The Death Messenger    by Mari Hannah Order:  USA  Can Minotaur, 2019 (2019) Hardcover, e-Book     Reviewed by Hilary Williamson The Death Messenger follows The Silent Room in Mari Hannah's police procedural series, starring Detective Sergeant Matthew Ryan in Northumbria, England. The first book pitted Ryan against Professional Standards Detective Superintendent Eloise O'Neil. He was helped by retired colleague, Grace Ellis and her mysterious spook friend, Frank Newman. Matt's blind twin sister Caroline, an attorney, also played a hand, Now, Ryan works for Eloise, who has been chosen to head a new special unit, a shadow squad taking on 'assignments deemed too hot to handle'. Their investigation begins after they start receiving videos of blood-soaked scenes, accompanied by a woman's chilling audio narration telling how the victims bled out. Soon they begin finding bodies to match the scenes. They dub the narrator a wannabe Spielberg. As the plot thickens, Grace, Frank and Caroline are pulled in to the investigation. Readers and the team learn more about Eloise's private life - and she's not happy about it. Investigators work hard to find any link between high-profile victims in three countries, with no forensic evidence, but they get there eventually, despite red herrings. What pulls all the threads together? A documentary about a terrible life-limiting disease. Though at times the characters don't really ring true, their angst excessive, I do enjoy this series and look forward to more. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Mystery books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews