Perfect for fans of Tana French, Jane Casey and Gillian Flynn
TOO SOON TO SEE
Polished. Professional. Perfect. Dead. Respected scientist Dr Eleanor Costello is found hanging in her immaculate home: the scene the very picture of a suicide.
TOO LATE TO HIDE
DCS Frankie Sheehan is handed the case, and almost immediately spots foul play. Sheehan, a trained profiler, is seeking a murderer with a talent for death.
TOO CLOSE TO BREATHE
As Frankie strives to paint a picture of the killer, and their victim, she starts to sense they are part of a larger, darker canvas, on which the lines between the two blur.
Olivia Kiernan’s debut is a bold, brilliant thriller that will keep you guessing and leave you breathless.
Published April 5th 2018 by Riverrun Books
And BREATHE! – that’s what I had to keep telling myself while devouring this debut detective series novel. Sharp, crisp, taut, terrifying. More like Too Gripping To Breathe than Too Close To Breathe!
First book in the Frankie Sheehan series, Too Close To Breathe catapults the reader straight into a grisly murder investigation from the very first page. During an autopsy of what appears to be a suicide, DCS Sheehan is quick to suspect that all isn’t as it seems. In death, Eleanor Costello appears to be a perfectly polished, organised professional, but as Sheehan begins investigating she soon uncovers a murky, dark side and opens a door into the sinister and disturbing world of extreme sadomasochism, death fantasists and the dark web. When another body is discovered, it becomes clear there’s a very dangerous serial killer on the loose.
Super-speedy fast paced is the only way to describe this book. Seriously, the plot races on at a breathtaking pace and had me absolutely gripped, completely ignoring life around me and unable to stop reading until I’d turned the last page. I read this in one massive binge read of four hours.
All the components of a great Detective book are here – a feisty, flawed lead, a barrage of red herrings and an attention to detail that’s grisly enough to satisfy any murder/crime reader. I really liked DCS Frankie Sheehan – she has her flaws, yes, but not so much as to make her unusual or have distracting personal/emotional difficulties. She’s a bit headstrong, she rushes in where she probably shouldn’t and she doubts herself. But she’s witty, strong, dedicated and pretty much straight down the line. I’ve a feeling we’ll get to know more about her in future books, and I really look forward to that.
The plot is intricate, meaning it wasn’t until the final pages that I had an inkling just what was going on. Packed full of twists and turns, chapter after chapter suspicions were raised, diverted and then pointed in a different direction. I loved the forensic elements of this book too, with an intriguing clue tying the cases together, it isn’t something I’d heard of or come across before. It’s pretty grisly and violent at times and had me shuddering in shock, and with a theme around death fantasy then I have to warn about some pretty upsetting and disturbing scenes.
Olivia Kiernan’s debut is a fantastic start to a new detective series, with a gritty, fresh and taut feel to it and an intriguing lead detective. Her compelling writing style and cunning ability to divert the readers attention and keep them hooked had me holding my breath throughout. I’ll be looking out for more from Olivia Kiernan and DCS Frankie Sheehan in the future.
(I read an advance proof copy courtesy of the publisher)
