You don’t have to have read The Teacher before you read this, but it would definitely help – if only to understand a little the rather odd dynamic in the relationship of Miles and Grey, and the very graphic violence featured unrelentingly.
The blurb for the book tells us…
Bridget Reid has a secret, one that could get her killed… If she can escape the man who is keeping her locked in a basement bedroom.
DS Imogen Grey is good at keeping secrets – truths she’d never reveal to her colleagues at Exeter Police. She worked hard to get where she is – she nearly died for it. Now her past is catching up with her…
As DS Grey and her partner DS Adrian Miles search for Bridget, they uncover a terrifying web of abuse, betrayal and murder. And they realise that some secrets are better left buried…
An undercover cop (Bridget) escapes when the other prostitutes in her house are killed. Someone is onto her…Imogen Grey becomes entangled in this case, and it quickly becomes apparent that there’s links to what happened to Grey a couple of years ago.
We jump timeframes a lot – and, on occasion, I found myself having to check where we were – but this was, for me, one of the most compelling parts of the book. As we slowly come to work out the links between the characters, and see that sometimes the bad guy can be right under your nose, I was desperate to work out just how things would connect.
The end, which suggests we could be in for another story following Adrian’s attempt to bring down his ex-wife’s new partner, both frustrated and excited me.
A departure from my normal reading, and not a genre I’m totally at ease with because of the seemingly increasing need to torture characters in increasingly violent ways. However, here it is evident that the details do shed light on the characters and the set-up we are being asked to witness. Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in return for my review.