Your Deepest Fear is the fourth in the thrilling Nathan Cody detective series by David Jackson.
This book sets the tone early on, opening with the discovery of gruesome murder. The police are shocked by the brutality involved, and as a result DS Cody is restricted from going near the crime scene. This is DS Cody’s first case since he returned to work following a disturbing child abduction case that he was instrumental in resolving (previous book). This harrowing case followed soon after a demanding under-cover case which left Cody physically and mentally damaged – the latter he has tried hard to hide from his colleagues, fearing it may have an impact on the job he loves. However, his boss DCI Stella Blunt can see through Cody’s attempts and has made appointments for him to see a police psychologist to rule out post-traumatic stress disorder. Until Cody is given the all clear she has insisted that he does not get involved with the physical crime scenes.
However, the murder case is soon pushed to the back of Cody’s mind as echoes from his past reappear when he is contacted by ‘Waldo’ - the person responsible for his torture, and the death of his under-cover colleague. Already struggling with his memories of recent cases, this new development soon has Cody struggling to keep a grip on reality.
At the same time, the police are struggling to make sense of the vicious murder case. The victim is a seemingly introverted IT expert, who has no enemies. However, his wife Sara is hiding something from the investigation; a final message from her husband which leads her to undertake her own investigation into her husband’s death, one that takes her deep into the criminal underworld.
This is a dark and thrilling tale which will keep readers on the edge of their seat throughout. It differs from the previous three books in that there is much less information about the formal investigation, so if you really enjoy police procedural driven plots, you may not appreciate this development in Cody’s story so much. Instead the book focuses on Sara’s investigation of her husband’s murder and also Cody’s increasing instability as he battles with the mind games posed by ‘Waldo’ his clown-masked torturer.
There are scenes of extreme violence, so beware if you are squeamish, and at times the plot gets really dark. However, if you are this far in the series you will know that Jackson does not shy away from the darker aspects of crime. Cody’s increasingly erratic behaviour also leads to a breakdown in his relationships with his colleagues. This contributes to the darkness of the book as in earlier books the light-hearted banter between Cody and his partner Megan, always served to lighten the mood. Having said that, Cody’s visit to a high class shoe shop as part of his investigations is hilarious.
Although aspects of this latest chapter in Cody’s career could be described as absurd, it still had me hooked from the get go.
This book sets the tone early on, opening with the discovery of gruesome murder. The police are shocked by the brutality involved, and as a result DS Cody is restricted from going near the crime scene. This is DS Cody’s first case since he returned to work following a disturbing child abduction case that he was instrumental in resolving (previous book). This harrowing case followed soon after a demanding under-cover case which left Cody physically and mentally damaged – the latter he has tried hard to hide from his colleagues, fearing it may have an impact on the job he loves. However, his boss DCI Stella Blunt can see through Cody’s attempts and has made appointments for him to see a police psychologist to rule out post-traumatic stress disorder. Until Cody is given the all clear she has insisted that he does not get involved with the physical crime scenes.
However, the murder case is soon pushed to the back of Cody’s mind as echoes from his past reappear when he is contacted by ‘Waldo’ - the person responsible for his torture, and the death of his under-cover colleague. Already struggling with his memories of recent cases, this new development soon has Cody struggling to keep a grip on reality.
At the same time, the police are struggling to make sense of the vicious murder case. The victim is a seemingly introverted IT expert, who has no enemies. However, his wife Sara is hiding something from the investigation; a final message from her husband which leads her to undertake her own investigation into her husband’s death, one that takes her deep into the criminal underworld.
This is a dark and thrilling tale which will keep readers on the edge of their seat throughout. It differs from the previous three books in that there is much less information about the formal investigation, so if you really enjoy police procedural driven plots, you may not appreciate this development in Cody’s story so much. Instead the book focuses on Sara’s investigation of her husband’s murder and also Cody’s increasing instability as he battles with the mind games posed by ‘Waldo’ his clown-masked torturer.
There are scenes of extreme violence, so beware if you are squeamish, and at times the plot gets really dark. However, if you are this far in the series you will know that Jackson does not shy away from the darker aspects of crime. Cody’s increasingly erratic behaviour also leads to a breakdown in his relationships with his colleagues. This contributes to the darkness of the book as in earlier books the light-hearted banter between Cody and his partner Megan, always served to lighten the mood. Having said that, Cody’s visit to a high class shoe shop as part of his investigations is hilarious.
Although aspects of this latest chapter in Cody’s career could be described as absurd, it still had me hooked from the get go.