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A review by bibliobethreads
Random Acts of Unkindness by Jacqueline Ward
4.0
First of all, huge thanks to Faye Rogers for organising this blog tour and asking me to be a part of it and to the author and publisher, Kindle Press for providing me with a copy of Jacqueline's first crime novel in exchange for an honest review. I'm a big fan of crime fiction and it used to be all I read before I broadened my horizons slightly but I still always appreciate a well written, exciting and dark piece of crime fiction and I got this all and much more besides with Random Acts Of Unkindness.
We are introduced to our main character, a police detective Jan Pearce in quite a shocking way as she has entered a house after reports of a suspicious smell to find an old woman dead in what she believes could be suspicious circumstances. We then find out that Jan has an ulterior motive in entering the property and this is because she is pursuing a link between the man who owns the house, the mysterious criminal mastermind Mr Connelly and the disappearance of her own beloved teenage son Aiden some time ago. What she isn't expecting is to find so many parallels between her own private tragedy and the disappearance of the old woman Bessy's own son, Thomas many years ago in the 1960's when the horrific crimes of the notorious Moors Murderers were rife.
Jan manages to find a notebook of Bessy's, written in the form of a journal, which contains vital information about her son's case and provides many links to Jan's current situation. It brings her both comfort and a sense of dogged determination that only makes her more desperate to find out exactly what happened to both boys. Defying the advice of her superior officer, her work partner and her ex-husband, Jan is certain that she will solve the mysteries of disappearing children that have plagued the county for decades. Things are about to get very dangerous as Jan receives terrifying threats, risks her livelihood and indeed, her life just to uncover the truth at any cost.
When I first began this novel, I have to admit to not being quite sure where the author was going with the story. The pace at the beginning I found quite slow but believe me, the build-up was totally worth it as when the action got going, the whole mystery and excitement really picked up a gear. I really enjoyed the way Jacqueline Ward has presented the story, in that we get to hear Jan's voice in the present time and pieces from Bessy's journal as she struggles to cope with never knowing what has happened to her son. I can only imagine the research that the author has had to carry out, on the Moors Murderers in particular and more than one passage sent a shiver down my spine, perhaps it was all the more chilling knowing that it is based on real-life people who actually carried out these atrocities. Random Acts Of Unkindness promises to be the first novel in a DS Jan Pearce series and I'll certainly be checking out further books from this author in the future based on the strength of this particular novel.
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com
We are introduced to our main character, a police detective Jan Pearce in quite a shocking way as she has entered a house after reports of a suspicious smell to find an old woman dead in what she believes could be suspicious circumstances. We then find out that Jan has an ulterior motive in entering the property and this is because she is pursuing a link between the man who owns the house, the mysterious criminal mastermind Mr Connelly and the disappearance of her own beloved teenage son Aiden some time ago. What she isn't expecting is to find so many parallels between her own private tragedy and the disappearance of the old woman Bessy's own son, Thomas many years ago in the 1960's when the horrific crimes of the notorious Moors Murderers were rife.
Jan manages to find a notebook of Bessy's, written in the form of a journal, which contains vital information about her son's case and provides many links to Jan's current situation. It brings her both comfort and a sense of dogged determination that only makes her more desperate to find out exactly what happened to both boys. Defying the advice of her superior officer, her work partner and her ex-husband, Jan is certain that she will solve the mysteries of disappearing children that have plagued the county for decades. Things are about to get very dangerous as Jan receives terrifying threats, risks her livelihood and indeed, her life just to uncover the truth at any cost.
When I first began this novel, I have to admit to not being quite sure where the author was going with the story. The pace at the beginning I found quite slow but believe me, the build-up was totally worth it as when the action got going, the whole mystery and excitement really picked up a gear. I really enjoyed the way Jacqueline Ward has presented the story, in that we get to hear Jan's voice in the present time and pieces from Bessy's journal as she struggles to cope with never knowing what has happened to her son. I can only imagine the research that the author has had to carry out, on the Moors Murderers in particular and more than one passage sent a shiver down my spine, perhaps it was all the more chilling knowing that it is based on real-life people who actually carried out these atrocities. Random Acts Of Unkindness promises to be the first novel in a DS Jan Pearce series and I'll certainly be checking out further books from this author in the future based on the strength of this particular novel.
For my full review and many more please visit my blog at http://www.bibliobeth.com