REVIEW: She by Pete Brassett

She (DI Munro & DS West) by Pete Brassett

Genre: Psychological thriller, Mystery, Crime Fiction

Read: 11th August 2018

Goodreads

Purchase: Amazon

★★★★ 4 stars

SHE is the first in the DI Munro and DS West series and takes place in London as opposed to the following books as I understand them to be set in Scotland. I came across SHE quite some time ago and only now decided to give it a go.

From the get go, SHE begins in the first person by an unknown narrator, possibly male judging by his perspective, as he recounts his meeting with a somewhat strange young woman, before moving on to his thoughts on "Who is SHE?" and "Did I know what SHE had done?" and so forth. It is very cleverly told with every second chapter devoted to the unknown narrator and every alternate chapter recounting the procedural side of the investigation into what was first reported as a "missing person". Upon searching the missing man's residence, with some clever detecting a body is found and the case soon becomes a murder investigation.

It soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary killer and the race is on as Munro and West must act fast to trace a woman seen observed at the scene of the crime. Yet uncovering her just who she is, as well as finding her, proves to be no easy task.

There was an element of DEXTER to this serial killer tale, what with all the slicing and dicing and dispersing the various body parts into separate packages. The difference here being that SHE is the serial killer. But just who is SHE? The investigation brings up several young women attached to the case somehow but just how are they involved? And what part do they play? Are any of them the one we know only as SHE?

DI Munro is a Scottish policeman who was on the verge of retirement when his wife was tragically killed. So in an attempt to escape the ghosts that haunted him, he upped sticks and moved south to London. In his somewhat witty banter with DS West - Charlie as he decided to call her - it was revealed that she chose this new post as "no one else wanted to work with Taggart". It seems his reputation preceeded him, as well as his somewhat gruff nature which no one else wanted to be on the receiving end. However, Munro and West work really well together, and as it was revealed at the end that Munro decided it was time for him to return home to his native Scotland I had wondered where that would leave West. But it appears she is called upon and heads north herself to continue the partnership.

I loved Munro and warmed to him from the beginning. I love his witty nature and the somewhat humourous conversations shared with West, who oftentimes took him far too literally. I can't wait to get to know him more and follow his future exploits. I wasn't overly keen on West, as she seemed far too quick to jump into bed with the nearest male with a pulse! Every morning she awakes to a new sleeping body in her bed, and her partiality to gin or anything remotely alcoholic doesn't do anything to endear her to me. I look forward to seeing Munro knocking her into shape and do something to earn her rank of Detective Sergeant.

SHE is a unique take on any murder mystery I've ever read with an edgy undertone that kept me turning the pages (or rather tapping them on my Kindle) late into the night. A fairly easy read that I devoured in two sittings. While I figured out who was who and who was SHE about halfway through, the ending throws us a twist that I didn't see coming and left me pondering. Definitely recommend!