Description
UNJUST BIAS: Being Different could cost you your life.
(DI Gus McGuire #8)
A murdered boy disowned by his family.
A teen terrified his past will catch up with him.
A girl with nowhere to go.
Men with rage so visceral they will do anything.
With the unsolved murder of a homeless boy still preying on his mind, DI Gus McGuire is confronted with a similar murder, a missing teen and no clues.
Does the answer lie with an illegal dark web site where ‘slaves’ are auctioned off? Or with an online forum for teens?
How can Gus keep people safe when unjust bias rears its head and being different could cost you your life…?
About the author
Born in Scotland, Made in Bradford sums up Liz Mistry’s life. Over thirty years ago she moved from a small village in West Lothian to Yorkshire to get her teaching degree. Once here, Liz fell in love with three things; curries, the rich cultural diversity of the city … and her Indian husband (not necessarily in this order). Now thirty years, three children, two cats (Winky and Scumpy) and a huge extended family later, Liz uses her experiences of living and working in the inner city to flavour her writing. Her gritty crime fiction police procedural novels set in Bradford embrace the city she describes as ‘Warm, Rich and Fearless’ whilst exploring the darkness that lurks beneath.
Struggling with severe clinical depression and anxiety for a large number of years, Liz often includes mental health themes in her writing. She credits the MA in Creative Writing she took at Leeds Trinity University with helping her find a way of using her writing to navigate her ongoing mental health struggles. Being a debut novelist in her fifties was something Liz had only dreamed of and she counts herself lucky, whilst pinching herself regularly to make sure it’s all real. One of the nicest things about being a published author is chatting with and responding to readers’ feedback and Liz regularly does events at local libraries, universities, literature festivals and open mics. She also teaches creative writing too. Now, having nearly completed a PhD in Creative Writing focussing on ‘the absence of the teen voice in adult crime fiction’ and ‘why expansive narratives matter’, Liz is chock full of ideas to continue writing.
In her spare time, Liz loves pub quizzes (although she admits to being rubbish at them), dancing (she does a mean jig to Proud Mary – her opinion, not ratified by her family), visiting the varied Yorkshire landscape, with Robin Hoods Bay being one of her favourite coastal destinations, listening to music, reading and blogging about all things crime fiction on her blog, The Crime Warp.
My thoughts
Oh wow! ‘Unjust Bias’ is gritty, hard hitting, current and is full of the scariest criminals ever. I found myself totally gripped by each story strand. Angel scared me to death and a certain character left me gutted. I can’t even say why because I’d spoil the story but all I can say is that this particular crime broke my heart.
Gus and the team provide much entertainment during the investigation. I felt the camaraderie between him, Alice and Compco was a delight to read. And, the cyber crime chapters – exciting stuff.
The LBGTQ+ community and the discrimination they suffer, still, is at the core of this novel and the crimes highlighted were despicable. Liz speaks a lot about the now and then in her acknowledgments and it’s shocking to see that progress has been so slow. I found this thought-provoking and I know I’ll think about those words and this novel for a long time.
In conclusion, ‘Unjust Bias’ is a thoughtful, scary, crime book that will send shivers down your spine!
Thanks for reading!
Why not check out one of my other reviews? Maybe you’ll find your perfect read.
The Mother-in-Law by Karen King – review. https://griffbuck.wordpress.com/2022/07/29/the-mother-in-law-by-karen-king-review/
Carla Kovach – author of Amazon and iBooks bestselling DI Gina Harte crime series.
Carla Kovach - Author 
Pingback: The Burning Girls by CJ Tudor – review! | Carla Kovach – Author