Author: Graeme Hampton
Publisher: Hera
Publication Date: July 2019
Genre: Mystery / Thriller
Buy The Book: Amazon | Audible
Description: Old crimes don’t stay buried forever…
It’s high summer, and London sizzles in the grip of a heatwave. But when the body of young mother, Leanne Wyatt, is discovered in an East London park, the heat rises to boiling point for D.I. Matthew Denning. Under pressure to solve the case, and fast, he delves into Leanne’s history and finds that she was close to some dangerous individuals – could one of them have taken her life in an angry rage? But when another woman is found dead in similar circumstances, Denning is forced to consider that a killer stalks the capital’s streets.
But when young, ambitious, D.S. Molly Fisher, discovers a horrifying link to these deaths and a killing spree in South London a decade ago –a terrifying summer where young women died at the hands of a psychopath the press dubbed ‘The Bermondsey Ripper’, the case is blown wide open. Anthony Ferguson is serving a life sentence for the crimes, so are these new deaths the result of a copycat killer - or did the police convict the wrong man? Whatever the case, Denning and Fisher need to stop a killer in his tracks – before he sets his sights on them.
My Thoughts: The first title in a series introducing the reader to D.S. Molly Fisher and D.I. Matthew Denning who begin working together to track down a killer whose crimes ring eerily familiar to a case from over a decade ago and who someone has already been convicted and is now serving a life sentence. Is the wrong man in prison? Is there now a copy-cat killer looking for his or her fifteen minutes of fame?
This book is a slow build as the author does a great job of character building, allowing the reader to get to know not just Molly and Matthew, but also the people in their lives, families, friends, coworkers and even enemies. I really liked Matthew and Molly and got a good sense of the pressure they are under as well as the flaws in their characters, making them feel more like normal, every-day people dealing with the stresses and challenges of their lives and careers.
As the murders increase, I could empathize with Molly’s frustration that her investigative theories are falling on deaf ears, while coming face to face with disturbing revelations about her boyfriend. Meanwhile, Matthew is frustrated that his ex-wife and her new boyfriend are making plans with his son during his scheduled visitation time and his new wife seems less supportive of him and more about moving on up to a higher priced neighborhood.
The story offers a lot of red herrings as to who is behind the killings and it took me to nearly the end of the book to even begin to suspect the identity of the culprit.
My Final Verdict: Well developed characters and an interesting story with some wonderful twisty and nail-biting moments will please fans of mysteries and thrillers. I look forward to spending more time with Matthew and Molly and see what they get involved in next.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of Know No Evil from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment