An Eye for An Eye (DI Kate Young #1) by Carol Wyer
Genre: Crime fiction, Police procedural, Suspense
Read: 13th February 2021
Published: 1st February 2021
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
A killer running rings around the police. A detective spiralling out of control.
DI Kate Young is on leave. She’s the force’s best detective, but her bosses know she’s under pressure, on medication and overcoming trauma. So after her bad judgement call leads to a narrowly averted public disaster, they’re sure all she needs is a rest.
But when Staffordshire Police summon her back to work on a murder case, it’s a harder, more suspicious Kate Young who returns. With a new ruthlessness, she sets about tracking down a clinical, calculating serial killer who is torturing victims and leaving clues to taunt the police. Spurred on by her reporter husband, Young begins to suspect that the murderer might be closer than she ever imagined.
As she works to uncover the truth, Young unravels a network of secrets and lies, with even those closest to her having something to hide. But with her own competence—and her grip on reality—called into question, can she unmask the killer before they strike again?
MY REVIEW:
An apple a day keeps the doctor away...but in this case...not the killer! I will never look at an apple in the same way again.
I am huge fan of Carol's crime novels so when she tweeted that a new detective was in our midst, I kept my eyes peeled for its release...or an ARC. As luck would have it, I purchased it as one of Amazon's First Reads last month but then also got it via Netgalley so as to leave a review there. Carol is one of my favourite writers. She keeps readers on their toes from start to finish...and she's a lot of fun to chat to as well!
When I came to the end of this book last night, two words entered my mind...OMG!! WOW!! And then I tweeted Carol to find out when the follow up was due out so I could continue the journey. AN EYE FOR AN EYE starts off with a bang in more ways than one before petering out to build the bigger picture...which incidentally, doesn't become clear till towards the end. But it still makes for gripping reading that I couldn't put down and read long into the night.
We meet DI Kate Young on the brink after suffering a massively traumatic incident. She is then given enforced leave on compassionate grounds despite wanting to continue to work. A determined, tough but broken woman, Kate is feisty when she needs to be but at the present time is still piecing her life back together. She introduces us to her husband Chris, a journalist, whom she met after a car accident. And it is apparent through their conversations that he is the glue that holds her together when she needs it.
Then just three months after being given leave, Kate's friend and mentor DCI William Chase knocks on her door to tell her that she has been specifically requested to head up a murder investigation by the Superintendent, with a team of her choosing. Accompanied by DS Morgan Meredith and DS Emma Donaldson, Kate and her team are tasked with investigating the murder of prominent businessman Alex Corby, who incidentally happens to be well acquainted with the Super. Leaving no stone unturned, and trusting no one but Chris and her team, Kate sets out to uncover the truth behind the grisly murder.
And then another body is discovered. This time by Kate herself! Ian Wentworth was a eminent ENT surgeon and friend of Alex Corby, and therefore Superintendent John Dickson by default. When he discovered a glass jar containing an eye at his holiday cottage in the Peak District he called the police. But it wasn't until he returned to home to his penthouse back in Staffordshire that he realised its significance...too late.
Enquiries lead Kate to the Maddox Club, an exclusive men's club, where Ian Wentworth and Alex Corby were members. But what secrets does this club hold? Or more importantly, the manager who has been with the club since it began in 2008? Kate is sure he is lying to her but has nothing but her gut instinct to prove it. As both men were known to her Super, she knew she must question him but DCI Chase was keeping him well away from the spotlight. Why is that?
Her trusted team of two, DS' Meredith and Donaldson, were tasked with tracking down a missing witness and searching Wentworth's holiday cottage respectively. But it was what they would find out from the witness and discover at the cottage that would blow everything wide open. But...they had to find a way to tell Kate.
Despite respecting their superior, Morgan and Emma were worried about Kate's mental state. She was often seen mumbling to herself and popping pills on the sly. Was Kate up to seeing this investigation through? And not only that, was she up to facing the truth that it would reveal?
WOW! The thrill ride Carol takes the reader on throughout AN EYE FOR AN EYE is adrenaline-pumping and addictive as you swipe the pages faster and faster in an attempt to get to the truth. All the while, playing detective and picking up on the subtle clues she has peppered throughout the story. I get a real satisfaction when my theory/theories are proved right and I have unmasked the killer before the team has. In this case, I'd even linked the events and certain people to prove my theory. I even tweeted Carol privately whilst reading and working it all out, detailing my entire thought process and theories to her, knowing full well she wouldn't tell me if I was right or wrong...but I was bursting with the knowledge so I told her anyway. It wasn't until I had finished that she congratulated me on picking up on all the subtle clues.
But I digress...
While AN EYE FOR AN EYE starts off with a bang, it does slow down a little as Kate wrestles with her past trauma. Excerpts from that trauma are played out throughout the story and at first I pondered their relevance, but through them it does serve as a background to Kate's story and to understand her mental state. I did find the build a little slow after the bang of the prologue, but then it all started to come together and I began playing detective to see if I couldn't get to the truth before Kate did.
I love how we're not told what really happened to Kate, allowing us as readers to form our own theories, as the pieces were slowly put together. There were times even I questioned Kate's competence! But I knew Carol would have something up her sleeve to pull out on us midway and turn everything on its head. And she did. But I'd already figured that part out long before it was presented to us.
And then when the investigation came to an end, when all was said and done, Kate had one more task left to do. And in doing so, she opens up something that she cannot unsee or believe. Carol has left readers hanging for the follow up "A Cut for a Cut" (to be published 24th June) and I cannot wait to delve into. The question is, will Kate be strong enough to face this next challenge? Because it will force her to question everything she has ever known.
I wasn't sure if I liked Kate in the beginning, probably because I loved DI Natalie Ward so much in Carol's previous series. But Kate is a lot different to Natalie, who was resolutely tough. Kate is tough too but she is also incredibly fragile. And I think her mental health issues helped make her a more sympathetic character. She could have been an obnoxious bitch alienating her colleagues, but despite her problems she was always professional and treated everyone - colleagues and witnesses, even suspects - with respect. I think I am going to like Kate and look forward to getting to know her and her team better.
A fast paced story once it got going, AN EYE FOR AN EYE is compelling, addictive and will keep you glued to the pages until you have it figured out. A fantastic start to what promised to be an exciting new series.
I don't generally like cliffhangers, but the one we are given at the end this book promises more intriguing tales to come for Kate and her team.
A well worth 5 star read. Recommended for fans of crime fiction with an edge.
I would like to thank #CarolWyer, #NetGalley, #AmazonPub and #ThomasAndMercer for an ARC of #AnEyeForAnEye in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
A move from humour to the 'dark side' in 2017, saw the introduction of popular DI Robyn Carter in Little Girl Lost and demonstrated that stand-up comedian Carol, had found her true niche.
To date, her crime novels have sold over 800,000 copies and been translated for various overseas markets.
The much-anticipated new series, featuring DI Kate Young, was published on 1st February 2021 with the first novel, An Eye For An Eye, and a second, A Cut for a Cut, to be published on 24th June 2021.
Carol has been interviewed on numerous radio shows discussing ''Irritable Male Syndrome' and 'Ageing Disgracefully' and on BBC Breakfast television. She has had articles published in national magazines 'Woman's Weekly', featured in 'Take A Break', 'Choice', 'Yours' and 'Woman's Own' magazines and the Huffington Post.
She currently lives on a windy hill in rural Staffordshire with her husband Mr Grumpy... who is very, very grumpy.
When she is not plotting devious murders, she can be found performing her comedy routine, Smile While You Still Have Teeth.
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