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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
Thank you to Avon Books UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was an utterly gripping, but very dark read. I had not read the previous books in the series, but had no problem becoming immersed in the story. The characters were very well-drawn and I felt invested both in the police side of things, as well as the victim's side. The plot was a rollercoaster, and the intersecting of plot lines was extremely well-done. Highly recommend, but readers should be aware of themes of extreme violence and abuse.
This was an utterly gripping, but very dark read. I had not read the previous books in the series, but had no problem becoming immersed in the story. The characters were very well-drawn and I felt invested both in the police side of things, as well as the victim's side. The plot was a rollercoaster, and the intersecting of plot lines was extremely well-done. Highly recommend, but readers should be aware of themes of extreme violence and abuse.
This is my first time reading Fields. This is the book six so I need to pick up the new ones soon. They are sure to be just as interesting. I tend to like the UK police books so much better than American ones. They are usually so much better written. The story happens in France and Scotland. Ava is dealing with sex trafficking in Scotland, and Luc is dealing with illegal organ harvesting in France. These can be read alone, which I did but I’m sure you get more from the relationships when you read them in order to see the progression. I was able to read this in one sitting, and I could not get enough. I’d highly suggest to anyone who enjoys thrillers and police procedurals. Thank you to NetGalley and Avon for the chance to review this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Super well-drawn characters, main and side characters both. The relationship drama was turned down a great deal in this one, thank God. Luc has come SUCH a long way from Book 1, which I found absolutely satisfying.
BUT, among other things, I did not appreciate the nauseatingly stereotypical depiction of whatever few Muslims were in this book (female genital mutilation, parents insisting on marrying off their daughter to her cousin, even ISIS, for God's sake . . . ) not to mention Luc's impulse, no matter how fleeting, to exploit the two homeless Afghan immigrants' vulnerability for information. I don't care how picky this might sound, or that Luc felt shitty about it afterwards, but his being IMPRESSED by all that they'd endured just simply wasn't the right reaction, Fields. Suffering shouldn't be lauded. A more apropos reaction would have been his feeling angry and indignant at the reason they were displaced from their homeland in the first place, a conflict only exacerbated by Western soldiers who oh-so-gallantly don those fancy heroic capes to save us from ourselves. Baby, YOU'RE the problem. Get the fuck out of our countries. Anyway. . .
BUT, among other things, I did not appreciate the nauseatingly stereotypical depiction of whatever few Muslims were in this book (female genital mutilation, parents insisting on marrying off their daughter to her cousin, even ISIS, for God's sake . . . ) not to mention Luc's impulse, no matter how fleeting, to exploit the two homeless Afghan immigrants' vulnerability for information. I don't care how picky this might sound, or that Luc felt shitty about it afterwards, but his being IMPRESSED by all that they'd endured just simply wasn't the right reaction, Fields. Suffering shouldn't be lauded. A more apropos reaction would have been his feeling angry and indignant at the reason they were displaced from their homeland in the first place, a conflict only exacerbated by Western soldiers who oh-so-gallantly don those fancy heroic capes to save us from ourselves. Baby, YOU'RE the problem. Get the fuck out of our countries. Anyway. . .
How can Perfect Kill be the 6th book in the #Callanach series? It feels like yesterday that I met Ava and Luc! Yet, it feels we’ve been friends forever… I will never get enough of the sense of familiarity that envelops me when I pick Helen Fields’ series. It feels like coming home after wandering through other worlds. That’s how much I love everything about those Perfect books!
Chapter one. You know something is wrong. In her precise style, the author paints a parallel. A mother, a son. It doesn’t take long to understand this is the beginning of something big, dark, and ugly. I don’t know what is it with Helen Fields’s narrative style but she always manages to plunge me into her world by transporting me through my senses as well as my emotions, in equal parts, making me an active protagonist of the book. If I don’t turn that page, who will suffer because of it? Who will escape justice? Reading becomes life and death, and this time again, I was so immersed in the novel I thought I was going to burn with all the action!!!
Imagine waking up not knowing where you are, alone, and with little food and water for only company… Where are you headed? Who is behind this? Hello Bart.
Imagine being held against your will. Promises of a better future have led you to a scary place where the hope to survive is almost as painful as the idea of dying. Hello Elenuta.
What is the link?
Helen Fields plays hard and in Perfect Kill, she reunites two of the most horrendous things it’s hard to believe are happening in our pretty societies. She doesn’t spare the reader and doesn’t sugar-coat anything. You get the reality of what no one should have to go through. And more. It was ‘easy’ for me to stomach every detail as I know the author never give you anything for free. All details have a purpose, this is one of the reasons her writing is so efficient!
DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are not on the same case. Not even in the same country. But the terrible fates of innocent people keep them linked. I was curious about how both would feel, be like, and face each other after the events of the previous book. This is a tricky time for the protagonists, but it is made smooth and authentic by Helen Fields, who doesn’t force anything on them. After six books, as a reader, I believe I know Ava and Luc, and would be able to say if they were acting in a way that felt out of character. But don’t be afraid, they’re still very much the same old stubborn people, struggling and dealing the best way they know how to (which means not very well!!!) Their personal lives get in the way, blending with two cases that turn heavier with every chapter. There might be miles between Ava and Luc in this book, but the evil oozing from the pages bring them together in multiple ways, my heart aches and was warmed, and then it broke a little more and… Read, and see.
I have said it in the past, this series doesn’t make for a comfortable read. Perfect Kill is no exception. It is disturbing, it leaves you repulsed by the black hearts and minds you meet. Helen Fields sheds light on plagues of our society we would rather not know or not think about. When you think you’ve met the devil, grab any book from the Perfect series and see how wrong you were… Still I keep reading. Helen Fields takes crime fiction to the highest level by throwing us in the cave where demons hide.
I only have one niggle with this book. Bear with (the French part of) me. As much as I was happy to see Luc come back to France, a detail had me go ‘no!’ A bit of context: Luc and his colleague meet a woman in a prison. She is said to have been condemned to several life prison sentences. Except France doesn’t have ‘real’ life sentences. I am no specialist, I just wanted to mention it so that readers know that usually, when you are condemned to a life sentence in France, it usually means you can stay in prison for up to 30 years, with a certain amount of years during which you can’t apply for an early release (usually 22 years) It does sound like a life sentence, but it is not quite the same as in the UK so I had to say it. And from what I know, you can’t get multiple sentences. That’s it. It’s a small thing in the big scheme of things happening in this book!
Did you really think I was going to shut up? No way!
Perfect Kill is a perfectly paced crime novel with storms of action, showers of feelings, and real life nightmares. I highly recommend it!
Chapter one. You know something is wrong. In her precise style, the author paints a parallel. A mother, a son. It doesn’t take long to understand this is the beginning of something big, dark, and ugly. I don’t know what is it with Helen Fields’s narrative style but she always manages to plunge me into her world by transporting me through my senses as well as my emotions, in equal parts, making me an active protagonist of the book. If I don’t turn that page, who will suffer because of it? Who will escape justice? Reading becomes life and death, and this time again, I was so immersed in the novel I thought I was going to burn with all the action!!!
Imagine waking up not knowing where you are, alone, and with little food and water for only company… Where are you headed? Who is behind this? Hello Bart.
Imagine being held against your will. Promises of a better future have led you to a scary place where the hope to survive is almost as painful as the idea of dying. Hello Elenuta.
What is the link?
Helen Fields plays hard and in Perfect Kill, she reunites two of the most horrendous things it’s hard to believe are happening in our pretty societies. She doesn’t spare the reader and doesn’t sugar-coat anything. You get the reality of what no one should have to go through. And more. It was ‘easy’ for me to stomach every detail as I know the author never give you anything for free. All details have a purpose, this is one of the reasons her writing is so efficient!
DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach are not on the same case. Not even in the same country. But the terrible fates of innocent people keep them linked. I was curious about how both would feel, be like, and face each other after the events of the previous book. This is a tricky time for the protagonists, but it is made smooth and authentic by Helen Fields, who doesn’t force anything on them. After six books, as a reader, I believe I know Ava and Luc, and would be able to say if they were acting in a way that felt out of character. But don’t be afraid, they’re still very much the same old stubborn people, struggling and dealing the best way they know how to (which means not very well!!!) Their personal lives get in the way, blending with two cases that turn heavier with every chapter. There might be miles between Ava and Luc in this book, but the evil oozing from the pages bring them together in multiple ways, my heart aches and was warmed, and then it broke a little more and… Read, and see.
I have said it in the past, this series doesn’t make for a comfortable read. Perfect Kill is no exception. It is disturbing, it leaves you repulsed by the black hearts and minds you meet. Helen Fields sheds light on plagues of our society we would rather not know or not think about. When you think you’ve met the devil, grab any book from the Perfect series and see how wrong you were… Still I keep reading. Helen Fields takes crime fiction to the highest level by throwing us in the cave where demons hide.
