The Art Of Death by David Fennell

 

On her first day in a new posting DI Grace Archer is confronted with a series of shocking murders. An art installation consisting of glass containers holding the bodies of three homeless men appear in central London. The artist, @nonymous, uses social media to indicate that there are more to come. Grace Archer is in a race against time to discover who the mysterious artist is.

The opening chapter is deliberately vague and cryptic, leading into the shocking second chapter. The shock factor of the second chapter is enough to grip the reader. The pace is rapid, keeping the reader involved, and the crimes are novel enough to appeal to fans of thrillers.

DI Grace Archer is an interesting character. There is lots of background which we are given glimpses of. Abandoned by her mother and brought up by her policeman father. Her father was murdered by order of a London drug lord . As a child Grace is abducted by a child killer and survives. Her only known relative is her grandfather and his health is failing. Having recently uncovered a corrupt police officer, Grace is now posted to the station he was working from. As a result Grace is faced with a hostile work environment. All of this shows we have a lead character who is extremely human, vulnerable and damaged. With such a varied backstory author David Fennell has created a character who could lead a series of novels, it would be a shame if The Art Of Death is the only novel to feature DI Grace Archer.

Despite having to work in a hostile environment there are some positive characters, including her partner DS Harry Quinn. I thought analyst Klara was an interesting character and has lots more to offer. Grandfather Jake was sweet and vulnerable.

Fans of crime fiction love to try and guess who the villain is, there's nothing better than having a suspicion confirmed. There are lots of possibilities in The Art Of Death and this is probably the only thing that let this book down. Far too many possibilities mentioned in a very short space of time making it a little difficult to keep track of all of the characters.

Overall I enjoyed The Art Of Death and will read David Fennell's  second novel, See No Evil very soon. I do hope we see another outing from Grace Archer.