Having read ‘Ragdoll’, I thought I knew what to expect of Daniel Cole’s books – and I went into this anticipating something twisty, gruesome and fast-paced. I wasn’t disappointed!
In this book, Detective Scarlett Delaney is on the trail of the killer they call ‘The Jackdaw’ – a murderer who seems to commit impossible crimes and then disappear with a sparkly memento. Delaney is a maverick and finds herself in a tricky situation with the charming Harry Devlin, a deadly criminal himself. The pair join forces to track down the Jackdaw, but it’s a dangerous and volatile pairing that puts them in danger. Can Scarlett really trust her attractive partner or is she unwittingly exposing herself to his lethal underworld bosses?
Like the previous books, this is high-concept and cleverly put together. It is genuinely so fast-paced that I couldn’t put it down as I reeled from one twist to the next. I loved how the impossible murders were staged – there are some mind-boggling tricks going on here but I didn’t pause long enough to question the credibility of the events. This is a book that won’t let you go until you’ve reached the final pages!
The only aspect that I found a bit harder to get on board with was the way that Detective Delaney was seemingly left to her own devices, despite being new to the police. It seemed that she blithely walked into some horrendous situations – of course it’s a trap! – and did some things that probably aren’t in any police code of conduct! I liked that she was independent, but I did wonder at the police force who didn’t ever seem to know where she was or that she was crossing lines into illegality with ease.
Morality aside (this is a whole book of grey areas), this is a fun and lively thriller with some very clever elements. I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend it to fans of high-concept thrillers such as M. W. Craven’s ‘Fearless’ or the excellent M. J. Arlidge series of police procedurals.
Thanks to NetGalley for my copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
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Header photo by Valentin Petkov on Unsplash
