The Cop by John Nicholl
Genre: Psychological thriller, Suspense
Read: 24th December 2022
Published: 13th December 2022
★★★★★ 4.5 stars (rounded up)
DESCRIPTION:
Kathy thought she’d met her soulmate. But Police Inspector Michael Conner’s behavior changes on the day of their wedding. Showing his true colors for the first time, Conner becomes increasingly manipulative, controlling, and cruel as the months pass.
When Kathy tries to escape, Conner does his best to convince everyone that she is mentally ill. But Anna, Kathy’s identical twin sister, doesn’t believe it. After a tragic event, Kathy decides enough is enough and elicits Anna’s help to rid herself of Conner for good.
But will Conner simply let Kathy walk away, or have the sisters bitten off more than they can chew?
MY THOUGHTS:
Oh wow! I thought "The Student" was an uncomfortable read but it has nothing on THE COP! True to form, Nicholl wastes no time in plunging the reader straight into a confronting first chapter which only got worse as the story unfolded. The subject matter is dark and is certainly uncomfortable to read with plenty of trigger warnings for those who have suffered domestic violence. Nicholl's villain is a vile hateful character that makes your blood boil with every word that spews out of his mouth. He has an innate knack of creating the types of characters that really get under my skin more than anyone else ever has...which speaks to his skillful writing and unique style.
Kathy Conner thought she had married that man of her dreams but instead what she got was her worst nightmare. Her husband Michael Conner, a police inspector no less, is a bully who has broken his wife down little by little over the half a dozen years in which they've been married. He controls her every movement, she has no friends, he has separated her from her family and everything she does must meet his high expectations and standards...but then, they never do anyway...even when they do. He belittles her, abuses her, beats her, dehumanises her and laughs at her every misfortune by his hand. She is trapped with no way out for Conner has ensured that no one will believe her should she call for help. After all, he's the respected police detective and she is just a silly woman with mental problems.
Conner uses cruel and manipulative measures to control Kathy so that she will never leave...to be at his mercy forever. He owns her. And when she tries to escape, he convinces everyone that she is mentally ill, crying tears that have his colleagues and neighbours eating out of his hand. Even her own mother believes the lies he has constructed! The only person Kathy can turn to is her twin sister Anna.
Then Kathy discovers she is pregnant again and rather than risk Conner beating the life out of her unborn child, she instead devises a plan to take back control of her life. Enlisting Anna's help but without confiding in her, lest Conner discovers her plans, Kathy must rid herself of Conner once and for all.
But will her plan work? Or will she pay with her life?
OMG! This was one tense read from start to finish. I was so uncomfortable reading it I had to put it down - yes, just as I did "The Student" but this one was way more uncomfortable! But for different reasons. The brutality is confronting and Nicholl holds nothing back. I was literally squirming whilst turning the pages. Part of me wanted to just race to the end to find out how it ended to save myself the discomfort but I knew I would be doing myself a disservice because Nicholl is such an accomplished writer I would miss out on so much. I so wanted to see Conner get his comeuppance! My only complaint is I didn't get to the full impact of it. Still, this was Kathy's story.
And then there is that ending. WOW! Where did that come from? I did not expect any of that! Maybe a little far fetched but hell, it was pure genius. Such a masterful stroke to turn the tables as he did. And here I was wondering how it was all going to end? I'm still shaking my head in disbelief...just wow!
Throughout the abuse scenes between Kathy and Conner, I couldn't help but draw parallels to that of "the doctor", David Galbraith from that trilogy. Galbraith treated his own wife with the same contempt and cruelty, I felt as if I was re-reading Galbraith's scenes again. The similarities were chilling. And both men were incredibly hateful.
I have to say Nicholl has done it again. He is a pure master at psychological thrillers which torture me each time I read them...and yet I go back for more. Why? Because he is such a brilliant writer. His storylines are compelling, his characters are hateful and pitiful in equal measure, he has the innate ability to draw you in completely and then spit you out at the end with a shocking twist! And best of all, his thrillers are fast paced thrill rides with relatively short snappy chapters which just keep that pace moving. Everything I love in a thriller.
If you have not read John Nicholl yet, I have to ask why not? I urge you to go out and do so! He is one hell of an author that I only discovered some six months ago and he is now up there as one of my all-time favourite go-to authors.
I would like to thank #JohnNicholl, #NetGalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheCop in exchange for an honest review.
Previously published as "The Girl in Red".
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