Reckless Obsession by Dai Henley
| Reckless Obsession by Dai Henley | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: It's a sequel to Blazing Obsession but reads perfectly as a stand-alone. A good, engaging, thought-provoking read. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 274 | Date: March 2018 |
| Publisher: New Generation | |
| ISBN: 978-1787196605 | |
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It was several years since DCI Andy Flood's wife had been murdered, but he'd not come to terms with it. His daughters were coping reasonably well, not least because his mother had moved in after Georgina's death and she ran the home and looked after the girls. Flood's real problem was that the Met had moved the murder to cold case status. He couldn't believe that they'd do this when the murder of the wife of one of their own was unsolved, but he's determined not to give up on the case. Each evening when he's finished work he goes into his study and works on the statements from the case, looking for any inconsistencies.
One morning, on his way into Southwark Police Station on a little-used B-road, he came across a Ford Focus smashed into a tree. He dragged the driver free before the car exploded only to be told by a paramedic that the woman had been shot. There was history here: Jenny Cahill was an authorised firearms officer who'd stood trial for fatally shooting a notorious criminal. She'd been acquitted but it looked very much as though someone else thought that justice hadn't been served. Or could the fact that her partner who'd been having an affair with an MP's daughter and was also an authorised firearms officer be relevant?
You won't always like Andy Flood. He loves his daughters, but doesn't often appreciate that they need him, that he should be giving them his time. His mother's apparently fit and well, but she's over seventy and she's given up a lot to help him. She could do with some consideration too. He's an excellent detective, keen to see justice done, but sometimes he can cut the odd corner to ensure that the result is right. He's not a bad man. He's certainly not corrupt, but - like the rest of us - he's not perfect. Author Dai Henley has a real talent for creating characters you can believe in and Andy Flood is one of his best, but then there isn't anyone in the story who's less than well drawn.
The story's great too. I've found before that Henley provides a plot which could end two thirds of the way through the book and you wouldn't feel short changed, but he then goes on to develop it into something quite special. In this case I thought I knew exactly where it was going, but there were some neat twists which I wasn't expecting, but which made perfect sense. It's thought-provoking too with its look at gang culture and the risks which police officers (armed and unarmed) take every day as well as the difficulties which witnesses face when criminals are prepared to intimidate.
I read the book over a very indulgent couple of days and I'd like to thank the publisher for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
Reckless Obsession is a loose sequel to Blazing Obsession, but both books work well as stand alones but if you are planning to read them both, start with Blazing Obsession. We also have a review of Endless Obsession.
You can read more about Dai Henley here.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Reckless Obsession by Dai Henley at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Reckless Obsession by Dai Henley at Amazon.com.
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