📖 Book Description
DI Bolam
Severed fingers delivered in the post, old and tragic memories stirred… someone is stage-managing the reopening of long-forgotten cases, manipulating the victims’ families’ grief decades after their loved ones went missing.
And DI Bolam, newly appointed to the town’s Serious Crimes team, finds himself in the thick of it, in a job he had never wanted, in a town that holds only sadness for him and reminders of all he has lost.
A police procedural mystery, full of twists and turns, following DI Bolam as he attempts to unravel the dark history of the town where his late wife grew up, even if it means tearing apart what remains of his own family.
📚 Publication Details
Author: Nick Guthrie
Book Title: The Custodian
Publisher: No Exit Press
Publication Date: 5 November 2026
Edition Reviewed: Digital Edition
ISBN: 9781835015841
Pages: 294
Find out more
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✍️ About the Author
Nick Guthrie
Nick Guthrie is a crime writer based in Southwest Scotland, and his short fiction has been published in Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine and other magazines and anthologies.
His first crime novel, The Custodian, is published by No Exit Press in November 2026, with another to follow in 2027. Under other writing names he is the author of more than twenty books, and his work has been shortlisted for various awards and optioned for the movies. Subscribe to Nick Guthrie’s Newsletter for occasional news, updates, and exclusive content.
🔗 Connect with the Author
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👩🏻💻 My Review
A story that completely took over my thoughts
Nick Guthrie’s storytelling is so compelling that I was unable to put my Kindle down, even when I knew I really should be going to bed. In the end, the only thing that managed to interrupt my reading was sheer exhaustion! I was so completely immersed in this story from the prologue that I wasn’t watching it unfold between the pages, or even through a window. I was right there with them every step of the way. Everything outside the book seemed to disappear.
The Custodian is a fascinating, intricately constructed novel, filled with unexpected connections that gradually reveal themselves as the story progresses. The relationships between the characters add another layer of complexity to the investigation, and I particularly admired how naturally everything was woven together.
And what a mystery! For much of the book, I genuinely had no idea who was behind everything. Even with information the investigating team didn’t have, I sometimes felt just as puzzled as they were, but I was completely absorbed in discovering the truth. Little details stayed in my mind, sometimes for chapters at a time, and I loved how the story kept me questioning what I thought I knew.
I felt a genuine connection with so many of the characters, but DI Bolam was particularly memorable. In crime fiction, detectives often have complicated personal lives, but there was something different about Bolam. His story was revealed gradually, with each new detail deepening my understanding of him and strengthening my emotional connection. His experiences felt believable and deeply human, rather than simply created to fit the plot.
By the time I reached the final pages, I was completely invested in the outcome, and I finished feeling thoroughly satisfied with how everything came together. This is not a straightforward crime fiction novel. There is so much more beneath the surface, with emotional depth, believable characters and an intricately woven plot that rewards the reader’s attention without ever losing sight of the human stories at its heart.
The Custodian was exactly the book I needed, exactly when I needed it. It reminded me of that wonderful feeling of becoming so completely lost in a story that the outside world simply has to wait. I needed to know the ending, but I didn’t want to stop reading, and when a book leaves me feeling like that, I know I’ve discovered something special.
An absolutely brilliant read, and one I won’t forget in a hurry!
DISCLOSURE: I received a review copy of this book from the Author via NetGalley.
#TheCustodian #NickGuthrie
#NoExitPress #NetGalley
MoMoBookDiary Index
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2026/106
AUTHOR
Nick Guthrie
BOOK TITLE
The Custodian
BOOK SERIES
DI Bolam
GENRE
Crime Fiction • Police Procedural
SETTING
Suffolk, England, UK
DATE READ
26-27 October 2026
PUBLISHER
No Exit Press
PUBLICATION DATE
5 November 2026
FORMAT READ
Digital Edition
ISBN / ASIN
9781835015858
PAGES / LENGTH
294
SOURCE
NetGalley (📮 Review Request)
COPY OWNED
pre-ordered digital edition
REVIEW SHARED
Amazon • Goodreads • NetGalley • The Storygraph • Waterstones
CONTENT NOTES
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ADDITIONAL NOTES
👩🏻🔧 Nick Guthrie is now firmly on my list of authors whose future books I’ll pick up without hesitation!
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