I was beyond thrilled when I was accepted for this on Netgalley. I love Helen's books and her style of writing. This book is action packed from the get go. It's scary, gripping and thrilling. I always worry when I read books in a series that they may dwindle and become boring but that is certainly not the case with these.

The issues covered in this book are very serious and intense so the banter between MIT makes for a nice little breather. I'm also a big fan of DS Lively so it's nice to see him have his moment. I read this in one sitting and didn't really want it to end! I can't wait for the next!

Thanks to Netgalley and Avon books for the opportunity to read the latest from one of my favourite authors. I have read all the books in the DI Callanach series and enjoyed every one. As usual Helen Fields does not hold back , tackling the themes of human trafficking and organ harvesting. At times it was difficult to read and was very disturbing to think how brutally and inhumanly people are treated. This is definitely a rollercoaster ride and hard to see how the strands of the story would come together. Excellent.

I'm a huge fan of this series, so I was absolutely delighted to be accepted to read it ahead of publication. Helen Fields' books always have me hooked from page one, and are fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat reads. Perfect Kill is no exception! There are always a few bits in Field's books that I have to skip over because I'm too squeamish, but I think that's part of what I like about the series - it doesn't glamourise horrible things happening to people. Each book raises important issues, which seem to have been thoroughly researched.

These books just keep getting better. I can't wait to spend more time with Luc and Ava!

The most recent installment of Helen Field's series featuring DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callenach opts for two locations. Luc has been seconded to Interpol for a case in Paris and Ava deals with a case in Edinburgh.

Both cases are pretty gruesome. In Edinburgh, several strange murders have occurred in a short time, and eventually a connection to sex trafficking develops.

In Paris, Luc teams up with a former partner to investigate the murder of a young man from Edinburgh whose body is discovered in Paris. How did he get there and who harvested his organs?

As usual in this series, I like the characters and the writing while finding the crimes a bit fantastic and gruesome.

Fields' writing is excellent and both the main and secondary characters are well developed and believable. Those qualities keep me reading the series despite the dark and often bizarre plots.

Read in October; blog review scheduled for Jan. 27, 2020.

NetGalley/Avon Books UK
Crime/Police Procedural. Feb. 6, 2020. Print length: 400 pages.

Full review to be published online in mid January.

FIRST KILL is the sixth book in Helen Fields taut, engaging "DI Callanach" series. I have come to enjoy the UK police procedurals, and an once again engaged in the storyline presented. DI Luc Callanach is in Paris investigating an illegal organ harvesting ring and trying to mend bridges with his former Interpol college. At the same time, DCI Ava Turner is in Scotland, trying to cope with, a missing persons investigation, several murders that appear to be linked to people trafficking, relationship issues and some devastating news from her best friend. Both cases seem separate until a photograph of DCI Turners missing person turns up on French soil. The bookncan be read as a standalone, as the cases are new in each novel, but the character development from previous books may hinder the full enjoyment of the read. The reader will definitely want to go back to the beginning of the series to catch up.

It was especially enjoyable to follow the development of DI Lively’s character in this book, as in the first few novels he was a really odious man. Here, you see another side to him, one that you makes you understand that there are two sides to every story. His dry humour, quick comments, and raw emotion for the victims is a very welcome relief as the majority of book is very intense.

FIRST KILL, and the whole series for that matter, are written on the dark and gritty side, even for this type of read. The descriptions are gruesome and the way some of the victims are treated leaves you with that sick feeling in your stomach with the evil in some characters. Great read, but the reader really needs to start at the beginning and work their way to this book.

So this is actually the first of Helen Field’s books that I’ve read, and even though there is a series and occasional referencing to previous books, I didn’t feel as though I was coming to the team late on. It’s a very easy book to get into and the characters are likeable and relatable.
The storyline is current and controversial, yet written extremely well.
The beginning was gripping, the middle was exciting, and the end was perfect.
A great read!

