‘The Art of Death’ by David Fennell

Happy publication day to this debut novel from David Fennell!

I was in the mood for a fast-paced, tense book to break a bit of a reading slump – and this book hit the spot perfectly!

The story opens with a gruesome and shocking scene: an art installation in Trafalgar Square contains the bodies of three homeless men. DI Grace Archer, newly promoted and in an awkward situation in regards to her new team, is called to the scene and embarks on a dangerous and difficult search for a serial killer who plans more ‘art’ pieces.

There was lots I liked about this book – it was well-plotted and very tense. It certainly kept me reading as I really wanted to know how it would all pan out! I also really liked DI Grace Archer – she was tough but also realistic and it was good to see her gain control of her tricky work situation. I thought that the idea of the killer as an artist was interesting too – although the reality of the art works was rather stomach-churning!

Overall, this is a lively and pacey crime story as Grace Archer and her team race to unmask a serial killer operating openly on the streets of London. This is a confident debut and I hope that there will be more books featuring DI Archer in the future – I’d certainly like to read more.

Header photo with thanks to Kira auf der Heide on Unsplash.