As if police work was not complicated enough, Detective Jessica Daniel is asked to provide a measure of protection to a recently released serial killer. Damian Walker murdered four women, leaving a signature mark on each of their bodies. After being released into witness protection after serving his time, electronically monitored and with 24 hour a day protection, the body of a teenage girl is found, bearing Walker's signature. Has Walker struck again, or is there a copycat bent on revenge?

Jessica's personal life once again takes center stage, as her boyfriend's prognosis is not promising and her housemate Bex has disappeared without a trace. The criminal case itself was a little leading, as I had puzzled out the obvious clues by the mid-way point to the novel. The pacing was a little better than some of the previous novels, but the author still spends too much time on the personal aspects of the main character than on the crimes themselves. Overall, I am personally not looking forward to reading more in this series, as it has become formulaic and expected.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's copy of Eye for an Eye by NetGalley and the publisher, Bookouture. The choice to review this book was my own.

Published by: Pan (11th January 2018)



ISBN: 978-1509806652



Source: Netgalley



Rating: 4*



Synopsis:

Seventeen years ago, Damian Walker abducted five women because the voices in his head told him to. Now he has been declared sane and is about to be released back onto Manchester’s streets with a new identity. But within hours, there is another attack similar to his previous ones. Walker has proof it’s not him – but is he reliable, and, if so, who is trying to frame him?



DI Jessica Daniel and her chief are given a parallel task to the main investigation: keep an eye on Walker – but that’s not all Jessica has to do.

Rock star Blaine Banner is playing a series of homecoming gigs but is convinced someone’s trying to kill him, while a bride-to-be is picketing the police station, demanding someone finds her missing fiancé.

All the while, faces from Jessica’s past are watching and waiting. Someone wants a word . . .

Revew:

I adore Jessica Daniel and in this book she faces some of her toughest challenges yet, in both her professional and personal life. Focusing mainly on her work, Jessica has difficult cases to crack and a team of mainly familiar faces to ably assist her. There was plenty going on to keep me interested, from Jessica's flits to assist rock star Blaine at all hours and the added tension of a side team on surveillance, but ultimately I felt the identity of the killer somewhat unbelievable, hence not awarding five stars. But an entertaining, engrossing read nonetheless.

Kerry Wilkinson is famous for keeping many different series running without any of them bleeding off the others. This is an amazing ability. His readers have come to expect a story that will take them out of their lives and into the lives of his characters. In this book, he delivers again.
Jessica Daniels is a police detective that has had many, many run ins with unusual crime and criminals. She is very good at what she does. So what is her reward? More and more work that keeps her busy and her mind off her personal challenges. This book never slows down. Right from the start you find Jessica worrying about her private problems but at the same time, multitasking at work. A paroled serial killer, a copycat, she hopes, serial killer, a kidnapped fiancé and a haunted Rockstar all in the same work week would keep anyone wondering why they get up in the morning. Jessica comes through with flying colors again, proving this author knows what his readers want and is very good at giving it to them. I'm adding more of his books to my TBR list.

I really just never get tired of Jessica Daniel. She is snarky, professionally rebellious, and the people she surrounds herself with make for a good time, even in the throes of a case. I also stay intrigued with her personal life and the developments in it, including some closure on her fiancé and the mystery of what happened to Bex.

This book is not one that would be easy to pick up if you have no background. It’s possible, but I’d definitely recommend picking up the rest in the series first. I love these books!

An Eye For An Eye – Kerry Wilkinson

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.
Detective Inspector Jessica Daniel is back for more in the newest installment if this fabulous series!! As she struggles to come to terms with her fiancés comatose state, and her housemate Bex’s seeming abandonment, Jessica is also honor bound to keep the community safe, even if that includes a call from the English Rockstar Blaine Banner, who believes that he is receiving death threats, despite being unable to provide much credible information. After taking his complaint, she heads for the station only to learn that England’s notorious serial killer, nicknamed “Jaws” is due to be released from prison, and into the Witness Protection Program, in an effort to keep him safe. If that wasn’t enough, the fiancée of a missing person is picketing the police station, and summoning news crews, as she feels the police aren’t doing enough to find the missing ‘Liam’.

In an effort to protect the community, Jess and her team are asked to ‘protect’ Jaws killer Damian Walker from harm, while they also ascertain that he remains in place in his safe house. However, shortly after his release, a new victim is found, killed in exactly the same manner as his prior victims. But…Damian, with his protective detail in place, had not left his home…

As Jess investigates the newest murder, a ghost attacks the Rockstar, and Liam’s fiancée calls the press, creating a media circus in town. Meanwhile, Jess is privately dealing with her own sorrows, and her fear that she’s the reason that Bex left. It’s a wild ride from start to finish as Jess does what she does best – chock full of action, great characters, and a twist or two you won’t see coming!!

I LOVE this series! I had never heard of Kerry Wilkinson prior to joining the Netgalley community, and I have to share that she has very quickly become a favorite author of mine. The best part is – the Jess Daniel series is plentiful! I cannot wait to read more!! Love LOVE these books!!

Kerry Wilkinson has done it again. The Jessica Daniels series are police procedural at their best. Well defined characters, an engaging plot and a dry sense of humor. The amazing thing is that at book 12, the series shows no sign on going slack.

Jessica’s miserable week starts off with a rock star possibly being targeted, a serial rapist being released from a secure hospital under a new identity, and a bride-to-be picketing the police station over a missing fiancé.

Jessica’s a complex soul. “Jessica was never sure who the real her was: the outgoing, confident person at work, or the introspective silent shadow that ghosted around the void she called home.” DCI Topper is a great addition. He thinks like Jessica and has no stomach for the office politics that encompass police work.

