Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
An incredible read! I could hardly put it down. There was so much depth and twists that it kept me guessing up until the true reveal. Despite it being the fifth installment of the series, it didn't feel like I was missing out from not reading the previous books. A fan of any murder mystery thrillers would enjoy this.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Recommend this novel to others. I found it to be a gripping page turner. A new author for me that I will keep my eye on.
Really enjoyed. I haven't read the others in the series but it didn't make it difficult to read as every reference to other books was explained. Nice short chapters, easy to read.
Really enjoyed. I haven't read the others in the series but it didn't make it difficult to read as every reference to other books was explained. Nice short chapters, easy to read.
Another excellent book
Another excellent addition to the series. Especially love the context of Key Edinburgh landmarks to base the crimes around. Would read again.
Another excellent addition to the series. Especially love the context of Key Edinburgh landmarks to base the crimes around. Would read again.
Great addition to the series, I always like that the book focuses on both the personal and professional lives of the two detectives. Looking forward to the next book in the series.
I reread for a second time and the ending was just as surprising. It was interesting having links throughout to mental ill health, within both the investigations. My only hope is that Ava and Luc reconcile
I reread for a second time and the ending was just as surprising. It was interesting having links throughout to mental ill health, within both the investigations. My only hope is that Ava and Luc reconcile
Recommend this novel to others. I found it to be a gripping page turner. A new author for me that I will keep my eye on.
Perfect Crime (D.I. Callanach, Book 5)
by Helen Fields
★★★☆☆
400 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV with some brief omnipresent slips
Themes: murder, crime, investigation, mental health, violence/torture
Genre: Crime, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
Triggers: * see end notes
~
THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Perfect Crime is the fifth book in the D.I. Callanach series, and sadly, it will be my last.
Book 5 is the one I originally requested from Netgalley. I wasn't aware, at the time, that it was Book 5 of a series, but because the request had been approved and I can't abide reading a series out of order, I bought the first four books. After enjoying Books 1-2, I bought Book 6, knowing that I would read at least as far as Book 5, to fulfil my Netgalley commitment, hoping I would love the entire series.
Sadly, I haven't. Somewhere during this series, the plots have gone from smart and clever, with great character development, to something beyond belief, with ridiculous plots and characters making reckless, illogical decisions.
In Book 3, Ava began taking over the majority of the POV's and that really hasn't changed. A series that began with a focus on D.I. Callanach has become too heavily focused on Ava, and the will-they-wont-they between her and Callanach, to do the intense police procedural thriller justice.
For me, while instinct says to give it only 2* because of the issues I had with it, I have to acknowledge that it did finally answer some lagging series plot gaps, and maintained most character developments (except Ava), and provide an interesting, if not believable criminal plot.
I had trouble writing a complete review without mentioning certain plot aspects that may be considered spoilers, so I'm posting that version to Goodreads, but keeping the spoiler-free and shorter version for Netgalley and other sites.
~
PROS
I utterly loved about 90% of the recurring series cast. I love Callanach, Tripp, Lively, even Overbeck. They all stand on their own feet, are strong and smart, opinionated and clearly well trained in investigative techniques. They all serve a purpose within the story, supporting how much page-time they get, and are all individual, personable people the reader gets to relate to.
There were a lot of recurring series-characters who are back again – Natasha, Ailsa, Janet Monroe, Lance, Pax Graham, Selina, and Max (who has been promoted), as well as Overbeck and Lively.
There were also lots of new characters, though I don't see any of them returning.
The story covers some series issues, sometimes with sensitivity. Like in the opening chapter when a man is about to commit suicide. The entire chapter is dedicated to his dilemma, and a good Samaritan coming along to talk him off the ledge, literally.
Finally, this book covered some of the huge plot gaps that had been annoying me, in previous books. Like what happened to Astrid, Callanach's mother, and his investigation into who his real father was. This book covered all of those things, and I was really happy to see them finally addressed.
In the end, while I found the crime incredulous in from a realism POV, it tackled some serious issues with a degree of sensitivity, and explores some lesser-known psychological conditions. It shines a light on suicide prevention teams, and how small events or certain mental health conditions can seriously impact how people cope with the day-to-day world. While some aspects weren't as sympathetic and well written as I hoped, there were those like Callanach. Tripp and Lance who displayed the appropriate emotions, reactions, and responses to certain events.
