Oh My Goodness. This was one heck of a read for me. With a killer (see what I did there) first chapter which pretty much sets the tone for the rest of what follows, this book gripped me from the off and held me hostage until I had to put it down when life intruded and I had to go score a cricket match. Luckily, we trounced our opposition and I had an early finish. Getting straight back into it was an absolute relief and I read the last two thirds in just one sitting.
I said in my review for Faceless, the first in this series and well worth a read, that I had a bit of trouble initially connecting with Roz. In this, her second outing, we clicked right from the off with absolutely no sign of there even being a problem. I love the way that she works. Yes, she's still a bit gung ho, and has a different kind of respect for authority, but it works, and some of her "inner dialogue" just has me in stitches and made me love her all the more.
In this book she is on the case of a really rather nasty killer who inflicts all sorts of horrible things on his victims. Unlike most books, we know who he is from the off, there is no secret there, but the joy of the book is watching him commit his crimes and then follow as Roz and her team tries to piece it all together and figure out the who and why. We follow both Roz and the killer, Kevin, in alternating chapters with Kevin's also containing flashbacks to his past. Giving insight into how things escalated for him and made him what he is today.
With the killer known from the start, it must be hard to keep the reader interested. Obviously not everything can be taken quite at face value but the beauty of this book was that there was enough kept back to keep the intrigue level high enough for me to keep reading. It's hard to explain without giving stuff away but believe me, its the journey not the destination that was key for me in this book. And with a killer so brilliant as Kevin, it was a wild old ride. If I am allowed to be in awe of someone so heinous, then I admit it. He impressed me no end. But then on the other side, his careful plotting and planning was expertly unravelled by Roz who completely excelled herself with her insight and lateral thinking, dedicated and determined all the way, up until she hit a big brick wall in her investigation. To find out what happens next you'll just have to read the book but believe me, it's one great ending!
I'm not usually one for giving warnings about books but this one is particularly grisly. Luckily, as already mentioned, the tone is set in the first chapter so, if you are unsure of your comfort level, you would do well trying the sample first. Me, I'm hard core, the nastier the better. So hard core in fact, I'm having sausages for my tea tonight!
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book is interesting with lots of twists to it. You know a lot about the killer, but not all. Some you can guess, but it doesn't detract from the story. A good book, well worth reading