Author catch up - Helen Fields

Helen Fields' first book - Perfect Remains - had been sitting on my shelf for several months when Perfect Prey arrived. They were actually only published six months apart, but it felt like a lot longer, as I had seen people raving about them on social media. Since this is the beginning of a series, it made sense to review them together.

Soon after reading Perfect Remains, I suspected that this serial killer series would become one of my favourites. After reading Perfect Prey, I can definitely say it's now in my top crime series list. Both books feature DI Luc Callanach and DI Ava Turner and are set in Edinburgh.

In Perfect Remains, DI Luc Callanach arrives in Scotland and is drawn straight into a murder investigation. Women are being taken and murdered by a serial killer, with very little of their remains being left behind. Can Callanach and Turner prevent another death? Time is running out....

In Perfect Prey, Callanach and Turner are back, investigating a series of gruesome murders. Each victim seems to be a pillar of the community. Their name is featured on graffiti around the city - graffiti that appears BEFORE the crime takes place. What's going on?

I can't praise these books highly enough. I read them in two sittings each, totally engrossed in the chilling plots, kept on the edge of my seat, barely taking a breath.

In both books, the killings are very dark and very twisted with a hint of horror. The writing is stunning and compelling, with vivid descriptions of people and places. It's also emotional - the detectives are very real, flawed but realistically so. Callanach is French/Scottish origin, which provides an intriguing backstory.

This would be a perfect series for the big (or little) screen. There are SO many twists and turns and 'gasp out loud' moments - these intelligent crime thrillers are a brilliant rollercoaster read.  No cliches here - these plots are totally unique. If you're a fan of Fiona Cummins' Rattle (one of my favourite serial killer books), you're likely to enjoy Helen Fields' books too (and vice versa).

I'm looking forward to seeing how Callanach continues to develop as a character, and also his relationship with Turner as the series goes on. So I can't wait to read Helen Field's next book, Perfect Death, which is out in January 2018.

About the books

Perfect Remains
Published by Avon (26 January 2017)

Publisher's description

On a remote Highland mountain, the body of Elaine Buxton is burning. All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing.

In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness…

Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team. But Edinburgh, he discovers, is a long way from Lyon, and Elaine’s killer has covered his tracks with meticulous care.

It’s not long before another successful woman is abducted from her doorstep, and Callanach finds himself in a race against the clock. Or so he believes … The real fate of the women will prove more twisted than he could have ever imagined.

Perfect Prey
Published by Avon (27 July 2017)

Publisher's description

Welcome to Edinburgh. Murder capital of Europe.

In the middle of a rock festival, a charity worker is sliced across the stomach. He dies minutes later. In a crowd of thousands, no one saw his attacker.

The following week, the body of a primary school teacher is found in a dumpster in an Edinburgh alley, strangled with her own woollen scarf.

D.I. Ava Turner and D.I. Luc Callanach have no leads and no motive – until around the city, graffitied on buildings, words appear describing each victim.

It’s only when they realise the words are being written before rather than after the murders, that they understand the killer is announcing his next victim…and the more innocent the better. 

BEST OF CRIME with Fiona Cummins

Welcome to my latest BEST OF CRIME feature, looking at crime writers' top picks, from their favourite author and fictional detective to their best writing tip. 

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

FIONA CUMMINS

to share her BEST OF CRIME ...

... AUTHORS
There are so many brilliant crime writers out there it's almost impossible to narrow it down to one, but I know I must so I will choose Agatha Christie. She was my introduction to crime novels – I would, ahem, borrow my mum's library books and read them under the covers by torchlight, long after I was supposed to be asleep. Christie had an unrivalled talent for weaving a compelling story within an intricately crafted framework, all while making it seem effortless.

... FILMS/MOVIES
Gah, this is so difficult. But Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill had a profound effect on me. Is there anything more kick-ass than a bride who seeks to avenge the wrongs wrought upon her in the most brutal of ways? I know some will balk at the violence, but there is something incredibly powerful about a woman getting it done (or maybe it's only me who has dark revenge fantasies...).

... TV DRAMAS
I don't watch a whole lot of television but I loved American Horror Story, about a family who move into a house with a dark past. For me, it contained the perfect ratio of psychopathic killings and the supernatural. The opening credits were so creepy I had to fast-forward them, though. 

... FICTIONAL KILLERS
Dr Hannibal Lecter. No-one else comes close. 

... FICTIONAL DETECTIVES 
Hmmm. Tough one. By rights, I should say Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple, but I want to spread the love so I'm going to say  John Connolly's Charlie Parker, a private investigator and ex-cop with a tragic past, who has to confront supernatural foes as well as human ones.

... MURDER WEAPONS

Lamb to the Slaughter, a short story by Roald Dahl. Is there anything more genius than a housewife who kills her husband with a frozen leg of lamb and then serves up the murder weapon to the detectives investigating his violent demise? 

