIN : B09L9QT3J6
- Publication date : May 10, 2022
- Language : English
- File size : 1607 KB
- Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Not Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 267 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,164,271 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #4,391 in Political Thrillers & Suspense
- #4,974 in Conspiracy Thrillers (Books)
- #5,788 in Conspiracy Thrillers (Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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Jim McGhee's a former award-winning environmental journalist.
Home is East Lothian near Edinburgh, Scotland, though he's currently based in the South of France, the main setting for the DI Barney Mains series.
After a full-on career as a campaigning newspaper reporter, he and wife Jean launched their own recruitment company in central Edinburgh and for twelve fun-packed years worked closely together alongside their brilliant team - without spilling a single drop of blood.
The Alpes-Maritimes and Var departments, on the other hand, have provided a host of dramatic locations just perfect as inspiration for the odd spot of fictional gore.
Locals, blessed with scenery ranging from unspoilt mountain villages to the classic palms-and-marinas coast, claim that they can be swimming one moment and ski-ing a little over an hour later. It's a claim not yet put to the test!
Besides, when not writing or travelling, Jim's more likely to be off on a hike in the hills with his ever-ready buddy, Jack the Irish Terrier.
Customer reviews
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonTop reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 24, 2022I have thoroughly enjoyed all three of the Barney Mains mystery series including the location changes from Scotland to the South of France. In this 3rd installment Barney is clearly in his element professionally and enjoying life in the sun. He has been sent to France to help his good friend Capitaine Jean Luc by investigating fires at British ex-pats' vacation homes in France. But the plot is convoluted… a surprise on every page and a major twist at the end. I hope another book is in the works!
- Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022This is a masterful, breezy, edge-of-you-seat thriller, I was asked to review this book by by the publishers-Jackamos in return for my own personal feedback on the book. I loved this book. First of all this is number 3 in the DI Barney Mains series, and I usually don't like to come into a series part-wary through. Barney is a Scottish Detective who has been assigned to be a UK liaison for the French gendarmes in the South of France. Someone has stolen priceless artwork from the homes of British ex-pats, and in some cases, torched the empty homes afterwards. Barney finds a lot of anti-British sentiment among the people near his temporary home, but that does not daunt him. He's Scottish, and, in truth, has no love for the "English" anyway. This was a totally unexpected delight for me. So much so, that I wanted to read the first two books in the series, but, to my dismay, they aren't available in Canada.as of yet. I loved Barney and his Scottish doggedness when he's on the trail of crime. I loved his friends and co-workers. The whole cast of characters became wonderfully familiar to me with reading just this one book. I loved the setting as the South of France sounds like heaven to me in the middle of an endless winter in the prairies in Canada. I've just got to get my hands on the other two books in this series. This book will be out in May, so grab it if you can.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022Third in a series, but can stand alone. I really enjoyed reading more about DI Barney Mains. This time he is back to work for the British force looking into a rash of fires in homes of British citizens in the South of France. I like the relationships between the characters and how they have grown since the start of the series. Good tension as he investigates and a smart story. I received an advance review copy and am reviewing voluntarily. I hope to read more Barney Mains.
- Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2024A Killer Legacy is the third in the DI Barney Maines series and it was disappointing as compared to the second book ‘The Major Minor Murders’. Despite the enjoyable French Riviera setting and lead characters Barney Maines and his French police counterpart Jean-Luc Verten, this edition just didn’t work like its predecessor. In the 10 days duration of Barney’s working with Jean-Luc, there was a lot going on: murder in a courtroom, aftermath of fires on British expat properties, anti-British protests, art theft, and police corruption. Added to these are numerous minor characters, details, and subplots. It was difficult to follow until well into it as the author jumped from storyline to storyline. Even though structuring a story around the unlikely occurrence that a detective from Scotland would be seconded to the French National Police, I felt the basic premise could worked. Less complicated would have benefited the flow and the reader experience. Even when things started to come together and became more of a thriller, it still felt a bit choppy.
