In his debut adult thriller, Hussey wanted to create a lead character that reflected his own experiences, the publisher says. Having grown up in the Traveller community as the son of a fairground showman, he has created the first Traveller detective protagonist in crime fiction history. And, like his hero, Hussey is a gay man existing in this culture, with all its complexities, richness and challenges, all of which has heavily inspired his writing.

Empire of Books: January 2021

A beautifully wrought and fantastically gothic thriller that introduces a brilliant new detective quite unlike any I've met before. It left me hungry for more!" - S J Watson This wonderfully unusual book stands out in the crime fiction genre. The main character is gay, but this is not the main focus of the book, it is just who he happens to be. We gain insight into the traveller way of life, including the unique patois spoken by the fairground people. In addition to the main story, the theme of prejudice in modern society runs through the narrative, often linked to the person Scott believed was responsible for the deaths of three young children when he was a police officer, and who is still a troublesome presence in his life. Crime fiction is crying out for more diversity, and in Scott Jericho, we have been gifted a blisteringly new brand of hero’ – Sarah HilaryBy little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. I would definitely read the next in the series when it comes out to see where Scott is in life, if he has stayed with his family's fair or has found different employment. William Hussey’s Killing Jericho is the thrilling introduction to a detective cut from an entirely new mould. Scott Jericho is an openly gay traveller, grew up on the fairground circuit, went to Oxford to read English literature, then worked as muscle for hire in London’s criminal underworld. He is also a former cop, drummed out of the Metropolitan Police and jailed after savagely beating a murder suspect, which derailed the case. William Hussey was already on my list of favorite authors, and I can’t wait to read the second book of this series! William Hussey is the award-winning author of over a dozen novels, including the Crime Fest award-nominated Hideous Beauty and The Outrage. Killing Jericho is the gothic, helter-skelter thriller debut introducing crime fiction’s first-ever Traveller detective, Scott Jericho.

Killing Jericho | William Hussey | 9781804181164 | NetGalley Killing Jericho | William Hussey | 9781804181164 | NetGalley

The gothic, helter-skelter thriller debut introduces crime fiction’s first-ever Traveller detective, Scott Jericho. having a hope in God, which they themselves also await, that there is about to be a resurrection, both of the just and of the unjust Acts 24:15Scott Jericho is one of the most multi-faceted characters I have come across in recent years. He's a traveller, an ex-thug for hire, an ex-police officer, gay and capable of explosive violence. When we first meet him, he is also a recovering drug addict. A lot for one man to deal with, you might say. But wait, there's more. He is also haunted by the ghosts of three badly burned children, one of whom talks to him. It's a lot of balls to keep in the air for one character, so how does William Hussey do? When Joshua had spoken to the people, the seven priests carrying the seven trumpets before the Lord went forward, blowing their trumpets, and the ark of the Lord’s covenant followed them. 9 The armed guard marched ahead of the priests who blew the trumpets, and the rear guard ( O) followed the ark. All this time the trumpets were sounding. 10 But Joshua had commanded the army, “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout! ( P)” 11 So he had the ark of the Lord carried around the city, circling it once. Then the army returned to camp and spent the night there.

Killing Jericho: The helter-skelter 2023 thriller like no other Killing Jericho: The helter-skelter 2023 thriller like no other

Due to the methods used by the killer this was often a dark and gruesome read. It also contains elements around PTSD, linked to the children Kerrigan murdered who are haunting Jericho so not for the fainthearted/sensitive to such things. All in all though, this was a little too dark for me, with too many characters getting away with some very dark deeds. However if you like your mysteries dark and well-written, this might well be for you.Dark, exciting and full of twists, KILLING JERICHO sets the stage for a unique detective.” Alex Smith, author of the bestselling DCI Kett thrillers Nevertheless, as Isaac Asimov points out in Asimov’s Guide to the Bible: The Old Testament by Isaac Asimov, there may be something to the psychological warfare the Israelites waged on their opponents. Moreover, Hussey does a sterling job of establishing the duality of Jericho’s attachment to the travelling fairground. He vividly describes life there, both the good and the bad, the magic seen by the punters and the gruelling work that goes on behind the scenes. Several interesting characters from among the travellers feature only briefly in Killing Jericho but will hopefully reappear and be fleshed out as the series progresses. The fact that the travellers remain outsiders, no matter how regularly and for how long they visit places, means they are uniquely placed to observe and influence events, largely without people noticing. I've thought a lot about howmany books I would like to try and read this year. I am setting myself up a reading journal... as if I don't record my reads in enough places. I use Goodreads, obviously... I use an app called Bookly which has changed my life. It records how longyou read, tells you how fast you read, gives you so many stats... I LOVE IT! I also have a note open in my notes app which I update with what I've read as I finish it, but I wanted somewherephysically to hopefully keep a couple ofyears worth of reads all in one place together.Whether I keep it running or not will be something elsealtogether but we'll see... What an interesting book that was! Lots of going on here and it might not be to everyone. There are gruesome descriptions of the murders with a little edgy goth style. It is a dark thriller with a dark main character.