    

... DEATH SCENES
Initially, I was going to talk about the ice pick in Basic Instinct, but that got me thinking about the infamous rabbit scene from the 1987 film Fatal Attraction starring Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. Close's character Alex, who has a fling with happily married Dan (played by Douglas), places his family's pet in a pot of boiling water on the stove. It's not a death scene as such (well, I guess it is for the rabbit), but the threat is so implicit and so shocking that it spawned the phrase 'bunny boiler', dictionary definition: a woman who acts vengefully after having been spurned by her lover.

  

... BLOGS/WEBSITES
I often use forensic guides from individual police forces to help me with procedural elements, and the internet is the perfect research tool. That's how I discovered Dr Britt Raubenheimer, an oceanographer who answered some questions for me about tidal patterns in my second novel The Collector.

... WRITING TIPS
Keep going.

... WRITING SNACKS
Biscuits. Or crisps. Or both.

About FIONA CUMMINS

Fiona Cummins is an award-winning former Daily Mirror showbusiness journalist and a graduate of the Faber Academy Writing a Novel course. Rattle, her bestselling debut novel, received international critical acclaim when it was published earlier this year. It is also in development as a six-part TV series by the producers of Kick-Ass and Miss Sloane. Her second novel The Collector will be published in February. Fiona lives in Essex with her family.

Find Fiona Cummins on Twitter - @FionaAnnCummins

About RATTLE

Publisher's description

A serial killer to chill your bones

A psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter.

He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he's just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family's macabre museum.

Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt.

Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs.

What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey's father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions.

Set in London's Blackheath, Rattle by Fiona Cummins explores the seam of darkness that runs through us all; the struggle between light and shadow, redemption and revenge.

It is a glimpse into the mind of a sinister psychopath. And it's also a story about not giving up hope when it seems that all hope is already lost. 

Rattle was published in paperback by Pan on 24 August 2017.

Look out for more BEST OF CRIME features coming soon.

Click here to read more BEST OF CRIME features.

Rattle by Fiona Cummins

Rattle
By Fiona Cummins
Published by Macmillan (26 January 2017)
ISBN: 978-1509812264

Publisher's description

A psychopath more frightening than Hannibal Lecter.

He has planned well. He leads two lives. In one he's just like anyone else. But in the other he is the caretaker of his family's macabre museum.

Now the time has come to add to his collection. He is ready to feed his obsession, and he is on the hunt.

Jakey Frith and Clara Foyle have something in common. They have what he needs.

What begins is a terrifying cat-and-mouse game between the sinister collector, Jakey's father and Etta Fitzroy, a troubled detective investigating a spate of abductions.

My verdict
I loved Rattle and can't praise it highly enough - the writing is brilliant, the plot is brilliant... in fact, everything about it is brilliant. There aren't many serial killer books around at present, so it's certainly very different to other crime novels too.

The plot is chilling - children are going missing and it seems that there is a serial killer on the loose. He's evil, creepy and certainly someone to avoid - but that's not easy when you have something he wants and he'll do anything to get it.

Fiona Cummins writes atmospheric chilling prose - vivid descriptions of people and places that made my skin tingle - and has created a gripping plot filled with action, intrigue and believable characters. I held my breath for many of the final chapters. The book has clearly been well researched and I found the medical background fascinating (possibly because of my own interests in health and medicine). This is a crime thriller with unbelievable depth.

Rattle is stunning. I couldn't put it down - yet didn't want it to end. Just as well there's a sequel in the pipeline!

I received an Advance Reader Copy.

The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer

The Beautiful Dead
by Belinda Bauer
Published by Bantam Press (17 November 2016)
ISBN: 978-0593075517

Publisher's description

There’s no safety in numbers . . .

Eve Singer needs death. With her career as a TV crime reporter flagging, she’ll do anything to satisfy her ghoulish audience.

The killer needs death too. He even advertises his macabre public performances, where he hopes to show the whole world the beauty of dying.

When he contacts Eve, she welcomes the chance to be first with the news from every gory scene. Until she realizes that the killer has two obsessions.

One is public murder.

And the other one is her . . .

My verdict
The Beautiful Dead is a powerful, gripping & rather disturbing read. It's fast paced and tense, with plenty of twists, turns and surprise, and I read most of it in one sitting.

This is a serial killer story, but with a quirkiness that makes it stand out from the crowd. Each death scene is beautifully crafted - the gruesome murders are deliberately put on public display by a killer who is desperate for an audience. He sees 'death as art'.  Eve is a TV reporter, desperate to keep on top of her career, and becomes his perfect 'partner' as he leads her to the scenes of his crimes.

The book is filled with highly descriptive prose and plenty of dark humour - every word counts. It's also gritty and unpredictable with sharp dialogue and an intriguing plot. All of the characters felt very real, from the killer himself to Eve and her father, who suffers from dementia, and even her next door neighbour Mr Elias.

I love the cover too - it's also a work of art and as stunning as the story inside.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher.