What a fantastic thriller. Set in Dublin, The Killer in Me follows Detective Frankie Sheehan as he investigates a double murder. I have to say I really enjoyed the book, the twists, the suspense, the fast-paced narrative and very particular fascinated with how interesting character Detective Frankie is.

Thank you to the Publisher Dutton and Netgalley for the advanced free copy in exchange for an honest review, and Maria for inviting me to the Blog Tour.

This was a great find, and even though it was the second in the series (which, once again, the publisher neglected to mention in the NetGalley description - a thing that seems to happen with great frequency, much to my frustration), I found it a thoroughly enjoyable read on its own. DCS Frankie Sheehan is a marvelous and fairly old-school copper, and her internal struggles to maintain objectivity and professionalism felt wholly authentic and rang true as a bell. The mystery underlying the murders was well established and the secrets and misdirections were carefully parsed out, keeping me wholly engaged from the opening pages until the bitter end. I'm definitely checking out the first in series now, and will keep my eye on this series in future - the writing is strong, the characters are well-developed and engaging, and the mysteries are carefully constructed and revealed bit by bit. All in all this was a great find.

I want to first say thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for this ARC of The Killer in me by Olivia Kiernan in exchange for an honest review.
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While it did start off a little slow for me it definitely picked up as the story went on. I loved how strong of a character Frankie was and how determined she was to get to the truth of both cases, past & present.
With a growing list of victims and suspects, you’ll think you have it figured out but the ending surprises you. This is the first book I’ve read by this author but I can’t wait to read more from her. If any of you suspense lovers are looking for a new book to read I’d definitely recommend adding this one to your TBR pile!
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Seventeen years ago Sean Hennessey was found guilty of murdering his parents and attempting to kill his younger sister, despite proclaiming his innocence. Upon Sean’s release, Detective Frankie Sheehan is asked to review the case. However, when two new bodies are discovered she must try to figure out the mysterious connection between the cases. Now with the mounting pressure, the rising body count and all of the media attention Frankie must race to get the truth before someone else gets hurt. Will Frankie be able to catch a killer and clear Sean of the past? You’ll have to read it to find out!!

Overall I'm kind of disappointed in this book. I definitely went in thinking we were going to get a novel about justice and instead we got a novel about revenge. Unfortunately I found all of the characters to be extraordinarily dull with little to no emotion shown at all and I was able to guess who the bad guys were relatively quickly so the rest of the book felt like I was waiting for the plot to play catch up. The only thing that I kept holding out hope for was that the Chief Superintendent Sheehan would wind up getting together with her partner (spoiler alert, they don't).

My largest problem with this story is the fact that even though one of the main detectives attempting to solve these crimes was directly involved in past crimes with a family member they were still allowed to investigate. Despite consistently showing their bias towards a potential person of interest they are allowed to spew beliefs that may or may not hinder the investigation. The woman in charge of overseeing the investigation and helping with press conferences all but admits to knowing that there is some shady things going down and just keeps wanting to let them happen. 

Mostly this book was a giant pile of disappointment which is really frustrating because I wanted to like it. I thought it was going to be exciting and that we were going to watch someone proves innocence and instead we got 350 pages of mediocre detective work and no partner action.

So this might mark the first time I've ever read a book out of series order...I had not read Too Close to Breathe before picking up The Killer in Me, but it's for sure been added to my TBR pile now! A young man who's been in jail for killing his parents and trying to kill his sister as a teenager was just released from jail after seventeen years. A wife and husband are found murdered inside a church. Are the two cases related?? It's up to Detective Frankie Sheehan to find out - and her job might just be on the line. This book was a quick read that drew me in within the first few pages. It reminded me of the books of Tana French, one of my favorite authors. I'll be reading the first in the series as soon as I can get my hands on it, and I'll be on the lookout for more from this fantastic author!!

New Murders May Have Their Roots in an Old Crime

Frankie Sheehan’s sister-in-law runs a charity for victims of justice. She has a new client, Sean Hennessey. He has been in jail for 17 years for killing his father and mother and attempting to murder his sister. He says he’s innocent, but Frankie’s not so sure. Pressured by her sister-in-law to review Sean’s case, Frankie agrees, but when two more bodies are found in the local church, she has her hands full.

As the investigation progresses, more bodies turn up. The juxtaposition of Sean’s release and the new murders makes Frankie suspicious, but she has to be careful about drawing conclusions, particularly when a documentary is being made about him.

This is a very dark story. The victims are not likable people. It’s difficult to want to solve the case because of them. However, Frankie and her friends are people you can relate to. The author has done a good job bringing out their individual traits. Frankie does an admirable job connecting the clues and providing a satisfactory ending. Her problem is being a bit over zealous in profiling the killer.

If you enjoy mysteries where the detective follows the clues to a successful resolution, you’ll enjoy this book.

I received this book from Penguin Random House for this review.

Death is no stranger to Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan, but she isn’t the only one from her small, coastal suburb to be intimately acquainted with it. Years ago, teenager Seán Hennessey shocked the tight-knit community when he was convicted of the brutal murder of his parents and attempted slaying of his sister, though he always maintained his innocence.

Now, Seán is finally being released from prison—but when his newfound freedom coincides with the discovery of two bodies, the alleged connection between the cases only serves to pull Frankie further from answers even as it draws her closer to her town’s hidden darkness.

This is a fast paced crime thriller that is surrounded by family. There are a lot of characters in this book, so sometimes it can be a little difficult to keep up with everyone. The Killer in Me would be fine as a stand-alone book, but there is a first book by this author called Too Close to Breathe that introduces us to Frankie. This was a pretty good book, I'll have to look into her first book.

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheKillerInMe
Pub Date: 02 Apr 2019

Thank you to NetGalley for a Kindle ARC of The Killer in Me.

I didn't read the first book in the series but The Killer in Me works well as a standalone.

DCI Frankie Sheehan is called to the scene of a gruesome double murder that has links to a shocking family murder from nearly two decades ago.

At the same time, her sister-in-law, Tanya, asks Frankie for her help on exonerating a man named Sean who was sent to prison for years for a crime he adamantly insists he did not commit.

The crime: the murder of his parents, his sister narrowly escaping death herself.

Is it coincidence that Sean is released around the same time as these new murders occur?

Did an innocent man serve a sentence for a heinous crime he did not commit?

As Frankie probes into the past, she discovers secrets with ties to her own family and their involvement in the murders years ago.

I liked Frankie; she is a tough, capable detective and it was just SO refreshing to read about a woman who is committed to her job and not bemoaning a lover or needs a lover to feel special or is moaning about a lover who is not returning her calls.

I would have liked more exposition on Frankie, but that might have been in the first book, which I didn't read.

I liked her colleagues, especially Baz. Everyone seems competent, collegial and knows what they're doing. There's no superfluous drama among her co-workers, or in Frankie's life, either.

This is a straight, just-the-facts-ma'am police procedural which I like.

There are a lot of characters to keep track of, names and dates, and red herrings dropped here and there but I didn't find it hard to keep up with everything that was going on.

I didn't like big bad guy, and I figured out who it was early on.

I don't like characters who make excuses for their actions, unless they revel in their evilness and diabolical nature, though I did sympathize with how he or she had been mistreated in the past and his/her harsh childhood.

I did like how family is a big part of the story; how your family shapes you, makes you who you are, and f**ks you up, yet what we do with the life we have left to us is still our choice.

What a fantastic psychological thriller! The Killer in Me by Olivia Kiernan had me wrapped around its little Irish crime novel finger! I couldn’t put this book down! Breathtakingly intense and captivating!

Set in the backdrop of Dublin, this book is narrated by Detective Chief Superintendent Frankie Sheehan who has herself not one, but two dead bodies on her hands. A husband and wife are found dead in a local church, just around the same time a convicted serial killer, Sean Hennessey, is released from prison — could this be a coincidence, Frankie thinks not! Hennessey was in prison for seventeen years for killing his parents and trying to kill his younger sister Cara. Frankie’s sister-in-law, who happens to be a layer, is attempting to get Hennessey’s conviction overturned and asks for her help. Time is ticking for Frankie and her team to catch the serial killer who is leaving bodies throughout this quaint Irish town. With the media down their back, and clues unraveling around them, can Frankie and her team catch this killer before it’s too late?

I absolutely loved the dialogue in this book. It was fast-paced, but easy to follow, especially as a crime novel, I could see the dynamic of these characters as I read. I truly enjoyed the small hints of Irish dialect too. It really made me smile while I read those lines.

Olivia Kiernan’s style of writing made the imagery of the location and scenery really pop. I could imagine I felt the sprinkles of the waves from the ocean on my face as Frankie and her team were searching for clues. Kiernan hit the mark in terms of writing. From the plot twists, to the building of the suspense to find the killer, I was on the edge of my seat throughout the whole book.

If you’re looking for a raw, captivating, and suspenseful crime novel, look no further than Olivia Kiernan’s The Killer in Me. You will never see who the true killer is — it left my jaw on the floor as I read it. I highly recommend this book!

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Group, Dutton and the author Olivia Kiernan for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very fast-paced suspenseful police procedural with a great story line with lots of twists and turns. Tanya West, lawyer and sister of DCS Frankie Sheehan, wants Frankie to review the case of former convicted killer Sean Hennessey who was just released after serving 17 years for killing his parents and the attempted murder of his sister, Cara. Tanya has a nonprofit organization that tries to get convictions quashed for people who have been wrongly convicted. This is a very well written book with a lot of characters and a sometimes confusing storyline. I did not read the first book in this series but this worked fine as a standalone. My only complaint with this book was I felt there were too many characters which made is confusing at times with the need to go back and re-read to try and figure out who somebody was. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this very interesting book in exchange for an honest review.

A decent-paced police procedural told from the first-person perspective of the main character, Frankie Sheehan. The characters are all well developed into a suspenseful and motivating plot surrounding the investigation of a gruesome murder case in Ireland. Kiernan gives just enough foreshadowing to leave the reader with a fine edge of tension. The story line itself is characteristic of most police procedurals but what sets this novel apart is the scene setting and dark noir feel that Kiernan has created. It has a highly anticipatory feel the whole way through. 4 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC of #TheKillerInMe