The Trophy Taker
He's watching, waiting... and counting. The next gripping seriel killer read in the DC 'Charlie' Stafford series, from the bestselling author of Mummy's Favourite. Perfect for fans of Angela Marsons.
He keeps each floating in formaldehyde to stop them from rotting. Each finger denotes a victim, tortured and butchered, their heart ripped out and discarded, replaced instead by symbols of their treachery. He sits alone admiring his trophies weekly; each and everyone of them guilty in his eyes. And now more must pay.
But who or what links the victims?
DC 'Charlie' Stafford is already investigating a series of escalating racist attacks and it now seems she has a vicious serial killer on her patch. With no leads and time running out, the team at Lambeth are at near breaking point.
Something has to give... and all the while he's watching, waiting... and counting.
Sarah Flint has written one detailed and shocking mystery. Between her surprising cast of characters, well thought out plot and descriptive scenes she’s able to set a story you won’t figure out ‘til the end.
She uses vivid imagery to set her scenes so you have an accurate picture of your surroundings and the people. It was a nice touch how she included real world political elements such as Brexit and Europe’s ongoing problem with Islamophobia.
She’s created a well-developed set of characters and you can actually connect with the law enforcement in this book as she’s made them into real people instead of just props for the criminals to do battle against. Even her plot lines with the coroner are so realistic I felt like I was watching scenes from CSI episodes or one of its spin-offs. The group dynamics between her law enforcement characters feels real and supported by the personalities and plot lines she’s created. The way she describes how the families of victims process their own trauma from dealing with the death or severe injury of a loved one seems psychologically accurate. Reading the heartbreaking description of what happened to a detective’s brother will squeeze your heart.
Her crime scenes are incredibly descriptive to the point your skin will crawl and stomach heave as you will be forced to confront some of the worst humanity has to offer. Scenes of child molestation and how pedophiles think are vomit worthy and tear jerking. ‘Hearing’ a pedophile justify his actions will make you tap into that hidden side in all of us where we could kill another person with absolute justification.
The bits of historical context she included about various buildings and places was a fun touch that showed Flint really makes an effort to grip her readers attention.
If you’re into suspenseful crime thrillers you should like this.
Thank you to Netgalley and Aria for allowing me to review this book.
*synopsis and pic from netgalley.com