MICHAEL K. FOSTER
Author

5.0 out of 5 stars 

I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, full of twists and turns, especially tense in many chapters with the an insight into profiling. Recommend this book.  By  shirltheshed 

The Wharf Butcher

5.0 out of 5 stars 

Looking forward to reading your next book it was very interesting could not put it down it was very gripping all the way through.  By  Linda Green 

Satan's Beckoning

5.0 out of 5 stars 

What a superb read.Started off as a slow burner but with the turning of each page it became a fascinating confrontation between a vicious serial killer and a old time police officer with the he of a serial killer profiler. Great book had to be a 5 star rating. By Robert Bull

The Wharf Butcher

5.0 out of 5 stars - I'm Loving this Mason and Carlisle series - Tremendous fiction

I recently enjoyed The Wharf Butcher that was set in my native Tyneside, so I was excited to read this second book in the series, Satan's Beckoning. There's always something so very special about fiction when it is based in an area that you know well, as it gives a hint of reality to our world of fiction.

It was good to meet up again with DCI Jack Mason and profiler, David Carlisle. It feels like they are doing a regional pub crawl as they arrange to meet at several bars of many of our local establishments. Mason has been called out to investigate a car crash in Windy Nook, Gateshead - on an incredibly steep bank running up from Felling to the Queen Elizabeth hospital. What's so unusual about that?, you might say. Well, the car at fault had no driver and it would

When similarities become evident between this crime and one 6 years earlier down the coast in Seaham, the police and David Carlisle sift through all the clues looking for a connection. Both victims married older affluent men, but is there any thing that connects them? The addition of Carlisle is brilliant as he is like a secret weapon for the police - he is able to tap some unsavoury sources for information, sources who wouldn't even consider talking to the police.

Satan's Beckoning is an outstanding sequel to The Wharf Butcher. I had sweaty palms gripping my kindle as the final Indiana Jones-esque scenes played out. I think I enjoyed it more as I had got to know the characters so well in The Wharf Butcher so I already knew some of their background and history. Mason and Carlisle are definitely two characters I want to read more about - I just hope they don't end up investigating in my street!  By Michelle Ryles

Satan's Beckoning

5.0 out of 5 stars 

A book grounded in the northeast, the sights, sounds and people, which adds a scope and feel to the novel. The characters feel right and hold your interest, while the plot moves along at a good pace, While it is not a genre I read often, that this novel held my interest in a genre that normally struggles to do so peaks highly of it. By Tmark hays

The Wharf Butcher

5.0 out of 5 stars - Top serial killer chiller British fiction!

I really loved Michael's first novel The Wharf Butcher The Wharf Butcher by Michael K. Foster which I highly recommend. Both books feature some of the same characters but they can absolutely be read as stand-alone novels, no need to read in order or feel you will miss anything.

Satan's Beckoning is set in the North-East of England (as is The Wharf Butcher) and I love that because it's where I live. It was so great to know all of the locations in the book and feel like the crime fighting team were sometimes zooming past me nearby as I was reading the novel. Michael has done a brilliant job of creating authenticity in regards to the location and setting for this novel. Bravo!

A lot of crime novels these days can lack detail, others can be so bogged down in it you are lost by Chapter 2, one of the strengths in my opinion of Michael's books is that the detail in the plot is spot on. You can tell he has done his research, descriptions of crime scenes, police procedures, criminal profiling and the psychopathy of a deranged killer is done extremely well, I really give him lots of credit for that, again it adds an element of authenticity and realism to the book.

The plot is great, we have Carlisle drawn in by the police again to offer up his criminal profiling services. This is a man who can get inside the head of a killer and piece together a profile and idea of who the killer is and what the next move is going to be. I love, love, love books featuring a profiler, I think it ups the game from a lot of crime books. We get to experience being in the mind of the killer from time to time, not always comfortable but highly entertaining!

The crack crime team are a mixed bag of characters and again, so realistic - many of them are terribly flawed and some of them you will perhaps like and some not. These are not cookie cutout characters at all, I really like the mixture of personalities, temperaments and styles of the detectives and police officers in the book. A lot.

Dead bodies turn up. Females. All fitting a particular profile (thanks to Carlisle) and the hunt is on for the killer. The search stretches from Gateshead in Newcastle Upon Tyne to York in Yorkshire and all in-between and it's a gritty plot that gradually builds up pace as the book rolls out. I found it impossible to guess who the killer was, a few times I was certain that I (and the cops) had the killer only to be proved wrong. There is no easy reveal until towards the end of the book and I loved that.

The ending and lead up to it where the pace really starts to pick up strongly is brilliant. I was on the edge of my seat (well edge of the bed as it was 3am) with events that were presented and the eagerness to know if they were going to catch this twisted serial killer or not. Was Carlisle's profile going to prove to be right after all? You have to read it to find out for yourself!

Michael K. Foster is an outstanding writer of considerable talent and with this, his second novel he has proven yet again that he is a new force in British Crime Fiction. I am not in the least bit surprised that bookstores have snaffled Michael up for book signings and events and his name is creating a buzz across social media. An author to watch and if you love your crime fiction grab one or both of his novels and settle in for a great read!

5 stars from me for Satan's Beckoning for all the reasons mentioned above. I am a fan of Mr Carlisle and his profiling talents and cannot wait for the next book from this author, in fact I hope he is on the case already. Superbly entertaining, well researched and thrilling crime fiction. Yes, you can quote me on that. By  Booklover Catlady Reviews

Satan's Beckoning

5.0 out of 5 stars 

The intensity of this book had me sitting on my edge. The world building done by this author actually had me checking my doors and windows as I read. It was phenomenal.
David Carlisle is a criminal profiler who is called in when a serial killer begins to stalks Tyneside, to assist Jack Mason, the man on the case. Carlisle soon realizes there is a pattern to the killings and the plot thickens as we are taken into a complex and intriguing investigation that not only pulls you in, but also sends you into a deep mind spin as the pieces begin to come together. By J Kahele

The Wharf Butcher

5.0 out of 5 stars 

A mind blowing story that will keep you turning the pages. Once I started reading I could not stop.. The Author puts you in the story. You can't escape it. Mr. Foster knows how to write an exciting thriller for sure. This is a must read.  By Thomas H. Ward

The Wharf Butcher