The Missing by Chris Mooney

The Missing by Chris Mooney
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 6 hours

Pages - 368

Publisher - Atria Books

Blurb from Goodreads

Darby McCormack was in high school when she first encountered the killer: someone murdered a woman in the woods where Darby and her two best friends were partying. His race to silence the witnesses was sure-footed and violent - but somehow Darby survived.

Twenty-five years later, Darby is a crime-scene investigator for the Boston Police Department, and a chilling case - a woman's late-night abduction - has her uncovering strange leads to missing women, past and present. As forensic clues lead her closer to a psychopath called the Traveler, Darby must finally resolve the nightmare of her past and come face-to-face with a killer who is determined to keep the missing - and the horrors they endured at his hands - from ever coming to light.


My Review

We open with a young Darby McCormack, drinking with her friends in the woods when they see a woman being murdered. The killer takes his revenge but Darby manages to survive, we flip to twenty three years later and Darby is a CSI. Investigating a young woman's abduction Darby finds a lead that will blow the case wide open and chase a killer who will stop at nothing to keep his game going.

Oooh I started this thinking just one chapter and then I will go to bed, I was still reading at 4am, I could not put it down. We follow McCormack and alternate a few chapters with the killer, the book draws you in from the get go with a murder within the first few chapters and the pace hottens up from there. As the investigation picks up McCormack realises this is a methodic, intelligent, psychopathic killer who has perfected his "art" over the years and isn't about to stop.

This book is not just a crime and murder story, it looks at the impact relationships and exposure have on human behaviour and choices. Secrets, lies, murder, love, partnership a bit of cat and mouse and police procedures. I actually gasped out loud reading a particular scene in this book and I haven't done that for ages. I loved this book, 5/5 for me & I had already bought the next four after the author joined our online book club so will certainly be reading him again.

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The Teacher by Katerina Diamond

The Teacher by Katerina Diamond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 400

Publisher - Avon

Blurb from Goodreads

You think you know who to trust?
You think you know the difference between good and evil?

You’re wrong …

A LESSON YOU WILL NEVER FORGET

The body of the head teacher of an exclusive Devon school is found hanging from the rafters in the assembly hall.

Hours earlier he’d received a package, and only he could understand the silent message it conveyed. It meant the end.

As Exeter suffers a rising count of gruesome deaths, troubled DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles must solve the case and make their city safe again.

But as they’re drawn into a network of corruption, lies and exploitation, every step brings them closer to grim secrets hidden at the heart of their community.

And once they learn what’s motivating this killer, will they truly want to stop him?

SMART. GRIPPING. GRUESOME.

This is a psychological crime thriller in a class of its own.

Warning: Most definitely *not* for the faint-hearted!




My Review

I picked this one up as part of a new feature starting on the Crime Book Club although I had heard lots of people raving about it. A head teacher is found hanged at a prestigious school in Devon, not long after receiving a parcel. Soon more bodies turn up, each more gruesome than the other and the police in Exeter know they have a deranged killer on their hands. As they investigate, the police find a horrendous motive and secrets that will rip open their small community. They have to stop the killer before they strike again, but who will be next and will they want to?

Oh I have to say guys, this book is not for the faint hearted, the killings are pretty graphic, brutal and leave the reader with a very vivid picture of what is happening. There are a lot of themes within the book that may upset some readers, exploitation, sex, abuse, torture and murder of course.

The chapters are not particularly long, not as short as James Patterson but not conventional length either, which I enjoy in a books makeup. There are a fair few characters however when switching or introducing a new one, they are highlighted at the top of each chapter. We have a split timeline for one of the characters from then and now, helping to understand why the person is the way they are. Sounds jumpy and complicated but it is actually written really well so the reader can follow it with no problems.

I read this pretty much in one sitting, you get the jist very early on what has happened, or hinted at and don't want to put the book down to see what happens next. The Teacher is a strong debut novel that certainly packs a punch and leaves you a tad squeamish but wanting more. I will be looking out for more of this authors work, 4/5 for me!

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