Love Adain Waits and I loved this book as well. I wish this series was longer!

Continuing from Sirens, we learn more about the background of disgraced Detective Constable Aidan Watts as he yet again juggles his ambitious and less than salubrious boss Superintendent Parr while trying to solve a case. In this book we see his investigative skills and learn more about why he is the way he is. And it’s a heartbreaking trauma that bleeds into his adult life. Yet again Joseph Knox is a brilliant writer. He has a talent with short, tight two page chapters which drive the action. I love the moral ambiguity of everyone.

Just when you thought all noir detective novels were predictable, this one comes along! In The Smiling Man, Detective Aiden Watts is exiled to the night shift, with a partner who does nothing but get on his nerves. One night Aiden is called to the scene of a murder in an old shut down hotel. The dead man's clothes have had all their tags cut out and strangely, the dead man has a big smile on his face. Aiden's superiors want him off the case, but he can't leave it alone. His biggest problem though is a dark man from his past, who is now out of jail and determined to haunt Aiden's like once again. This is an unpredictable noir detective novel interspersed with real moments of humanity. The clues uncovered took me by surprise and the detective's inner struggle between helping others and self-sabotaging himself made for gripping character. I couldn't give it 5 stars because at times I felt moments dragged longer than necessary, but I would definitely recommend this to crime fiction fans!

3.5/5 stars

As someone who never read the first book, which is titles Sirens, I found The Smiling Man to be an enjoyable read. I don't read many stories that are heavy with investigation, but I found myself to be enjoying this. It was pretty easy to follow along and unravel the mystery and also getting to understand Aidan. I do feel like I missed out quite a bit on who exactly he is, but that's most likely due to me not having read Sirens prior to this. I enjoyed Aidan as a character from what little I knew of him, but I found the supporting characters to be bothersome. This could also be because I haven't read the previous novel, or maybe I'm right and it's the characters themselves. Besides this, the plot itself was constructed very well, although at some points I felt like checking out. If you read and enjoyed the previous book, you may enjoy this much more than I did. If you skipped the prvious one and went straight to The Smiling Man, it would still be enjoyable, but I would ask that you consider reading Sirens as it feels something is missing character-wise in this novel.

I received this ARC for free by NetGalley in exchange for my completely honest review.

I enjoyed Sirens but I absolutely loved The Smiling Man.
Such an addictive book that kept me interested throughout.
I’m looking forward to reading the next instalment of Aidan Waits’ investigations.

Sometimes I wish I could get away with a one sentence review. This one would say : Drop whatever it is you’re doing and grab yourself a copy of this right now!

When I read Sirens last year, I wanted to shout about its awesomeness from the rooftops. I didn’t have a blog yet at the time, but that book was one of the reasons I started considering one. From the setting to the fabulous cast of characters, from the writing to the plot, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the fact that Sirens was a debut. But I did know that Joseph Knox was an author to watch and with The Smiling Man, he firmly cements his spot amongst the best crime thriller writers because this one is even better than the first one!

If you’ve read Sirens (and if not, you really should), then you know Aidan Waits has some serious issues. He’s flawed, damaged and most definitely not your typical detective hero material. Aidan is currently working the nightshift, sinking his teeth into incredibly fascinating investigations like … dustbin fires. Until there’s a call from The Palace, a former hotel, currently empty awaiting new owners.

A body has been found. A body that yields no clues whatsoever. No identification, tags removed from clothing, teeth filed down and replaced and even the fingerprints have been removed. Who is this man and how did he end up at the disused hotel? As Aidan and his partner Sutty try to figure things out, Aidan’s past comes a-knocking as well and he is forced to face his demons. This gives the reader the chance to get to know Aidan better, know where he’s coming from and why he turned out the way he did. It’s not pretty.

I found myself gripped from the first page, so utterly immersed that the outside world ceased to exist. Yet again, Joseph Knox delivers a gritty, compelling and dark story that has left me begging for more. And somehow, between all the disturbing things people do, I found myself chuckling at the humour and sarcasm. While the various threads may seem disconnected at first, they come together perfectly and the varied cast of characters is so life-like, you almost expect them to jump out of the pages. The Smiling Man has a taut and complicated plot with the setting again almost being a character all on its own. I could hear the sounds, smell the scent of summer and feel the heat.

Joseph Knox is an incredible talent and if you are not reading the Aidan Waits series, you are missing out immensely! This is a deeply engrossing page-turner, one I knew would cause a massive book hangover. I felt sad when I got to the last page and realised I had a long wait for the next book in this series. I can’t bloody wait!

Like I said at the start : Drop whatever it is you’re doing and grab yourself a copy of this right now!