Absolutely brilliant from start to finish. Stop what you are doing and start reading now. You won't be sorry.

When I read Perfect Remains last year, after seeing Helen on a panel at Aye Write, I knew I was going to have to read the second in the Luc Callanach series.

And it certainly does not disappoint! Not only has Ms Fields managed to come up with some pretty spectacular and gorily twisted deaths, she has also managed to create the boyfriend from hell. I mean really – who is ever going to pick smarmy self satisfied Joe Edgar over dark, brooding, tortured, lovely D.I. Luc Callanach? As if!

More of that later. Perfect Prey begins in Edinburgh where, during a Festival, a young charity worker, Sim Thorburn, is viciously killed by a silent and stealthy killer. Luc Callanach catches the case. Shortly afterwards a Helen Lott is found dead in her home, every bone in her body crushed, just as if something heavy had jumped up and down on her. D.I. Ava Turner is assigned to Helen’s death.

When more bodies begin to turn up, each murdered in a more grotesque way than the last, the police are struggling to find a motive for these horrible killings.

It is not until Lance Proudfoot, a local journalist, is able to point Luc in the direction of some interesting graffiti that he begins to discern a possible pattern linking these deaths.

To make matters worse, Superintendent Overbeck is very clear that she is destined to climb the career ladder and thus she intends to make sure that nothing sticks to her. A major task force on cyber crime is in the area tracking down a substantial lead and she takes away Luc’s most capapble D.S. to work with them, while simultaneously piling on the pressure to get the cases solved and to ensure that the press are kept onside.

For Ava Turner, these murders come just as her mother is very seriously ill and she is struggling with a very mixed set of emotions. Into this maelstrom, arrives an old flame, the aforementioned smug git, D.I. Joe Edgar, heading up the cyber crime unit. He reports directly into No. 10 and in his view, that means that nothing should stand in the way of his operation, not even the capture of a deadly killer.

As Ava and Joe look to be serious about re-kindling their relationship, and Ava is ever more distracted by her mother’s illness, Luc finds himself more alone than ever – will he succumb to the charms of his new next door neighbour?

There’s no doubt that Helen Fields’ books are not for the faint of heart, she does do a mean and twisted serial killer with all the graphic gore that such killers provide. She tells a great story with bags of pace, great characterisation and masses of tension that ramps up throughout the book.

Luc Callanach has rapidly become rather a favourite with me and I will unquestionably be looking out for the next book in the series, Perfect Death.

Nasty, nasty murders, an interesting police team and some very dark times .Maybe not for the feint hearted but the pace is good I like the way it unfolds.I also like the story being told from different points of view I am a fan of this technique if it is done well, and it is done well here .For some reason I bought the first book but haven't read it yet, I am always doing this and reading books out of order,I really should stop doing it, this reads well as a stand alone book although I do wish I had read the first book .I think this is a series I am going to be following I like the authors style,good book.

So we come to the second in Helen Fields rather fist pumping DI Callanach series – the first being Perfect Remains which you should certainly check out and its a right old page turner. Dark though, very dark. I don’t think there is any writer out there doing death scenes like Helen Fields is doing them and they are horrifically hard hitting (which I love it has to be said. Not sure what that says about me)

Anyone who has read the first book will know what to expect – and here you get more of it and better, the characters are top notch fascinating and further developed in a brilliantly immersive way – at the same time there is a new case and what a case it is. Fast paced action, some new people I hope we meet again with a beautifully twisty plot that will keep you on your toes. Descriptively speaking this is absolute genius – you get so involved all the way through you go through a gamut of emotions from subtle smile to outrage to terror and back again. One character will CERTAINLY get your goat, you know you are loving a book when you end up shouting at the people in it like they can hear you and will modify their behaviour accordingly..

Overall Perfect Prey is a perfect second novel to follow up the intensity of the first, upping the ante, keeping you in the characters lives and certainly at the end of this I was hoping desperately that the next one would not take too long to come along.

