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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I thoroughly enjoyed this one. Having read book 3 in the series first, I feel like i've learnt so much more about the characters through this book. Being set in my hometown, I felt like I could picture each of the locations because of how familiar I am with them. Jackson's done such a great job to bring Liverpool into this book and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the series!
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book started off so well!! But once you start getting into the book you learn so much information that has no relevance to the serial killer. So disappointed
This started as an interesting mystery. The victims are all police and the killer leaves behind a message (taken from poems) with a dead bird at the murder scene. I was eager to know how the detectives would solve this. But then, the author got too busy getting into the Hero's mental trauma due to some past tragedy. He brings back the Hero's ex-girlfriend and they have to work together. For some reason, this ex can't let things go, though she behaves like an agony aunt, who actually makes matters worse. I can't describe how much I hated this heroine, Megan. I wished, she was the first victim and Cody could add that to one of the reasons for being so morose.
The motive made sense, but the reason for leaving the birds as some sort of 'clue' didn't make any sense. I thought the killer was an environmentalist and was concerned about bird extinction. This reminds me of an Indian movie, where a professor concerned about the ill effects of cell towers on birds starts killing everyone connected with the telecom industry (after committing suicide and turning into a giant bird)
I know most of the readers like to know more about the detective, their personal life when they read a detective series. But I read detective novels solely for the detective mystery and police procedurals Every fictional detective are molded from the same template. It gets tiresome. This is fiction afterall, why can't the detective not have PTSD, have a perfect family life, understanding wife/ GF and completely focus on solving crimes? Where have the good old detectives like Poirot gone? They did well without a traumatic past to brood about.
This series has very high average ratings and hugely popular. I read some of the negative reviews for the the next 3 books. Looks like Nathan Cody's tragic past is not resolved in those books and Megan continues to nag him. Thank you. I am not continuing this series.
The motive made sense, but the reason for leaving the birds as some sort of 'clue' didn't make any sense. I thought the killer was an environmentalist and was concerned about bird extinction. This reminds me of an Indian movie, where a professor concerned about the ill effects of cell towers on birds starts killing everyone connected with the telecom industry (after committing suicide and turning into a giant bird)
I know most of the readers like to know more about the detective, their personal life when they read a detective series. But I read detective novels solely for the detective mystery and police procedurals Every fictional detective are molded from the same template. It gets tiresome. This is fiction afterall, why can't the detective not have PTSD, have a perfect family life, understanding wife/ GF and completely focus on solving crimes? Where have the good old detectives like Poirot gone? They did well without a traumatic past to brood about.
This series has very high average ratings and hugely popular. I read some of the negative reviews for the the next 3 books. Looks like Nathan Cody's tragic past is not resolved in those books and Megan continues to nag him. Thank you. I am not continuing this series.
A few months ago, many of my fellow book bloggers were talking about the second book in the DS Nathan Cody series, Hope to Die. So obviously I bought the first one because as I’m sure you all know by now, there should be a law against starting a series anywhere else but with book one. 😉
I’m not sure why I’d never heard of David Jackson before. It’s a travesty and I’m glad I was made to see the error of my ways. A Tapping At My Door has everything I look for in a good book. A damaged protagonist with what promises to be an exciting backstory, a murder or two, a fascinating killer and brilliant writing! Also, birds. Not so good. I mean, I don’t mind birds. Just not in this instance. You’ll see why when you read the book.
The story begins with a tapping at the door and it’s a deliciously creepy way to reel the reader in from the get-go. Since I was reading this in the dark, while home alone, I have no shame in admitting that it made me feel extremely nervous. The scene was set perfectly with a fantastic reference to Edgar Allen Poe and at that point, I already knew I was going to enjoy this one.
I love this author’s writing style. It flows well and feels completely natural. I’m also very partial to the shorter chapters, especially when the action starts to ramp up and you begin to flip the pages faster and faster. I found myself so utterly engrossed that I forgot to take notes for my review and I stayed up well past my bedtime in order to finish. Worth it.
I thought Nathan Cody was extremely likeable, despite quite obviously being damaged goods. Something bad happened to him in the past but what that may be is revealed quite slowly and had me utterly hooked. This backstory is incredibly promising for the next book and I can’t wait to see where it takes him.
This is one heck of a thriller and a must-read! Fast-paced, brilliantly executed with an exciting hunt for a killer. In case you couldn’t tell, my first introduction to David Jackson went extraordinarily well, I must say. So much so that I have every intention on catching up on his other series as well, which features Callum Doyle. Quite frankly, so should you!
