January 15, 2019
Twenty years ago in rural England, teenager Isla Bell found three murdered bodies near Hadrian's Wall. Now a professor of criminal psychology, she has a chance to study the imprisoned killer--but then the killings start again.There was plenty of evidence to find Heath McGowan guilty of the original murders, and it was Isla's police officer father, Eric Bell, who found it. Nailing the killer fast-tracked his career, and now, as Superintendent Bell, he's in charge when another victim is found. Could there be a copycat killer, or did McGowan have an accomplice that was never found? As Isla studies brain patterns of killers looking for links, DC Mina Arian is assigned to the case. As she stubbornly investigates both past and present cases, Arian begins to see gaps, questions unanswered; but does she dare question the famous Superintendent Bell? Further complicating matters is Isla's husband, Ramsey, who was one of the original victims and the only survivor. He is very sure Isla shouldn't be stirring up things or talking with McGowan. The author (The Missing Hours, 2016, etc.) uses her own background as a former police psychologist to strong advantage, especially with Isla's profiling. Occasionally, her penchant for wordy descriptions ("they couldn't see the iron fist within the silk glove") slows the pace, but the red herring-filled conclusion should surprise even the most careful reader.In Kavanagh's capable hands, the familiar plot of serial-killer-strikes-again is given a fresh and complex feel, complete with several truly sneaky twists.
COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
February 18, 2019
In 1996, 15-year-old Isla Bell, the heroine of this engrossing mystery from Kavanagh (The Missing Hours), finds three bodies strangled and lined up against Hadrian’s Wall in the moorlands of Brigandon, England. Two more murders follow before Isla’s father, Det. Sgt. Eric Bell, apprehends the killer, Heath McGowan, and gains widespread fame that propels him to a successful law enforcement career. Twenty years later, Isla is a professor of criminal psychology at the University of Northumberland, where she studies the minds of serial killers. When a woman is found strangled and propped against Hadrian’s wall, Briganton once again is overtaken with fear. Brought in to solve the case, Eric insists on running the investigation his own way and clashes with a relatively new member of the force, Det. Constable Mina Arian, over how to proceed. Meanwhile, Isla persuades the incarcerated Heath to take part in her research. As more victims turn up, the police wonder whether a copycat is at work, or is the killer getting help from Heath? Kavanagh keeps the suspense high to the chilling conclusion. Agent: Camilla Wray, Darley Anderson Literary (U.K.).
March 15, 2019
As a teenager, Isla Bell, a police chief's daughter, found the corpses of three of her neighbors posed against Hadrian's Wall. She's now a criminal psychologist at the University of Northumberland, scanning brains of psychopaths to see what makes them tick. Shortly after she scans the brain of the man arrested for the Hadrian's Wall murders, a similar string of killings takes place. Was the wrong man arrested? Was Isla's dad's original investigation flawed? Or did Isla's much-publicized work spawn a copycat? A solid psychological thriller by a former police and military psychologist (The Missing Hours, 2018).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)