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Russell, Craig - 'A Fear of Dark Water'
Paperback: 352 pages (Mar. 2012) Publisher: Arrow ISBN: 0099522667

There is clearly no end to the talents of Craig Russell. In this book, his latest to feature German detective Jan Fabel, from the Murder Squad, Russell delights us with more of his first-rate story-telling skills. You are hooked from the very first page and the fast pace at the outset of the book only gets faster the further into it you get.

Set in Hamburg, a fierce storm that lashes the area and wreaks havoc in its path causes more than the usual damage when it dredges up a torso from the river. Headless and limbless, the female body has been in the water for some time and is a less than pleasant sight for the investigators whose job it is to identify the woman and find her killer. As if this isn't bad enough, there is a serial killer on the loose and young women are turning up dead on a regular basis. All, apparently, in a day's work for our hero, Jan Fabel, who is also being bothered by a deadly computer virus that seems to have wiped everything from his mobile phone and has yet another murder to deal with. This one of a prominent businessman who is burnt alive after his car is torched in broad daylight. Jan is convinced that the killings are linked somehow and finds himself the centre of some very unwanted attention after asking a few too many questions of the wrong people. He has to push himself, and his skills, to the limit in order to stay alive and prove that his suspicions are correct.

One of the best things about this book is that it is impossible to guess the ending. And what an ending it is! Everything is neatly tied up and the unexpected twists are truly icing on the cake – albeit a rather grisly one! Craig Russell has been published since 2005 and has already been awarded several prizes for his novels. His work has been serialised on the radio and also turned into a TV programme, with movies planned for the near future as well. We can expect more from this refreshingly talented author, whose original stories go from strength to strength.

Very highly recommended.

Amanda C M Gillies, Scotland
April 2012

Details of the author's other books with links to reviews can be found on the Books page.
More European crime fiction reviews can be found on the Reviews page.



last updated 12/04/2012 20:35