I was rather slow getting around to reading this novel, and damn was that a stupid idea. The Second Girl is easily one of the strongest starts to a crime series that I’ve read in years. The characters, story, pacing… all of it worked perfectly. I was hooked from the opening scene, and all I wanted to do was keep reading.

The novel opens with Frank Marr — former DC narcotics policeman, current PI — staking out a drug stash. He’s not there to bust the dealers. Rather, he’s there to steal their product. As the synopsis states, Marr’s a drug addict, so he spends almost as much time planning his next score and hit than he does investigating his cases. However, and this is very important, his addiction isn’t the predominant factor in the story. Yes, he frequently needs a bump, and he does spend a lot of time thinking about when he can next get one. But this isn’t a Drug Novel.

In many ways, The Second Girl features many of the best crime novel tropes — most obviously, the flawed protagonist anti-hero. However, Swinson writes so damn well, and has put just enough of a new spin on these elements to make it feel fresh and new. His characters are superbly rendered, and they feel completely real. Despite never reading about these characters before, The Second Girl has that natural, comfortable quality in reading of a long-established series. Marr is a great protagonist, skirting the edge on so many levels, but never falling off. We care about his wellbeing and fate from early on, even if he does commit some pretty heinous acts. (Never too heinous that he can’t be redeemed, however.) There’s nothing overblown or melodramatic in the telling. The action is understated and realistic.

I have already finished the sequel, Crime Song. After finishing The Second Girl, I spent about ten minutes wondering what I wanted to read next, before realizing that the only thing I wanted to read was the next book in the series. I’ll post a review of that in the next few days. (Spoiler: I liked it as much as I did The Second Girl.)

This may very well be my favourite new crime series. A must read for all fans of the genre, and anyone looking for a gripping novel. Superb. Very, very highly recommended.