Copy kindly received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was really looking forward to reading this one, and the case itself seems interesting, but I just wasn't connecting with any of the characters and was finding that I was getting distracted easily from this one. Not for me it seems, but I have heard great things from others, so I am sure many will enjoy this.

A six in one murder; the police discover a body comprised of six body parts from other bodies stitched together. It's a race to find out who the bodies belong to. A list from the murderer nicknamed The Ragdoll Killer contains six names and days they are due to die. And to top things off? The last name mentioned is none other than Detective William-Oliver Layton-Fawkes.

Ragdoll is a multi-layered story of past, present and future. We begin with a prologue which seems to have little relevance to the story until later on. There are a few clearly marked flashback chapters which seem puzzling, but are a sly way of building foundation and backstory for the events that transpire later on.

Wolf has a complex character. We only see one side of him at a time, one opinion of him (including his own). As the puzzle becomes more complete and we finally know where to put those mysterious pieces, a clearer picture of Wolf emerges from the shadows. He is a man changed by much including abandonment and loss.

Daniel Cole has breathed a dark twisted story to life. Each character is different from all others. Moments in their heads help us understand who they are and why they act a certain way. Ragdoll is an amazing premier to the series and I'm looking forward to reading the next books. So far, this series is full of suspense, mystery, and the ever looming question of what happens next.

ONE BODY. SIX VICTIMS. NO SUSPECTS.
A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together, nicknamed by the press as the 'Ragdoll'. Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William 'Wolf' Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter. The 'Ragdoll Killer' taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.
With six people to save, can Fawkes & Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?

Originally written as a screenplay (and I can see how it would play out) RAGDOLL is the brainchild of Daniel Cole, a British writer, who has since published another psychological thriller, HANGMAN.

William Oliver Layton-Fawkes (Wolf), is the perfect made-for-TV hero. With a tortured past, an ex who just won't quit, and rugged good looks, he is the protagonist women love and men will want to be. His abrupt yet engaging dialogue and demeanour make it easy to connect with this book and watch it play out like a movie in your head.

The premise itself was what initially appealed to me. Being a huge fan of Jack Kerley, RAGDOLL was just what I was looking for as my next psychological crime thriller. But here's the kicker -- the REALNESS of the plot. So many thrillers I have read recently have this huge twist right at the end that leaves you feeling cheated. Either the twist is completely implausible, or it just never happens at all. This is not the case with RAGDOLL. The ending is tied up extremely well, and will not only leave you satisfied but hungry for more of Daniel Cole's unique writing style.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

The nation is gripped by the infamous 'Ragdoll Killer'. Your friends, your family and your neighbours are all talking about it
A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together like a puppet, nicknamed by the press as the 'ragdoll'.
Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William 'Wolf' Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter.
The 'Ragdoll Killer' taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.
With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?

Lots to love about this gripping suspense novel. Apparently the story was rejected as a screenplay but we have been lucky that the author has turned this into a novel instead.

First thing you sense is everything is larger-than-life - the murder scenes are bloody, the characters are overly flawed (but not to their detriment) and completely developed, the descriptions are broad and bold - you can "see" this on the big screen in your mind. And that is a very cool thing to be able to do.

Next, the story is excellent - a few years ago I read a book called Top Ten (Ryne Douglas Pearson) and this had a similar feel to me. The "ragdoll" concept was completely new and, when tied together with the list of "upcoming victims", it really worked as a plot.

Under that, on a completely different level is the interaction between the characters and the humor that filters all the way through this book. There are a number of characters that make this book what it is, turning it from a simple detective novel into something far more splendid. Even the press play a role in making this story a sensational one.

Finally, the only downside - The finish felt like a bit of a letdown. Didn't make a great deal of sense to me other than the fact it did the job of leaving it open for more books. Which is sad. I really do feel like dragging these characters through a series of books is going to take away from how great this book was. I think the ending could have been more in line with the rest of the novel - instead, it just feels shoved in for the sake of it. That probably doesn't make sense but it did in my head...

Still, I would have no hesitation recommending this book from those crime thriller fans who like their stories a little darker than others...


Paul
ARH

What an exciting find for 2017, I love the character of Detective Fawkes, what a sad but fascinating person he is! I am intrigued and very much looking forward to book number two. Great work Daniel Cole.

An excellent debut novel from Daniel Cole. The premise of the case - a body found that is actually a stitched up body composed of parts of six different victims - is enough to pique any crime reader's interest. Then launching into the book, the prologue alone comprised the most extraordinary scene. From there I was totally hooked. As with most crime reads there are twists and turns, but this one twisted in a direction I never would have picked. A dash of black humour sprinkled throughout, which is another component I always enjoy in my crime reads.
William "Wolf" Fawkes is one of the most interesting, but seriously flawed, detective characters I have read and I will be keen to read more of him in future works (expected now given Ragdoll is listed as Detective Fawkes #1).

