So... we're on Sunday of Frieda Klein's darker-than-dark 'week', and it seems like we might not have quite reached the end. I have to confess that this isn't my favourite in this series (Thursday still holds that spot as a book which stretches the 'crime' genre into something more 'literary') but French continues to juggle the local narrative in this book with the wider arc carried through across the series.

This opens immediately after the shock ending to the last book with the body under Frieda's floor and, as usual, the gang rally round despite Frieda's own attempts to keep them at arm's distance partly, at least, for their own good. There are some shocking moments of violence, and some developments that we don't see coming, but the copy-cat plot in the foreground isn't the most gripping and isn't treated with the richness that I expect from French, especially in the case of the wife.

For all that, the intriguing Dean Reeve remains a shadowy figure in Frieda's life as he's not prepared to let her go. A provocative ending leaves this feeling like a slightly 'holder' book as we move towards what must be the finale in a further book. Still one of the most thoughtful, bleak, mature and emotionally vexed crime series currently being written.

Posted on Amazon and Goodreads

In all my reading years and I'm 67 I've only only been frustrated by 2 novels, this being number 2. I enjoyed the characters but the police, I wanted to shake my Kindle and yell at it. I haven't read a book with so much tension in a long time. I'm not very happy with the ending I like tidyish endings, but it makes me want to read the next book if this is part of a series.

This was a free book for an honest review.