Friday 21 May 2010

CRIME REVIEW: Control - John Macken

BOOK BLURB:

Two murders, days apart but clearly linked. Each victim has had the tips of their fingers removed with a hacksaw. The killer is sending a message and wants his next victim to know who they are - and be very afraid. But beside the gruesome nature of their deaths there is no obvious connection between the two victims. Reuben Maitland, freshly returned to GeneCrime, must investigate the case. The forensics come in, DNA is sampled, the clues begin to mount up. Then the killer strikes again. Reuben's young son, Joshua, is snatched from his pram. The murderer sends Reuben a message: 'Stop hunting me. I will kill again, a third and final victim and you must not stop me. Come after me and your son will die.' If your child was kidnapped, how far would you go to get them back?


REVIEW:

John Macken is a good solid crime writer who brings morals, doubts as well as great plot lines to the readers. Here in his latest outing (his fourth) with Reuben Maitland as principle protagonist, the reader gets to see the softer side of the character as he has to fight his inner turmoil and think clearly in order to rescue his son. Thought provoking and at times anguish filled this offering is, in my opinion, John’s strongest offering to date and as such a must own crime novel. I will be surprised if its not nominated for a few awards as the author braves a track that whilst others have travelled within their own titles, they’ve not done it with as much gut churning anguish or concentration that is becoming Macken’s own indomitable style.

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