 Description: Her stomach lurches as she sits in the windowless room. He throws her phone to the ground, grinds it against the floor with the heel of his shoe and brings his face closer to hers. There was no turning back now, her life as she knew it was gone. When the lifeless body of a man is found on an industrial estate, Detective Kim Stone arrives on the scene and discovers he’s been tortured in the worst way imaginable. But as she breaks the devastating news to the victim’s wife, Diane Phipps, Kim can’t help feeling that something isn’t quite right about the woman's reaction. Twenty-four hours later, the victim’s family disappears into thin air. Then a second body is found staked to the ground in a local nature reserve. Desperate to crack the case open quickly, Kim and her team unravel a vital clue – a fiercely guarded secret that links both victims and could cost even more lives. A secret that some police officers are also protecting. Faced with deceit from those she should be able to trust, family members who won’t talk, and local reporter, Tracy Frost, opening a can of worms on the case of a woman murdered by her husband a year ago – Kim is in deep water like never before. Kim must find the motive if she is to find the killer who is systematically targeting and torturing his victims. But can she unlock the shocking truth and stop him before he strikes again?  My thoughts:
Angela Marsons never disappoints! I can't believe we are on Book 14 and I still can't get enough of this fascinating lead character and her team. I really enjoy unpredictable books and this one is in a league of its own! Kim is stuck with her nemesis-local reporter Tracy Frost- for a whole day. Tracy's been promised she can follow Kim and her team wherever they go. Very soon Kim sees DCI Woodward's secret agenda. Kim's first stop is the family of Trisha Morley who was abused and murdered by her husband. NickMorley had a stellar reputation and a PR team strong enough to put a lot of pressure on the jury. The first trial ended in a hung jury and it looks likely that Nick might walk free.The police have done everything possible. There's nothing they can do at this point to prevent the injustice. But Tracy can. Then Kim's team gets called to a murder scene and what promised to be a slow day begins a frenetic hunt for a twisted serial killer who tortures his victims in horrendous ways. When Kim has to inform the family of the first victim of what happened and immediately senses that something is off in the way the wife and her sister react to the news. The next day they seem to have vanished into the thin air and it is up to Kim's team to trace their whereabouts using good old policework. Kim does discover the connection between the first victim and the second, but is sworn to secrecy and forced to work with somebody who makes her reflect what it means to be a good police officer and sacrifice everything in order to do your job well. Both plotlines are fascinating and full of their own twists. There was no way I could have guessed the ending! As usual there are thought-provoking themes- one of which is whether it is possible to completely disappear in our heavily-digitalised society, why someone might want to do that and what emotional cost it might have. It was interesting to see the change in the way Tracy and Kim interact with each other- a different level of understanding and begrudging respect that is slowly built between these two strong and determined women. Kim's team is superb - Bryant, newly married (she won't let anyone forget it even for a minute) Stacey, Penn, Keats. The book has Angela Marsons' trademark short and snappy chapters that keep you on the edge of your seat. The pace is perfect- you understand the urgency of stopping the killer (no, I didn't guess who it was) and the frustration of not being able to find or interpret the clues, the long hours and the breathless rush when the team finally get closer to solving thecase, hoping it isn't too late. Another excellent addition to my favourite series of police procedurals. Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion. Comments are closed.
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