Perfect Prey by Helen Fields

 

At a music festival in Edinburgh a young man is murdered in the middle of a crowd, across the city a woman is crushed to death in her own home. In a city with a low murder rate for two to happen on the same night is unthinkable. There doesn't appear to be any link between the two murders, but when another two happen the police have to dig deeper, including delving in to the dark web.

Back in November 2021 I read and reviewed One For Sorrow. I loved the book and was very surprised that I'd not come across the DI Luc Callanach series before. I promised myself I would read the earlier book in the series. It took until January of this year for me to finally get around to reading the first book. Perfect Prey is the second in the series by Helen Fields. I thoroughly enjoyed the first book in the series but feel that Perfect Prey is even better.

There's a lot happening in this story, from the brutal murders to cyber crimes. The deeper you get into the novel the more these crimes become inter-twined. The dark web features heavily, thankfully it isn't jargon filled so doesn't spoil the story, and it makes you realise how little we know about what goes on in the murkier depths of the internet. We also discover that the "experts" on the dark web are far more accomplished that the people trying to track them down and maintain law and order.

Obviously the central characters, DI Luc Callanach and DI Ava Turner, take centre stage in the story-line. Nine months on from the first book they have developed a close friendship that they both value in and out of work. The reappearance of an old flame of Ava's drives a wedge between them. There is a little bit of obvious jealousy on Luc's part but his the over-riding concern is Ava's well-being as the new man is thoroughly unlikeable. The tension between Callanach and Turner is palpable and impacts on their investigations.

The supporting characters really come into their own in this story. We learn more about both DC Tripp and DC Salter and their lives outside the police force. DS Lively, who doesn't hold Callanach in high regard, even appears to be softening. However, it's the characters outside the police force that have the biggest impact on the story. Callanach joins forces with a journalist and a computer hacker to delve into the dark web. I do hope that both of these characters show up again in future stories, even if just fleetingly.

From the opening murders the pace is blistering. As far as the murders are concerned the crimes are shocking. The cyber crime has more of a moral dilemma, a kind of Robin Hood aspect. Twists galore keep you guessing and turning the page. I'm already looking forward to the third book in the series.