In a way, I feel like I’ve discovered Mel Comley far too late. When you look at the list of books she’s written, you get a sense she’s been around forever. But that’s clearly not the case. The first ‘Justice’ book was only published in 2011 and I’m sure I saw recently that she’d just released the 17th in the series. And that’s aside from all the other books/series she has in play.
I was always a big fan of Ed McBain. In an author interview I did a couple of years ago, I was asked which author I’d like to meet and what I’d like to ask them. I picked McBain and the question was: how did you manage to turn out a book every three months? It seemed like a massive feat but, compared to Mel Comley’s rate of work, he was obviously just treading water.
Personally, it took me about seven years to write my second novel (longer if you consider that I actually started it first). I do hope to increase the frequency, but I can’t imagine being able to produce several a year. It’s fair to say I’m in awe.
My point here – and I know it’s taken a while to get there – is that with so many books already available, even if she slackens off the pace, I may not live long enough to catch up!
Of course, it’s possible such a high production rate could affect the quality. I’ve not read enough of them to be able to judge. However, if Impeding Justice is anything to go by, quality isn’t an issue.
![Impeding Justice (Justice series Book 2) by [M A Comley]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41iOp6OqzkL.jpg)
This is the second in the Justice series, and it kicks off with a bang. And then the pace just ramps up and stays that way for pretty much the whole book.
My partner and I love the Line Of Duty TV series, but she’s always said the thing she really likes about it is that nothing seems to be off the table. For example, if it’s right for the story, the writers will kill off a major character. This approach to the storylines means it isn’t predictable, and you really don’t know where it’s all going.
For me, the same was definitely true of Impeding Justice. Nothing seemed to be off-limits. And, while that might not appeal to some readers, I think it’s brilliant. The uncertainty, the unpredictability, particularly combined with the nastiness of the villain, only served to make this an even more compelling novel than Cruel Justice (the first in the series).
In short, then, although I may struggle to catch up, I am going to give it my best shot.
If you’re tempted by this, here are the Amazon links: