Good story about family with secrets and what those secrets will push someone to do.
It’s about abuse, and what one will do to stop it even if it means giving up their life.
It’s about revenge and taking out anyone that gets in their way.
A thriller you think you have figured out but just don’t see what’s coming.

The second in the Frankie Sheenan Series, The Killer in Me, is fast paced and extremely well written. Gosh, I love me some great suspenseful police procedurals.

Having read the first book in the series, I was so excited to read the next book in the Frankie Sheehan series.

This book takes up after Frankie has healed from the last book and begins with her sister-in-law asking for help on a case of a family murder in her hometown. Years ago, a young man, Sean Hennessy, was accused of killing his parents and injuring his sister-in-law. He was put away for 15 plus years and now has been let out. As a documentary is being made about the killings, Frankie's sister-in-law asks her to exonerate him, but as this happens two similar killings pop up in Frankie's hometown, eerily similar to ones like Sean's family.

I think the strongest point in this go around was the same as before-- Frankie. Frankie has such a clear thought process and voice that you find yourself really brought into the story through her. She helps you get into this story at times when as a reader you might really struggle. Plus, it's almost at times as if you're detecting with her how her thought process works.

I like how the story turned out too. It makes sense that the guilty party isn't who you thought it was. That's why Kiernan's stories keep you going. You're not sure where she's going to take you. That cat and mouse game is expertly done at times.

I think i ended up docking stars for two reasons. Firstly, I didn't find the story as riveting as the first. It just didn't grab me until Frankie got more personally involved with her family members. Second, I felt like we were getting a plethora of characters thrown on the plate that we didn't really need to know in the long-run. I understand that sometimes the players matter. But not this many. Keeping the cast list more concise would have been helpful.

Overall, I am looking forward to more from this series. I did really enjoy Frankie!

It must really suck to be in Prison for murdering most of your family for over 17 years and upon release bodies start to turn up and you become prime suspect number one. It’s also difficult to be a detective in charge of figuring out what is happening to all these dead people and are they related to the release of this convicted murderer. I like this series and there’s great potential for a future stories involving DS Sheehan. I would like to see more depth to Detective Sheehan’s character. Bravo.

The Killer in My by Olivia Kiernan was an suspense novel that I honestly didn't figure out until the very end who was doing the killing!

Often times, I have a very good sense of who the killer is in the stories I read, but I was completely stumped and didn't see this one coming, even though after it was revealed I feel that the author left some clues for us throughout, that I probably could have picked up on sooner.

One that that I really enjoyed was the crime scene staging, because I could visualize exactly how they were placed with Kiernan's descriptions and it felt like something straight from Criminal Minds or a true crime podcast. The killer was sadistic and out for revenge.

The Killer in Me is told completely through Frankie Sheehan's point of view, I would have liked to see some from the killer's perspective, but it was still very will written and kept me engrossed throughout.

Although, this is the second book in the series, it was able to be read as a standalone no problem. If you are looking for suspense and little romance, this might just be the book for you!

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REVIEW:

It was good to get back into Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan’s world and unravel the clues to whatever case came her way. I love police procedurals and The Killer in Me proved to be a good one. The story is told by Frankie’s POV, so there was no bouncing back and forth between characters which was a nice change for me. I liked the concept of the story, though there were some parts of it that were a bit slow moving. There were several red herrings and I enjoyed trying to decipher whether Sean was innocent or guilty. The author did a great job of creating an unreliable character with him. It was easy to feel sorry for him and the life he missed out on. Even though Frankie is looking into this past case, she also has to deal with a more pressing current one. The murder of two people in a church. It was interesting to see Frankie and her team work behind the scenes to uncover clues as to what happened and rule out suspects. Both of these cases created an intriguing look at the past and the present. I was eager to discover how they would intersect if at all. For whatever reason, it took me a couple of tries to read this book, but once I started it again and got a few chapters in, it was easy to get into the story. The mystery was well done, and the ending was one I definitely did not guess.


RATING: 3½ OUT OF 5.

Did he do? Didn't he do it? He did it, right? Well, maybe not. Maybe?

The Killer in Me by Olivia Kiernan is a solid addition to the Frankie Sheehan detective series. I enjoyed the first in the series and, in my opinion, this one is even better. In this thriller/detective story/police procedural, we are introduced to Seán Hennessey who killed his parents and almost killed his sister. He has been in prison for 17 years, but he's out now. He has convinced Frankie's sister-in-law and her non-profit to look into his conviction because he is innocent. And now the media are on his side, as well.

Frankie is asked to revisit the original case at the same time that a series of grisly murders takes place - two bodies found staged in a church is the start. As she investigates the current murders, she starts to see connections to the old murders. Is she just trying to reinforce the case her colleagues made years ago or are there really threads connecting the two?

I went back and forth about Hennessey's guilt and who the current murderer was so many times! Every time I thought for sure I had it figured out, some new clue or event would happen and I'd have to reassess everything again. And then, the ending is completely satisfactory!

There is a lot to love in this story. I am a real fan of Frankie and her partner, Baz, who seem to both be smart and mostly sane characters without the usual completely "broken psyches" that fill a lot of detective novels. This I found refreshing. All of the police techs and investigators that make up the feisty Detective Chief Superintendent's squad are colorful characters and interesting in their own right. There are enough truly possible suspects to make guessing the ending difficult. (I did not guess the end at all!) And it's just a fun, well-written, solid, solid mystery.

(P.S. If you are worried about reading this second book before the first, I don't think it is a problem. There are few references to anything that happened in the first and the story and characterizations don't rely on the first book at all, in my opinion. But do go back and read that one, if you enjoy this one. It's also a treat.)

Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan grew up in Clontarf, Ireland - a fairly quiet suburb of Dublin. These days, it’s most famous for having a castle, a pretty good whiskey distillery, and there was a pretty significant battle there in 1014, but other than that? In our story, the most recent thing to put it on the map was Seán Hennessey and that time he murdered his parents.

The book opens with two bodies found in the local church, one lady who is topless but otherwise clothed and one man dressed in vestments. The man was clearly killed days before and transported to the church whereas the woman was murdered on site. The circle of suspects is small, but contains the aforementioned Hennessey, who has just been released from prison and is now living back in the village. A documentary is being produced to try to clear his name, so being accused of another round of murders is rather inconvenient for him.

I’m hesitant to say anything more than this, since the plot begins to twist and turn rather quickly. Ireland is producing some of the finest crime fiction out there right now and Kiernan is an able contributor to the oeuvre. This is an immersive tale which is well paced and mysterious, if not completely unpredictable. I read it on a recent long-haul flight and refused to put it down even for the meal service. Anyone looking for a European-set suspense thriller could certainly do worse than The Killer in Me.

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Another great book by Olivia Kieran! This is a gritty police procedural, with a complex mystery and interesting characters. This is the second book in a series featuring the lead detective.

I love all things by this author. I have always bee pleases with the plot and the thrill of the next page. Thank you for approving this title for me. Keep them coming

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

DCS Profiler Frankie Sheehan is rather nonplussed when she is asked by a convicted murderer, Séan Hennessey, to prove that he was innocent of the murder of his parents and attempted slaying of his sister. He has been released from prison, but he declares his innocence and hopes that Frankie will help him.

Frankie really doesn’t want to help, but she agrees and at the same time she is busily trying to solve other recent murders. She discovers an apparent connection between her current case and Séan’s past. Will Frankie be able to deal with everything going on, which includes the media’s attention?

It does not help matters that Frankie does not trust Séan. As she discovers that things go far deeper than she could’ve imagined, which include a lot of secrets, she really has her hands full. As a profiler, running into murder is part of her job, but sometimes it becomes overwhelming as we see in this story as it is told from her point of view.

This exciting story kept my attention from page one and I simply could not put it down. Although this is the second book in the Frankie Sheehan series, it can be read as a standalone.

I would like to thank Olivia Kiernan, Dutton and First To Read for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

I read book one in this series last year and while I liked it, I wasn't completely sold... but this happens sometimes as the first in a series is usually a mish mosh of getting to know the characters and a feel for the writing. It did keep me curious enough to want to continue and I'm so glad that I did.

Frankie is a strong character and I love her tenacity and love for her job. This fast paced police procedural keeps you on your toes and guessing... did he? Didn't he? Frankie's so suspect (see what I did there...) about whether this man who claims to be innocent actually IS. She really doesn't want to look into it and is absolutely skeptical but then the more information that becomes available the more she begins to question everything.

Kiernan does a fantastic job giving each character their own voice and there were quite a few, but you never got lost on what was happening in the scenes. I love stories that deal with the innocent til proven guilty/guilty until proven innocent. It's all too often that people get wrongly convicted.

A series I will definitely continue.

This second book featuring DCS Frankie Sheehan has a solid mystery and reads very much like an episode of CSI with the details about the crime scenes. In fact, the story includes plenty of detail about almost everything except our characters. On that front, I was hoping for something more. As it stands, the characters, including Frankie, lack enough personality to really get a feel for them, much less relate to them. As with any group of people who work closely together, I would expect some personal conversation, maybe some banter between friends, but there is a distinct lack of that here that gives the story a very straightforward and dispassionate atmosphere. On a positive note, the suspense is good with a murder mystery that isn't too easy to figure out. So, while I did like the murder mystery, the impersonal feel left me with a lack of connection to any of the characters, including Frankie.

The Killer in Me
A Novel

by Olivia Kiernan

PENGUIN GROUP Dutton

Dutton

Mystery & Thrillers

Pub Date 02 Apr 2019

I am reviewing a copy of The Killer In Me through Dutton and Netgalley:

I wanted to love this book, but unfortunately I did not, I struggled to get through it really, I’m a fan of Mystery and Suspense but this one did not capture my attention the way others have, that’s not to say the author’s writing style is flawed because that’s far from the case, the author obviously has talent.

Frankie Sheehan is a Detective Chief Superintendent who has seen her share of death but she is not the only one in her small coastal suburb who has an intimate acquaintance with death. Years ago Sean Hennessey shocked everyone in this closely knit community when he was convicted of the murder of his parents as well as the attempted murder of his sister but he has always maintained that he was innocent that he hadn’t been the one who killed his parents or tried to kill his sister. Seam is finally released from prison but as he is released two murders take place. These two cases pull Frankie farther and farther in, revealing the darker side of her community. Frankie will need all of her resources to catch a killer and to bring to light what really happened all those years ago!

I give The Killer In Me three out of five stars!

Happy Reading!

Frankie Sheehan is a small town Chief Detective who has been thrown into the middle of another heinous crime. She is called in to discover two bodies that have been left in the middle of a church. Unfortunately, there are no clues as to why this happened or who did it. A few months before, Sean Hennessey is released from prison. Sean was arrested for murdering his parents and attempting to murder his little sister. While he still maintains his innocence, the rest of the town is not so sure. Frankie has to decide if she is pinning Sean for these new murders seventeen years later or helping clear his name altogether.

I really loved this novel. It kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. At the beginning of this book, it just seemed like another who dunnit mystery. Soon enough, I was filled with more emotion than I have been for a mystery novel in awhile. It's perfect for anyone who loves a good puzzle, and I highly recommend you check it out.

Loved the first one Too close to breathe , I am still on the fence about the second installment of the series, Frankie investigates the death of a couple in a church , there is also the release of convicted killer Sean Hennessey who has maintained his innocence . Both stories seem to have no connection at first but the more Frankie and her team investigate the mote they become linked,
the story was good but did not grab me as much as the first book, I did not care about Sean's background and it made it hard for me to care about the story's development .
Olivia Kiernan has created a fascinating character in Frankie though , I will definitely read the next installment...

Just when I thought I had read every variation of the detective novel, along comes Detective Chief Inspector Frankie Sheehan. Kiernan has created a distant but dedicated lead character. With unique criminal profiling abilities and a zest for the truth, Frankie Sheehan refuses to bow down to media pressure or police politics in her pursuit of justice.

In Clontarf Ireland, a small seaside town just outside of Dublin, two dead bodies are found in a church. The crime scene staged by the killer to send a message. An obvious suspect presents himself in the form of Sean Hennessy; just released from prison for the double murder of his mother and father and the attempted murder of his sister. Frankie is aware of Sean’s release but she is slow to jump to conclusions. Frankie’s boss is applying extra pressure to her team for results. Hoping to offset any reactions to a new documentary regarding Sean’s case and his claims of innocence. While Frankie is unsure of the killer’s motive in her current case and questions her boss’s motivations for solving these murders; Frankie is sure the killer will strike again unless she intervenes.

When Frankie arrives to the crime scene she is still reeling from her earlier meeting with her sister-in-law Tanya and her new client. Tanya is a successful defense attorney and is now representing Sean Hennessy. Sean has always claimed his innocence and Tanya is trying to clear his name. To do this, Tanya has requested Frankie’s help. She wants Frankie to review the case file and listen to the new info she has uncovered. Frankie does not doubt Sean’s guilt but she is curious and would like to remove any doubt surrounding the police investigation if she can. Tanya coming to Frankie for help in clearing the name of a convicted murder says a lot about Frankie’s character. Tanya believes in her skills as a police officer as well as her integrity. One would think Frankie and Tanya would have an adversarial relationship; they’re in positions on opposite sides of the law. There is a bit of tension during their interactions but mostly they are connected by their need to know the truth no matter who “wins”. Tanya’s and Frankie’s relationship was one of the most interesting elements of The Killer In Me. I hope their relationship further develops in future books.

When I started The Killer In Me, I assumed the story would contain the usual ; a damaged yet determined investigator out to avenge wrong while fighting her own demons. While Frankie has her issues, they have not left her bitter. Instead these issues have given her a heightened sense which allows her to connect with murderers. She can see their actions and feel their emotions while viewing a crime scene; almost recreating the crime itself in her mind’s eye. This was a new element in a police procedural for me which I quite enjoyed.

Although slow at times, The Killer In Me is a compulsive read. With shocking reveals and a bit of true crime, I never found myself bored with The Killer In Me. I recommend reading book one of the series Too Close To Breathe before starting The Killer In Me. Fans of Anne Holt should add The Killer In Me to their list of must reads.

*Thanks to Net Galley and Dutton for my free review copy of The Killer In Me**

Murder and Moore Rating :
4 out of 5 Stars

4 stars – I was skeptical about reading this novel since in the past I’ve had a hard time understanding Irish novels, but I had zero issues with this one, it was super easy to follow.

I was also very intrigued about this story since it’s a police procedural that has a psychological aspect to it, as DCS Frankie Sheehan tries to understand the mind of a serial killer that was convicted for killing his family.

One of the thing I noticed right away was how atmospheric the novel was. The writing was impeccable, I truly felt like I was in the streets of Dublin.

Even though I thought this was a slow-burning police procedural, I really ended up loving the main character DCS Frankie Sheehan and would be interested in reading more books involving the Detective.

The pace did pick up near the end, but the ending left me confused. Don’t let that stop you from reading this though, maybe that’s just me.

The Killer In Me by Olivia Kiernan is the second instalment in the Frankie Sheehan series. I didn't realise that when I requested but it was still fairly easy to follow along. The story is set in Dublin and is narrated by Detective Chief Superintendant Frankie Sheehan who has her plates more than full when the discovery of a husband and wife's bodies are found in a local church.

After serving seventeen years in prison for killing his parents and attempting to murder his sister, convicted killer Sean Hennessey is released from prison around the time of the church double murders. When another body is found, the police are working overtime to solve them all and figure out if there's a link between the past and the present.

The book was well written, the characters were believable and the dialogue was convincing. The story started strong but unfortunately, I felt the story lacked action to keep my interest. It wasn't until around 80% of the book that the story did pick up and everything started to fall into place. I felt like there was a lot of unnecessary details that only slowed the pace of the book.

Thank you to Dutton Books for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Killer In Me, although a plot that has been done many times before, was a very interesting and exciting book to read. There was plenty of action and enough twists to keep my interest while keeping me guessing and I honestly did not figure out the “whodunit” at all so the ending was pleasantly surprising.