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I liked parts of this book very much. I could see every scene clearly in my mind, so I got a free trip to Scotland, and England too. For me that's worth the time it took to read right there.

The detective had a good back story, but her frequent idiotic choices were annoying to me. "Gee, I don't know this scruffy dude who is a murder suspect, but, sure, I'll ride with him and go to visit his druggy friend's tumbledown house. What could go wrong?" Etc.

The plot, in some ways, ended up not making much sense--okay, so this is how they do this to the bodies, but the reason why is never really explained. It seems a rather long and risky process for so little reward. I mean, as far as we know every single body has still been identified afterward.

Our heroine proves to be far too difficult to kill to be a normal human being, so I am assuming she is one of Rasputin's long lost relatives or something. And yet, despite being unkillable, she still is unable to rescue herself and needs the cavalry, which did at least come in an unexpected form.

The religious cult was more of a plot device than anything else, and as a doll collector and maker I found it annoying that there was never a nice clear description of even one of their dolls! Not to mention no reference to their actual religious beliefs. Apparently they believe in seclusion and *SPOILERS* and.....? What are the chants even about? We are given no words or summaries.

Despite all of this and more, I could hardly put this book down, but when I finished it I gave my unfortunate, nearby relatives a lecture on what I will do differently when I write my own mystery novel. I actually would read another book by this same author, because I did feel there was a lot of promise in the writing and detective, but if another proved to be equally annoying, I would not try any more.
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aurelas | 1 weitere Rezension | Dec 23, 2016 |
This is the first novel for years where I’ve needed to exchange sleep for a denouement. The book starts off mundanely enough. PI Annie Raymond, now part of a big operation in London, is embroiled in a long-term on-off surveillance of a man whose wife believes he’s playing away. Annie thinks the woman is paranoid, until in York her surveillance intersects that of a police team’s.

DS Webber is leading an enquiry into a child’s murder which might have connections to an investigation in Switzerland, and when the PI’s interest comes to light he fears for the integrity of his operation.

These two are no cinematic lone-wolves where the world stops for a single investigation. The author’s understanding of the minutiae of both police work and private investigation – and the strict legal boundaries both work within – is credibly conveyed on the page. Webber, a married man with a roving eye, is juggling budget cuts and manpower problems, working across force areas and liaising both up the command structure and internationally. Could the killing – or is it killings? – be linked to an old case that left his former boss in mental tatters? Annie Raymond is more than happy to back out of his arena, but while finalising her paperwork she realises a single piece of information is incorrect, and Webber needs to be made aware. In doing so she precipitates the infiltrating of her firm’s digital records. It seems her mark isn’t the only one under surveillance.

If you enjoy the complexities of Scandinavian Noir, you’ll enjoy getting your teeth into this. Just ensure you have time available, because once the myriad shards start to fall into place...
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LindaAcaster | Mar 13, 2015 |
I needed to keep a weathered eye on the insignificant while engrossed in this novel. Trivialities which seemed to be mentioned just to add depth to the world the irrepressible Annie Raymond inhabits took on major importance as the plot-threads wove tight enough for a ligature. And none of it was contrived or coincidence.

It's good to see supporting characters from the previous novels continue, not just as rounded people, but as people who are, like Annie, moving on in their fictional lives off the page. I ended feeling quite disconsolate about Scott, Annie's on-off love interest, so desperate to set roots he's got himself involved with someone who's plainly not going to make him happy - which says much for the high level of characterisation endemic in this series. An engrossing read highly recommended. I look forward to the next one.… (mehr)
 
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LindaAcaster | Mar 8, 2015 |
Awaiting insurance clearance from an injury, Annie Raymond, PI, is dragged up to Yorkshire from an operation turning sour in London. The Thompson sisters, owners of the first agency Annie worked for, have requested her assistance and paid her company a hefty sweetner - except they didn't request her or pay the upfront fee, Vince Sleeman did, or so the paperwork purports, and who believes that? Sleeman might be distantly related to the Thompsons but his path wanders way beyond the Law, and he hates Annie's guts for highlighting his endeavors years before. Besides, he's in a hospital bed too ill to even hold a pen. Yet something's going on that the sisters are keeping close. And what about Sleeman's nephew, Carl? Is he as dozy as he was eight years previously, or is he flexing his muscles and using Annie to engineer a family coup?

Add in horse boxes, drugged children and a false trail a mile wide, and despite wanting to leave the tetchy family to its own devices, Annie has to pick her way through a minefield of internecine double-dealing to protect a lone figure stranded in a strange land.

This fast-moving story starts as a myriad of seemingly unrelated incidents, but as the novel progresses red herrings turn into sharks to metamorphose into piranhas. Don't blink or you'll miss something vital. This complex story will keep you guessing until the end. More than worth the read.
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LindaAcaster | Mar 8, 2015 |

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