Surprisingly good. Comley’s series featuring DI Lorne Simpson and DS Pete Childs, were being offered free for my Kindle. Being always open to new authors, especially if the price is right, I quickly downloaded and dove right in. I was hooked from the first chapter, which, I must add is extremely brutal. Once past that, the investigation was up to my usual standards for police procedurals.Lorne is going through a very rough patch with her husband Tom, a stay-at-home dad who resents his role in the marriage. (OK, now we have that irrelevant detail out of the way, a theme the author could have easily dispensed with.)
A headless corpse is discovered to be the twin of another woman who is killed shortly thereafter. The question for Lorne becomes whether one was the target and the killer, realizing he has made a mistake, must kill the twin. The first clue is when the head arrives in the mail along with a note: “HERE LIES THE MISSING PART TO YOUR FIRST PUZZLE.”
The key lies long in the past and the reader is kept guessing. Some of the character interactions seemed superfluous and I remain skeptical of books where the killer targets a particular policeman. It’s so unrealistic and unnecessary.
Nevertheless, good plot and investigation.
