Elena Zoric is murdered, her body concealed beside a stream in North London. Her phone lies nearby, the last number dialled was to the woman who had rescued her from sex trafficking: Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector Grace Archer.
Archer desperately wants to lead the murder investigation but her new boss, Chief Inspector Les Fletcher, makes it very clear its out of her jurisdiction.
Then the thirty-year-old remains of a woman are found in the attic of an abandoned house, the victim dying in similar circumstances to Elena Zoric.
But Archer’s North London colleagues have bigger priorities than the murder of ‘a drugged-up prostitute.’
Archer needs answers. Who killed Elena? Why did she call Archer moments from her death? And what rules must she break to stop a killer in his tracks?
I am so thrilled to be hosting the blog tour for A Violent Heart by David Fennell today. Many thanks to Zaffre Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me and for my advance copy of the book.
A Violent Heart is the fourth novel in the excellent Grace Archer series and while perhaps less creepy than the previous instalments, it is nevertheless a riveting, searingly insightful read which once again demonstrates why David Fennell is one of the most impressive current writers of crime thrillers. It isn't necessary to have read the earlier books; Grace's back story is seamlessly woven into the narrative, but I would strongly recommend enjoying the series as a whole, if you can.
The first murder in A Violent Heart is that of Elena Zoric. Her death isn't described in gratuitous detail, yet it is brutal. More than that, however, it is also a heartbreaking tragedy, both in terms of her desperate final moments and in the painful aftermath of such a shocking loss. Elena was a prostitute but she was also a courageous, resilient young woman in a loving relationship with her girlfriend – David Fennell always excels at ensuring the victims in his books are never mere backdrops to the hunt for a killer and are depicted as real people who deserve to be remembered for more than their ends.
Grace Archer knew Elena through a previous case, so the hunt for her murderer holds a personal resonance, but although she resolutely seeks justice for all the victims of the crimes she investigates, the same isn't always true of her colleagues, in the present and more blatantly in the past. As it becomes evident that Elena is the latest in a string of murders, going back decades, it transpires that these women, all of whom are linked in some way to the sex industry, were let down by misogynistic police officers who not only failed to properly investigate their disappearance, they also frequently suggested the victims were in some way to blame for their deaths. Crimes involving sex workers and those considered living outside of societal norms have historically been characterised by such dismissive attitudes – you only have to look at how the names of Jack the Ripper and Peter Sutcliffe are remembered above their victims – but in A Violent Heart, David Fennell makes sure these fictional victims are given the agency often denied to their real-life counterparts. Although we don't necessarily spend much time with them, their complex, flawed lives are empathetically portrayed and they are no less because of the direction life took them or the choices they made.
Meanwhile, Grace herself continues to be one of my favourite characters in crime fiction and her partnership with Harry Quinn is a delight – the trust between them and the subsequent friendship that has developed over the course of the series feels so entirely authentic. Quinn's often caustic wit gives A Violent Man some lighter moments but his compassionate sincerity is evident too. This is a challenging investigation made more difficult by internal politics and an interfering boss but a further complication arises in the form of Mallory Jones, the true crime podcaster last seen in See No Evil.
Grace, understandably, resents the unwanted attention that has come her way due to Mallory's previous serials which have examined the cases she solved in The Art of Death, See No Evil and A Silent Man. Here, though, Mallory's own tragic past and the reason behind her seemingly unquenchable desire to carry out her own investigations is also revealed. Her contribution to proceedings becomes an important part both of the investigation and how we view a number of characters in the book, including Grace herself, who gradually reassesses her opinion of this supposed thorn in her side.
The sense of place David Fennell evokes in his books is always exemplary but he takes the action beyond London this time, with Grace sent to Berwick-Upon-Tweed to investigate the murder of a young woman there, while Mallory follows a lead to Bridgwater. The more expansive scope of the storyline adds a fascinating dimension to the plot but also serves to underline the horrific legacy of the killer. As the various layers of this cleverly constructed thriller result in their identity being finally revealed, the narrative builds towards a tense, harrowing resolution; A Violent Heart is compulsive reading throughout but the climatic final scenes are particularly gripping.
A Violent Heart is a nuanced, addictive thriller; David Fennell complements his nerve-shredding, serpentine plot with warmth, compassion and humour, always ensuring the victims are infused with their humanity. A stellar read and most definitely one of my favourite books this year, I whole-heartedly recommend it.
A Violent Heart is published by Zaffre Books and can be purchased from bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones, Foyles, Kobo, Amazon or from your favourite independent bookstore.
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About the Author
David left Belfast for London in 1985 with £50 in one pocket and a dog-eared copy of Stephen King's The Stand in the other (he had big pockets). He jobbed in bars and restaurants and later worked as a writer in the software industry.
He is now a full time novelist and some time screenwriter. In 2017 his first thriller, SLEEPER was published by the Dome Press under the partial pseudonym, JD Fennell. The follow up, SLEEPER: THE RED STORM, was published in 2018, and was shortlisted for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize. In 2023, a revised edition of both books were published by Canelo as a one volume beautiful hardback collector's edition with red and black spredges (sprayed edges)
His most recent books include the bestselling THE ART OF DEATH, SEE NO EVIL and THE SILENT MAN, which was shortlisted for Thriller Book of the Year at the Capital Crime Fingerprint Awards and longlisted for the 2024 Glass Bell Award. A VIOLENT HEART is published in 2024.
He is married and he and his partner split their time between Central London and Brighton.
Thanks for the blog tour support x
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