Normal by Graeme Cameron

"He lives on your street, in a nice house with a tidy garden. He shops at your local supermarket. He drives beside you, waving to let you into the lane ahead of him. He’s the perfect neighbour. But he also has an elaborate cage in a secret basement under his garage.

And he thinks it’s perfectly normal to kidnap young women and keep them captive.

This is how it’s been for a long time. It’s normal…and it works. Perfectly.

But this time it’s different"

I was expecting so much from this book but it really wasn't for me. It is written from the point of view of the bad guy/serial killer which I was looking forward to as it's something a bit different.

So as I said this book is from the POV of the killer. It follows him as he goes about his day to day life as your average normal guy. He gets on with people and is a likeable guy that blends in. However, he has a dark hobby which includes kidnapping and murdering random women. He even has a custom-built cage in his basement. Things start to go wrong when he makes a friend and falls in love.

First off, you never actually know the guys' name and we don't know where it is set. The majority of the book was pretty boring with only a couple of chapters actually being of any interest. The violence also seemed unnecessarily graphic. There wasn't really a single likeable character.

A lot of the book focuses on how amazing the killer is for killing under the radar and never being caught. He constantly makes out that he's always one step ahead of the police. However, throughout the book, he makes so many stupid mistakes and weird decisions that it's hard to believe that he wasn't caught sooner.

I kept going to see how it ended but kind of wish I hadn't. It wasn't worth it. The ending was just a bit of a mess.

The Police were completely unbelievable. The development of Erica's character didn't really make sense. The friend he made suddenly appeared and was then giving him alibis and a car no questions asked. The love interests reaction to him, in the end, was a tad ridiculous. There is also very limited information on his backstory which makes it difficult to understand him.

All in all, this is not a book I would recommend which is a shame because it could have been really good. On the plus side, I love the cover.


Trace by Casey Hill

"Back at the helm of the Garda Forensic Unit after a short hiatus in the US, Reilly Steel is thrust straight into a series of complicated Dublin murders at which the killer leaves minuscule forensic trace evidence. 

The investigating team discover that the victims have been targeted because of one worryingly common trait, and need to outsmart the killer before he makes his next move. 

But Reilly is preoccupied, not only by new developments in a decades old missing person case, but also her own feelings of disconnect since her return from the US ...
Can she get back on top of her game to track down the killer in time?"

I love Casey Hill's books. The Reilly Steel series quickly became one of my favourites after discovering the first book in a Charity Shop a few years ago. I have wanted to read Trace, which is book #5, for ages but it's quite pricey. After getting my kindle fire I went to download the ebook and discovered that it was in the Kindle Unlimited. I can now finish the series and I am so excited.

This series includes both the forensic and the police side of the investigation, which I love. I am so interested in forensics. There are so many loveable characters and the storylines are always gripping. If you aren't a fan of gory deaths then it is probably not for you though. You can check out my reviews of the rest of the series here Taboo, Torn, Hidden, & The Watched

There are 2 different storylines running alongside each other in this book. The first one is the main murders. Single women are being murdered by gourmet food with a poisonous kick. Reilly is also investigating a cold case that has been reignited by evidence found at the end of one of the previous books (Hidden). This case involves the sister of one of the lab techs that went missing many years ago.

I have to admit, this book was my least favourite of the series. I found the portrayal of Reilly made her less likeable. There was also more focus on the personal lives of Reilly and Chris instead of the gritty murders. It was definitely less gripping than the rest of the series. In fact, I found some parts bordering on a tad boring. It was a much slower read than the others. I also guessed the murderer

That being said, I did still enjoy it. It's just when you compare it to the rest of the series it's lacking. I will still be reading the rest of the series, especially with the development in Reilly's life. I need to see what happens with that.