CONS
The story begins by recapping previous events and background stories for the main characters, but it feels rushed and incomplete. It's been clear that the only book in the series that can be read as a standalone is Book 1.
Every book after that relies far too heavily on Callanach's history, and his history of will-they-wont-they with Ava. There are other things that creep up again, like Salter's history, the history with Janer Monroe, Overbeck and Lively's past, and Callanach's relationship with Selina, not to mention Ava's kidnapping, Lance's part in various criminal investigations, and Callanach's history with Astrid. Also, Graham first appeared in the last book and gets a bigger role here.
It's labelled as the D.I. Callanach series, but it's been obvious to me since Book 3 that Ava is as much, or often more of, a main character than Luc. Sadly, that doesn't work for me. I don't particularly like who Ava has become since her promotion. It really irritates me how much people let her get away with. If this was real life, someone from Police Scotland would be taking her off-duty to get a mental health check, before she does something that gets someone else killed.
With even the author confirming Book 7 is an “Luc and Ava” book, that means even they've realised that this is a joint series, and is no longer about Callanach. Which is a huge disappointment, because other than the secondary cast, he's the one I bonded to and became interested in.
I have a problem with the plot choices, especially the main plot of suicidal people being killed. This was one of the reasons I didn't find the criminal aspect of the plot as engaging as some of the other books in the series. Some plots have been clever, but there was nothing original or smart here.
The killer had ways and means – proven during the book – of making these crimes look innocuous and looked-over suicides. However, for no reason we're made aware of, he becomes erratic and begins adding extreme theatrics in the next murders. I found the concept of the first death much smarter and more intriguing – a suicide in every aspect, with only one or two small forensic details implying more – than the disturbed, violence the killer quickly descended into.
I was actually really disturbed by the level of violence shown in this book. Gratuitous, because there was NO reason for it. Other choices could easily have been made, and still have a shock or gory value. Events such as the killer's POV of killing, plucking, and then cooking a crow. And I have no idea WHY we had to see Gilroy's POV, and his memories of raping Callanach's mother. I never signed up to read a POV of enjoying a violent rape.
Some of the crimes were truly sick, and I was not prepared for the depravity.
~
This book was an ARC, so there were some consistent editing problems. Also, the formatting of my copy from Netgalley is actually really muddled and hard to read. One minute, the formatting will be okay, and then it will have half-lines containing half a sentence, with no separation of dialogue.
I was really disappointed in the lack of research and fact-checking done in this book. I've seen similar mistakes made in previous books, but they're more glaring here, especially to a local.
I found real problems with the Edinburgh knowledge, and the various research that felt incomplete. The way Tantallon is described as being impossible to break into, at night, is almost laughable. Would it have been so frickin' hard to ask for a ladder? She could have gotten Callanach killed, and he seems to be the only person willing to warn her that her behaviour is becoming increasingly concerning and dangerous to others. Yet again, Ava brushes it off and gets away with a quick apology, a few tears, and gets to be the well-cared-for victim.
The Royal Infirmary hospital is rarely ever “on the way” to anywhere, and especially not from Tantallon to central Edinburgh, and no matter what time of day, there is ALWAYS traffic in central Edinburgh, especially close to the Royal.
As another reviewer has already pointed out, you can't disinherit family in Scottish law. It took me less than three minutes to discover this. It's frustrating that such a small and easily researched thing was so misinterpreted for the sake of a plot point.
When Ailsa identifies a victim, she states with certainty he's Japanese, yet Asian would be a logical, scientific answer. Ailsa functions by science and not making assumptions, yet she jumps straight to (the accurate) Japanese. There's no way Ailsa spends long enough evaluating Osaki's face – in a crime scene, with him recently deceased and not moved into a better position – to make the distinction.
There were also multiple times when the characters – most notably Ava – made reckless choices within the investigation, all because they didn't want to see what was obvious, because it wasn't convenient to the book's timeline. Things like not seeing an obvious connection between two recent suicides being forced by a murderer, rather than being regular suicides, just because it suited the story's plot progression. Giving Graham way more clout than he'd earned – claiming he'd “proved himself invaluable” even though his only part in the previous book had been little more than one conversation with homeless people, and benefiting from Callanch's informant.
Similarly, during a conversation between Graham and Callanach, there's a big deal made out of Callanach calling Ava by her first name. However, that makes NO sense. Callanach acts guilty, yet – and Graham says this to Ava herself, later on – all he had to do was remind Graham that he and Ava had been working partners for nearly a year, before she became the boss, so using her first name has no significance whatsoever.