The Good

research. Man, this book was keen on details. Now, I don’t know anything about real police procedures, about the biology and other fields involved in this book, but the way it was written made me feel like the author was a police-detective, surgeon, prison guard, mechanic and witch at the same time. Every word on the page felt real and there were no conflicts that I was aware of. Hats off to this, Ms Helen Fields.

writing. Exquisite. I loved every single word I read. Just like mentioned before, it all felt real. The topics in this book are actually very real and I will get to it a bit later, but the fact that she managed to combine fiction and reality in such a way you never felt them contradicting each other, that was super cool!

characters. OKay. So I only got to know the main characters of the series now, as I have not read any of the previous books ( I did however add them all to my shopping list) but they were SO GOOD! I loved DCI Ava, I loved Mr. Callanach and his pals, I loved how I was introduced to them in a way that helped me get their vibe but wouldn’t have pissed me off , had I read the previous books. We have one romanian character and here I will talk a bit more.

romanian character. I am biased in my choosing to talk about Elenuta here BUT this was the first book I read which shone some light of a very bad and important problem regarding Eastern Europe which is human trafficking. Romanian women are a big percentage of the women trafficked in Europe since we have many poor regions and girls seeking work are lured with promises of high salaries and few working hours. They are invited to interviews to talk about what the job involves and there they are kidnapped and stacked in trucks or worse, then sent to other countries and sold as prostitutes. The reason I appreciate the author to no ends for choosing Elenuta as a character ( although the name choice is not the happiest.. the name is Elena and Elenuta is its pet name so no one would actually introduce themselves by Elenuta) is because she steered away from any tasteless stereotype and she presented her as a strong, empathetic and smart woman. That is to crash to the ground the idiotic assumptions that only a “lower class” woman could fall prey to the traffickers.

plot. It was action packed and so real. I think I may overuse the word “real” but there was no fictional nonsense about it. The entire book read like it wrote itself, the author stayed behind and let the story unfold. She didn’t feel the need, not once, to make herself present.

relationships. Complicated and realistic. People are a mess. Bad things happen to the good ones. Some give up their personal lives in order to dedicate themselves to their work. Some hold childish grudges in their 30s. These are humans. And they are in this book.

The Bad

ending. Okay, don’t get scared, this is not THAT BAD. However, it ended far too good for me. The ending lacked a bit of that “life actually screws you over IRL and it only looks good on paper” vibe that the entire book had. If you read it, which I urge you do, you’ll know what I mean

Conclusions

Do I recommend this one? Absolutely. I loved it all, I will read it again and I will push it in the face of every single person I know. I pray it will be translated in Romanian so I can install myself at the corner of the busiest street and throw it at every passing person. I AM that dedicated.

I am a big fan of Helen Fields and this is the next instalment of the DI Luc Callaghan and DCI Ava Turner series and was just as brilliant as the others, if not more so.

Although Luc and Ava have worked together before and managed to totally screw up a budding romantic relationship, they are in different locations for this one. Luc is in France, on secondment to Interpol and Ava is still in Edinburgh as a DCI in the MIT team. All of the characters in the novels continue to develop and it is so easy to pick up where the last storyline finished, although it can be read as a stand-alone.

The hard-hitting nature of this story revolves around human trafficking in different ways. Young, fit individuals are being used for organ harvesting, taken across the channel one way and the same container is used to transport women in the other direction to become sex workers.

I was completely enthralled, despite the fact that some of it made for difficult, heart-rendering reading. The whole novel is packed with clever, sometimes witty, sometimes upsetting scenes and the human side to everything is covered with suck care including the friendship between Ava and her best friend, Natasha.

Thank you to NetGalley, Avon Books, UK and Helen Fields for this ARC of Perfect Kill in return for my honest review.

Another brilliant read. Highly recommended.

What a page turner! Switching between Scotland and France with ease due to likeable investigators (familiar if you have read others in the series, but equally as good as a stand alone), this story weaves human relationships with evil tendencies. The perfect son is abducted and the reader is shown how it has been orchestrated to retrieve his valuable organs. In return, he has been traded for sex traffickers, shipped to Scotland to be abused and violated. By no means is this an easy read but the human touch means that you are routing for each of the innocent characters and invested in them from the very start. Written with grit and emotion, it’s not a book to be enjoyed but one you will be very glad you have read. Thank you to Netgalley for keeping me up until the early hours to find out the fate of Bart!

A young man wakes up to find himself shackled in a container - he has no idea how he got there. A body discovered in France with all its organs removed. Young women being trafficked from Europe to Scotland and held as sex slaves. The cases are being investigated by DCI Ava Turner in Edinburgh and Detective Luc Callanach on secondment with Interpol in Pars.

Fantastic read from start to finish - really love this series.

Thanks to Netgalley, Avon Books and Helen Fields for the ARC of this book in return for an honest review.

A delightful thriller with a unique premise. Excellent characters and fast paced. Highly enjoyable with writing that will keep you reading.