I only have one niggle with this book. Bear with (the French part of) me. As much as I was happy to see Luc come back to France, a detail had me go ‘no!’ A bit of context: Luc and his colleague meet a woman in a prison. She is said to have been condemned to several life prison sentences. Except France doesn’t have ‘real’ life sentences. I am no specialist, I just wanted to mention it so that readers know that usually, when you are condemned to a life sentence in France, it usually means you can stay in prison for up to 30 years, with a certain amount of years during which you can’t apply for an early release (usually 22 years) It does sound like a life sentence, but it is not quite the same as in the UK so I had to say it. And from what I know, you can’t get multiple sentences. That’s it. It’s a small thing in the big scheme of things happening in this book!
Did you really think I was going to shut up? No way!
Perfect Kill is a perfectly paced crime novel with storms of action, showers of feelings, and real life nightmares. I highly recommend it!
I really devoured this series. In less than 2 months I have read all parts, including this ARC which I received thanks to Netgalley.
The characters in this series are so real, so recognizable. Something you often see in English crime and thriller books. However, the writer knows how to touch something that really gives you the feeling that you know the characters, sympathize with them and are directly involved with each and everyone of them.
Since there is a clear red line in all books of the Luc Callanagh and Ava Turner series, it is important to read the books in order. And believe me, it's absolutely worth it.
In this part, more is played on the personal level of the main characters. The way in which the writer also shows the sides of the victims and the perpetrators ensures that you are completely involved in the whole and I therefore had trouble putting the book away.
The book actually seems to consist of two parts. There is a crime that connects Scotland and France, which is why Luc is back at Interpol. But there is also the issue of women being used and abused in prostitution. Slowly these stories come together and despite the fact that you think you know how things work from the start, you get a surprise again. Something Helen Fields really does very well in all her books.
This part is definitely recommended and I can hardly wait for the next part.
The characters in this series are so real, so recognizable. Something you often see in English crime and thriller books. However, the writer knows how to touch something that really gives you the feeling that you know the characters, sympathize with them and are directly involved with each and everyone of them.
Since there is a clear red line in all books of the Luc Callanagh and Ava Turner series, it is important to read the books in order. And believe me, it's absolutely worth it.
In this part, more is played on the personal level of the main characters. The way in which the writer also shows the sides of the victims and the perpetrators ensures that you are completely involved in the whole and I therefore had trouble putting the book away.
The book actually seems to consist of two parts. There is a crime that connects Scotland and France, which is why Luc is back at Interpol. But there is also the issue of women being used and abused in prostitution. Slowly these stories come together and despite the fact that you think you know how things work from the start, you get a surprise again. Something Helen Fields really does very well in all her books.
This part is definitely recommended and I can hardly wait for the next part.
Perfect Kill is the sixth book in the D.I. Callanch series, and I had to dive right into it the moment I finished Perfect Crime. I needed to see what came next for Luc, I needed to see how the new mystery would develop, and such left me devouring this one in a single sitting. I could not put it down, I was hooked.
Once again, Helen Fields has given a mystery that has you sucked in deep from the very first page. There are multiple elements to this story, leaving you to try and piece together how all the elements go together. With the elements playing out across both Scotland and France, you get to see a lot of all the characters we have come to love. Add in the details of what is happening to the victims, and the book grips you in multiple ways.
It’s not only a great mystery, Perfect Kill also continues the personal story we’ve been watching build throughout the series. There were elements introduced in this one that I did not expect, and it’s left me curious to see how things will progress in the future books. In fact, there was a lot of development for multiple characters, and it’s pulled me ever deeper into their lives.
With a twisted crime that keeps you hooked and the personal touches that leave you invested in the characters, Perfect Kill is guaranteed to leave you desperate for the next book in the series. I simply wish I could jump right into it.
Once again, Helen Fields has given a mystery that has you sucked in deep from the very first page. There are multiple elements to this story, leaving you to try and piece together how all the elements go together. With the elements playing out across both Scotland and France, you get to see a lot of all the characters we have come to love. Add in the details of what is happening to the victims, and the book grips you in multiple ways.
It’s not only a great mystery, Perfect Kill also continues the personal story we’ve been watching build throughout the series. There were elements introduced in this one that I did not expect, and it’s left me curious to see how things will progress in the future books. In fact, there was a lot of development for multiple characters, and it’s pulled me ever deeper into their lives.
With a twisted crime that keeps you hooked and the personal touches that leave you invested in the characters, Perfect Kill is guaranteed to leave you desperate for the next book in the series. I simply wish I could jump right into it.
