“EVIDENCE – When Crime Scene Manager, Cass Hunt, is called to a fatal road traffic collision in the dead of night, not all is as it seems and the last thing she expects is to end up working on a murder case with DCI Alex McKay.

INVESTIGATION – More gruesome murders, a dead dog, and a startling revelation has the whole of the North East Police force reeling. Will they catch him before his latest prize becomes another victim and he fades into the shadows once more?

DARKNESS – From the tree-line, someone is watching, and he doesn’t like where the investigation leads. Taking his time, he plans and executes each kill. He will not rest until his job is complete. One thing’s for certain, his intent is deadly, he’s dangerous, and he’s coming for her.”

What a refreshing change this book made for me.  The majority of books I read are about a tight knit team of detectives, headed up by a grumpy DCI hunting down a deluded psychopath. That was not the case with With Deadly Intent by K A Richardson as the focus is on the Crime Scene Personnel instead.  This is K A Richardson’s début full novel having published a novella previously.  I enjoyed the book and would read this author again.

Cass Hunt is one of the Crime Scene Managers for the North East Police force.  She is used to being called out in the dead of night to attend a scene, but when called to a suspicious looking road traffic accident, her gut tells her something is amiss.  Cass and her team are called to several other unusual scenes, each victim has a small metal triangle on their person.  It’s not long before they realise that they are on the hunt for a serial killer.  What they don’t realise is that Cass has been singled out to be one of the killer’s victims…

The characters were all very believable and I particularly liked Cass.  She has a past to be scared of but she’s made herself stronger to be able to cope with that.  I wasn’t too keen on the mushy slushy romance side of things but that’s personal preference!  I would rather read about blood, guts and gore than snuggles (call me strange, if you like!).

I was able to work out who the killer was quite early on in the book which I found a little disappointing.  Saying that, it didn’t spoil my reading experience and I will look forward to future releases from K A Richardson.

Four out of five stars.

Many thanks to the UK Crime Book Club on Facebook and K A Richardson for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

With Deadly Intent by K A Richardson is published in the UK by Caffeine Nights Publishing on 14th April 2016 and is available in paperback and eBook formats | amazon.co.uk | amazon.com | Waterstones