But, again, it's convenient for Callanach to look guilty to Graham, for Graham to be suspicious, and for Ava to be the one that somehow makes it all okay and rational, later on.
I get that some of these choices were made by the author on purpose, but they don't stack up to reality.
I also have an issue with the fact EVERY book in this series concerns a serial killer. The statistics are easy to find. I also find it hard to believe the constant mentions of “gang” murders, in Edinburgh. The more books there are about serial murderers, the more illogical and unrealistic the series feels, despite the author's attempt to make the policing done by Police Scotland as accurate as possible.
The more the series goes on, the more it begins to lose that realism it's striving so hard to create.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but I marked off all POV as I was reading, because I've noticed that Books 3-4 both gave Ava far more POV's than Callanach was given. There were 59 POV changes within the book, nearly one every six pages. Of those POV, Ava has 26, while Callanach has 14. Ava gets TWICE as many POV scenes as Callanach, in a series bearing his name. Which makes no sense.
~
AVA
I hate giving AVA her own problematic section of my review, like I did in the previous book, but the events of this book kind of require it. Because, Ava was 99% of my problems with this story.
Ava is judgemental, arrogant, selfish and reckless. She makes herself into a victim while putting other people in danger, routinely placing Callanach in danger, putting Lance in danger, nearly killing them both – either by acting, or by not acting on information – and then gets to walk away with a clear conscience, before no one will ever blame her for anything she's done wrong.
Ava not only had the time, and opportunity, to send a simple text message to Callanach himself or to call in back-up to be sent to him, once she knew Astrid was a threat again. She had the time and opportunity to check her messages, after Tripp passed them on, well in time to save or help Lance. But, because she was selfish with her interests, and not acting like a responsible police officer, they both faced life-threatening situations she could have prevented. Yet, she never faces consequences for that. Or for how she risked Callanach's life at Tantallon.
Irritating. Illogical. Judgemental of others. Yet, she stands on a pedestal she and everyone else has placed her on, spouting from her soapbox, and is considered some sort of moral high ground everyone else must aspire to.
There's even a point where Callanach begs her to put him on suspension, because it's the right thing for the case – in the first half of the book – and Ava refuses. Then, later, she forces him into suspension as if the decision has come out of nowhere, and Callanach says she was right all along.
Like...WTF?
The first time after “the incident” she orders Callanach not to sit in her office, not to call her Ava, and acts like he's somehow personally violated her. She tells him not to be “petulant” which his a total cheek, after the way she's been behaving. Quite honestly, the minute the incident happens, the entire story takes a complete nosedive into the ridiculous and illogical. The whole novel focuses so much on the rollercoaster relationship between Ava and Callanach that it can't be reasonable about anything else, and the investigation suffers for it.
On top of that, she blames Callanach for the situation they're in. She claims she lied for him, covered for him – but NEVER at his request. He never asked anything of her, and often told her not to risk her career for him. Yet again, she has the cheek to act the victim, and Callanach lets her away with it.
That final speech where Ava – quite disgustingly, in my opinion – tells Callanach he “does this” to all the women in his life, making them into pathetic weakings and victimising them, is not only shocking coming from a woman about other women, but is forcing all of her faults onto him, as if he's somehow responsible for her being an absolute, utter, vile human being and a superior twat. Yet, because she somehow “cured” his impotence, that makes it all okay with him...
Yeah. No. Never.
Funnily enough, Ava herself perfectly explains how I felt about her:
“Ava could imagine the conversation happening behind her. That her promotion had finally gone to her head, that she’d lost her judgment, that Luc Callanach was being unfairly treated and was suddenly – in spite of all the ribbing and grief he’d received since joining Police Scotland – something close to a local hero.”
Sadly, a lot of these reckless/ridiculous choices were made as an excuse to give Ava and Luc another will-they-wont-they moment, which has been ongoing now for 5 books, and is growing tired. Luc has now rescued Ava from countless dangerous situations that SHE has caused with her reckless and irresponsible attempts to be the hero, no matter the cost.
Not only that, but when Ava discovers Callanach's secret, she seriously overreacts to the point where it's a convenient plot point to drive a wedge between her and Callanach, but it doesn't feel real. It's a serious over-reaction, and she has the audacity to compare him to a serial killer taking trophies. She claims to be able to separate her profession and personal lives, then goes ahead and proves she can't do that. She tells him that she's never hidden anything from him, and his keeping secrets is a betrayal, but even that's a lie proven by her previous actions. She's kept countless secrets, lied to him continuously, but – of course – Ava lives by different rules to the rest of the world.
