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A review by brettt
In for the Kill by Ed James
2.0
Detective Inspector Simon Fenchurch seems to have weathered one of his life's greatest storms after a reunion with the daughter kidnapped when she was a child. But he and his wife are villains in the girl's mind, as she was raised by another couple she considered her actual parents. And since Fenchurch's investigation into that couple's role in a massive pedophile ring led to their imprisonment, his daughter Chloe has little interest in reforging any familial bonds.
But their paths will be forced to cross when a student at Chloe's college is found murdered and Fenchurch's department catches the case in Ed James' fourth Fenchurch novel, 2018's In for the Kill. Initially, he has a green light to investigate, as long as his daughter is not involved. Naturally she will prove to be, creating personal and professional dilemmas that could cost Fenchurch everything professionally and personally.
As in earlier novels, James does a good job of painting Fenchurch as nearly constantly operating on the ragged edge, exhausting both his own energy and his superiors' patience. But In for the Kill still feels disconnected and incomplete. It features too many characters taken from the headlines in order for James to offer commentary on the 2016 U.S. election, conservative immigration policy and several other issues that would seem to have little bearing on an east London police detective. The ultimate resolution to Fenchurch's family problems is far too pat, with two-thirds of the novel pushing it one way before an abrupt and unearned reversal that is beyond unconvincing.
In for the Kill might be a kind of re-set for the series, closing out one of the major arcs that animated Fenchurch through the first three books and offering some new directions. If so, that would make it more useful; if it's just another book in the series it's by far the low point of the collection.
Original available here.
But their paths will be forced to cross when a student at Chloe's college is found murdered and Fenchurch's department catches the case in Ed James' fourth Fenchurch novel, 2018's In for the Kill. Initially, he has a green light to investigate, as long as his daughter is not involved. Naturally she will prove to be, creating personal and professional dilemmas that could cost Fenchurch everything professionally and personally.
As in earlier novels, James does a good job of painting Fenchurch as nearly constantly operating on the ragged edge, exhausting both his own energy and his superiors' patience. But In for the Kill still feels disconnected and incomplete. It features too many characters taken from the headlines in order for James to offer commentary on the 2016 U.S. election, conservative immigration policy and several other issues that would seem to have little bearing on an east London police detective. The ultimate resolution to Fenchurch's family problems is far too pat, with two-thirds of the novel pushing it one way before an abrupt and unearned reversal that is beyond unconvincing.
In for the Kill might be a kind of re-set for the series, closing out one of the major arcs that animated Fenchurch through the first three books and offering some new directions. If so, that would make it more useful; if it's just another book in the series it's by far the low point of the collection.
Original available here.