Genre:
Psychological thriller
Description:
“When
her journalist mother goes missing, Kal investigates. Kal's no fool,
though sometimes she might pretend to be, because hiding her
strengths is a great way to extract information.
An
expert in psychology and skilled in reading other people and their
behaviours, she first learnt her craft from her deceased father. He
was a man with dark secrets.
A
shadow’s been stalking her family for three generations. Kal will
uncover a child trafficking network and to find her mother, she'll be
pushed over her limits and forced to face a horror she's been
avoiding all her life…”
Author:
Ann
Girdharry was born and educated in the UK. A trained psychotherapist,
she worked for many years as a manager in the not-for-profit sector,
for agencies working with: carers, vulnerable older people and those
with dementia, survivors of abuse, and victims of racial attacks.
Today,
she lives in Montpellier, France with her husband and two children.
Appraisal:
Overall,
I enjoyed this novel. Kal, the main character had some interesting
skills and a troubled history that added zest. The plot was
believable, and all the threads were pulled together neatly by the
end.
A
couple of issues niggled at me throughout: First, Kal’s path was
often eased by convenient occurrences. Although these happen-chances
fell a little short of deus ex machina, they were pretty close and
could have been handled better. Such as when she was so easily
employed at a clinic, or gained access to a billionaire’s home. The
second issue was with Kal. I enjoyed her psychological knowledge and
how she applied it to glean essential information about people she
encountered, but the author felt the need to over explain. This
weakened what should have been a strength of the novel--when the
“show” is enough, trust the reader to understand without also
being told.
All
that said, this is a strong thriller. The action sequences are really
well done--not a trivial task. Kal is scheduled to feature in further
adventures and she’s certainly a strong enough character to carry a
series.
FYI:
English
spelling and locations. The plot revolves around a pedophilia ring.
Although there is no graphic child abuse, it is insinuated.
Format/Typo
Issues:
A
few typos, but not enough to upset me.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
Reviewed
by:
Pete Barber
Approximate
word count:
90-95,000 words
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