*insert eye roll here*
I'm sorry, Luc, but it's well past time to walk away.
~
OVERALL
For me, it just doesn't work as a thriller. To me, a thriller is psychologically terrifying, because of its believability and real life potential, because it's clever and frightening, while being something people can legitimately fear happening. Unfortunately, this book was more aimed towards the shock-and-awe factor of horror goriness.
What I've enjoyed?
Callanach, the friendship between Callanach and Ava in Books 1-2, the secondary cast (Salter, Lively, Tripp etc) and how clever some of the crimes were. I loved the strength of the realistic investigative methods, in the early two books.
What wasn't so great?
The often unnecessary omnipresence, Ava commandeering 80% of Books 3-4, Callanach's storylines being secondary or forgotten in Books 3-4, plot gaps left unanswered for too long, and the frustrating lack of research concerning Edinburgh (mentioned by myself, and another local reviewer) From Book 3 onwards, the investigations have become more about coincidence, informants, and lucky breaks than real investigative work, in the latest books.
Sometimes, the good outweighed the bad, but at other times it was the opposite. A lot of the plot points were contrived and forced. From Ava and Callanach's relationship progress, the events that paused that relationship, and the convenience of the secondary criminal case.
While there was a really strong cast, this book really didn't make good use of them. It felt the story placed far more importance on the personal struggles between Callanach and Ava, and her increasingly worrying behaviour, than it did on the investigation.
Honestly, I've lost all respect for Callanach, for the way he lets Ava be this reckless twat, a danger to others, and hide behind a victim label she's put on herself whenever it suits her. He, Tripp, Lively and Salter were great characters, and I'm sad that they haven't been given the story or attention they deserve, all because Ava has taken priority within this series.
Why that was done, I don't know, as if doesn't make any sense to the series. But, now Callanach has been painted as the bad guy, Ava the victim, and he's being sent to French for months on end. And Ava has the audacity to act like it's all for his own good, because he betrayed her trust.
Personally, Ava needs a good slap and for someone to tell her honestly that she needs to grow up. Callanach needs to get a clue, and walk away from Ava before she gets him killed.
~
There are A LOT of triggers in this book, and I've never seen warnings for any of them where I've been looking, so I want to run through them here:
* mentions of bipolar disorder, alzheimers, schizophrenia, clinical lycanthropy, delusional misidentification syndrome, hacking, illegal immigrants, sexism, cancer, drug use, anti-depressants, depression, hand grenade, falling from a window, maiming, electrocution, cheating
* on page: violence, torture, and multiple suicide attempts (jumping from a bridge, by pills, cutting wrists, shotgun, and hanging)
The book also mentions/discusses the crimes of Ed Gein.
by Helen Fields
★★★☆☆
400 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV with some brief omnipresent slips
Themes: murder, crime, investigation, mental health, violence/torture
Genre: Crime, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
Triggers: * see end notes
~
THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
Perfect Crime is the fifth book in the D.I. Callanach series, and sadly, it will be my last.
Book 5 is the one I originally requested from Netgalley. I wasn't aware, at the time, that it was Book 5 of a series, but because the request had been approved and I can't abide reading a series out of order, I bought the first four books. After enjoying Books 1-2, I bought Book 6, knowing that I would read at least as far as Book 5, to fulfil my Netgalley commitment, hoping I would love the entire series.
Sadly, I haven't. Somewhere during this series, the plots have gone from smart and clever, with great character development, to something beyond belief, with ridiculous plots and characters making reckless, illogical decisions.
In Book 3, Ava began taking over the majority of the POV's and that really hasn't changed. A series that began with a focus on D.I. Callanach has become too heavily focused on Ava, and the will-they-wont-they between her and Callanach, to do the intense police procedural thriller justice.
For me, while instinct says to give it only 2* because of the issues I had with it, I have to acknowledge that it did finally answer some lagging series plot gaps, and maintained most character developments (except Ava), and provide an interesting, if not believable criminal plot.
I had trouble writing a complete review without mentioning certain plot aspects that may be considered spoilers, so I'm posting that version to Goodreads, but keeping the spoiler-free and shorter version for Netgalley and other sites.
