If you love a good crime thriller you will love this book. Excellent writing and wonderful characters start this new series with a bang.

You know you are on to a good thing when the main characters are strong women who have worked their way out of tough childhoods into serious careers but have maintained their humanity and humour. When they complement each other emotionally as well as with skills and abilities. When their friends-with-benefits “relationship” creates a whole world of opportunity for sexual tension and “will-they-wont they” anticipation. Meet Sanne and Meg—central characters in Cari Hunter’s new crime thriller.

On top of these delightful mains, there is a smorgasbord of secondary supporting players. The tough boss, the supportive partner, the “salt of the earth” Mum are all well-drawn, three-dimensional, and filled in enough to be real, but with a whole range of options to keep us interested in future stories. Even Ms Hunter’s victims are well-rounded and whole. Strong, resourceful, and capable, they may be the victims but they are no shrinking violets and do their damnedest to save themselves.

Cari Hunter is a master of crime suspense stories; this is her fourth and the beginning of a promised series.  No Good Reason brings tension and drama to strong medical and polices procedural knowledge. It challenges the detective in all of us, throws us red herrings, makes us follow the good and bad leads, and despite all the frustrations keeps us hoping for the best. It doesn’t shy away from the horror of the victims suffering or the effect on the police and medical teams who find them, but it never sinks into gratuitous violence or overly descriptive gore.

The plot keeps us on the edge of our metaphorical seats, turning the pages long into the night. The setting of the English Peaks District adds ambience and a drama of its own without excluding anybody. And through it all, a glimmer of humour and a large dose of humanity keep us engaged and enthralled.

I love Ms Hunter’s writing. Clean, neat, purposeful, drive us forward with faultless delivery. She crams in a whole host of action, drama, and character development without it ever feeling rushed or heavy-handed. Each book has improved on the last and this is no exception—an absolute winner for lovers of crime thrillers and slightly oddball romance that makes a refreshing change.

Excellent book, wonderful opening gambit in a new series, and I cannot wait for the next one.