‘Urge to Kill’ by J J Franklin

Published by Earth Tiger,
May 2013.
ISBN: 978-0-9571-9352-9

This is a psychological thriller which carries you along with its sense of urgency.    The events start slowly and separately but soon accelerate and begin to converge.  We have Detective Inspector Matt Turrell who returns from his honeymoon to deal with an incomprehensible murder in which the young female victim is dressed as a child.  We are privy from the beginning to some of the murderer's thoughts which explain to some extent the psychological basis for his actions.

Detective Inspector Turrell's new wife, Eppie, must settle into a new life while her husband is totally preoccupied by the mounting number of deaths.  The characters of the other members of the police team and of those on the periphery of the deaths are beautifully delineated so that the reader's concern for the victims is strengthened especially when their insight into the murderer's thoughts shows the possible dangers to those characters. The setting of the area around Stratford-upon-Avon gives an impression of that area's history.

There is a thrilling climax which ratchets up the tension to high levels.  All in all an enjoyable read.

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Reviewer: Jennifer S Palmer

This is a first book with more planned to feature DI Matt Turrell.

J J Franklin left school at fifteen with no qualifications, so a writing career seemed like an impossible dream for JJ Franklin, aka Bren Littlewood.  Then a powerful Los Angeles earthquake thrust her towards that dream. Thankful that she had survived, Bren decided to pursue her dream and enrolled in part time script writing courses at UCLA.  

Originating from England, Bren has had many jobs over the years. In Toronto, she worked at the Police Headquarters, training as a keypunch operator. This skill enabled her to work at MGM in Culver City, and she remembers the thrill of seeing Charlton Heston and Sammy Davis, Junior, whilst working there. Returning home to England, Bren’s first job was as a receptionist at the Hilton Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, before she applied for nurse training. She eventually gained a second qualification as a mental health nurse. Becoming a sister on the community directed her toward training in counselling, leading to a MA in Counselling from Warwick University. Bren believes it is this psychological background that informs her work.  Her first success as a writer was in writing murder mystery scripts for her own company. The Company provided murder mystery dinners and weekends all over the UK, even performing, on one occasion, on the Orient Express. Bren also co-wrote a murder mystery boxed game. Then Bren decided to renew her love of script and enrolled in a MA in Television writing at De Montfort University. From this experience, she wrote for the BBC, before writing her first novel, Urge to Kill, a psychological thriller. The novel is the first in a series and features British Detective Inspector Matt Turrell. She decided to write under her maiden name of Franklin, adding the initials of her Mom and Dad.  Bren lives in Stratford-upon-Avon with her cat, Ziggi, who rules the house.

http://www.bmlittlewood.com

Jennifer Palmer Throughout my reading life crime fiction has been a constant interest; I really enjoyed my 15 years as an expatriate in the Far East, the Netherlands & the USA but occasionally the solace of closing my door to the outside world and sitting reading was highly therapeutic. I now lecture to adults on historical topics including Famous Historical Mysteries.