DI Ellen Kelly has just returned to work after an incident in which she
shot the killer of her husband. Her
first case is high-profile: the abduction of a young girl. Her Family Liason Officer seems to be working
behind her back, her boss is determined to prove that the step-father was
responsible. Only Ellen sees a link
between this case and that of little Molly, whose tortured body was found three
years ago...
This story was told in the
third person, using a variety of viewpoints: Ellen herself, the abducted child,
the abductor, the child’s stepfather,
and the father of dead Molly. This was
clearly done, so that you were never confused by the switch of voice, and
moving from one person to another kept the tension up. It was even, glory be, in the past
tense. The plot is fast moving, with
plenty of incidents, and you get a real feel of a busy police-station handling
a difficult case. Ellen’s a lively
heroine, with a well-imagined Irish-London background, and readers will
sympathise with her work-family tensions.
The lightly-handled tentative romance, her dark past and her drink
problem, suggest the author’s looking at a series. I did feel a slight overload of back-story,
but that’s always a problem when an author’s establishing a new character,
especially one as complex as Ellen.
Overall, this was a
well-written example of the ‘girl in danger’ thriller, with the added twist of
the girl being a child. If you like
Nicci French, then here’s a new author for you to enjoy.
------
Reviewer: Marsali
Taylor

http://sheilabugler.co.uk/

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