One glaring error was treating July 14 as if it was just another work day instead of the national holiday celebrating the French Revolution. Unforgivable.
In the end, it was enjoyable. The setting and the two principal characters make me want to meet up with them again.
Thank you to the author and BookSirens for the opportunity to read a published copy.
- Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2022A Killer Legacy is the third book in the DI Barney Mains Series. I normally wouldn't jump into book three of a series but this book works well as a stand alone and I didn't feel like I was missing anything from not having read the previous books.
In A Killer Legacy, we find DI Barney Mains (a Scottish police detective) in the South of France, assisting his friend, Jean Luc and investigating recent fires at the vacation homes of British expats. I enjoy that the book takes place in both Scotland and the South of France. The change in locations added depth to this book and made it more interesting.
The characters are genuine and likeable. The character's personalities create a positive vibe amongst themselves and make for a fabulous team. I found myself empathizing with them as the story progressed and the twists kept coming. Just when I thought I figured it out, another twist took me in another direction. I will definitely be picking up the other two as I anxiously await for the fourth installment.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
- Reviewed in the United States on May 10, 2022Detective Barney Maines is by now one of my favourite crime solvers, and same goes for his side-kicks. All three of them. Fellow scottish detective Ffiona, french police captain Jean-Luc (as a trekkie I’m quite partial to that name, it carries some gravitas!) and Shona, the now girlfriend but there’s so much more to her character than that ephitat.
I like that there is ongoing character developements throughout the series. Not just for Barney, but for the others as well. That goes for the different relationships too.
I did not read this book, the third in the series, in one sitting as I did with the two previous books, but I was still caught up in the story. There are more than one thing going on in the story and I like that I can’t easily guess how it will progress.
The murder of a villain from an earlier story is what starts the story, but there are several threads to unravel as the story unfolds.
I’m looking forward to read more about DI Maines.
I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.
Top reviews from other countries
- Nancy oReviewed in Canada on November 8, 2024
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
A really good series. Enjoying the characters so much more as you get to know them more. A bit of romance, humor, and surprising twists make for entertaining reading. On to the next one.
- BinduReviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2022
4.0 out of 5 stars .
Reading a Barney Mains novel now feels like catching up with some very good friends!
This is the third book in the series but you can read it as a standalone, although I would advise reading the other two books. Especially to get the background to the reason Nels is in the dock at the start of this book. Plus they are just fun books and I'm sure you will enjoy reading them!
DI Barney Mains is once again a police officer, well technically he always was as his resignation wasn't processed. However, he has been seconded to the south of France as a liaison to the UK forces as there has been an outbreak of arson targeting wealthy ex-pats in the community. Plus, there is a lot of anti-British sentiment which he needs to get a grip with and try to counter it. Not a hard job eh?! Then on top of that there is the dramatic death of Nels. Whilst sat in court to face his crimes he is assassinated and there is no trace of his killer! But then Barney is contacted by a mysterious person who has a message for him from the dead. Will Barney do what is asked of him and will he manage to solve the fires…
All the characters you have grown to love are in this book - Barney, Ffiona, Jean-Luc and Shona! Plus there is the addition of Jack, who is a Charlie Chaplin lookalike, and I hope that we will see more of him in the future as he was brilliant. I did feel that Shona and Ffiona were slightly on the sidelines in this outing and I missed them! Fingers crossed there are more involved in the next book!
I thoroughly enjoyed Barney’s capers in ‘A Killer Legacy’ and it was intriguing to see that Jim and myself may have the same political leanings. It was interesting to see the topic of Brexit from the opposite side of the coin and how the growth of the right-wing in France can focus on this. Just look at the last French Presidential election to see this in real life! I loved the focus on justice even if it comes from weird sources. Saying that I felt there could have been a bigger reveal of ‘the papers’ and a bigger fallout as a result! But then everything you read and your reactions are subjective and if that was my only niggle then it has been a great book.
Roll on book 4! Best get writing Jim…