Driven (DI Paton Investigates #2) by Kerena Swan
Genre: Crime fiction, Crime thriller, Police procedural, Suspense
Read: 26th November 2022
Amazon
Published: 29th November 2022
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
Every mother’s worst nightmare
It was only for a couple of minutes, while dropping Noah off at nursery. Little did Melanie realise that leaving her sleeping son in the car would end up being the biggest regret of her life.
A teenage challenge turns sour
For teenager Woody, stealing cars with his new friend helps alleviate the tedium of a life of poverty and boredom. This isn’t what he wants to do with his life but for now, he feels accepted. Except on this occasion, his actions have consequences that could change his life forever. Is it too late to turn his life around?
How far would you go to save those you love?
While DI Paton is on the case of the missing child, he is quickly drawn into a web of deception that hits dangerously close to home. He soon finds himself torn in two, not knowing which way to turn: save his career or his family? Will he be able to crack the case before he himself cracks?
MY THOUGHTS:
How lovely to see the return of DI Paton and his son Tommy in this second installment of this exciting series. It has been so long since I read the first book I had to go back and refresh my memory and I'd mentioned in my review then that I looked forward to seeing more of Paton's son Tommy so it was lovely to see him so involved this time round.
Tommy is a delightful and endearing character who has Down's Sydnrome but he doesn't let that hold him back. He is keen to become a policeman just like his dad and he watches crime dramas and cop downs relentlessly as well as playing memory games that help him retain an eye for clues should he ever need to help his dad catch the baddies. It is also refreshing to see a detective that isn't stereo-typically divorced, bad-tempered and verging on alcoholism to get through the day. Instead, Paton is a devoted husband and father trying his best to juggle his responsibilities as both as well as maintaining a successful career as a detective. His home life can sometimes get in the way of his investigations but he is lucky to have an understanding boss who gives him a little leeway in that area...as long as it doesn't encroach too much that it affects him doing his job effectively.
In this story, Paton finds himself solely responsible for Tommy while his wife Wendy is away in Weymouth caring for her mother who has had a fall. Unfortunately, Tommy's school has also closed due to an asbestos discovery leaving Paton with the conundrum of what to do with his son whilst he's at work. This leads him to make a decision which he will come to regret but at the time he felt he had little choice.
Paton is investigating a series of car thefts which lead him to a wrecking yard he felt sure was somehow involved. But then he is tasked with another stolen car, this time with a two year old toddler inside, he is made SIO and the clock is ticking to find the missing child...and quick! Because little Louie has epilepsy and if he is not given his medication or the correct diet, the next seizure he has could prove fatal.
When teenagers Woody and Roach gleefully speed away in the stolen Ford Fiesta they had no idea a toddler was asleep in the back seat. Their first indication was hearing a little voice pipe up "Where's mummy?" Understandably the child became quickly distressed and began screaming his lungs out which then lead to him being quickly dumped and left on a grassy verge outside a field gateway, alone and in the cold. Will he be found before dark? And before it's too late?
Paton's investigations lead him a merry chase before even coming close to the real culprits, and not before trouble strikes closer to home. It seems threats are made and he has unwittingly put his family in danger. Then when Tommy finds a kitten in his shed and, keeping his find a secret, decides to keep it and feed it, a covert trip to the shops has him accidentally involved in the case. But Tommy isn't daft...he knows what he must remember to catch the baddies.
I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting DI Paton and Tommy once again and I do hope this is not the end of their escapades. They make a fine team, albeit a unique one. This story did have a little more procedural involved than I remembered from the first one but I could be wrong. However, I do like the fact that it is not solely procedural which can be humdrum and samey after a while. I love how we get to hear all the voices of those directly involved - Woody, Roach, Mabel, Paton, Tommy and even little Louie. It is no way confusing as each chapter is clearly titled whose narrative as well as the time and how much of it has passed since Louie went missing. It is a poignant story in parts which will have you sympathising in part with some of those involved. I found myself feeling for both Woody and Mabel, despite their involvement, though I really did develop something of a soft spot for Woody.
The story unfolds seamlessly switching from narrative to narrative without a beat as the pace picks up with the tension palpable. There's no real mystery as we know and see who does what from the start but it's the unknown of what could happen that ramps up the tension a notch or two.
I was a little surprised at the turn the story took at the end. I was not expecting that...but I hope it is just a little teaser that is setting the tone for the next book. Because I would love to see more of Paton and his left-in-command!
Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable crime thriller that is a procedural with a twist.
I would like to thank #KerenaSwan, #Netgalley, #HobeckBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #Driven in exchange for an honest review.
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