If you like your crime dark and dastardly with a hint of horror and a strong degree of unpredictability then Perfect Prey is for you.

Recommended.

D.I. Luc Callanach is back ! I read the Perfect Remains earlier this year and loved it. I have been eagerly awaiting this next book Perfect Prey, it has not disappointed !

It still retains the main characters from the first and adds some interesting ones to the cast. This is brutal, gritty and very well written in this intense thriller. The plot is vast as is the cast. There was one particular character I hated with a passion,so well has he been written, another one had my heart in my mouth with worry, another I wanted to shake some sense into. Lesley's characters bring out emotions from the reader showing how well she has developed them.

The main premise of the story is with two bodies being discovered. One is a crowd of 1,000's at a festival, the other found in a dumpster. Both victims are good, kind and innocent, the pressure from top brass, press and public to solve the cases add pressure that becomes apparent as frustrations rear up. An outsider approaches with an offer of help, he has found a clue while doing his own research, not a person you would normally associate with helping, but with him and another unlikely source they work with Callanach, to delve into the murkier world of information gathering.

I was addicted with this book from the very beginning, again Helen as proven that she can grab a reader from the first paragraph. Her characters are a diverse bunch with various different traits, backgrounds and ethics, and very memorable. As for the plot, well it is anything but simple, it has been very well planned and thought through with many different twists. You only work out the plot when Helen allows you to. I had no idea who or why these murders took place until I was reading as the characters were starting to add things up. There is some technological aspects in the story, but it is basic and well enough explained so as not to slow the story with too much detail.

This book works well as a stand alone, but I would recommend reading the first one, there are elements in it that help with the second, even though the second does give brief explanations of prior events.

I would highly recommend this book to readers of Crime / Thriller genres. It is a real page turner. I would like to mention my thanks to NetGalley, Avon Books UK and Helen Fields for my eARC copy of this book. My views are my own, they are honest and unbiased.

I’ve made no secret about being excited to read Perfect Prey in recent weeks, the second in the series featuring Luc Callanach and Ava Turner as detectives in the Scottish Police Force. Field’s debut last year (with the first in the series, Perfect Remains) had fast become one of my favourite books and I was dying to read more about Luc and Ava, both of whom are fired detectives with lots of baggage to keep me interested. I am pleased to say my anticipation was much rewarded with another excellent story that had great pace, great characterisation, and great villains.

I have to say I was a bit worried at first as the book opens with a pretty nasty murder. I’m not one for gore and, whilst the description wasn’t particularly graphic, I did wonder what was coming as my experience is that murders often escalate. Which they did here I have to admit but I thought that Fields walked the fine line between descriptive and gruesome really well – or at least for me…I didn’t find myself squirming once as enough was left to the imagination (and there were bits I just chose not to imagine).

The story behind the murders I thought was clever, with a twist at the end as to the motive I didn’t see coming and plenty of action to get me there. Most of the action this time was driven by Luc, an intriguing and complex character – a French officer who had to leave Interpol in public disgrace – he doesn’t do well abiding by the rules. Here he brings in civilians to help in the shape of a news blogger and a hacker. Both I found really well drawn and thought they definitely added to the story. They could do things I would struggle to imagine the police doing and getting away with and I wonder if they will make appearances in future books?

Ava popped in and out more in this book, with her investing running parallel to Luc’s. Unlike the last book, where they were very much a team, here there are tensions from Ava’s personal life which threaten their partnership and the investigation. I felt for Ava but also wanted to shake her at times as she was so obviously making the wrong decisions. Still, when she was there, Fields does a good job of developing her character, which is almost a female version of Luc’s (so no wonder there is a fiery friendship developing between them).

At the end though, there was a bit of a teaser for the next book which makes me think I’ll be seeing more of her next time. I have to say, if they carry on like this, I can’t wait. Loved this one!

