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THE TOY TAKER
by Luke Delaney
Harper, July 2015
530 pages
$7.99
ISBN: 0062219502


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Luke Delaney has first-hand knowledge of a police investigation because he's lived it. Not surprisingly, then, THE TOY TAKER not only realistically portrays a police procedural - it goes further to realistically portray the investigators themselves.

Detective Inspector Sean Corrigan and his team have been sitting idle for six months, recovering physically and mentally from their last case but itching for a new one and the overtime it promises. But when the case arrives, it comes with a huge set of unexpected complications. Not only are they handed a child abduction case, but the team is being moved to Scotland Yard to form a new Special Investigations Unit that will handle cases from all over the city. That means Corrigan and his people will have to fight city traffic, for one thing (something they all dread), but it also means more paperwork as they coordinate information from a variety of other teams and, more daunting, it means they'll have to deal with Scotland Yard politics.

All of that, plus some lingering personal challenges, puts Corrigan off his game. He can't seem to settle and get into the mind of the person he's hunting. He's distracted and under pressure from all sides, especially as the number of children who disappear from wealthy homes increases. Time is running out both for the children and for Corrigan as he desperately tries to recapture his special skills and track down the kidnapper.

From the first pages when we're with the kidnapper to the end of the book, suspense is high and keeps building. Delaney perfectly paces the story to keep tension high, but it doesn't feel contrived—it feels very real, as do the police officers and the families of the abducted children. No one in this story is perfect, which makes the story all the more believable - and therefore frightening and the emotions and reactions throughout never strike a false note. We see the toll this type of case can take on even the most seasoned investigator - both a personal toll when that investigator is a parent and a decision-making toll when he or she jumps to conclusions in an effort to get a monster off the streets. Most notably, Corrigan's struggle and frustration with himself - and the actions that leads to - as he feels his skill slipping away and endangering the children seems spot on. The reader may pick up on a few clues before Corrigan does, but by and large, Delaney keeps reader and investigator literally on the same page, revealing what Corrigan knows as he discovers it and leading everyone to the same conclusion at the same time. Overall, THE TOY TAKER is an immensely intriguing read with a satisfying conclusion.

§ Meredith Frazier, a writer with a background in English literature, lives in Dallas, Texas

Reviewed by Meredith Frazier, August 2015

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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