Would be surprised if lovers of crime fiction were left dissatisfied with this one.

After attacking a child killer during his trial at court, Detective William Fawkes, known as Wolf, was publicly shamed and sent to spend time in a mental care facility. Now back on the job in Homicide, Wolf is painfully aware of a few things. First, that he was right all along. The killer he had attacked so savagely was eventually released, committing further atrocities before being recaptured. Second, that there’s a still a lot of people both in the force and out who think that Wolf has proven himself to be an unreliable loose cannon. Third, that proving himself to his police colleagues will only be the tip of the iceberg in his recovery.

Called to attend a crime scene in his own apartment complex, Wolf is faced with a cadaver that is nothing like he or anyone else in his division has ever seen before. Comprised of various body parts from different victims, the grotesquely constructed corpse is posed in such a way so that it is pointing towards Wolf’s own apartment. The killer soon makes contact with the media, providing a future hit list that includes Wolf as its very last victim. As the kill list gains traction, so does the sense of urgency to find out what the common denominator is between the Ragdoll’s initial victims, and those yet to be taken.

RAGDOLL is the debut novel of author Daniel Cole. With a second series entry due out in 2018, this is great news for readers of UK police procedurals. We're emotionally invested pretty soon into the read as RAGDOLL’s strongest inclusion is its large cast of diverse characters. Some decisions made by the police seem a bit questionable as they are marched through very quickly in order to keep momentum, but it's not that much of a pull away from the enjoyment of this read. You expect a bit of plot fluidity in a first novel and without great characters, you are unlikely to bother with book two.

Dark humour is sprinkled throughout RAGDOLL which is a welcome addition to temporarily lighten the mood away from the death and destruction. The characters don't seem to want to perform to our expectations of them and this does work to the advantage of injecting some realism into a novel that has a lot of bodies to deal with plus a fair whack of back story to roll out. Wolf is a complex character who moves through the novel by the seat of his pants, making this more of a personal journey to redemption than at first it might seem. It's fast, it's often funny, there's TV worthy gore, there is realistic emotional drama. RAGDOLL's cast is a welcome addition to the world of crime fiction and eventually we hope, to the small screen also.

3.5 stars. I was reminded a lot of the Luther TV series while reading this. Will Fawkes, aka Wolf, is the kind of detective who takes crimes personally, isn’t above bending the rules to get his man, and who often finds himself embroiled with his witnesses and colleagues. The case was gory and intriguing, full of sudden twists, and based on the blurb, I should have enjoyed this more than I did. But the fact was I didn’t get much sense of Wolf until very late in the story. I wasn’t invested in him, or even any of his colleagues. Only Edmunds seemed to stand out, and it doesn’t look like he will be staying on for the second book. I can see how Cole wrote this initially as a screenplay, but feel like the characterization would have been all down to the actors cast. I doubt I’ll be reading the sequel.

***Disclaimer: This e-ARC was provided to me by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Huge thanks to them. ***

I'm not usually a reader of police procedurals. I find they tend to be a bit bleak and depressing, even when they catch the bad guy at the end. But this debut novel from Daniel Cole, based on screenplays he's never quite managed to see put to screen, held my attention and kept me totally absorbed all the way through. If I nearly miss my stop on the train, it's a sign I'm reading a really good book.

The surprises just keep coming and they're totally plausible. The characters are well-drawn, three-dimensional and believable. The story keeps unfolding, with little surprises here and there, gradually coming together as they uncover the clues and try to string them all together to solve this horrific crime. I loved the multiple viewpoints and the insights into the people who fight crime and put so much of themselves into keeping everyone safe. The characters are really human.

Daniel Cole's style is easy to read, while still maintaining depth, and he manages to tell a serious story with dash of humour that makes it easier to take for those of us who don't like heavy crime novels. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and I'm looking forward to the author's next book, due in early 2018, which is apparently also about Wolf. Considering how this novel ended, I can't wait to see where he's headed with this. Maybe the BBC will put this on the telly after-all - I'd certainly watch it!

4.5★
Loved this one, and enjoyed the backstory from the author, who was inspired by the TV series 24 with the intrepid, indomitable, seemingly indestructible Jack Bauer, who dies, is resuscitated, etc. If you’ve seen it, you know.

Cole wrote this originally as a screenplay (and it would make a GREAT one) and finally turned it into a novel. What a good idea that was! I still think it would make the first of many movies about Detective William Oliver Layton-Fawkes, known by his initials/nickname, Wolf.

He’s a big, bloke, apparently attractive to women (some, anyway), and an impulsive, angry man who is driven to mete out violent punishment himself when the justice system fails. Andrea is his beautiful ex-wife, a well-known TV presenter with a new, rich partner, although she still considers Wolf her best friend and most trusted confidante.

Their split is no surprise. As DS Baxter warns newcomer Edmunds, who has transferred from Fraud to this high-pressure squad:

“‘Marriage. Detective. Divorce. Ask anyone in this room. Marriage. Detective. Divorce . . . Oh hello, this is Detective Sergeant Baxter with the . . .’”

See? She didn’t even have time to finish talking to him before she was interrupted, and he discovers the reality of 24/7 policing when hunting a serial killer.

I liked both Baxter and Edmunds. She’s got a longstanding police partnership with Wolf, which his wife always suspected was more, and in many ways it was. Edmunds comes across as a clean-cut straight-arrow with a perfectly nice fiancée who’s not happy about his transfer, so he ends up on the sofa a fair bit, no doubt thinking marriage, detective, divorce until he falls asleep, exhausted. They are all always exhausted.

There are flashbacks to a few years earlier with a case where the killer went free, Wolf went a bit mad, and life took a turn for the worse for him. Now, several people have been murdered and stitched together to the killer’s head. ACK!

When the killer gives the media a list of the next victims and the dates they will die, we meet Andrea. Everything she does seems to escalate the danger and the damage, and Wolf is the last name on the list.

The hunt, the chase, the characters are engaging, and the repartee is fun. I’m quoting from my pre-publication copy, so quotes may have changed in the final version. Early in the piece, the cops tackle a man carrying a plain bag.

“The DPG officer kept the gun trained on the man and backed towards the bag. He cautiously knelt down beside it and then very, very slowly peered inside.

‘We’ve got some sort of hot wrap,’ he told Wolf, as if identifying a suspicious-looking device.

‘What flavour?’ Wolf called back.

‘What flavour?’ the officer barked.

‘Ham and cheese!’ cried the man on the floor.

Wolf grinned: ‘Confiscate it.’”

Wolf is old-school, hard-core police, and sensitive, clever new Edmunds has given him a USB stick.

“He was growing increasingly frustrated, stubbornly refusing to admit that he had no idea how to play the CCTV footage, trapped inside the stupid little USB stick, through the television.

‘There’s a hole on the side of the telly,’ said Finlay, over fifteen years his senior, as he entered the room.

‘No, on the, down – oh, let me do it.’

Finlay removed the USB drive from an air vent on the back of the television and plugged it in. A blue menu screen materialised containing a single file.

But not all modern technology is what it’s cracked up to be when looking over CCTV footage (name omitted to prevent possible spoiler).

“‘What about facial recognition?’

‘You’re joking right?’ laughed Baxter. ‘So far, it’s flagged XX up three times. One was an old Chinese woman, the second was a puddle, and the third was a poster of Justin Bieber!’”

Some black humour about a person in protection whom they don’t really like anyway, (name omitted again):

“‘Sorry,’ said Edmunds. ‘I’ve got a Constable Castagna on the phone for you about XX.’

‘I’ll call them back,’ said Wolf.

‘Apparently he’s threatening to jump out of the window.’

‘Constable Castagna or XX?’

‘XX.’

‘To escape or kill himself?’

‘Fourth floor, so fifty-fifty.’

Wolf smiled at this, and Baxter watched his transformation back into his normal, irreverent self.”

But we never lose sight of what a serious business it really is, especially as the detectives rummage through old files in archives, trying to find links, with “the distressing realisation that each and every one of the uniform boxes represented a life lost, lives ruined, all lined up in a tidy row and enjoying the respectful silence like graves in a catacomb.”

The plot is complicated, the murders are complex, and I admit I got a bit confused here and there, but I think that was my fault, not the author’s. It was terrific and the half-star missing is only because of some occasional lapses of style that probably won’t bother anybody else (and may even have changed in final editing), so I’m rounding it up. 😊

And it would be extremely remiss of me not to say you really won't see this twist coming!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Trapeze/Hachette Australia for the copy for review. The quotes I’ve used may have changed in the final version.

The idea for this book was good, but the execution was lacking. Too many different POVs, poor character development, unsatisfactory denouement, but most of all, poor editing.
So many recent books from mainstream publishers have needed a strong hand in the editing, to cut out the waffle and streamline the story. This book suffers from thesaurus fever, with the use of many unnecessary adjectives and adverbs that sound like they have been looked up, maybe with the thought of beefing a screenplay up to make a book. But it fell flat with me.
And the main character called Wolf because of his initials? Oh dear.

Detective William Oliver Layton-Fawkes aka Wolf investigates a string of murdered teenage prostitutes and evidence indicates Naguib Khalid a taxi driver from Pakistan is the serial killer. Wolf is consumed by the case so much so that when the jury passes a not guilty verdict he attacks the accused in the courtroom.
Four years later Wolf is back on duty and part of the team investigating a series of bizarre murders. While examining the scene of the first murder detectives discover the body consists of more than one victim placed together and in a direct line to Wolf’s apartment directly opposite. . As more bodies are discovered they become known as The Ragdoll murders.
Detective Emily Baxter works with Wolf and is 10 years his junior. She looks up to and has strong feelings for him. Those feelings may cloud her ability to think clearly and make the right decisions at crucial moments.
DC Edmunds is young and eager to make a good impression on his superiors. What he uncovers will implicate one of their own and shock everyone. This character really made a big impression with me. Edmunds put so much time and effort into the investigation persevering until vital connections could be made.
The ending made me feel surprised, disappointed and happy for reasons I cant explain without spoiling the story. All up I felt this was a very good read for a debut novel. I recommend this book to anyone looking for a good crime thriller with a twist.

Ragdoll
By Daniel Cole

Addictive Thriller.

The story line engages the reader with its gripping twists and turns, and clever ways the killer strikes his victims.

The characters are well developed and believable.

The story well developed – when a body is discovered sown together from six victims, detectives William ‘Wolf’ Fawkes and his partner Emily Baxter must track down the killer. To taunt police, the ‘Ragdoll Killer’ releases the names and dates of six other people he will kill. The race is on to save victim, although they seem to die in mysterious ways just as the killer predicted. To complicate matters there seem to be ties to his past.

The book is fast paced and holds the reader is suspense until the very end.
4 Stars.



Books are supplied by Netgalley and the publisher in return for an honest review.

Contact Heath Henwood – Heath.henwood@bigpond.com

www.books-reviewed.weebly.com

For a debut book this is a great read keeping you guessing until the last with a fast-paced plot, great characters and laugh out loud humour in the mix. Thoroughly enjoyable and I look forward to the next Detective William Fawkes novel.

If you only read one crime book this year (which would be a crime in itself) read Ragdoll. Some crime thrillers lead you into the plot, giving you potential suspects along the way to keep you busy, but Ragdoll just hits you with crime after vicious crime and saves the best twists for last. Well done, Daniel Cole, you've just made your way to the top of my list of favourite authors.

I think this is going to be one of the most memorable crime novels of 2017. It is dark and gory but highly unforgetable with flashes of black humour. First there is the 'ragdoll', the body composed of the body parts of six different victims stitched together. Who are these victims and why were they killed? Then there is the hit list of six people with dates of when they will be killed. Why these people and is there a connection with the ragdoll?

Thus starts a race against time to identify the body parts, discover why they were murdered and see if the killer can be found before the next six victims are killed. For Detective William Fawkes, otherwise known as Wolf, this is his first case back after being reinstated following his attempt to kill a man on trial in court who he passionately believed was a serial killer after the jury returned a not guilty verdict. Now the world and it's media is watching his every move and every mistake in this high powered, action packed case.

So, never a dull moment in this clever plot. Lots of unexpected death scenes, unexpected humour and enough twists to satisfy most. Wolf is a great character, a flawed human being who cares about others including his ex wife, the gutsy journalist Andrea Fawkes as well as his ex partner Emily Baxter and her new partner, Edmunds recently transferred from Vice, who is smart and intuitive. Highly recommended!

Overall this was a highly enjoyable read. I found this story a little rough in the beginning... some slightly clunky sentences regularly took me out of the story. This did not last long though as I became engrossed in this fast paced and engaging tale.

The key characters are interesting although surely the TV station key character Wolfe's wife works at is completely over the top. It may be an American thing to even imagine such immoral and un-ethical behavior?

The story line has a few far fetched concepts such as the Faustian pact (you'll have to read it to find out!) and it is hard to believe that Wolfe could be involved in this case in most parts of the work. However his centrality to a lot of the story makes for a tense and exciting ride, so forgiveness is recommended.

These though are not really critisisms - the story is truly well worth getting into.

Wow! This was a well crafted novel which kept the reader guessing. I absolutely loved it. If you enjoy crime fiction this book will tick all the boxes.

Book blurb...

The nation is gripped by the infamous 'Ragdoll Killer'. Your friends, your family and your neighbours are all talking about it

A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together like a puppet, nicknamed by the press as the 'ragdoll'.

Assigned to the shocking case are Detective William 'Wolf' Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter.

The 'Ragdoll Killer' taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.

With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?

My thoughts…

I enjoyed this story, even though it was tough to get past the thought of a killer stitching body parts of different victims together. (Yes, even for me!) The Ragdoll Killer was ingenious, the plot unique, especially the methods the killer uses when attempting to kill the victims on his list.

I felt for the main character, Detective Fawkes ‘Wolf’, who, as well as being #6 on the list was personally involved in preventing the deaths of others on the list.

This story also explores what can happen when the press gets too involved and publicises a murderer’s intentions step by step.

Very ingenious plotting by the author, well done.