MERCILESS by Heleyne Hammersley.

               Merciless by Heleyne Hammersley.

"I can't seem to stop what I've started. It's his fault. I can feel his poison in me, flowing through my veins."

Police procedural murder investigations combined with the thriller genre make up for a dynamic combination. You won't be disappointed.

"Merciless" is the second novel in the D.I. Kate Fletcher series. Set mainly around south Yorkshire you are presented with a bunch of down-to-earth detectives working with Kate. Hollis was a key part of her team, Sam Cooper, efficient but an extremely private person, Barratt and O'Connor who Kate tolerated but disliked. Nothing untoward. Kate takes her work seriously and it dominates her life. She seems a little more compassionate and human  showing how different she is from how the stereotypical D.I. is portrayed. Nick Tsappis becomes romantically attached to Kate at the end and sums up her caring nature when he tells her:"It matters. These people aren't just cases, they're individuals with lives and hopes and dreams."

As expected, the opening has the usual excitement and drama with one of Kate's D.C.s Cooper taking an early morning jog along the towpath to cool off after having had a squabble with her partner Abbie. Her turning point was the lock and it was here, even in the dark, that she was able to see movement in the water, something that initially looked like a black bin bag.

"The surface of the object was ribbed or rippled and it appeared to have a lot of air trapped inside. There was something floating next to it. A pale shape against the dark water."

The shocking revelation came in the form of a hand then she noticed the jacket and the body! An immediate call to the emergency services and we meet Kate’s team. No identity although the autopsy later showed that she had a scar from a c-section. Patterns of disturbances around the area suggested there had been a struggle which indicated a murder rather than a suicide.

Kate is summoned by her boss D.C.I. Raymond, an officious man to inform her that a woman has turned herself in after confessing to “murdering” her father, Dennis Lambert. Kate interviewed Caroline Lambert who seemed to lack emotion and this unsettled the D.I. although the confession seemed to be straight-forward. Dennis was in stage 4 of liver cancer and had months to live. It seemed that he wanted to end his life so his daughter supplied him with the means to send him on his journey-whisky and oramorph by his bedside. It seemed to be a simple case of euthanasia or was there more to this?


A neighbour and a lady friend, Brenda Powley had been looking after Dennis in the absence of his family. She had contacted Caroline as the next of kin informing her that Dennis had taken a bad turn and was in hospital. Incidentally, Brenda hadn’t seen the daughter for twenty years which suggests that something isn’t quite right here! Caroline’s description of her father isn’t exactly flattering either: “manipulative, calculating and flint-hard.” We discover that he was the “cock of the school” and he had a “right reputation.” When Brenda meets up with Caroline their discourse is tense and downright bitchy. It is Brenda who accuses the daughter of being responsible for Dennis’s sudden decline in health. Caroline soon puts her in her place!

As the investigation gets underway we discover the tragic nature of the Lamberts as a family-first daughter Jeanette mysteriously disappeared followed shortly by Irene’s suicide (mum). Mystery letters in italics are meant to throw you off the scent addressed to Caroline and signed J.
“Of course I want him to pay for what he did and I know that he deserves it.” Is it possible that sister Jeanette is still alive? So, where is she?

“Killing Dennis isn’t murder though, it’s justice.” What is this notion of justice? What’s going on here?
The cases aren’t straightforward. Two deaths. A woman who confessed to one of the deaths. Complications set in when a nurse becomes collateral damage. Another victim?
Caroline Lambert does a runner but the clever D.I. sees through it all. It’s a set up, staged from start to finish. We encounter a number of cliff-hangers towards the end and a message reading: “FIND JEANETTE left in Caroline’s abandoned car.

The denouement shows tension when Kate is threatened and it’s touch and go as to whether she’s going to come out of this scrape alive. The final piece of the jigsaw is fitted but we know Kate’s already one step ahead in working out the whys and wherefores. A sentimental ending hints of a romantic rendezvous or two between Kate and Nick Tsappis.
All loose ends tied up neatly. You’ll find it a satisfying read. Highly recommended.


REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.
Publisher: Bloodhound Books 2018. ISBN: 978-1-91-2604-34-0

 Copyright 2018. Permission must be obtained from the author before any of this article review is reproduced.

Comments

  1. Joy Lennick1 June 2018 at 03:59

    Sounds a good read Carol...I was only confused by a piece earlier on when I read "The autopsy showed SHE (?) had a scar
    from a C section.."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Carol Naylor2 June 2018 at 04:31

      The unidentified body who was obviously female!

      Delete
    2. FLORES25 June 2021 at 03:47

      This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete

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