~
PROS
I utterly loved about 90% of the recurring series cast. I love Callanach, Tripp, Lively, even Overbeck. They all stand on their own feet, are strong and smart, opinionated and clearly well trained in investigative techniques. They all serve a purpose within the story, supporting how much page-time they get, and are all individual, personable people the reader gets to relate to.
There were a lot of recurring series-characters who are back again – Natasha, Ailsa, Janet Monroe, Lance, Pax Graham, Selina, and Max (who has been promoted), as well as Overbeck and Lively.
There were also lots of new characters, though I don't see any of them returning.
The story covers some series issues, sometimes with sensitivity. Like in the opening chapter when a man is about to commit suicide. The entire chapter is dedicated to his dilemma, and a good Samaritan coming along to talk him off the ledge, literally.
Finally, this book covered some of the huge plot gaps that had been annoying me, in previous books. Like what happened to Astrid, Callanach's mother, and his investigation into who his real father was. This book covered all of those things, and I was really happy to see them finally addressed.
In the end, while I found the crime incredulous in from a realism POV, it tackled some serious issues with a degree of sensitivity, and explores some lesser-known psychological conditions. It shines a light on suicide prevention teams, and how small events or certain mental health conditions can seriously impact how people cope with the day-to-day world. While some aspects weren't as sympathetic and well written as I hoped, there were those like Callanach. Tripp and Lance who displayed the appropriate emotions, reactions, and responses to certain events.
CONS
The story begins by recapping previous events and background stories for the main characters, but it feels rushed and incomplete. It's been clear that the only book in the series that can be read as a standalone is Book 1.
Every book after that relies far too heavily on Callanach's history, and his history of will-they-wont-they with Ava. There are other things that creep up again, like Salter's history, the history with Janer Monroe, Overbeck and Lively's past, and Callanach's relationship with Selina, not to mention Ava's kidnapping, Lance's part in various criminal investigations, and Callanach's history with Astrid. Also, Graham first appeared in the last book and gets a bigger role here.
It's labelled as the D.I. Callanach series, but it's been obvious to me since Book 3 that Ava is as much, or often more of, a main character than Luc. Sadly, that doesn't work for me. I don't particularly like who Ava has become since her promotion. It really irritates me how much people let her get away with. If this was real life, someone from Police Scotland would be taking her off-duty to get a mental health check, before she does something that gets someone else killed.
With even the author confirming Book 7 is an “Luc and Ava” book, that means even they've realised that this is a joint series, and is no longer about Callanach. Which is a huge disappointment, because other than the secondary cast, he's the one I bonded to and became interested in.
I have a problem with the plot choices, especially the main plot of suicidal people being killed. This was one of the reasons I didn't find the criminal aspect of the plot as engaging as some of the other books in the series. Some plots have been clever, but there was nothing original or smart here.
The killer had ways and means – proven during the book – of making these crimes look innocuous and looked-over suicides. However, for no reason we're made aware of, he becomes erratic and begins adding extreme theatrics in the next murders. I found the concept of the first death much smarter and more intriguing – a suicide in every aspect, with only one or two small forensic details implying more – than the disturbed, violence the killer quickly descended into.
I was actually really disturbed by the level of violence shown in this book. Gratuitous, because there was NO reason for it. Other choices could easily have been made, and still have a shock or gory value. Events such as the killer's POV of killing, plucking, and then cooking a crow. And I have no idea WHY we had to see Gilroy's POV, and his memories of raping Callanach's mother. I never signed up to read a POV of enjoying a violent rape.
Some of the crimes were truly sick, and I was not prepared for the depravity.
~
This book was an ARC, so there were some consistent editing problems. Also, the formatting of my copy from Netgalley is actually really muddled and hard to read. One minute, the formatting will be okay, and then it will have half-lines containing half a sentence, with no separation of dialogue.
I was really disappointed in the lack of research and fact-checking done in this book. I've seen similar mistakes made in previous books, but they're more glaring here, especially to a local.
I found real problems with the Edinburgh knowledge, and the various research that felt incomplete. The way Tantallon is described as being impossible to break into, at night, is almost laughable. Would it have been so frickin' hard to ask for a ladder? She could have gotten Callanach killed, and he seems to be the only person willing to warn her that her behaviour is becoming increasingly concerning and dangerous to others. Yet again, Ava brushes it off and gets away with a quick apology, a few tears, and gets to be the well-cared-for victim.