I love this series so thank you to Netgalley and the publisher AVON Books UK for an ARC Copy.
Bart Campbell wakes up inside a shipping container far from his Edinburgh home. Alone, trapped in the darkness and with no way out, Bart knows that his chances of being found alive are very slim. What Bart doesn’t know is that he is heading for France where his fate has already been sealed.
DCI Luc Callanach is back in France working with his old partner Jean Paul but it soon becomes clear when his case starts to collide with DCI Ava Turners back in Scotland, that men and women being shipped to France are being traded for women trafficked into Scotland.
So many lives are at stake so they face an impossible task - but there cannot be an option of failure when Bart and so many others will soon be dead.
This’ll the sixth book in this series and it was another belter of a book. I was hooked from the first page until the very last. I love all these characters and it was good to be back with them all again. A good storyline, which I found quite chilling this time round, has all of the team working together and jeopardising their own lives to solve the case as quickly as possible.
Looking forward to book 7 - I CANT WAIT!!
Bart Campbell wakes up inside a shipping container far from his Edinburgh home. Alone, trapped in the darkness and with no way out, Bart knows that his chances of being found alive are very slim. What Bart doesn’t know is that he is heading for France where his fate has already been sealed.
DCI Luc Callanach is back in France working with his old partner Jean Paul but it soon becomes clear when his case starts to collide with DCI Ava Turners back in Scotland, that men and women being shipped to France are being traded for women trafficked into Scotland.
So many lives are at stake so they face an impossible task - but there cannot be an option of failure when Bart and so many others will soon be dead.
This’ll the sixth book in this series and it was another belter of a book. I was hooked from the first page until the very last. I love all these characters and it was good to be back with them all again. A good storyline, which I found quite chilling this time round, has all of the team working together and jeopardising their own lives to solve the case as quickly as possible.
Looking forward to book 7 - I CANT WAIT!!
What a fantastic book. Truly gripping, action packed and easy to follow. There's so much information given, many different stories told and yet you're still able to keep hold of the full picture. This is made possible by the way the chapters have split narrative between the main characters/storylines.
After I read the last book (5) I said I would try to read the books that came before it, and as of yet that hasn't happened. But I'm so glad I didn't wait to read this book. It was so captivating throughout and really difficult to put down. If I could have read it in one sitting I would have. I'd highly recommend and am looking forward to any books that may follow.
After I read the last book (5) I said I would try to read the books that came before it, and as of yet that hasn't happened. But I'm so glad I didn't wait to read this book. It was so captivating throughout and really difficult to put down. If I could have read it in one sitting I would have. I'd highly recommend and am looking forward to any books that may follow.
This is the 6th book in the series and I think this one is definitely the darkest of the six books. There are some very disturbing scenes involving a sex trafficking storyline which were at times quite difficult to read. Despite the very dark subject matter I did really enjoy the rest of the book, as I have with all of this series. I find the writing to be very engaging and I’m always hooked on the storyline right from the first couple of pages. The characters are well developed and despite their flaws, very likeable. By book six I’m now very invested in these characters but I am starting to find the storyline with Ava and Luc a little frustrating now and I hope that they either get together in the next book or that this will they/won’t they storyline gets dropped. Another dark and twisty police procedural in a great series which I thoroughly enjoyed! Thanks to @netgalley for the copy of this book.
First and foremost, a large thank you to NetGalley, Helen Fields and Avon Books UK for providing me with a copy of this publication, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Returning to this stellar police procedural series, I was eager to discover how Helen Fields would tackle some of the major cliffhangers she left for readers. She’s surely spun things around and developed a multi-pronged storyline that will keep series fans talking and the reader enjoying this one until the final page. With DI Luc Callanach on the outs with his boss at MIT Police Scotland, he has agreed to make his way to France and help out an old INTERPOL colleague. When they discover the remains of a body—its internal organs removed—Callanach is baffled about who or what might be lurking in the shadows. Some preliminary DNA traces it back to a missing Scottish boy, forcing Callanach to get on the phone with DCI Ava Turner, this aforementioned boss and past love interest. Turner takes the call and agrees to make the notification, but is working some cases of her own. Someone has discovered the body of a man, shot in the head. Found in a seedy part of Edinburgh, there are some obvious signs of trying to clean up the scene. Add to that, a young man has gone missing out of thin air and no one can make sense of it. While both cases progress, Callanach learns of an underground organ transplant ring and tries to infiltrate it, but must be extremely delicate, while DCI Turner’s leads send her on a few wild chases, including to a pig farm. Both Turner and Callanach must also tackle feelings from their recent amorous tiff and news of a friend that leaves them broken. With two additional underlying plots related to people in captivity, this book leaves little time to breathe or process. Fields has done it again, with a stellar piece of writing. Recommended to those who love this series and need another reason, as well as the reader who loves a police procedural that leaves it all out on the field (pun intended).