I’m not sure why I’d never heard of David Jackson before. It’s a travesty and I’m glad I was made to see the error of my ways. A Tapping At My Door has everything I look for in a good book. A damaged protagonist with what promises to be an exciting backstory, a murder or two, a fascinating killer and brilliant writing! Also, birds. Not so good. I mean, I don’t mind birds. Just not in this instance. You’ll see why when you read the book.
The story begins with a tapping at the door and it’s a deliciously creepy way to reel the reader in from the get-go. Since I was reading this in the dark, while home alone, I have no shame in admitting that it made me feel extremely nervous. The scene was set perfectly with a fantastic reference to Edgar Allen Poe and at that point, I already knew I was going to enjoy this one.
I love this author’s writing style. It flows well and feels completely natural. I’m also very partial to the shorter chapters, especially when the action starts to ramp up and you begin to flip the pages faster and faster. I found myself so utterly engrossed that I forgot to take notes for my review and I stayed up well past my bedtime in order to finish. Worth it.
I thought Nathan Cody was extremely likeable, despite quite obviously being damaged goods. Something bad happened to him in the past but what that may be is revealed quite slowly and had me utterly hooked. This backstory is incredibly promising for the next book and I can’t wait to see where it takes him.
This is one heck of a thriller and a must-read! Fast-paced, brilliantly executed with an exciting hunt for a killer. In case you couldn’t tell, my first introduction to David Jackson went extraordinarily well, I must say. So much so that I have every intention on catching up on his other series as well, which features Callum Doyle. Quite frankly, so should you!
A new author for me. Looking forward to read more books by him. Fast paced and kept me glued to the pages to the end.
This is the first in a series about yet another psychologically "damaged" police officer. In this first novel, readers don't wonder if DS Cody will survive because of course this is going to be a series so he has to. The setting is Liverpool, and a series of murders of police officers is the focus. DS Cody is, of course, a renegade and reckless. There is a gruesome torture scene later in the book, which reminded me of my avoidance of male-authored crime novels which seem to do this more often than female-authored books.
The audiobook narration had some minuses. The female voices by this narrator were pretty awful. I had a feeling that the Liverpool accents weren't quite right, but my only reference point is the Beatles.
But overall the narration and the story propel the reader to a climatic ending, making this a worthwhile read.
The audiobook narration had some minuses. The female voices by this narrator were pretty awful. I had a feeling that the Liverpool accents weren't quite right, but my only reference point is the Beatles.
But overall the narration and the story propel the reader to a climatic ending, making this a worthwhile read.
Read this book in less than a day - couldn't put it down. Someone has killed a police officer leaving a cryptic message with the body. The. Another police officer with a link to the fist is killed and another message is left. The investigators think they know why these two victims were killed when two more officers are murdered and there is no link to the first two victims. DS Nathan Cody works on the case while trying to deal with the trauma of a previous undercover investigation. Excellent storyline, believable characters - can't wait for book two.
This was my first book by David Jackson and a fantastic entrance to a series I binged. Aspects were very dark and gruesome but never beyond what I felt I could cope with, unlike The Snowman by Jo Nesbø. Having said that I did have the instinct to close my eyes while listening to a particular scene at the autopsy which was less than ideal while listening to this while running on a treadmill…
A Tapping At My Door is a police procedural novel. This involves a murder mystery where the reader experienced the case from multiple perspectives: that of the victims, the killer, and of course - given this is the “DS Nathan Cody” series it will come as no surprise - that of the police detectives. Despite this there is a large aspect of mystery throughout that doesn’t get revealed until the very end at which point everything makes sense. The book is fantastically written exploring the police process in great detail and then leaving the reader able to see all perspectives and not just the black and white narrative often found in books of this nature.
Further to the key theme of this particular case, there is the personal trauma and coping mechanisms of DS Nathan Cody himself that begin to become unraveled over the course of the book leaving me excited to pick up the next in the series to know more about Cody and what will happen next in his personal journey.
A brilliant book and one I would highly recommend.
A Tapping At My Door is a police procedural novel. This involves a murder mystery where the reader experienced the case from multiple perspectives: that of the victims, the killer, and of course - given this is the “DS Nathan Cody” series it will come as no surprise - that of the police detectives. Despite this there is a large aspect of mystery throughout that doesn’t get revealed until the very end at which point everything makes sense. The book is fantastically written exploring the police process in great detail and then leaving the reader able to see all perspectives and not just the black and white narrative often found in books of this nature.
Further to the key theme of this particular case, there is the personal trauma and coping mechanisms of DS Nathan Cody himself that begin to become unraveled over the course of the book leaving me excited to pick up the next in the series to know more about Cody and what will happen next in his personal journey.
A brilliant book and one I would highly recommend.
dark
tense