David Fennell is a debut author who has written a crime thriller with a deranged, unique serial killer, the likes I hadn’t seen before.
An underground and anonymous artist leaves three glass cabinets in Trafalgar Square that contain a gruesome installation - the corpses of three homeless men. With more artistry exhibited, newly-promoted Detective Inspector Grace Archer and her Detective Sergeant Harry Quinn, they must follow the clues to stop the elusive killer before more bodies are discovered. With live streams of the victims ‘art’ being shown on social media, it becomes a desperate search against time. However, Archer realises the killer could be more interested in her and she may well be the masterpiece of his final show.
If you are new to crime thrillers “The Art of Death” is a reasonable read with plenty of gory murders and action to keep the reader on a thrilling ride. However, to the seasoned crime devotee, this as a police procedural is a little suspect and I found a lot of inconsistencies and implausible logistics. If you’re prepared to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the murderous journey, it is a very entertaining read. DI Archer’s character is quite an enigma with a backstory that is rather complex and full on. This does add character to her persona but it is far from a realistic life story. Once again, the premise of the story will have you checking your online securities, as many other books have highlighted recently.
Depending how you read this, you may well find this story creepy and intense, with an ending that’s exciting and fast paced. I like my crime thrillers to be a bit more intelligently plotted but I still enjoyed it and would probably read more in the DI Grace Archer series in the future.
3 stars
An underground and anonymous artist leaves three glass cabinets in Trafalgar Square that contain a gruesome installation - the corpses of three homeless men. With more artistry exhibited, newly-promoted Detective Inspector Grace Archer and her Detective Sergeant Harry Quinn, they must follow the clues to stop the elusive killer before more bodies are discovered. With live streams of the victims ‘art’ being shown on social media, it becomes a desperate search against time. However, Archer realises the killer could be more interested in her and she may well be the masterpiece of his final show.
If you are new to crime thrillers “The Art of Death” is a reasonable read with plenty of gory murders and action to keep the reader on a thrilling ride. However, to the seasoned crime devotee, this as a police procedural is a little suspect and I found a lot of inconsistencies and implausible logistics. If you’re prepared to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the murderous journey, it is a very entertaining read. DI Archer’s character is quite an enigma with a backstory that is rather complex and full on. This does add character to her persona but it is far from a realistic life story. Once again, the premise of the story will have you checking your online securities, as many other books have highlighted recently.
Depending how you read this, you may well find this story creepy and intense, with an ending that’s exciting and fast paced. I like my crime thrillers to be a bit more intelligently plotted but I still enjoyed it and would probably read more in the DI Grace Archer series in the future.
3 stars