I thoroughly enjoyed this, the latest in the Luc Callanach/Ava Turner series. The pair start in different countries working on different cases which begin to converge and in fact turn out to be different aspects of the same crime.
The book is set in Edinburgh and Paris. In the UK Ava is dealing with murders with what appears to be a link with women being trafficked to Scotland as sex workers. At the same time, young healthy people are going missing without any clues as to their destination. In France, Luc is seconded to Interpol and is reunited with his precious partner Jean-Paul, they come across what appears to be illegal organ harvesting.
The interactions between characters is believable, this is the sixth in a series and one of the joys of such series is the development of characters as it develops, this book is no exception.. Ava and Luc are rebuilding the bridges which were burned at the end of book 5. DS Lively's character is developing well too. There are dark scenes in the book as you would expect with such harrowing topics but they are well dealt with and it's a good read.
It stands alone perfectly well, but the series is definitely worth reading.
I found the book an addictive read, and hardly put it down.

Organ Harvesting, People trafficking, sex slaves.... DCI Luc Cavanagh and DCS Ava Turner are back in another nail biting, gripping read. These are getting better and better the further in the series and the more established we get with these characters

Well developed plot and characters. The fast paced storyline kept me invested until the very end. I would recommend this title.

Another gripping instalment in this well established series with the return of several characters and a fast paced twisted plot. Set in two countries and with international crimes Has and Luc have very different but closely related cases to solve

This story unfolds in both Paris and Edinburgh, and features human trafficking, missing persons and organ harvesting. Perfect Kill is the sixth instalment of the Callanach/Turner series , each of which could be read as a standalone novel but I’d recommend reading them all to fully appreciate the dynamics between the characters.

Having read the previous books in this series, I was eager to know the latest developments between DI Luc Callanach, who last we knew was returning to France, and DCI Ava Turner, who was sending him away.

Another great page-turner by Helen Fields, which had me engrossed. I thoroughly enjoyed the development of DI Lively’s character in this book. Earlier in the series, he appeared unlikable and obnoxious, however this book shows another side to him.

The whole series - and especially this book - are not for the faint hearted; several times I wondered how on Earth Helen Fields came up with the ideas featured in the book. It left me curious as to the extent these things happen in real life.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to preview this ARC.

DCI Ava Turner, DI Luc Callanach and the team are back, although in different countries. Luc is working on secondment with Interpol on France where he is dealing with a murder of a young man, possibly Scottish. Ava is running an understaffed team looking at a missing person who may be similar to the young man found in France, two murders of local criminals and the discovery of parts of three bodies on a pig farm. Is it possible that some of these cases are linked? Maybe they all are connected? This book is fast paced and exciting but there are personal issues going on, Luc is back working with his old friend Jean Paul, Avas friend Natasha is having a hard time and Ava and Lucs relationship is complicated to say the least.
I am a big fan of Helen Fields and this book does not disappoint!! I love the characters of Ava, Luc, Natasha and Lively. I am already looking forward to the next instalment!
Thank you to Netgalley, Helen Fields and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

As a big fan of Helen Fields, I couldn't wait to read Perfect Kill so I'm very grateful for my ARC from NetGalley. After every book in the Perfect... series I've said it's been the best so far but this one really is the best yet. I couldn't put it down! The story was amazing, a real thriller that grabbed me from the start. It sees Luc working on a case in Paris and Eva dealing with multiple bodies in Edinburgh. It's not for the squeamish and deals with the very unpleasant stories of human trafficking and organ harvesting. Eva is at her best, stronger & more courageous than ever in her working life but struggling with her personal life. Luc is dealing with his past and trying his best with the present. I enjoy the on/off romance of them, it's light relief from the dark murders and brutality. Liveley truly shows what he's capable of and it's great to see his character growing. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I loved Perfect Kill and hope there will be many more in the series

This is the first book by Helen Field that I have read. I can't wait to back track and read other the previous books in this series. This book is a real page turner with a great plot.

Thank you NetGalley, publisher and author for allowing me to read this great thriller.

Each time Helen Fields releases a book in this series i have this moment of fear that it can't possibly match the brilliance of the previous one. However each and every time i've been proved wrong. Luc and Ava are two of the most, complex, frustrating, fun and brilliantly written characters i've had the pleasure of reading. Each story has such an intricately weaved story and introduces people which you may only know for this one book but who you grow to feel so passionate about. Natasha's part was lovely, especially the end and i absolutely loved getting to see Lively get involved in a new way. Just amazing.