Perfect Remains’, published at the start of the year, continues to be one of my favourite reads of 2017. I was desperate to get my hands on the next instalment but at the same time I was anxious it wouldn’t live up to my expectations. I knew it would have the same gorgeous, troubled Luc Callanach leading the investigation and I hoped to see the return of his partner Ava Turner, but the sexual tension between them was evident in the first book and I wasn’t sure if I wanted their personal relationship to develop in that way (yes, I get very attached to characters I like!) Alas, I needn’t have worried. Fields is a skilled storyteller and ‘Perfect Prey’ was every bit as gripping and absorbing as its predecessor.

‘Perfect Prey’ begins with such an explosive scene, a charity worker is sliced across the stomach whilst surrounded by a crowd at a festival. I had one of those ‘this could really happen’ moments and was hooked. The murders continue in other imaginative and original ways. However, Fields adds a subplot to keep us on our toes. Visitors arrive at the Edinburgh police headquarters trying to uncover a group of skilled hackers thought to be in the city. From their arrival I was prepared for a link between the two cases, but I could in no way of anticipated how the story would unfold.

Helen Fields is quickly establishing herself as a go to in the crime thriller genre and I cannot wait for her third book ‘Perfect Death’.

Perfect Prey by Helen Fields

A charity worker is sliced to death in broad daylight at a music festival. A palliative care nurse is crushed to death in her home. Further deaths follow. The murders are very different, suggesting more than one killer is at work, but the links between them indicate that the city of Edinburgh is entering dark days indeed. Days in which those who do good for society are particularly at risk.

DI Luc Callanach is assigned one set of murders while DI Ava Turner investigates the other. To complicated matters, Joe Edgar, an old boyfriend of Ava’s, has turned up in Edinburgh from London to investigate a major cybercrime case. Luc is having to deal with the ramifications of something in his past and Edgar is not helping matters as the space around Ava turns into a battleground. Extreme lengths will need to be taken to bring down the killers and help comes from the unlikeliest of sources. Toes will be trodden on, boundaries will be overstepped. The repercussions may be vast.

Perfect Prey lets you know very early on that we’re in dark and gruesome territory. The murders are vile indeed. No wonder Callanach and Turner are obsessed with solving them and we follow them every meticulous and grim step of the way. The novel has an interesting twist in its structure. The first half is a conventional police procedural but at the 48% mark (I was reading a kindle version!), it shifts and the narrative opens up to include the darker world that Callanach, Turner and their allies are trying to infiltrate. This came at the perfect moment, in my opinion, and lifted the novel from something that had begun to drag into an exhilarating and page-turning second half and finale.

I found Perfect Prey to be a difficult read at times. The gory murders and the casual cruelty of some of the novel’s characters were grim to read. There was one character in particular who drove me to the limits of my endurance, so much so that his thread of the story did mar the novel for me a bit. Callanach’s new neighbour also drove me mad, I’ll be honest. The private lives of Callanach and, especially, Turner influenced the book to a very large degree, at times slowing down the movement of the novel. Fortunately, the shift in narrative that I mentioned before really did the book a big favour and gave its momentum a much-needed kick. The grim mood, though, does persevere until the very last page. I should mention that I wasn’t able to finish the previous novel, Perfect Remains, and so Perfect Prey represents a big step forwards – I found it a much better novel.

Perfect Prey is ingeniously plotted, supported by two very strong characters in Callanach and Turner. Despite my issues with the novel, I was riveted by the second half and clung on to its every word. I just hope that the future might brighten up a little for our courageous and determined policing duo – but I rather suspect it won’t.

Truly enjoyed Helen Fields police procedural "Perfect Prey". I will get to the one complaint about this wonderful gem. It was the second of the series. I know this isn't a real complaint but that just shows how real the characters are drawn. How the city of Edinburgh is well represented.

Half way through I thought I knew who was the mastermind behind the crimes. I was wrong. So there is suspense. The chapters become more compressed as the book begins to accelerate. Interesting style. Not only the action but the bouncing between characters adds to this sense of urgency. Dialog works, as does the relationships between characters. I look forward to going backwards in reading this series.

