The Art of Death
Ratings4
Average rating4.3
AN INTENSELY CREEPY SERIAL KILLER THRILLER DEBUT, FOR FANS OF CHRIS CARTER AND M. W. CRAVEN. 'A truly extraordinary crime novel' - Lynda La Plante 'Written with a clear grasp of social media, the story simply bristles with invention - though it is not for the faint hearted' - Daily Mail 'You couldn't ask for a more assured if startlingly graphic and gory debut' - Irish Independent 'Satisfyingly gruesome fare' - Financial Times Death is an art, and he is the master . . . Three glass cabinets appear in London's Trafalgar Square containing a gruesome art installation: the floating corpses of three homeless men. Shock turns to horror when it becomes clear that the bodies are real. The cabinets are traced to @nonymous - an underground artist shrouded in mystery who makes a chilling promise: MORE WILL FOLLOW. Eighteen years ago, Detective Inspector Grace Archer escaped a notorious serial killer. Now, she and her caustic DS, Harry Quinn, must hunt down another. As more bodies appear at London landmarks and murders are livestreamed on social media, their search for @nonymous becomes a desperate race against time. But what Archer doesn't know is that the killer is watching their every move - and he has his sights firmly set on her . . . He is creating a masterpiece. And she will be the star of his show. Praise for The Art of Death: 'I flew through it . . . tense, gripping and brilliantly inventive' SIMON LELIC 'Unsettling, fast-paced, suspenseful and gripping . . . Excellent' WILL DEAN 'A serial killer thriller with the darkest of hearts' FIONA CUMMINS 'A tense-as-hell high-body count page turner, but a rarer thing too - one that's also full of genuine warmth and humanity' WILLIAM SHAW
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The base premise of this police procedural is certainly an intriguing one - a serial killer who has started exhibiting his kills as artworks around London, pickled in formaldehyde tanks. This sets up an intriguing cat and mouse game when the killer decides that the lead police officer on his case is going to be his next target.
This is an impressive crime debut with a well worked hook. whilst there are a few less polished sections (some of the dialogue is very confusing) the overall plot and prose is extremely well done with a satisfying denouement. An enjoyable read.
This was a dark, messed up thriller that I thoroughly enjoyed reading! When Detective Inspector Grace Archer is made head of the latest investigation, she was certainly not bargaining on it dragging her tragic, traumatising childhood into the public spotlight. A killer who goes by the name @nonymous is publicly framing his murder victims as art installations around London. When Archer begins investigating it doesn't take long for the press to find out her real identity as a survivor of a child murderer and to splash her secrets all across the papers. Will Archer face her fears again when confronted with another harrowing murderer or will she let it all get the better of her?
This was an interesting premise for a thriller. I found death imitating art super morbid and creepy but a very strong angle to come at a thriller with. Archer was a fun protagonist to spend time with and I found her second in command Quinn very endearing and a good energy to balance the dynamic. This was written very well and structured competently. I would be very happy if he wrote more thrillers for Archer to take the lead in. She is a very nuanced well layered protagonist with much more to give us and I am hungry for more. If you enjoy thrillers/ police procedurals you should 100% be picking this one up!
Thanks to the author David Fennell,Bonnier Books UK and Netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
I can't believe I waited so long to pull this off my shelf. Such a good read.
