Monday, January 02, 2017

The Woman in Black by Kerry Wilkinson


Kerry Wilkinson has created a fascinating character in Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniels and in this, the third in the series, she seems to be learning better to work in a team while retaining her ability to think outside of the box and combine instinct and deduction to solve some of the crimes that fall to her to investigate.

The story starts with a severed hand being left in a very public place in Manchester.  A mother is reporting her son missing and then a package arrives at the police station, addressed to Senior Detective.  The parcel reveals a finger removed from the hand - and DNA evidence shows that the hand and finger are not the missing young man.

Then a second hand and finger surface, and  it is a DNA match for the missing son.  Similar modus as last time, but this time it is addressed to Jessica, so it feels as if it's getting personal, and seems as if there might possibly be a serial killer at work - except there are only hands and fingers, but no further body parts.  Careful scrutiny of security camera footage suggests the hands are being planted by a woman dressed in a hooded black cape and low heels. The search is on for connections between victims, and to discover what is going on.

This is a really gripping story and a very satisfying read.  Happily, there are more cases to enjoy in the series beyond this one, but I am totally hooked on these books and am happily anticipating the next instalment.


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