Shed No Tears by Caz Frear
| Shed No Tears by Caz Frear | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Book three in the series and they're getting better all the time. A recommended read. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 496 | Date: July 2020 |
| Publisher: Zaffre | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1785765698 | |
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In November 2012 Christopher Masters, the man who would become known as 'the roommate killer', strangled three women in a fortnight. When he was arrested he admitted the killings. A fourth death was attributed to him - that of Holly Kemp - and on occasions, Masters admitted to the killing, then he denied it - then admitted it, then denied it. He played with the police, but there was sufficient evidence on the first three killings to put him away for a long time and the CPS were not convinced about the Holly Kemp case. There was no body and once Masters was murdered in prison, no hope of progressing the case further.
Then - in 2018 - Holly Kemp's body was unearthed in a field in Cambridgeshire and the Major Incident Team was called in. DCI Kate Steele was the Senior Investigating Officer and DS Luigi Parnell and DC Cat Kinsella went to the site. It looked different, had the feel of being different from the earlier cases, as Kemp had been shot rather than strangled but there's a credible witness, Serena Bailey, who placed Holly Kemp at the open door of Masters' property when he was there - on the day she disappeared. There was no reason to doubt Bailey - a teacher with no criminal record and no axes to grind.
But - things just don't add up, at least they don't for Cat Kinsella. DI Tessa Dyer was in charge of the case at the time. Had she missed something? But she's DCI Tessa Dyer now and looks as though she's destined to head up the Met. Back in 2012, her husband was terminally ill and she was juggling to cope with her job, her husband and two young sons and it would be understandable if something had slipped past her. How do you broach this to a senior officer though, particularly when she's just as good as offered you a job?
When I read Stone Cold Heart in 2019 I remember being slightly annoyed by the story of Kinsella's boyfriend, Aiden Doyle, who couldn't be mentioned at work because he was the brother of a murder victim or introduced at home because Kinsella's father had a dubious past with said murder victim. Then I got stuck into the story and enjoyed the deft and economical plotting, excellent characterisation and easy and straightforward style. The same thing happened when I started reading Shed No Tears. I wanted to tell Kinsella just to get on with it, tell people and let them think what they will. Then I forgot all about it as I was pulled into the story.
And it is a cracker. I completely missed all the clues about who the villain was - I'll read again at some point, just for the pleasure of seeing how Caz Frear did it, because - when I think back - I should have known who to watch from early in the book. That's class and I can't wait for the next book in the series. I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
All the books read perfectly well as standalones, but you might get more out of the series if you start at the beginning - it's not going to be a hardship. If this series appeals then you're probably going to enjoy reading about DI Kim Stone. YOu might also enjoy Marked for Death by Tony Kent.
Caz Frear's DC Cat Kinsella's Novels in Chronological Order
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