Two men are found dead in London's Battersea Park. One of the bodies has been laid out like a crucifix - with his eyes removed and placed on his open palms.
Detective Inspector Grace Archer and her caustic DS, Harry Quinn, lead the investigation. But when more bodies turn up in a similar fashion, they find themselves in a race against time to find the sadistic killer.
The hunt leads them to Ladywell Playtower in Southeast London, the home to a religious commune lead by the enigmatic Aaron Cronin. Archer and Quinn suspect Cronin's involvement but his alibis are watertight, and the truth seemingly buried. If Archer is to find the killer, she must first battle her way through religious fanatics, London gangsters - and her own demons . . .
I'm thrilled to be hosting the blog tour for See No Evil today. Huge thanks to David Fennell, Bonnier Zaffre and Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me and for sending me an advance copy of the novel.
David Fennell introduced Detective Inspector Grace Archer in last year's impressive The Art of Death; I loved the book and have been intrigued ever since as to how he would follow the memorably creepy @nonymous. After staying up until the wee small hours to finish See No Evil because I couldn't bear to stop reading, I am convinced that he is onto a real winner here and this is a series that will undoubtedly go from strength to strength.
The body count is high in See No Evil and the deaths are gruesome; there's something about the removal of eyes that is especially disturbing and the killer's barbaric actions are truly the stuff of nightmares. However, as gory as the murders are – and those looking for a dark, twisted thriller will certainly not be disappointed – this isn't a gratuitously graphic novel and the involving, complex plot proves to be a thoughtful, multi-layered read that really made me consider my responses to some of what comes to light later in the story.
The Art of Death revealed a little about Grace's troubled past but we learn more about her in See No Evil, including how she responds to events now and those that shaped who she became. Her relationship with her grandfather, whose dementia is worsening, brings her further worries – especially when he begins to cultivate unwise associations following news that horrifies them both. It's clear that the storyline involving his condition will unfold with the greatest sensitivity; while this is a work of fiction, David Fennell's understanding of dementia ensures these scenes are touched with authentic poignancy and he empathetically recognises the warmth, humour and love that persists. Knowing everything that Grace has to cope with means it's not surprising that she has long suffered from terrible nightmares and it's a cruel irony that her demons become less invasive only when she has the distraction of a harrowing case that is likely to haunt her in the future too. Grace's vulnerability is also her strength but she has her doubters and those who wish her harm and it's intriguing to see how she responds to the many challenges she faces here, and what it will mean for her as the series progresses.
Meanwhile, DS Harry Quinn also opens up about his past and there's a particularly emotional scene that plays out beautifully, revealing more about both characters in a way that feels totally natural. In a book that explores the very darkest recesses of humanity, it's the little moments like this which, though achingly sad, also promise so much for the partnership that is developing between the pair.
The characterisation is excellent throughout; it's obvious that David Fennell takes care not to have his victims become merely faceless props and so we learn something about most of them before they die. It's also incontrovertibly true that the tension becomes more unbearable when characters are given some sort of backstory and the suspense level often reaches boiling point. As with The Art of Death, London becomes almost a character in its own right and the sense of place from start to finish is flawless but perhaps the best is kept for Ladywell Playtower, a building in the southeast of the city that now houses a strange religious commune. The ritualistic nature of the killings is paralleled by some of the more extreme practices of Aaron Cronin and his devout followers. The book almost heads into horror territory in a memorably chilling scene and David Fennell's convincingly cinematic writing style is particularly vivid here.
A book in an ongoing crime thriller series such as this needs to bring the case in question to a satisfying conclusion and yet still leave readers wanting more and See No Evil does both exceptionally well. There are stunning revelations, a breathlessly tense hunt for the killer, involving a number of alarmingly credible suspects, and an ominously unsettling sense of threat that seemed to reach a climax here before cleverly leaving me desperate to know what happens next. This is an exceptional thriller and I hope will be a deserved success; it's undoubtedly one of my books of the year and I can't wait to read the next instalment in a series that should be essential reading for anybody who loves intelligent, addictive crime fiction.
See No Evil is published by Bonnier Zaffre, purchasing links can be found here. Please support independent bookshops whenever possible.
Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
David Fennell was born and raised in Belfast before leaving for London at the age of eighteen with £50 in one pocket and a dog-eared copy of Stephen King's The Stand in the other. He jobbed as a chef, waiter and bartender for several years before starting a career in writing for the software industry. He has been working in CyberSecurity for fourteen years and is a fierce advocate for information privacy. David has played rugby for Brighton and has studied Creative Writing at the University of Sussex. He is married and he and his partner split their time between Central London and Brighton.
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