I would like to thank Netgalley and Inkubator Books for an advance copy of Deadly Obsession, the fifth novel to feature DCI Jane Phillips of the Greater Manchester Major Crimes Unit.

A series of murders initially has Jane and the team baffled until they realise that someone is recreating the crimes of Britain’s worst serial killers. Is it a team or an individual? Whoever it is is smart and always seems one step ahead.

I thoroughly enjoyed Deadly Obsession which is a compulsive read with a clever perpetrator. It doesn’t add anything new or revolutionary to the genre, but it’s a well done and engrossing example of it. It is told mostly from Jane Phillips’s point of view, although the killer gets plenty of exposure too. He is named, his motive is explained and there is enough detail about his life to make him appear an unlikely killer. Normally this is enough to put me off a novel, but in this case, strangely, it seems to make the novel more compulsive as the questions swirl - how much truth is he telling, is his motive as he says, how does he stay in front of the hunt for him? To get these answers there was no choice but to keep reading as fast as possible.

Jane’s side of the narrative is exciting and tense, not least because they have few clues and no idea of motive or when the killer will strike next. I like a clean investigation and this ticks the boxes with them trying all avenues until the sudden breakthrough results in a satisfying flurry of activity and action.

Deadly Obsession is a good read that I can recommend.

This is another good read by the author. The plot was very creative and kept me interested throughout. There is not much character development from the previous book but it seemed to work very well. A copycat serial killer is on the loose and the team are investigating, along with a forensic psychologist. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would definitely recommend it. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC

4 stars

A creative serial killer plot that kept me engaged throughout the book, with a satisfying ending. Not heavy on character development, but what’s there worked.

[What I liked:]

•The forensic psychologist who is brought in to profile the serial killer is a cool character. She gives the crimes a lot of interesting analysis at a depth I don’t usually see in detective novels, yet it never felt like awkward fact dumping. I quite enjoyed the addition of her character.

•The plot is really fun. I don’t want to spoil by explaining, but the serial killer set up is pretty creative & interesting!

•I like pretty much all the characters. Phillips doesn’t have much depth, except for being a cat owner, but Jones & Carter are pretty well rounded characters.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•There’s some uncomfortable casual homophobia going on with Phillips’ team, like the guys teasing that one guy “looks gay”, & then that guy being offended by the suggestion. Is that really necessary?

•Maybe this is a regional dialect thing, & has a different connotation than I’m used to, but multiple characters referred to multiple women throughout the book as “cows”, including murder victims. It felt disrespectful to me.

•Phillips is really controlling. She claims not to like office politics, but she gets pissed off whenever her boss tries to help with ideas she admits are good, because it wasn’t *her* idea. Doesn’t really help me like the MC.

CW: mentions of child abuse, elder abuse, murder, substance abuse, homophobia, graphic violence

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

Murder is an art. And someone has been studying the great masters.

I really liked DCI Jane she was fearless and smart! This is the fifth book in the series!. I'm have not read the other four! But I don't think you really miss much by not reading them in order!
This was a good book! My type of book! I enjoy reading about serial killers!