If Looks Could Kill (DCS Frankie Sheehan #3) by Olivia Kiernan
Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural
Read: 19th July 2020
(publication date: 23rd July 2020)
★★★★ 3.5 stars (rounded up)
When I requested this book I had no idea it was part of a series, and I do prefer to read them in order if possible. It felt as though I may have missed something by coming in on the third book and I was somewhat puzzled with its introduction although that is cleared up further into the story. Still, I felt as though I was missing something.
IF LOOKS COULD KILL opens with a very dramatic scene in a park in Dublin as a man places a gun to his temple in full view of all around and pulls the trigger. Several weeks later, Detective Chief Superintendant Frankie Sheehan and DS Baz Harwood are on their way to rural Wicklow to investigate the disappearance of Debbie Nugent.
A bloody scene greets them in Debbie's home with the living room covered in blood, and yet there is no body. Judging by the amount of blood, Frankie suspects that the woman almost certainly dead but the behaviour of her daughter is even more puzzling. Margot has been living in the house amidst the scene for three days, having not reported her mother missing until after her sister Kristen arrives from France. And even then, it is her boyfriend David Sutton who calls it in.
Frankie launches an investigation into Debbie's life but before long discovers that the woman kept to herself and practically lived off the grid. She had no mobile phone, no internet and no real contact with the outside world but for her job at the garden centre and her weekly trips to Dublin.
Believing Debbie to be almost certainly dead, Frankie organises a search team of volunteers to work alongside the Gardai to scour to woodlands near Debbie's home, in the hope of uncovering her remains. Meanwhile, Frankie and Baz question friends, neighbours and Debbie's two daughters. But as they question them over the coming days, it soon becomes clear that something strange surrounds the Nugent house.
As the team delve deeper, it is revealed the case has links to something darker and leads them into very dangerous territory.
Somewhat slow to begin with, I wasn't sure which direction the story was taking at first. The crime and the story appeared to be predictable with a hint of something untoward. As the story unfolded, it soon became clear that there was something else at play though I didn't expect it to take the turn it did.
An intruiging plot, IF LOOKS COULD KILL had plenty of twists filled with contradictions as the mystery continued to deepen. The pace picked up about 40% into the story which resulted in a compelling read. It's only as you near the end that the opening Prologue suddenly falls into place, giving it an interesting twist.
Told solely from Frankie's first person perspective, with the exception of the Prologue, IF LOOKS COULD KILL is certainly an interesting read and by the end I was congratulating the author that I had started out cursing for the slow beginning.
I liked both Frankie and Baz, who clearly work well together. The two complement each other and is far more enjoyable to read than the angst between partners and ranks found in other novels. I even liked the gruff Jack Clancy, assistant commissioner. Whilst the crime is a puzzling one for the team, when the direction changed I became suspicious of exactly who might be involved and correctly guessed two of the big reveals. But that doesn't spoil my enjoyment of a book. I love trying to work out "whodunnit" and quietly congratulate myself when I get it right. It's like a goal I set myself in trying to work it out...lol
Olivia Kiernan is not an author I have heard of before and I will be interested to read her other books in the Frankie Sheehan series. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, considering I was disappointed with the start and found it slow and ungripping at that stage. However, that all changed and it ended up being a compelling crime thriller that kept both Frankie and the reader on their toes.
IF LOOKS COULD KILL is perfect for fans who like their crime thrillers with a twist.
I would like to thank #OliviaKiernan, #NetGalley and #Quercus for an ARC of #IfLooksCouldKill in exchange for an honest review.
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