Her Last Breath (The Tattoo Thief #2) by Alison Belsham
Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural, thriller
Read: 18th May 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 6th February 2020)
★★★★ 4 stars
The second in the Tattoo Thief series based in Brighton, HER LAST BREATH is a dark tale that is, in parts, gruesome (though not graphic) and is an addictive page turner. Featuring the young DI Francis Sullivan who, along with his own troubles, heads up a team of detectives hot on the trail of a sadistic serial killer.
Tash Brady is attacked on her way home from a nightclub after a tiff with her boyfriend Alex Mullins when she is attacked and left for dead. Found in the bandstand along Brighton beach the following morning after calling Alex for help, she is rushed to hospital where she dies just 24 hours later. The medical staff is at a loss as to what killed her as none of her wounds were life threatening and had been treated, yet she continued to get worse until she went into cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead shortly after. Tash's mother, who wasn't aware of her daughter's relationship with Alex, promptly points the finger at him claiming he killed her daughter and demanded he be arrested immediately.
With wounds of the stigmata on her hands and feet, a stab wound to her side, Tash had also been tattooed in Latin on her back. DI Sullivan recognised the words as being from a choral piece he'd sung in a choir as a boy. But what reference did it have to the case? And why was she given the stigmata and tattooed?
DI Sullivan and his team have no choice but to bring in Alex Mullins for questioning. He was closest to their victim and he had access to tattooing equipment with both his parents being tattooists. However, Sullivan has something of a personal stake in this suspect, for he knows the boy's mother Marni Mullins from the previous case involving the tattoo thief. The two had become close over the course of that investigation which came close to an affair, though nothing ever happened. Still, he didn't relish telling Marni that Alex had been brought in for questioning. Then a witness comes forth stating that Tash had confided in her that Alex once hit her...and with his other ties to the victim, he becomes prime suspect.
When the post mortem reveals that Tash died from poisoning in the tattoo ink inscribed on her back, Sullivan and his team are now looking for a murderer. And his DS is certain that Alex is their man. But despite the circumstantial evidence against Alex, Sullivan feels sure that he is not their killer.
Then another girl is found with identical wounds and another Latin tattooed inscribed on her back. This time in the aquarium where she was employed as a cleaner. Within hours, she dies. And her last text was sent to Alex Mullins. Two victims both known to their suspect. But this time, it is discovered that the second victim was having a relationship with her art tutor. And both women had at one time or another attended the Brighton Art College. Now they have two suspects. When a third woman turns up and dies shortly after, investigations are ramped up to discover a link between her and Alex. He says he doesn't know her but DS Rory Mackay, intent on proving that he is their killer, doesn't believe him. And Sullivan still has difficulty believing that he is.
With another woman gone missing, his team seemingly out of control and a DCI out to prove him incompetent, Sullivan finds himself face to face with the killer a too little close to home. Can he save this young woman's life before it's too late?
A cat and mouse tale that really doesn't get any more complex than this, HER LAST BREATH is a fast paced thriller with tension building throughout. It is certainly and adrenaline fuelled read that is so addictive you won't want to put it down until the very end.
The narrative flips between various characters - Sullivan, Rory, Marni, Alex, Angie (a DC), the various victims and a girl called Aimee whose story unfolds in the past, revealing a disturbing and horrific childhood. It all very cleverly tied together that comes together at the end.
Despite his troubled demeanour, I actually liked Francis Sullivan. And I don't usually like such flawed characters. I think maybe because he didn't seek his answers in a bottle, whereas most troubled police detectives do. He is trying to juggle his career with his personal life and do the right thing by everyone. I don't understand his interest in Marni, but then I haven't read the first book either.
While this is the second in the series and there are elements in this book that relate back to the first one, HER LAST BREATH can be read as a standalone, just as I have. And despite not having read "The Tattoo Thief", I am interested to see where the author will take us next.
I would like to thank #AlisonBelsham, #NetGalley and #OrionPublishingGroup and #Trapeze for an ARC of #HerLastBreath in exchange for an honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment