One killer is mimicking another, more dangerous man. A game of cat and mouse, with a detective caught smack in the middle. This is the first time I had read a narrative like this, in which you have a serial killer working both for and against the police in the search for the person copying his signature murder style. The murders are especially horrific and you feel empathy for most of the victims. You also have the perspective of different characters throughout, some being the victims themselves as they are facing down their own deaths. Henley is fighting against PTSD, which stems from her almost fatal encounter with Olivier. Her psychologist friend tries to convince her to go for therapy as she is thrust back into working in the field. Her husband is continuously giving her an ultimatum of giving up her job or giving up her family. To be honest, I disliked Henley's husband immensely. He continuously used her daughter against her, tried to control her life, would heap guilt on to her, had nothing to give in terms of understanding or support. Sure, in some instances you felt sorry for him, and could understand his stance on protecting his daughter and his wife, but he was doing this before these murders even began and he seemed to have little concern for what giving up her career meant to Henley. It helped make you more sympathetic to her when other things began to happen within her life. Her work and life is so unbalanced and she finds comfort in all of the wrong places, which does not actually help her PTSD or familial issues. For such a long book I felt there were moments that could have been removed or shorter and moments that were all together too rushed and made very little sense. Moments were added to really highlight Olivier's evil which were unnecessary, because his demeanor and actions made it obvious he was a bad person. I can also never understand women who become infatuated with evil men, believing them to be innocent or capable of change. The book was also overladen with characters, which sometimes lead to confusion. Although, I am sure that is is because the author was likely using the proper chain of command and services that are brought in for criminal investigations. But there were some characters that could have been removed and others which could have been used more appropriately. I also felt that the detectives did not really learn much on their own, or they seemed to be behind on everything and it took them a long time to work out information or pick up on connections. Which could be believable, with the red tape police sometimes face, but also made them seem a bit inept. I liked that the story included the blatant racism that Henley and the trainee Ramouter face from both within the police and from the community. Henley must constantly navigate the hate from both her own community for joining the police for, as a black woman, and the racism from within the force that she is trying to denounce. All around the story was well plotted, shocking, scary and went quite quickly for an almost 500 page book. Lots to absorb, to empathize with Henley, and I really liked the trainee Ramouter; seeing things from his perspective, as someone new to the group, added to the reader being guided through learning procedure, interview skills, etc. Ramouter was smart, quick to learn and dedicated. He was just the person Henley needed in terms of support, as she was not getting it from her superiors or her husband. Thank you to HarperCollins Canada for providing me with an Arc in exchange for an honest review.
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