Perfect Death

My rating: * * *

Goodreads Description

There’s no easy way to die…

Unknown to DI Luc Callanach and the newly promoted DCI Ava Turner, a serial killer has Edinburgh firmly in his grip. The killer is taking his victims in the coldest, most calculating way possible – engineering slow and painful deaths by poison, with his victims entirely unaware of the drugs flooding their bloodstream until it’s too late.

But how do you catch a killer who hides in the shadows? A killer whose pleasure comes from watching pain from afar? Faced with their most difficult case yet, Callanach and Turner soon realise they face a seemingly impossible task…

My Review

What I liked

* A very different type of serial killer is on the loose - one that gets a kick out of watching the pain and grief of the survivors, of the victim's family and friends. This was quite a unique approach and I enjoyed it.

* The plot involved two separate cases and different officers were working on each case. This felt like two stories in one, which I actually liked as there were different stories to hold my interest.

* This book raised the interesting topic of nature vs nurture, which is a topic that I've always been interested in, and which often raises its head when we come to assessing serial killers and their evil deeds. Can events in our childhood influence who we become? I don't necessarily think so, but it's always an interesting debate nonetheless.

What I didn't like

* This is the third book in the series and I've read all of them. I think that I may be getting a little tired of the series as I didn't find this one as gripping or face paced as the first two.

* Ava Turner - I really don't think I like her very much. I find her interactions with Luc very strange indeed and she blows hot-and-cold. That is a character trait that I don't like in real life and so it follows that I don't like it in fictional characters. She's not doing much to make me like her.

* Considering all the rave reviews this book gets, it may just be me, but I found some of the dialogue to be a little forced and stodgy, especially Ava Turner's dialogue.

* Although this book is about a serial killer, it wasn't quite as dark and gruesome as I would have liked. It's a very mild serial killer tale.

Final thoughts

If you enjoyed the first two installments in the series, then I'm sure you'll enjoy this one. The plot was good, and if you've already formed a bond with the characters, then you'll be interested to see how things have progressed. This book definitely isn't as fast paced as the first two, but it's a solid read nevertheless.

My Rating: * * *

Publication Date: April 2018 (South Africa)

Genre: Crime Fiction / Police Procedural

Format: Trade Paperback

Source: Review copy received from the publisher. Many thanks to author, Helen Fields and Jonathan Ball SA for my copy. It was my pleasure to read and review this title.