The Killer in Me
by Olivia Kiernan
A deadly past refuses to stay buried in Olivia Kiernan’s masterful new novel
Death is no stranger to Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan, but she isn’t the only one from her small, coastal suburb to be intimately acquainted with it. Years ago, teenager Seán Hennessey shocked the tight-knit community when he was convicted of the brutal murder of his parents and attempted slaying of his sister, though he always maintained his innocence. Now, Seán is finally being released from prison—but when his newfound freedom coincides with the discovery of two bodies, the alleged connection between the cases only serves to pull Frankie further from answers even as it draws her closer to her town’s hidden darkness. With a television documentary revisiting Seán’s sentence pushing the public’s sympathies into conflict on a weekly basis, a rabid media pressuring the police like never before, and a rising body count, Frankie will need all of her resources if she is not only to catch a killer, but put to rest what really happened all those years ago.
A dark, irresistible cocktail of secrets, murder, and family, Olivia Kiernan’s latest is an impossible-to-put-down triumph.
Momma Says: 3 stars⭐⭐⭐
This second book featuring DCS Frankie Sheehan has a solid mystery and reads very much like an episode of CSI with the details about the crime scenes. In fact, the story includes plenty of detail about almost everything except our characters. On that front, I was hoping for something more. As it stands, the characters, including Frankie, lack enough personality to really get a feel for them, much less relate to them. As with any group of people who work closely together, I would expect some personal conversation, maybe some banter between friends, but there is a distinct lack of that here that gives the story a very straightforward and dispassionate atmosphere. On a positive note, the suspense is good with a murder mystery that isn't too easy to figure out. So, while I did like the murder mystery, the impersonal feel left me with a lack of connection to any of the characters, including Frankie.
This second book featuring DCS Frankie Sheehan has a solid mystery and reads very much like an episode of CSI with the details about the crime scenes. In fact, the story includes plenty of detail about almost everything except our characters. On that front, I was hoping for something more. As it stands, the characters, including Frankie, lack enough personality to really get a feel for them, much less relate to them. As with any group of people who work closely together, I would expect some personal conversation, maybe some banter between friends, but there is a distinct lack of that here that gives the story a very straightforward and dispassionate atmosphere. On a positive note, the suspense is good with a murder mystery that isn't too easy to figure out. So, while I did like the murder mystery, the impersonal feel left me with a lack of connection to any of the characters, including Frankie.
❃❃ARC provided by NetGalley and Dutton
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