The Royal Infirmary hospital is rarely ever “on the way” to anywhere, and especially not from Tantallon to central Edinburgh, and no matter what time of day, there is ALWAYS traffic in central Edinburgh, especially close to the Royal.
As another reviewer has already pointed out, you can't disinherit family in Scottish law. It took me less than three minutes to discover this. It's frustrating that such a small and easily researched thing was so misinterpreted for the sake of a plot point.
When Ailsa identifies a victim, she states with certainty he's Japanese, yet Asian would be a logical, scientific answer. Ailsa functions by science and not making assumptions, yet she jumps straight to (the accurate) Japanese. There's no way Ailsa spends long enough evaluating Osaki's face – in a crime scene, with him recently deceased and not moved into a better position – to make the distinction.
There were also multiple times when the characters – most notably Ava – made reckless choices within the investigation, all because they didn't want to see what was obvious, because it wasn't convenient to the book's timeline. Things like not seeing an obvious connection between two recent suicides being forced by a murderer, rather than being regular suicides, just because it suited the story's plot progression. Giving Graham way more clout than he'd earned – claiming he'd “proved himself invaluable” even though his only part in the previous book had been little more than one conversation with homeless people, and benefiting from Callanch's informant.
Similarly, during a conversation between Graham and Callanach, there's a big deal made out of Callanach calling Ava by her first name. However, that makes NO sense. Callanach acts guilty, yet – and Graham says this to Ava herself, later on – all he had to do was remind Graham that he and Ava had been working partners for nearly a year, before she became the boss, so using her first name has no significance whatsoever.
But, again, it's convenient for Callanach to look guilty to Graham, for Graham to be suspicious, and for Ava to be the one that somehow makes it all okay and rational, later on.
I get that some of these choices were made by the author on purpose, but they don't stack up to reality.
I also have an issue with the fact EVERY book in this series concerns a serial killer. The statistics are easy to find. I also find it hard to believe the constant mentions of “gang” murders, in Edinburgh. The more books there are about serial murderers, the more illogical and unrealistic the series feels, despite the author's attempt to make the policing done by Police Scotland as accurate as possible.
The more the series goes on, the more it begins to lose that realism it's striving so hard to create.
I know it sounds ridiculous, but I marked off all POV as I was reading, because I've noticed that Books 3-4 both gave Ava far more POV's than Callanach was given. There were 59 POV changes within the book, nearly one every six pages. Of those POV, Ava has 26, while Callanach has 14. Ava gets TWICE as many POV scenes as Callanach, in a series bearing his name. Which makes no sense.
~
AVA
I hate giving AVA her own problematic section of my review, like I did in the previous book, but the events of this book kind of require it. Because, Ava was 99% of my problems with this story.
Ava is judgemental, arrogant, selfish and reckless. She makes herself into a victim while putting other people in danger, routinely placing Callanach in danger, putting Lance in danger, nearly killing them both – either by acting, or by not acting on information – and then gets to walk away with a clear conscience, before no one will ever blame her for anything she's done wrong.
Ava not only had the time, and opportunity, to send a simple text message to Callanach himself or to call in back-up to be sent to him, once she knew Astrid was a threat again. She had the time and opportunity to check her messages, after Tripp passed them on, well in time to save or help Lance. But, because she was selfish with her interests, and not acting like a responsible police officer, they both faced life-threatening situations she could have prevented. Yet, she never faces consequences for that. Or for how she risked Callanach's life at Tantallon.
Irritating. Illogical. Judgemental of others. Yet, she stands on a pedestal she and everyone else has placed her on, spouting from her soapbox, and is considered some sort of moral high ground everyone else must aspire to.
There's even a point where Callanach begs her to put him on suspension, because it's the right thing for the case – in the first half of the book – and Ava refuses. Then, later, she forces him into suspension as if the decision has come out of nowhere, and Callanach says she was right all along.
Like...WTF?
The first time after “the incident” she orders Callanach not to sit in her office, not to call her Ava, and acts like he's somehow personally violated her. She tells him not to be “petulant” which his a total cheek, after the way she's been behaving. Quite honestly, the minute the incident happens, the entire story takes a complete nosedive into the ridiculous and illogical. The whole novel focuses so much on the rollercoaster relationship between Ava and Callanach that it can't be reasonable about anything else, and the investigation suffers for it.
On top of that, she blames Callanach for the situation they're in. She claims she lied for him, covered for him – but NEVER at his request. He never asked anything of her, and often told her not to risk her career for him. Yet again, she has the cheek to act the victim, and Callanach lets her away with it.
That final speech where Ava – quite disgustingly, in my opinion – tells Callanach he “does this” to all the women in his life, making them into pathetic weakings and victimising them, is not only shocking coming from a woman about other women, but is forcing all of her faults onto him, as if he's somehow responsible for her being an absolute, utter, vile human being and a superior twat. Yet, because she somehow “cured” his impotence, that makes it all okay with him...
Yeah. No. Never.
Funnily enough, Ava herself perfectly explains how I felt about her:
“Ava could imagine the conversation happening behind her. That her promotion had finally gone to her head, that she’d lost her judgment, that Luc Callanach was being unfairly treated and was suddenly – in spite of all the ribbing and grief he’d received since joining Police Scotland – something close to a local hero.”
Sadly, a lot of these reckless/ridiculous choices were made as an excuse to give Ava and Luc another will-they-wont-they moment, which has been ongoing now for 5 books, and is growing tired. Luc has now rescued Ava from countless dangerous situations that SHE has caused with her reckless and irresponsible attempts to be the hero, no matter the cost.
Not only that, but when Ava discovers Callanach's secret, she seriously overreacts to the point where it's a convenient plot point to drive a wedge between her and Callanach, but it doesn't feel real. It's a serious over-reaction, and she has the audacity to compare him to a serial killer taking trophies. She claims to be able to separate her profession and personal lives, then goes ahead and proves she can't do that. She tells him that she's never hidden anything from him, and his keeping secrets is a betrayal, but even that's a lie proven by her previous actions. She's kept countless secrets, lied to him continuously, but – of course – Ava lives by different rules to the rest of the world.
*insert eye roll here*
I'm sorry, Luc, but it's well past time to walk away.
~
OVERALL
For me, it just doesn't work as a thriller. To me, a thriller is psychologically terrifying, because of its believability and real life potential, because it's clever and frightening, while being something people can legitimately fear happening. Unfortunately, this book was more aimed towards the shock-and-awe factor of horror goriness.
What I've enjoyed?
Callanach, the friendship between Callanach and Ava in Books 1-2, the secondary cast (Salter, Lively, Tripp etc) and how clever some of the crimes were. I loved the strength of the realistic investigative methods, in the early two books.
What wasn't so great?
The often unnecessary omnipresence, Ava commandeering 80% of Books 3-4, Callanach's storylines being secondary or forgotten in Books 3-4, plot gaps left unanswered for too long, and the frustrating lack of research concerning Edinburgh (mentioned by myself, and another local reviewer) From Book 3 onwards, the investigations have become more about coincidence, informants, and lucky breaks than real investigative work, in the latest books.
Sometimes, the good outweighed the bad, but at other times it was the opposite. A lot of the plot points were contrived and forced. From Ava and Callanach's relationship progress, the events that paused that relationship, and the convenience of the secondary criminal case.
While there was a really strong cast, this book really didn't make good use of them. It felt the story placed far more importance on the personal struggles between Callanach and Ava, and her increasingly worrying behaviour, than it did on the investigation.
Honestly, I've lost all respect for Callanach, for the way he lets Ava be this reckless twat, a danger to others, and hide behind a victim label she's put on herself whenever it suits her. He, Tripp, Lively and Salter were great characters, and I'm sad that they haven't been given the story or attention they deserve, all because Ava has taken priority within this series.
Why that was done, I don't know, as if doesn't make any sense to the series. But, now Callanach has been painted as the bad guy, Ava the victim, and he's being sent to French for months on end. And Ava has the audacity to act like it's all for his own good, because he betrayed her trust.
Personally, Ava needs a good slap and for someone to tell her honestly that she needs to grow up. Callanach needs to get a clue, and walk away from Ava before she gets him killed.
~
There are A LOT of triggers in this book, and I've never seen warnings for any of them where I've been looking, so I want to run through them here:
* mentions of bipolar disorder, alzheimers, schizophrenia, clinical lycanthropy, delusional misidentification syndrome, hacking, illegal immigrants, sexism, cancer, drug use, anti-depressants, depression, hand grenade, falling from a window, maiming, electrocution, cheating
* on page: violence, torture, and multiple suicide attempts (jumping from a bridge, by pills, cutting wrists, shotgun, and hanging)
The book also mentions/discusses the crimes of Ed Gein.