Crime Fiction – Izzy Reads

Two new titles featuring DI Callanach and DCI Turner

Helen Fields has recently added two new titles to her Scotland-based police procedural series that began with Perfect Remains and continued with Perfect Prey and Perfect Death.

Perfect Silence gets off to a gruesome start. When the body of a young girl is found, pathologists are called in and discover that a doll has been carved from the victim’s skin. Soon, another victim is found and it looks like there will be more unless DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach can get to the bottom of what is going on.

Perfect Silence is the fourth title in the Helen Fields Scotland-based police procedural series. Hot on its heels comes the fifth, Perfect Crime which opens with a 30-something year-old man about to jump off a bridge. Stephen Berry is talked down by suicide prevention counsellor Rune McClure but within days Stephen is found dead, having apparently fallen from a castle at the top of a cliff. Before long, DI Luc Callanach and DCI Ava Turner are on the case, trying to discover whether the death was suicide or something more sinister. When further apparent suicides follow, things begin to look very murky.

What I liked most about Perfect Crime is how Helen Fields is developing the characters of some of the police officers that Callanach and Turner work — Lively, Overbeck and Tripp in particular. The relationship between Callanach and Turner also moves forward in Perfect Crime although perhaps not in an entirely believable way. I thought there was perhaps too much crammed into the ending of Perfect Crime and that it took away from what was otherwise a good read. Nevertheless, I’m looking forward to the next instalment in this series.

[Disclosure: I read an advance copy of Perfect Crime via Netgalley]

Chaos by Patricia Cornwell | Slow-moving Scarpetta investigation

Chaos opens on a hot summer evening in Cambridge, Massachusetts with Dr. Kay Scarpetta on her way to meet her husband FBI agent Benton Wesley for dinner. Before they get a chance to eat, however, Scarpetta and her investigative partner Pete Marino have to respond to a call about a young woman cyclist who has been attacked.

But even before they are officially notified about the case, Marino and Benton receive suspicious calls, allegedly from someone at Interpol who already knows what has happened. Then it emerges that the attack may be linked to threatening messages Scarpetta has been receiving by email.

This is a slow moving novel, particularly in the early chapters. It picks up after a while but, for me at least, it’s not one of the better novels in the Scarpetta series.

Perfect Death – the third title in Helen Fields DI Callanach series

If you are a fan of police procedurals, keep an eye out for the third title in Helen Fields DI Callanach series. Due out out this month (January 2018), Perfect Death follows on Perfect Remains and Perfect Prey.

Perfect Death DI Callanach series Callanach is a French-Scottish fictional detective. Along with his colleagues DCI Ava Turner and DS Lively, he investigates crime, corruption and murder in and around Edinburgh. I like the fast pace and interplay of characters in these novels. They are gritty, but there is also humour and the plots are strong.

In Perfect Death – the third title in Helen Fields DI Callanach series, a serial killer is on the loose in Edinburgh. The killer selects his victims carefully, building close relationships with them before subjecting them to death by poison. His motivation is enjoyment of the grief experienced by those closest to his victims.

A lot to like

There’s a lot to like about Perfect Death. The pace is fast and the characters, including minor characters, are well drawn. There are nice references back to the earlier titles in the series. There is also good development of the relationships between the main characters.

As well as the main plot which features the murders, there are several subplots. The most important of these involves police corruption. At times, this reminded me of the BBC Line of Duty series.

Another subplot concerns Callanach’s troubled relationship with his French mother. We are given more insight into why their relationship broke down. Thanks to Turner’s intervention, there are hopeful signs it may improve in future. If this comes to pass, it will benefit Callanach’s personal life.

I enjoyed the grit and humour in the evolving relationship between Callanach and DS Lively. There is also a nice undercurrent of romance between Callanach and Turner.

Perfect Death by Helen Fields is published by Avon Books.

[Disclosure: I read an advance copy via Netgalley.com]