I wish to thank Avon, the author, and NetGalley for my free copy in exchange for this unbiased and honest review.

I was eager to read this book after finishing 'Perfect Remains' as regardless of what brutal crimes were being investigated, I wanted to know what happened next with the DIs and the rest of the Police team.

As with the previous instalment, the murders are brutal but the characters, especially the 'will-they-won't-they' relationship between Luc and Ava keep a lighter tone when it's needed.

The story felt fast paced and I read it really quickly, desperate to know the links between the murders that are sweeping Edinburgh. Definitely a recommended read,and I will keep an eye out, and my fingers crossed, for another story in the series.

Thank you net galley and the publishers for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

In this one we see Callanach and Turner's friendship on a slow burn due to their respective cases and the arrival of an old friend of Turner's.
There is a spate of gruesome murders that leave the whole of the country reeling. Can they overcome their internal battles to solve this crime?

I had only recently read the first one and absolutely loved it. In fact it was a discussion point with a lot of fellow bookworms but this one exceeded my expectations completely. In fact when I wasn't working or sleeping the kindle was in my hand!! Book three please

I loved the first book, Perfect Remains, and if I could give six stars, this book would have them. The perfect murder, mystery, crime, thriller and police procedural wrapped in one excellent package. Set in Edinburgh with murder and mayhem from the very first page, psychopathic characters, fast paced and what an ending! Bring on book three please, I can't wait. Helen Fields is up with the best crime writers today. Thanks to Net Galley for my copy. I reviewed on Goodreads.

Perfect Prey

Second book in a series featuring DI Ava Turner and disgraced French police officer, DI Callanach. Works well as a standalone as I haven't read the first book, but there's sufficient backstory to quickly follow relationships and past events.

This is fiendishly clever; intricate plotting involving both police procedure and technology. A savage killer is on the loose in Edinburgh and the body count starts to mount up with little progress from the police in identifying the killer. Callanach is the cop who chances his arm with some irregular approaches to help solve the crimes. There are interesting character relationships within the police team and I enjoyed the tensions and exchanges. Good sense of location so easy to visualise some scenes.

There's little use of Scottish vernacular or dialect, so very accessible for all! I really enjoyed this because the characters have a genuine feel and they're very distinct. But more than that, this explores the darker side of the internet. I'm not going to give anything away, but this is a belting story and one of the best I've read this year. Devoured in almost a single sitting, it's a blistering read, fast and furious and my thanks to the publisher, Avon, for an early review copy via Netgalley.

I feel like an excitable little kitten writing this, such is my eagerness I'm going straight to typing it up (no it's not at all linked to the fact that I can't find my notebook!). So where to start? Obviously after reading Helen Field's debut novel, Perfect Remains, I was very eager to get my hands on the next book to feature Detectives Ava Turner and Luc Callanach. Beyond eager probably. Perfect Prey did not disappoint me at all - I loved it.

I shall say now that if you found some of the scenes in Perfect Remains a little too gruesome then Perfect Prey in my view is just as gory. Not that I minded that at all (without sounding like a psychopath of course); it isn't gratuitous, it is all part and parcel of the storyline, but it is there. I am actually quite loathed to include this in my review, but I suppose I should mention it just in case you are of a delicate disposition!

Meeting Callanach and Turner again was like greeting old friends, so well were they introduced to us previously, and they have lost nothing of their charm. There is some separation between the two of them here in both a professional and personal manner, with Ava rather annoyingly ignoring that connection she found with Callanch in Perfect Remains. I was not happy. Quite why she would ever choose the horrid DCI Joe Turner over the luscious Luc is a mystery - yes it is explained perfectly in the book and I do understand it really, but you know....come on!! There are significant developments in the characters themselves running alongside the crime plot, which just served to further entrench me in this rather scary world and added an extra level of depth to this series - with most of the main characters going through their own journey.

The storyline is as terrific as the characters and whilst I have read a few novels featuring the darknet, Helen Fields manages to put her own terrifying twist on it. The action is packed in and is skilfully written to provide a suspenseful read which will have you biting your nails and holding your breath in several places. And if you're anything like me you'll get to halfway and just be wishing that this wouldn't end, such is your enjoyment.

