‘When the body of a man is discovered in woodlands outside Manchester, a ten-year missing-persons investigation can finally be filed away. But this was no ordinary death: gagged, bound and buried alive, he was the victim of a sophisticated and sadistic killer. And there is something else that has the National Crime Agency puzzled. A single character carved into a nearby tree.
Newly promoted to the NCA’s Behavioural Sciences Unit, Senior Investigator Joanne Stuart is determined to hunt down the perpetrator. Just as Jo’s investigation begins to reveal links with other disappearances, there is another murder. This is no longer a cold case; she is dealing with the escalating violence of a chilling serial killer.
Stepping into a sinister world of secrets, symbols and rituals, Jo will have to confront the legacy of her own past and the violent memories that lurk there if she is going to solve this case. But at what cost?’
Blurb from the 2016 Thomas and Mercer Edition
There was a point within the first couple of chapters where I was planning to give up, and that is where the problem lies. There is the murderous prologue where a seemingly very ordinary man is kidnapped and buried alive. Ten years later Joanne Stuart is promoted to the post of Senior Investigator in the National Crime Agency’s Behavioural Science Unit. Our introduction to the NCA is problematic simply because we are introduced to about four characters immediately, as well as Joanne’s terminally tedious girlfriend, Abbie. I know this a spoiler but Abbie eventually gets vexed and walks out and good riddance to her. I’m not sure why Abbie was there in the first place since there is nothing likeable about her, and for the reader to care about her, there needs to be something engaging there. All Abbie has is the literary equivalent of a post-it on her head that says ‘Needy Nurse’. ‘Bye Abbie!
I should also take into account that this is the first in a spin-off series from another set of books and fans may be familiar with at least the main character, but even so, we could have done with a beginning that was a little more invigorating.
Having said all that, when long dead Mr Deighton from the prologue is dug up, the case becomes Joanne’s and things get far more interesting. SI Stuart, as she asks to be called, is somewhat cold, but has a past that may explain her behaviour. Her relationship with her team (and her Charlies Angels type boss, who likes to be called ‘boss’) settles into something very readable and the research and investigation (which involves treading on the toes of the main police force) is expertly handled. It’s a case which opens up into that of a serial killer preying on Freemasons, but who the killer is and what their motivation might be proves a tough nut to crack.
I was won over once the plot kicked in and Abbie flounced off on in a huff with her nurses uniform and her vegetarian lasagne recipe slung over her shoulder.
I’ll give the next one a go, with my fingers crossed that she’s not coming back. SI Stuart can do much better than that.
Bodies In The Library 