The Kidney Killer by Miles Hudson

Release: October 31, 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Penfold Books
Source: Random Things Tours
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Kindle,

A kidnap, a theft, and a murderous moon-worshipping cult: Detective Sergeant Milburn has his work cut out to solve several cases that all appear at once. Milburn’s job is trickier as both victims are friends with his girlfriend. He desperately needs to solve the cases but has to keep his personal involvement secret. With the clock ticking down on the fate of the second missing woman, the pressure ramps up.

Penfold, the detective’s enigmatic surfer friend, is called on to help investigate. Moreover, his puzzle-solving genius helps sift real clues from red herrings. The struggle for leads is constant until it becomes clear that Penfold and Milburn are, in fact, central to all the crimes.

Author Bio:

I’m a school physics teacher. I’ve worked in various schools in north-east England and started recently as the PGCE Physics tutor at Newcastle Uni. Also, I write a whole load of textbook materials for schools, my biggest titles being A-Level Physics books for Edexcel exam board courses.

And I’m the inventor of the Best Fit Line Ruler.

I have a major passion for writing fiction. My future-set series of novels, starting with 2089, is about a gently post-apocalyptic, Orwellian future England. You could say ‘sci-fi,’ but it’s not really lasers and spaceships; ‘dystopian’ catches the themes well.
I’ve also developed a great series of detective novels featuring the duo Penfold and DS Tony Milburn. Based in Durham City CID, DS Milburn and his civilian foil, the kiwi surfer, Penfold, solve cases that take high stakes such as murder and big heists, but in a very cerebral way. Holmes and Watson for the 21st Century, if you will.

If you like podcasts, you can listen to Miles’s interview with Paul Teague in his series Self Publishing Journeys.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

The Kidney Killer Review:

The Kidney Killer is a well-drawn crime fiction with quite a few red herrings that keeps you guessing.

The author keeps the plot fresh and takes it in various directions that you don’t expect. I loved how Milburn explored all angles of the murders to find out the connection. There are ancient rituals, links to cold cases, and many twists and turns you don’t expect. Moreover, there are various mysteries that the team investigates, apart from Sue’s death, like Marina’s disappearance and cannon theft.

Similarly, the author also wrote the main characters in a gripping manner. I liked Milburn in the lead. While Milburn and Penfold make a dynamic duo, I thought Milburn had a better presence in the story because he dealt with the investigation hands-on by going out there. Moreover, I liked his scenes with Meredith and found it interesting. Penfold was all right but felt he only gave orders. Also, there were times where I felt the two just got lucky with the clues rather than work hard to solve it.

However, what stood out for me was the ending. For me, a memorable story is one that has a shocking climax, and this book did not disappoint in that aspect. The end completely threw me off because it is not what I saw coming.

After reading this story, I would check out book 1, The Cricketers’ Corpse, to see the two’s previous case. Overall, this was a lovely crime novel that is worth reading.