Although identified as a crime thriller, this is so much more than that. This narrative speaks of bonds, whether familial or otherwise, and the connections between people that allow for secrets even kept from ourselves.
What it's about: There is a serial killer afoot in Manchester. He (or she) pushes unwitting males into the canal. There have been 12 such deaths over the last six years. DS Carrie Flynn and her partner, DC Paul Harper, have the notion that the original "Pusher" has been replaced by a new killer as the victimology has changed. They are getting nowhere when Emma's son, Jordan, goes missing. Although he appears to be another victim of "the Pusher", his body is not recovered. His mother, Emma, and her best friend and next door neighbor, Jade, walk the canals and are desperate to find his body. But the two women are holding some very close secrets and the police cannot penetrate their silence nor find any clues to solve the crime. Bit by bit the revelations come and it is obvious that no one really knew Jordan at all. NO SPOILERS
Why you should read it: This is a most unusual police procedural as the titular main character of DS Carrie Flynn does not have the most major role in the book. Emma and Jade are the focus of the story and their relationship with Jordan propels the plot. I am not sure who Carrie is really or what she's about but I understand that something bad happened to her that has affected her life. I'd definitely like to have future books in this series focus more on her and less on other characters as she's an enigma and virtually unknown at this point. Although the narrative meanders and the clues are dropped at specific points, I knew where this was going long before the big reveal. That wasn't a problem for me in that I enjoy seeing how the author reaches the conclusion. All in all, though, I found this to be a very sad story and I felt quite a bit of empathy for their loss in that mothers tend to see the best in their children while ignoring the serious red flags. "Take the blinders off!" I yelled to no avail. I'm wondering where this series will go next and definitely want to read the next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for this e-book ARC to read and review.
Note: Despite the synopsis given, there is really NOTHING in this book about the disappearance of Carrie's sister or anything from her past.
This is the first in a new series.
Genre -- police procedural but also psychological thriller
No comments:
Post a Comment