BOOK REVIEW: The Killer in Me by Olivia Kiernan @LivKiernan @DuttonBooks #thekillerinme #bookreview

Gritty and realistic!

Olivia Kiernan’s The Killer in Me is the perfect blend of crime fiction, captivating narrative, and modern. The documentary aspect brings a certain relevance that makes the novel feel current, and yet the historical crime that weaves with the ongoing case has a sense of days past. Truly a fantastic crime thriller!

About the Book

Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan does not wish to linger on the grisly scene before her eyes. Two mutilated corpses. In a church. In Clontarf. Her profiling background screams one fact: this is just the beginning of a sickening message.

Meanwhile, a 17-year-old case is playing out on a TV documentary, the convicted professing his innocence and historical police errors being exposed daily in the media. Frankie’s superior, commissioner Donna Hegarty, makes no bones about who she expects to clean things up – both in terms of past mishandlings and the present murders.

But not everyone working the cases wants the truth to come out. And the corridors of power have their own vested interest. Soon Frankie pinpoints just what is making her so nervous: the fact that anyone could be the next victim when justice is the killer.

The Killer In Me is a fast-paced thriller in which lies are safer that the truth, the past is never far from the present, and the ability to kill could well, it seems, live in everyone.

Reflection

Before I even kick off my analysis of this novel, I have to say that this is one of the most visually captivating covers I’ve seen for crime fiction. The colors to me reflect that perfect blend of modern and throw-back. Vintage yet current. And the face in the background is secondary, but almost captured at first glance in your subconscious mind. That eye contact—it drew me right in!

Frankie Sheehan is a fascinating detective for a crime thriller. In some ways this feels like it could have gone the police procedural route, but truly it didn’t. I actually think the European writers capture crime fiction better than the US do for my tastes, because the detectives feel like people, and there is less of the drama about being a detective in their books. Perhaps this is a symptom of the US criminal justice system? But let’s not go there for this review…

Frankie is both the central narrator but also not really the central character. It’s hard to explain! We learn quite a bit about her life in it’s current state, but not too much about her past. I loved this. Frankie felt like a person who happened to be an excellent detective. I loved the connections with her family, and the scenes with them. She felt like someone I’d be friends with.

The novel centers around two main cases. The first is an old case. A man, Sean, was put away for murdering his parents and attempting to murder his sister. He was under 18 at the time, and he is now out. A documentary covering the potential wrongful conviction and the errors of the police department pepper the novel. I loved the first person interviews with Sean from the documentary. It was hard not to feel for Sean. He had a solid alibi that fell through for things out of his control, and once he became the prime suspect, the police discounted everyone else.

Then we also have the murders of two people found in a church. And coincidentally they occur not long after Sean’s release. So of course he becomes one focus of those murders. The police obviously do not want his conviction overturned. It would be costly for them, both financially as well as in terms of their credibility. And though this is the central case, it doesn’t overshadow Sean’s case. Frankie finds herself linked to both, as the lead detective on the two murders, but also a consultant on the case for justice for Sean being led by her own sister.

The ending to this one was so perfect—I was shocked! I won’t say more, but I think readers will be beyond satisfied with the last sequence of this book. I loved the atmospheric feel to the story. The old pub that has been redone, but lost a bit of the hometown feel. The dark streets. The local church. All of the settings felt very vivid to me. Truly, a novel that fans of Tana French and Gytha Lodge will love!

Thank you to Dutton Books for my copy. Opinions are my own.