I read recently that Helen Fields has (quite rightly) been longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize Scottish Crime Book of the Year Award, alongside my one of my long-time favourite authors Val McDermid. I'm honestly not surprised; she certainly earned it with the superb Perfect Remains. So, if you enjoy crime thrillers Perfect Prey is a cracker, in fact even if you're not a regular crime reader please give this a go.

LOVED IT.

I am on Sesame Street, saying "...and today's letter will be I." “I” as in intriguing, intricate, involved, interesting and impressive. Yeah, that pretty well sums up Helen Field's second D.I. Luc Callanach outing, Perfect Prey.
Four people are killed in different but horrific and spectacular ways. A crime wave that terrifies the citizens of Edinburgh unused as they are to such crimes. Multiple killers, one fiendishly clever killer or maybe both? D.I. Callanach is under tremendous pressure from all sides to make a quick solve. Unfortunately he is unable to depend on the steady presence of D.I. Ava Turner as she has gone to the dark side with DCI Joe Edgar from Scotland Yard and from her past. Edgar is in Edinburgh investigating a hacking group similar to the real life group Anonymous. Edgar is a true prick. (Note to self, change this for Amazon)
Callanach is a lad with some true psychological problems. One of them is thoroughly explained and demonstrated. Never saw this one in a fictional book before. Just can’t help remarking on this interesting aspect of his life.
New characters appear who will hopefully make it into the next book; Bunny is Callanach’s new neighbor, Ben Paulson a world class computer maven and Lance Proudfoot an on-line crime blogger. The latter two are instrumental in helping solve the crimes.
The first half of the book is told as a straight police procedural. The second half descends into darkness and is told from various points of view, with only the ultimate motive withheld. The second half also includes partial trips down the rabbit’s hole into the dark net, a truly scary place to be and to understand.
I do have a few problems with the book. An undercover officer sleeps with a suspect. No, no and just no. Do writers not understand how this would totally compromise the case in court? Is entrapment not a British law concept? Not to mention making the U.C. basically a whore, sleeping with someone for material gain.
Another problem, minor and I may even have gotten it wrong. There is a reference to 21 days between first and second murder. Later there is a reference to four murders in two weeks. Editing or proofreading mistakes make me crazy. Since I obviously NEVR make ayn.
I also dislike the will they/won’t they scenario carried out more than three books.
“H” will be the next letter of the alphabet explored, as in highly original and highly recommend this Scottish police procedural. I am anxiously awaiting the next installment. This series will be a pleasure to follow.
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Perfect Prey is the second in the DI Callanach series, and I have not read the first one.

The Goodreads reviews so far have been mostly 4 and 5 stars, and I would have happily agreed to 4 stars--accept for two things. The murders were grotesque and unbelievable and Ava's relationship with Joe (or as one reviewer called him, "dickhead"). Oh, you, too, will agree with that designation!

On the other hand, the tension was great, Callanach's character was interesting and unusual, and there were a couple of good twists.

I have a problem with books that depend on the bizarre and/or the grotesque--but that's my personal perspective.

There was plenty in this book to keep me interested, yet I was uncomfortable with the detailed exploitation of violence in Perfect Prey. Would I read another in the series? Yes, just to see if violence is a prevailing theme. I liked Callanach and some of the secondary characters; Ava, not so much, although she was going through an emotionally difficult period.

NetGalley/Avon Books

Police Procedural. July 27, 2017.

Although this is the second in the DI Callanach crime series it is the first book I have read. Clearly it would have been better to read the first novel but there are a few references to the history of DI Luc Callanach and DI Ava Turner so you do not feel you have entered mid-sentence so to speak.

The opening sequence is set in Edinburgh in the chaos that is The Fringe when the city is swamped with thousands of people; performers, actors, musicians and the public. At one event a young man is murdered mid-dance surrounded by dancers, music and laughter and no-one noticed a thing.

