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Ross (3284 KP) rated Perfect Remains: A Gripping Thriller That Will Leave You Breathless in Books

Aug 30, 2018 (Updated Aug 30, 2018)

Very good, gripping crime novel based in Edinburgh. Recently arrived French detective Luc Callanach finds himself at the wheel of the force's biggest crime, while still trying to find his feet in his new city.
As the reader is made aware of the "murderer"'s identity from very early on, this feels more like an early Mark Billingham book than an Ian Rankin or Ed James. Not a true whodunit, more of a case of watching the story unfold, which is thrilling and you get to see the criminal and the detective's view of the events, but may put others off.
While the story is very well crafted, the pacing is top notch and the action exciting, a few aspects irritated me at times. Luc Callanach seems to have coped very well with his change in circumstances, and at times it is almost like he (or the author) has forgotten he is French completely! And also the attitude and conclusions of what was supposed to be a very experienced psychological profiler just didn't feel plausible. And finally, as so often happens with "detective x crime series" books - if the main character didn't see it, it didn't happen. This means that Callanach has to abandon his massive case and oddly decide to go off with another detective in order to discuss something, purely as a plot device - i.e. he has to be involved in it for it to be an important part of the story. In places this worked, and got to the point, but at other times his actions just seemed so unusual as to be ludicrous, just to meet a plot point. Why the lesser characters can't have a PoV chapter is beyond me. It works perfectly well in fantasy fiction, why not in crime?!
However these were minor quibbles, an otherwise great book.

Kudos

Prayer for the Dead

James Oswald

(0 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Sunday Times bestseller Prayer for the Dead is the fifth novel in the bestselling Inspector McLean...

Into the Night

Sarah Bailey

8.5 (2 Ratings) Rate It

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After the shocking murder of a high-profile celebrity, Gemma Woodstock must pull back the layers of...

fiction series gemma woodstock

David McK (3692 KP) rated Guard Against Dishonour (Hawk & Fisher, #5) in Books

Jan 30, 2019

Pretty much the very definition of pulp fiction, this is the kind of story that you tend to forget as soon as you've read it! While also never confirmed within this (or, to the best of my knowledge, in any of the Hawk and Fisher books prior to 'Beyond the Blue Moon'), there are also some very broad hints dropped that these two characters are the same protaganists as in Simon Green's 'Blue Moon Rising' novel.

Essentially, these novels are crime novels with a magical twist - personally, I find done so much better by Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books featuring the City Watch. That's not to say these should be avoided: just don't go in with too high an expectation and you won't be disappointed!