"The Engine House" by Rhys Dylan

Detective Chief Inspector Evan Warlow retired from the Welsh police force, and no one is quite sure why. His former boss knows, but none of the people Warlow worked with have a clue. He had years left to work, and he was excellent in his job. No one knows about the medical diagnosis he received.

He’s been spending his time on restoring his somewhat isolated stone house and walking his dog. He and his wife are long divorced, but he does stay in close contact with his sons. But even they don’t know about his condition (and don’t hold your breath if you think the reader is going to find out, either).

A landslide on a mountain path reveals the bodies of a man and a woman, and suddenly Warlow is very much in demand. This might be the seven-year-old case he never solved – what happened to an older couple who went hiking and disappeared? Autopsies confirm their identities; they also confirm that the two were murdered, most likely with numerous hammer blows. But how did get crammed into the side of a mountain reachable only with ropes?

Rhys Dylan

Warlow’s former boss convinces him to join the investigating team, and the case soon becomes a roller coaster of developments. And not the least chilling concerns the young couple who moved into the dead couple’s home; someone is watching then, just as someone watched the now-dead couple.

The Engine House is the first in 15 of the DCI Evan Warlow crime novels by Rhys Dylan, and it’s chock full of tension and suspense. It’s an absorbing story, and Dylan artfully uses the young couple to build the air of growing menace.

Dylan has published 14 novels in the DCI Evan Warlow series. A native Welshman educated in London, Dylan wrote numerous books for children and adults under various pen names across several genres. He began writing the DCI Warlow series in 2021; The Engine House was published in 2022. Dylan lives in Wales.

Some Monday Readings

“To a Skylark,” Poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley – Sally Thomas t Poems Ancient and Modern.

Burdekin’s London Nights – Spitalfields Life.

Gentleness in Academia – Elizabeth Hoare at Plough Magazine.

The Immense Call of the Particular: A Conversation with Robert Haas – Chard Deniord at Literary Matters.

The Internet Needs to be Smashed and Rebuilt – Matt Taibbi at Racket News.