The police are at a loss with no apparent motive, no clues and no witnesses. When the body of a primary school teacher is found they are faced with another murder seemingly random, with no clues and no witnesses. Then follows a series of more murders, each more grisly than the last and equally as puzzling.

Callanach and Turner are at a loss. In the meantime, DCI Joseph Edgar is strutting his stuff appropriating space and officers from Callanach’s investigation whilst he pursues a cyber crime and Ava. Edgar seems intent on making his mark to the detriment of Callanach.

This is a clever plot, well-written and well-thought out. The clues to the choice of victims seemed clear but the intricacies of the technology which links the murders and the cyber crime were fascinating, if a little too complex for my understanding. Lesson 101 in the dark web needs revising (for me anyway).

The characters are superb. How could you not feel the pain of Callanach (particularly his poor coccyx. I wanted to shake Ava and I wanted to slap Bunny (how irritating). The other police officers were like little diamonds and I loved their strong characterisation but perhaps the hero for me was the lollypop lady.

If you like a complex plot, exciting developments and a psychological edge, allied to a complicated relationship between Luc and Ava this is for you.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

4 and 1 / 2 stars

A young man dies after a knife attack at an Edinburgh rock festival. Sim Thorburn is his name and no one of the thousands of people at the festival saw anything. On the same night, another attack takes place. DI Ava Turner takes charge of this case. The police know her name immediately as she was killed in her own house. Helen Lott was crushed to death by her own furniture – repeatedly. Then Michael Swan is murdered; his face peeled off and hung from above. A young woman names Emily Balcaskie is found dead in a dumpster. The bodies keep piling up and there seems to be no end to it.

Meanwhile, Luc has a new neighbor who looks to be a stalker in the making.

Superintendent Overbeck is one cool customer. She deals not only with the Inspectors and the rest of the team, but with the nightmare of the press. Even with their rude questions, she tries to keep them satisfied.

Journalist Lance Proudfoot comes up with a very interesting and telling clue about the latest murder. It seems the graffiti being plastered all over the city is appearing before the murder takes place.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. It is both suspenseful – right from the beginning – and full of tensions of differing kinds. There was sufficient background information given on each of the main characters, but not so much that it detracted from the story. This is a taut, well-constructed story. This is my first Helen Fields book, but it won’t be my last. I immediately went to Amazon to look at her other books.

I want to thank Netgalley and Avon Books UK/Avon for forwarding to me a copy of this great book to read.

Full review to be published online with the late July review cycle.

PERFECT PREY is such an intriguing police procedural. I'm liking all the characters, and the fact that it follows several different cases instead of focusing on just one, like real police do. I'm enjoying the Scotland setting; and the character of Luc, even/especially with all his flaws.

PERFECT PREY is the second book in Helen Fields fascinating "DI Callanach" series. Very good read, recommended.

This book can be read stand alone, but the reader will enjoy more ongoing story lines if they've also read Perfect Remains.
For me, the 'crimes' here were so grotesque and unlikely, that it was an easy read. That's not to say there aren't disturbing scenes, but I'd much rather a book about serial killers trying to impress an online dark web community than a plot about uncovering child sex trafficking...
This book was enjoyable and apart from a sluggish section in the middle, was fast paced and to the point throughout. Minor characters from book 1 came back again here which I liked (Tripp, Lively, Overbeck) allowing the books to build up into an ongoing series. I possibly enjoyed the fizz between Callanach and Ava more then the actual serial killer plot! And I don't like romantic novels, but I do like the slow burn relationships throughout a series (it made me think of the Comoran Strike novels).
I shall be pre-ordering the third book.

Possible spoilers from this point - I gave 3 stars rather than any higher, because I just didn't believe Ava would get so easily swept away by Joe (who turns out to be a slightly stereotypical dastardly posh boy). Polly I guessed early on wasn't all she seemed and like I mentioned above, the story is Hollywood action film worthy (but good fun because of that).