By Harry Bingham A crime, mystery novel with a real twist. That DC Fiona Griffiths is the heroine is not the twist, but just how twisted she is. As well as smoking pot from her own small crop, she puts herself through all sorts of punishment, usually reserved for male counterparts. This is the second novel featuring detective Fiona Griffiths, although I was unaware that there was a first until sitting down to write the review. It sits perfectly well as a stand-alone book. The story opens with the discovery of a human leg in a woman's freezer. Soon other similar gruesome body parts are found across the suburb in different houses. As detectives piece the parts together they conclude it belongs to a girl that went missing 10 years ago. Suddenly a fresh body is found, and detectives try to connect the two mysteries. Tied to this the reader is revealed to Fiona’s mental state and history of a past traumatic event. With a quirky and smartarse personality, Fiona does not endear herself to many colleagues, thus is often found working alone, often in dangerous situations. Her flawed character and attitude is sure to win readers hearts. I have found myself looking out for other books by the author Harry Bingham, particularly those featuring our hero Fiona Griffiths.
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By Daniel Pembrey The Woman Who Stopped Traffic follows IT security consultant Natalie Chevalier as she follows the leads to of murder and corporate interference in a soon to go public, on-line, social networking firm. With an unexpected view of the human trafficking public displayed at a corporate launch, Natalie is trust into the dark world of human trafficking and corporate politics. This is typical murder mystery set in the 21st century, with a politically correct heroine that can outwit in the final pages the the essential bad guy. While I may be coming jaded with the influx of b-grade novels that are not offering anything new, I found the book slow to develop. That being said, there will no doubt be a flock of people who will buy it for the title, or the IT angle, not to mention those fans of Daniel Pembrey. One can almost see the inevitable sequel with the key characters that will lead to a series. Overall I found myself disappointed Daniel Pembrey latest book “The Woman who Stopped Traffic”. It was longer than necessary, and the only character with any substance was Natalie. |
AuthorHeath writes reviews regularly for newspapers and magazines. Archives
January 2020
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