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A review by barry_x
The Killer Inside by Kerry Wilkinson
4.0
Sometimes I get a real itch for some crime fiction and this book was the choice for my work book group, it's been of some interest as the author is local to the city I live in. I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. I know that 'page-turner' is a little over used but I devoured this book (I think it's because I've just got through an 850 page book I wasn't enjoying that much). Anyway, I read this in about two days and my book seemed to travel with me everywhere to pretty much every room in the house! Since this is a crime mystery I'll try and avoid spoilers, and my things in spoiler tags won't be big reveals either.
So the general theme our Detective Jessica Daniel is investigating a series of murders where the victim is locked inside their home and there is no visible sign of entry or exit and leads to who has keys to the property turn up blanks.
I really liked the setting of Manchester as I'm aware of the city well and could place the setting well (I used to loiter around Hulme and Longsight in my younger years). I'm not sure if I have got a good measure of our Detective but as this was the first novel in the series I am sure she develops in later novels. I loved the pacing of the book, it wasn't frantic but there was plenty of action and pacing. I think regular readers of crime fiction may find certain elements of the book lacking,. At times I felt the writing was a little 'formulaic' and pedestrian, especially when describing things like the police station and procedure, it all felt a little familiar.
Minor criticisms aside I really enjoyed this and I hope to read much more of the series soon. It was an exciting story and hit the right spots for me.
So the general theme our Detective Jessica Daniel is investigating a series of murders where the victim is locked inside their home and there is no visible sign of entry or exit and leads to who has keys to the property turn up blanks
Spoiler
Really, it is kind of obvious where this lead should take Jessica but it takes a while to get thereI really liked the setting of Manchester as I'm aware of the city well and could place the setting well (I used to loiter around Hulme and Longsight in my younger years). I'm not sure if I have got a good measure of our Detective but as this was the first novel in the series I am sure she develops in later novels. I loved the pacing of the book, it wasn't frantic but there was plenty of action and pacing. I think regular readers of crime fiction may find certain elements of the book lacking,
Spoiler
the novel has a lot of HUGE coincidences which I think was fun to read and I could put aside my disbelief for the fun of the story but I can imagine other readers rolling their eyesMinor criticisms aside I really enjoyed this and I hope to read much more of the series soon. It was an exciting story and hit the right spots for me.