The Blurb:
The first title in a dark and gritty crime series.
Brought up believing that sex is the devil's work, a killer only finds release once he has saved his victim's souls. Abiding by his vision, he marks them as his. A gift to guide his chosen ones on the rightful path to redemption.
Detective Inspector Paolo Sterling is out to stop him, but Paolo has problems of his own. Hunting down the killer as the death toll rises, the lines soon blur between Paolo's personal and professional lives.
Retriever of Souls was published by Accent Press on 13th December 2018 and is available from Blackwells, Waterstones, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Google Books and other good booksellers.
My Review:
DI Paolo Sterling and his team have a nightmare of a case on their hands. Prostitutes in the fictional town of Bradchester are dying, murdered by a seemingly sadistic killer who is confident enough to leave DNA at the scenes.
The killer believes he is doing God's work. Having had a deeply unhealthy relationship with his strict Catholic mother, he thinks he is saving the souls of these women. In fact he knows he is, because God is guiding him in what he does. He is excited by his work and finds relief after he has killed, leaving his evidence on each victim.
The story point of view alternates between Paolo and the killer, and we learn more about both men. Paolo was instantly likeable. Also Catholic, he's a stand up guy with a strong sense of right and wrong. He has a good team around him but struggles to bond with his new DS Dave Johnson. Outside of work though, Paolo's having a tough time. Separated from his wife and not seeing much of his daughter, he is desperate to get his family back together. But I loved that he is a Terry Pratchett fan - the man has good taste!
We learn about the killer's background, his childhood and parents' relationship, the things that started to shape him into the man he has become. And we see him out on the hunt for victims and what he does for them. And we see his conflict with the gift he gives them and the guilt he feels for doing it.
The story is detailed and fast paced, full of great characters and throws up some red herrings. Swapping between Paolo and the killer's viewpoints kept things interesting and I read this quickly, wanting to know what happened next.
I've found that religion tends to feature in a fair few crime thrillers and it's not always easy to keep things fresh. But for me, Lorraine Mace has done that. Yes, religion features heavily, in the main storyline and beyond, but this is balanced out by a healthy dose of logical reasoning and some really clever and interesting science stuff. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
The Author:
Born and raised in South East London, Lorraine lived and worked in South Africa, on the Island of Gozo and in France before settling on the Costa del Sol in Spain. She lives with her partner in a traditional Spanish village inland from the coast and enjoys sampling the regional dishes and ever-changing tapas in the local bars. Her knowledge of Spanish is expanding. To stop her waistline from doing the same, she runs five times a week.
When not working on the DI Sterling series of crime novels, Lorraine is engaged in many writing-related activities. She is a columnist for both Writing Magazine and Writers’ Forum and is head judge for Writers’ Forum monthly fiction competitions.
A tutor for Writers Bureau, she also runs her own private critique and author mentoring service.
Author Social Media Links:
Website: www.lorrainemace.com
Blog: http://thewritersabcchecklist.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/lomace
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lorraine.mace.52
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mace_lorraine/
Thanks so much, Suze x
ReplyDeleteIt was my pleasure. x
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