I love a good police procedural, and this is a good police procedural!
This is a debut from Hannah Brennan, and marks what is (I presume) going to be a new detective series featuring Detective Liz Field.
In this book, Field is called in to investigate a brutal attack on a man who is stabbed multiple times and ends up with his life hanging in the balance. When a second attack happens with the same distinctive methods, Field has a murder investigation on her hands. Guided only by a page from an academic paper found with the victims, Field embarks on a race to understand the subjects of the paper a child psychologist’s study on his young patients with OCD. Field has to race against time to find the group of ex-patients, while also considering that one of them could be a killer…
The OCD element of the story is managed really well – the writer has personal experience of this and it shows in her careful treatment of the issue. Several of the characters who take turns narrating the story have OCD, and it is interesting that Brennan explores the different aspects for each character, such as agoraphobia, intrusive thoughts or fear of causing harm. This was an intriguing addition to the expected murder mystery, and something I’ve not seen so sensitively handled or so well integrated into the plot. before.
The other aspect of the book that I loved was Field herself. She’s an older character (in her fifties) and with a family connection to OCD herself, which makes this case more personal. I thought that the character was well developed, especially in her relationships with her son and her two (very competitive and warring) colleagues.
This was an enjoyable read with a bit more depth than some other books in this genre (not a criticism of other books – I love a mystery in pretty much any form!) because of the OCD element. I think that Field is an appealing central figure and look forward to more books in this series.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my review copy of this book. It publishes on 31st July, 2025.
Header photo by Marios Gkortsilas on Unsplash.
