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NOW YOU SEE ME
by S.J. Bolton
Bantam, May 2011
432 pages
12.99 GBP
ISBN: 0593064135


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

When Detective Constable Lacey Flint leaves her flat one evening, she isn't expecting to find a dying woman slumped over her car covered in blood from a vicious knife-attack, and she certainly isn't expecting to find herself being treated like a suspect in the woman's murder rather than a witness. Whilst Detective Inspector Dana Tulloch seems sympathetic to Lacey, her colleague, DI Mark Joesbury, definitely isn't, especially when it appears that the killer is communicating with her in a style reminiscent of that of one of the most famous serial killers of all time, Jack the Ripper.

In spite of DI Joesbury's apparent suspicions, Lacey is allowed to get close to the investigation, especially when the team needs to rely on her in-depth knowledge of the original Ripper murders. The early fascination with serial killers that led to her police career seems to be paying dividends, but as the body count rises, so do the stakes for all concerned and Lacey's past seems to be determined to come back to haunt her in her desperate race to outwit the killer before further lives are lost.

Bolton certainly excels at dark, multi-layered stories where nothing is quite what it seems. She's also a mistress of the art of misdirection, although I felt at times that this technique was in danger of being over-used, especially when it came to Lacey herself. The parallels with the Ripper murders were intriguing and well-played, allowing the author to put her research to good use, as Lacey struggles to work out what the murderer's next move is likely to be. The shadow of Lacey's past hangs over the book like a cloud, and it seems impossible for any author to write in this genre these days without having some kind of flawed main character as the centerpiece of the book, making me long occasionally for more simple police-work and less emphasis on tortured pasts, but it's certainly refreshing – although not by any means unique - to see a female character taking a more traditionally male role when it comes to extra-curricular activities. It was also nice to see that Lacey wasn't alone in having to cope with problems. Dana Tulloch proved to be an intriguing character in her own right, as did Mark Joesbury.

One element of NOW YOU SEE ME that I could have done without was the flashbacks that precede each main section. I found them both confusing and unnecessary although, like tortured pasts, flashbacks seem to be something that a great number of authors are now unable to function without. A trend that I would very happily see reversed, although I don't think that's likely to happen any time soon.

§ Linda Wilson is a writer, and retired solicitor, with an interest in archaeology and cave art, who now divides her time between England and France.

Reviewed by Linda Wilson, August 2011

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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