I discovered this series a while back and cannot get enough of it. The mix of Scottish and French beliefs adds depth to the story and a layer of humour I have not found elsewhere. Luc Callanach remains a wonderful protagonist, still smarting from some of his choices, but eager to help back in France. His police work is balanced nicely with an air of compassion, both for Ava, as well as those around him on the case. We do not get much more back story, or even processing what happened, but Callanach does well keeping things professional as best he can. Contrasting nicely with this is DCI Ava Turner, whose supervisory role has been violated again, but she is still trying to shake off the feelings she has for Callanach. Compartmentalising these is difficult, but she as a few major cases on her plate, let alone the news of a friend’s illness. Juggling all this, as well as professional interactions with Callanach begin the wear her down to the nub. Others make recurring or new appearances and keep the story fresh, from all angles. Fields has done well to develop some characters who pull the reader in, while others are surely repulsive enough that no one wants near them. The plot was strong and worked well for me, balancing a Scotland and France angle, tying things together effectively without muddying the waters too much. There is that ongoing Callanach-Turner strain that has kept the series on edge for a while, which does not dissipate here. As series fans scream for some resolution, they also bask in the awkwardness that continues throughout. I am eager to see where things are headed, as this series never disappoints.
Kudos, Madam Fields, for another stellar instalment in the series. I hope you have many more ideas for your crew!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
Returning to this stellar police procedural series, I was eager to discover how Helen Fields would tackle some of the major cliffhangers she left for readers. She’s surely spun things around and developed a multi-pronged storyline that will keep series fans talking and the reader enjoying this one until the final page. With DI Luc Callanach on the outs with his boss at MIT Police Scotland, he has agreed to make his way to France and help out an old INTERPOL colleague. When they discover the remains of a body—its internal organs removed—Callanach is baffled about who or what might be lurking in the shadows. Some preliminary DNA traces it back to a missing Scottish boy, forcing Callanach to get on the phone with DCI Ava Turner, this aforementioned boss and past love interest. Turner takes the call and agrees to make the notification, but is working some cases of her own. Someone has discovered the body of a man, shot in the head. Found in a seedy part of Edinburgh, there are some obvious signs of trying to clean up the scene. Add to that, a young man has gone missing out of thin air and no one can make sense of it. While both cases progress, Callanach learns of an underground organ transplant ring and tries to infiltrate it, but must be extremely delicate, while DCI Turner’s leads send her on a few wild chases, including to a pig farm. Both Turner and Callanach must also tackle feelings from their recent amorous tiff and news of a friend that leaves them broken. With two additional underlying plots related to people in captivity, this book leaves little time to breathe or process. Fields has done it again, with a stellar piece of writing. Recommended to those who love this series and need another reason, as well as the reader who loves a police procedural that leaves it all out on the field (pun intended).
I discovered this series a while back and cannot get enough of it. The mix of Scottish and French beliefs adds depth to the story and a layer of humour I have not found elsewhere. Luc Callanach remains a wonderful protagonist, still smarting from some of his choices, but eager to help back in France. His police work is balanced nicely with an air of compassion, both for Ava, as well as those around him on the case. We do not get much more back story, or even processing what happened, but Callanach does well keeping things professional as best he can. Contrasting nicely with this is DCI Ava Turner, whose supervisory role has been violated again, but she is still trying to shake off the feelings she has for Callanach. Compartmentalising these is difficult, but she as a few major cases on her plate, let alone the news of a friend’s illness. Juggling all this, as well as professional interactions with Callanach begin the wear her down to the nub. Others make recurring or new appearances and keep the story fresh, from all angles. Fields has done well to develop some characters who pull the reader in, while others are surely repulsive enough that no one wants near them. The plot was strong and worked well for me, balancing a Scotland and France angle, tying things together effectively without muddying the waters too much. There is that ongoing Callanach-Turner strain that has kept the series on edge for a while, which does not dissipate here. As series fans scream for some resolution, they also bask in the awkwardness that continues throughout. I am eager to see where things are headed, as this series never disappoints.
Kudos, Madam Fields, for another stellar instalment in the series. I hope you have many more ideas for your crew!
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons