The Broken Afternoon: a pacey and explosive crime novel set in Oxford  

I really enjoyed reading this second installment in the DI Wilkins books. The continuation of this unlikely partnership is totally entralling and entertaining. Ryan Wilkens is one of the youngest Detective Inspectors ever in the Thames Vally police force. He was raise on the wrong side of the tracks amongst small time criminals. His disdain for middle class values is apparent through his clothing (usually trainers, trackpants and hoodies) as well as his interactions with people. His partner is a distinguished Oxford graduate who believes in doing things the correct way and is dress suited and mannerly all the way. They drive each other crazy but complement and add to each others ability to solve crimes sometimes brutally and sometimes elegantly.
I highly recomment these books. The first focused on Ryan and the second seems to focus more on Ray, a wonderful device for the reader to get deep looks into what is turning into a deep friendship as well as a dynamite partnership. The crimes they solve and good and twisted as well. Both are gripping and fun reads.

This is a new series which our book group thinks is so good we read Books 1 & 2 back-to-back. 'The Broken Afternoon' is Book 2 and finds former detective inspector Ryan Wilkins working as a security guard after he’s been dismissed from the police because of his inability to follow rules, and his easily expressed anger and insubordination.

This story is maybe a bit more thoughtful than Book 1 and concerns child abduction, a hit-and-run killing and police mistakes. It also offers more insight into the lives of the two protagonists, especially DI Raymond Wilkins as he struggles with problems at home and work. Ryan, of course, is struggling with a low-paid, undemanding job that’s slowly killing him with boredom, so when he inadvertently finds himself on the periphery of a police investigation, he just can’t resist helping things along.

Our book group thinks these novels are clever and interesting and we've enjoyed them hugely! Two cracking stories with two cracking protagonists. There’s shock value in the differences between the two men, but as characters they’re thoroughly entertaining and their differences bring extra twists to the already-clever plots. We’re all looking forward to Book 3, which is due to be published next year.

Our thanks to @ReadingAgency and Riverrun Books for providing our book group with copies to read and review, because we otherwise wouldn’t have discovered Simon Mason, and this is shaping up to be a marvellous series!

Firstly, I would like to thank Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book.

This is the second book in the series featuring Ray and Ryan Wilkins. I hadn’t read the first one but it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.

Ray Wilkins is a serving policeman and Ryan Wilkins is an ex colleague who is hoping to be re-instated into the police. A four year old girl goes missing and the book tells the story of the investigation into her disappearance, with both characters involved in this.

It is well written and the characterisations are very good. Well worth reading.

Thank you to The Reading Agency and Riverrun for free copies of the The Broken Afternoon by Simon Mason. Here are the thoughts of Macclesfield Library Reading Group -

“Love the characters, their interactions and their differences – it really made the story seem more believable and accessible”
“The story is pacy and exciting and I seemed to finish the book in no time! I was glued to my seat and stayed up late to finish it! I particularly liked the drip-feeding of clues before the race to find the culprit reaches its conclusion. I didn’t like that the two main characters have the same name though, I found this confusing and unnecessary”
“In a world filled with detective stories both on TV and in books, Simon Mason’s The Broken Afternoon stands out as a fast-paced rollercoaster of a novel. I haven’t read the other book in this series but I’ll be borrowing it from the library as soon as I can. Loved it!”
“I really enjoyed the setting of Oxford – the author really evokes a sense of place. There’s an obvious parallel to be drawn with Morse, but Simon Mason’s book does stand up to scrutiny, although not quite in the same class as Colin Dexter. Still a very enjoyable read, would recommend”
“I found the subject matter disturbing and difficult but Mason handled it carefully and it didn’t ultimately put me off enjoying the novel”
“A tense, twisty novel which had me gripped from the start”
“I haven’t read the first book in this series but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment of The Broken Afternoon at all – it was an easy read, with relatable characters and an exciting conclusion and I was able to dive straight in without feeling I’d missed a step”
“The characters made this novel for me – I liked the chalk and cheese relationship between the two Wilkinses who are investigating the crime and how they are friends of a kind”
“I was already a fan of this series so was very pleased to read the second book for reading group. I did prefer the first book overall, mainly because of the dark subject matter of this book but it was still a great book. Very enjoyable”