Review: Count the Dead by T.M. Payne

July 18, 2026

Synopsis:

Crack the code. Stop the sequence. Catch the killer.

When homeless man Bobby Stover insists his friend’s suicide was really murder, DI Sheridan Holler is sceptical—until she uncovers a series of deaths, all of them in Liverpool, all ruled as suicides, that suddenly look like anything but. The killings span years, each one chillingly staged, the truth buried beneath an illusion of despair. This murderer is following a mysterious pattern—and there seems to be no end in sight.

Sheridan and her team find themselves in a race to crack the killer’s code, but when a crucial piece of the puzzle falls into place, they realise the next five victims have already been marked.

They don’t know who. They don’t know where. But they know it won’t stop here. Can they get one step ahead of a calculating killer?

Review:

I’m happy to report that we’re back to the stories I fell in love with initially 🙂
When a homeless man asks for a detective, insisting that his friend couldn’t have taken his own life, most people would have turned him away – but not Sheridan. She actually listened, and what she learned was the beginning of a very interesting story involving a serial killer.

We are back to the banter between the characters, and this was one of the things I missed in the previous book. Sam still being portrayed as a horrible cook is one of my favourite side stories, and I absolutely adore how it keeps getting mentioned over and over again. It feels like a running gag and adds a bit of lightness to an otherwise dark story.
The main plot was interesting and different, and it had me eager to find out how all the dots connected. It started out as a puzzle with so many pieces that it took a while to put everything together, and the way it all came together in the end felt fresh and original.
The friendship between Sheridan and her boss continued, and I am here for these women butting heads so often while also having each other’s backs when it counts.
I also appreciated that we returned to the story arc involving her missing brother and that it received the attention it deserved.

🌙 Recension: Count the Dead (Detective Sheridan Holler #4) by T.M. Payne
📚 Genre: Mystery, Crime, Thriller
📅 Release Date: November 1, 2025
📖 Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
📗 available in various formats – included in Kindle Unlimited
📱 Read as: Physical
💸 Bought
🗣️ Language: English
📆 Pages: 397
⭐️ 4.5/5