CHOKED

Detective Inspector Phil Brennan and criminal psychologist Marina Esposito have recently married, and have a little girl, Josephina.  But their happy life together is abruptly disrupted when an arson attack destroys their holiday cottage. 

Phil ends up in a coma in hospital, not knowing that his father has been killed in the attack, or that Josephina has been kidnapped.  Marina is recovering from her injuries in hospital when she receives a mysterious phone call from the kidnappers, saying that she has to do exactly what they say if she wants to see her child alive again.

Afraid that if she goes to the police Josephina will be killed, Marina escapes from the hospital and goes on an increasingly bizarre goose chase, desperate to find out what the kidnappers want so that they will release Josephina unharmed.

This is the fourth novel featuring Phil Brennan and Marina Esposito, but having not read the previous ones I came to this not knowing the background of the characters.  There does seem to be a bit of an assumption in the writing that the reader already knows these characters, and I’m sure most readers do, but it’s always a good idea to throw in a bit more introduction, in order to entice new readers to the series.

This is, however, a very suspenseful and tightly-plotted novel that had me turning the pages all the way to the end.   The ending is a little contrived, perhaps, but there are many things to like in this novel, including a very intriguing ‘bad guy’.  Definitely worth a read, but it’s probably best to start the series from the beginning, as I think I would have enjoyed it more had I known the characters better.