Mik lives in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, but travels the length and breadth of the UK as a Project Manager. He's a long-time crime fiction fan, with bookshelves groaning under the weight of signed copies from some of the greats of the genre. He's also a reviewer, and an aspiring crime writer, with hopes of joining his literary heroes on a shelf near you in the not too distant future.
This thriller has a very interesting hook; the lead character being blind gives this narrative an unusual angle for the crime-fiction reader.
Although badged as a psychological thriller this novel could easily be shelved with the best of contemporary British police procedurals. The story opens with Naomi Hannah a woman who has been blind since birth, and now bordering on suicide until she comes across a crime scene. While there, she feels the killer’s presence. But Naomi is blind.
Enter D.S Marcus Campbell, the new detective in town and his condescending superior DI Lisa Elliott. Elliott is a ‘real piece of work’ as she appears to take great pleasure in tormenting Marcus at every turn. As a reader, I often got frustrated at his refusal to stand up and confront her.
Although my first Jack Jordan novel, it won’t be my last. His descriptions of being blind are evocative, and they really ramp up the tension, until the feeling of claustrophobia and helplessness becomes palpable.
There were sufficient false trails and red herrings peppering the journey, that this reader was wrong-footed many times during the twists and turns that striate the plot.
Hugely recommended.
