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sanne_vds's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Whilst walking home from the chip shop, Detective Erika Foster hears a blood-curdling scream from an apartment block nearby. Inside she finds a distraught woman and the brutalised body of a young woman. All of the sudden Erika and her team are sucked into a murder investigation which involves mistaken identities (whoops), eccentric and confusing witnesses (choose your next door neighbours well), and a serial-rapist who may or may not have turned serial-killer.
This is the 7th book in the Erika Foster series and can easily be read as a standalone. It was my first Erika Foster book and I could easily follow along given the bits and pieces of information from her past. I did not feel like I was missing vital information.
I listened to the audiobook and got sucked into the story almost immediately. The narrator has a way with making each character easily distinguishable from another without it becoming a nuisance. The story itself was a true page-turner. It kept me guessing all the way through and made me gasp on multiple occasions with the many plot twists and details coming to light! Highly recommend this novel to lovers of crime, mystery, and thrillers!
I’d like to add a trigger warning though: The book starts on an incredibly violent note detailing a heinous murder. Not soon after the detectives also come across the bodies of decapitated cats. This happens in like the first 10% of the story, but I’d rather warn people about this before picking up this book. After all this is sort of calms down and most of the brutality depicted is less intense.
I received an ARC audiobook of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Animal death
nikkisbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
My first read by this author and I wasn't disappointed. I was suitably impressed as, unlike other authors, he even made mention of the HOLMES unit. Working in the police world means that I pick up on inconsistencies so I tend not to read British Thrillers all that much 'cos I end up raving about "that's not right" or "where the heck is HOLMES?" However, my one wee gripe is that DCI's tend not to go out on interviews, etc but I'll give him artistic licence there lol!
Erika Foster has just moved into her new house. She just wanted her chippie supper after a long day. But heartbreaking wailing makes a copper take notice and she arrives at the scene of a murder. One that's not going to be straightforward. Erika and the team are going to have to battle mistaken identity, historical sexual assaults, nepotism, and eccentric/full-on batty secondary characters with plenty of red herrings and misdirects thrown in.
I enjoyed getting to know Erika and the team and how they all work together. The previous relationship with a team member and the prior loss of her husband gave another layer to the story. Dark topics are interwoven with the banality of dealing with her sister, becoming a new cat-mum and trying to get the furniture delivered when your job keeps getting in the way!
The final scenes left me gasping and I have to admit Igor grew on me.
TW - historical sexual assault/violence/animal cruelty
Erika Foster has just moved into her new house. She just wanted her chippie supper after a long day. But heartbreaking wailing makes a copper take notice and she arrives at the scene of a murder. One that's not going to be straightforward. Erika and the team are going to have to battle mistaken identity, historical sexual assaults, nepotism, and eccentric/full-on batty secondary characters with plenty of red herrings and misdirects thrown in.
I enjoyed getting to know Erika and the team and how they all work together. The previous relationship with a team member and the prior loss of her husband gave another layer to the story. Dark topics are interwoven with the banality of dealing with her sister, becoming a new cat-mum and trying to get the furniture delivered when your job keeps getting in the way!
The final scenes left me gasping and I have to admit Igor grew on me.
TW - historical sexual assault/violence/animal cruelty
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
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