Portobello Book Blog

Although this is the third book in the series to feature DS Kevin Coupland, it is the first I have read and the first of Emma Salisbury’s books I’ve read. There were a couple of references to previous storylines within the book but it is easily read as a standalone, although I probably will want to read more about Coupland as he is a great character. 

Kevin Coupland has literally just got off the plane from a family holiday when he is called into the police station to help with a murder enquiry, holiday clothes and all! I have to say that I think his wife deserves a medal and the title long-suffering. Before long two more bodies are found and the race is on to find the killer before they strike again. With few clues to go on, Coupland and his team are struggling to find a link and feeling very frustrated. At home he is also frustrated with his daughter, whose latest boyfriend is someone he put away for GBH. 

For me the strength of this novel was in the characters, particularly Coupland. I liked that he was just a normal guy, a dedicated policeman not struggling with alcohol addiction and with a normal stable home-life. His daughter made me smile a lot with her annoyance at what she saw as her dad’s interference in her love life and her frequent yelling matches or deliberate silences towards him. Again, his wife was earning her long-suffering medal here with her patience and negotiation between the two.

The crime story was well plotted and well paced. The final few chapters where the link between the cases was discovered and Coupland realised that his daughter may be in danger were real page-turners. Emma Salisbury has written a gripping crime novel with realistic characters.The story ended perfectly set up for book 4 and I’m looking forward to seeing how Coupland deals with what happens next.

My thanks to the author for giving me a copy of her book to review. One Bad Turn is available now as an e-book on and you can order a copy here: One Bad Turn

From the back of the book

A serial killer is on the loose…

No sooner has Detective Sergeant Kevin Coupland stepped off the plane from a family holiday than he gets the call that a woman’s body has been found on a path beside a recreation park in a smart suburb in Salford. Account Manager Sharon Mathers suffered a brutal blow to the head following a night out with friends from work.

Teamed with DC Ashcroft who has transferred from the Met under a cloud, Coupland struggles to find a motive for the killing when two days later another body is found, this time at the bottom of a footbridge at Salford Station. Could the same person be responsible? While still trying to work out the answer to this Coupland’s personal life spirals into freefall when his daughter Amy introduces him to her new boyfriend – a thug he’d put away for GBH two years before. The relationship puts a strain on the detective’s home life and impacts his judgement at work – putting him under the microscope with the powers that be.

When a third body is found he makes a startling discovery – the killings are linked to a murder in ’92. Coupland was a probationer back in the nineties – could he be linked in some way to the killer?