Review: Perfect Dead (DI Frank Farrell #2) by Jackie Baldwin

Print Length: 

Publisher: Killer Reads (June 15, 2018)

From Goodreads.com: Sometimes perfection is worth killing for…

The second gripping crime novel in an exciting new series. Ex-priest DI Frank Farrell finds himself on the trail of a vicious killer in rural Scotland. Perfect for fans of Stuart MacBride, James Oswald and Val McDermid.

Each murder brings him one step closer to the perfect death.

Ex-priest DI Farrell is called on to investigate a gruesome death in rural Scotland. All evidence points to suicide, except for one loose end: every light in the cottage was switched off. Why would he kill himself in the dark?

The question sparks a murder investigation that leads to the mysterious Ivy House, home of ‘The Collective’, a sinister commune of artists who will do anything to keep their twisted secrets hidden.

And when the remains of a young girl are uncovered on a barren stretch of coastline, Farrell realises that there is something rotten in this tight-knit community. Now he must track down a ruthless killer before another person dies, this time much closer to home…

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My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

This is the first book in this series that I have read - but it will certainly not be the last! I found this novel to be extremely well executed (and very thought out in even the smallest of details). To be honest, I was a little concerned that with so many seemingly connected threads that there would be too much happening at once making it easy to get lost. However, with the way this was laid out it was easy to keep track not only of all the players and their parts in this, but also in what was going on and how it connected to the next thread. 

Each character in Perfect Dead is unique and integral to the overall plot. DI Frank Farrell is one of the more interesting characters I've read in awhile. Obviously, I don't know the details from the first story (a fact I am hoping to remedy soon), but the fact that he was at one time a Catholic Priest speaks volumes. I loved his inner turmoil between his past, his present and where he wanted to go in the future. However, as I mentioned, he was merely one of many. 

I found the plot of this novel to move along a a steady pace, but the details were added in such a way that it was easy to become lost within this world, working alongside these people as they diligently tried to solve these crimes. In fact, there were a few times where I did not expect the twists and outcomes that happened. 

I do believe this is a solid police/thriller/whodunit novel that will appeal to fans of all those genres.

DISCLAIMER: I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This has not affected my review in any way. All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own.

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                                 Perfect Dead is available from Amazon.com