Title: The Killer on the Wall
Expected
publication: 20 April 2017
Synopsis (Goodreads):
The first body comes as a shock
The second brings horror
The third signals the beginning of a nightmare
When fifteen-year-old Isla Bell finds three bodies propped against Hadrian’s Wall, her whole world falls apart. In such a close-knit community, everyone knows the victims, and the man who did it.
Twenty years on and Isla has dedicated her life to forensic psychology; studying the brains of serial killers, and even coming face to face with the convicted murderer who turned her world upside down. She is safe after all, with him behind bars.
Then another body appears against the Wall.
And another.
As the nightmare returns and the body count rises, everyone in town is a suspect.
Who is the Killer on the Wall?
The second brings horror
The third signals the beginning of a nightmare
When fifteen-year-old Isla Bell finds three bodies propped against Hadrian’s Wall, her whole world falls apart. In such a close-knit community, everyone knows the victims, and the man who did it.
Twenty years on and Isla has dedicated her life to forensic psychology; studying the brains of serial killers, and even coming face to face with the convicted murderer who turned her world upside down. She is safe after all, with him behind bars.
Then another body appears against the Wall.
And another.
As the nightmare returns and the body count rises, everyone in town is a suspect.
Who is the Killer on the Wall?
My thoughts:
“It began with the bodies.”
Twenty years ago, a serial killer brutally murdered 6 people
in the small English town of Briganton, splitting a community and injecting
terror into the everyday lives of the town’s inhabitants for six long weeks.
When the perpetrator, Heath McGowan, was finally apprehended by the Detective Sergeant
Eric Bell and convicted of the killings, everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief,
but the damage had already been done. Some residents chose to move away,
scarred by the black cross that forever marked Briganton as the hunting grounds
of “the killer on the wall”, for the way he positioned his victims against the
historic remnants of Hadrian’s Wall. Others dug in their heels and chose to
stay, refusing to let the killer win. Isla Bell, who was the girl who
discovered the first lot of bodies on her morning run, went one step further:
in her career as forensic psychologist she now dedicates herself to scanning
the brains of psychopaths to discover if there are common abnormalities which
set a person on the path to becoming a murder machine. As part of her project,
she has encountered the worst sadistical killers mankind has ever produced.
Including Heath, who still holds a special dark place in her heart, and who is
the 13th convicted killer to undergo this process.
“Lucky number 13.” Isla agreed.
Only that it turns out to be anything else but lucky for the
community of Briganton. One day after Heath’s MRI scan, another body is
discovered seated against Hadrian’s Wall. The murder has the same MO as the
original killings. Is it a copycat, or a domestic argument gone wrong? When the
body count mounts once again, the residents’ worst fears are confirmed – the
killer is back. But how is this possible, when Heath is still in prison? Is
there another killer amongst them?
I have read and enjoyed every one of Emma Kavanagh’s books,
and this one is no exception. Taut and twisty, this thriller will take you on a
dark journey into the minds of psychopaths, and those who fight them. With her
background as a police and military psychologist, Kavanagh’s characterisations
are spot on, which makes for an interesting reading journey as you discover
that in this book, you cannot really trust anyone or anything. A constant
undercurrent of threat and menace is maintained by the prospect of a killer
living amongst a small, peaceful community, preying on random victims until no
one is safe in their homes any longer. What makes a ruthless killer tick? And
would we recognise one if we saw him/her? It could be your friend, your
neighbour, your partner, your child. A truly scary premise, skilfully explored
by a writer who clearly knows what makes people tick – and what keeps readers
reading!
I particularly enjoyed the character of Iraqi born Detective
Constable Mina Arian, who I felt was more approachable than the somewhat aloof
Isla, and whose persistence in exploring every detail of the case finally
brings some answers. Whilst some readers may find the end shocking, and some
may have had their suspicions, I appreciated how neatly all the threads came
together, which again is a credit to the author’s skill in weaving an utterly
compelling mystery and one that may make you lock your doors and keep you
inside at night. Highly recommended.
Thank you to
Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of
this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Quotes:
“Generally, people are stupid. We look for whatever we
expect to see.”
“But then, wasn’t that the thing with serial killers?
Weren’t they all, when you looked at them, perfectly normal? Right up until the
monster in them was unleashed?”
“What was it about parents that, even when you were thirty
five and married and even though you lived your life right up against the most
dangerous men the world had to offer, one word and you could be catapulted
backward in time until you were small, vulnerable again.”
Other Books I enjoyed by the the same author:
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