Jessica is mellowing and there’s not as much snarky humor as in past books. But I love how the team continues to grow and gel. In the end, all the different stories get tied up with neat bows.

My thanks to netgalley and Bookouture for an advance copy of this book.

This is number 12 in the Jessica Daniels series. It just picked up from the last one. It was as if I'd just read the previous one.
Two young women are murdered. It is so very like murders committed several years ago. The ironic thing being that the murderer of the previous ones has just been released!!!! He has been placed in protective custody and has his name changed. So how can he have murdered again and so soon, especially wearing a security tag????
Read on for several twists right to the end. The biggest coming right near the end.
I've read all Kerry Wilkinsons books and this one didn't disappoint!! Brilliant!!
Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for allowing me to read this arc.

Impressive!

Terrific new author for myself to follow. I have been looking at books by Kerry Washington for quite some time and finally have had the great pleasure to read this story. The book did not disappoint.

The story revolves around a UK police department and follows the main character Jessica Daniel, who happens to be a hardworking detective and also she is working through a few personal traumas while investigating a serial killer's movements after a new murder shows similar signs of his m.o., although this man has been imprisoned 17 years for his crimes. The public is outraged at his release so the ex -convict is given a new identity and and some police protective custody for a small amount of time, since there are too many people who would enjoy seeing this man's demise.
There are many twists and turns within this story that kept me quickly turning page after page not wanting to stop reading. Every chapter had suspenseful situations and delightful interactions among the many likable and entertaining characters.

This book is part 5 of a series and i felt this story stood strong as a stand-alone since it gave enough background history to enable me to understand everything that was taking place and not having a series if questions about the past books.

I truly enjoyed this book and feel Kerry Washington is a wonderful writer and I will certainly read more books by this author.

I want to thank Netgally and the publisher Bookouture for allowing me to read this book for my honest and unbiased review.

I highly recommend this book and given a rating of 5 Impressive 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 stars!!
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A fast paced and exciting thriller with some big twists. Good to catch up with this detective team,real twist at the end.

Another amazing book by Kerry Wilkinson! I just finished reading Eye for an Eye which is the fifth book in the DI Jessica Daniel series. I have read previous books by Kerry Wilkinson but this was the first one in this series.

I agree with another reviewer that the author has the knack of writing several series without sounding alike. It is truly as if he has several personas and is amazing in all of them.

The book has several different story lines going on with the main one being about a serial killer who is released from the mental hospital where he served 17 years. Jessica is tasked with making sure that the killer’s new identity and his whereabouts are kept secret from the public.

Of course things are not what they seem and other almost identical murders are being committed.

The book is fast paced, full of interesting characters and just a delight to read. I definitely recommend this book and thank Bookouture and NetGalley for letting me read this advance copy. A definite 5 star book.

A first Jessica Daniel read for me. A great story line kept one guessing till the very end. Look forward to catching up with her in future novels.

I have already read several books by this author and every time he surprises me with a different kind of story telling. It seems like he is like several writers living in one body. I never know what to expect, but he delivers time after time.

I totally love Jessica. She is my kind of girl the way she gives the impression of giving in but always coming out on top and she often made me smile.

I like the way the author mixes some jokes with the suspense. I had figured out a part of the secrets, but it did not disturb me. There was so much going on in this story that the author could keep me entertained. 

I normally hate cliffhangers but when it is certain that a sequel will be written to explain everything then I don't mind. I hope from the bottom of my heart that we will know what happens next soon. 4 stars.

Thank you, Kerry Wilkinson, Bookouture and Netgalley.

I was first introduced to DI Jessica Daniels when I was off sick from work after an accident, I became engrossed in this series and had so many to read, so much so, I felt I was Jessica Daniels by the time I was due to go back to work ha ha!!! So when I saw that the new one was out, to say I was delighted is an understatement.

There are a few different plots going on in “Eye for an Eye” with the main one being about a serial killer “Jaws” being released into society. Damian Walker attacked and murdered 4 women, the 5th one got away but not before having her stomach sliced open! She is outraged when 17 years later, she hears of Walker’s release. He is being given a new identity, a fresh start, what about her, she has to live with what he did to her for the rest of her life!

When the body of a young woman turns up, its up to Jessica and Co. not to prove that Walker committed the crime but in fact the opposite….. to prove that he did not do it. Instead of Walker being the criminal, he was the one being protected, a victim of past circumstance perhaps. How would you feel protecting a serial killer?

Jess has also been tasked with the disappearance of Liam McGregor who went missing from his stag party. His fiancé Ellie Scanlon is picketing outside the police station on a daily basis accusing them of doing nothing to find her “Liam”. How can she find someone else’s loved one when she has no clues as to where Bex is?

As if she hasn’t enough on her plate, she was also given the task of “babysitting” rock-star Blaine Banner who claims that a ghost is trying to kill him!!!

With so much going on with work and Jess having to deal with so many personal issues including the disappearance of Bex and oh poor Adam, she is caught between a rock and a hard place having been told he will never wake from his coma and that there is no brain activity, the decision has been made to turn off the life support. How will Jess cope with all this, how could anyone?

Another fantastic instalment in this series and what a cliff hangar to leave it on, seriously why do that to us fans…. I need to know NOW!!! How long are you going to make us wait with baited breath!!!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

After reading several of the author's books featuring Jessica Daniel without really relating to the Greater Manchester, England, detective investigator, I think I've finally warmed up to her. To be clear, all the books I've read have been very good - it's just that Jessica herself wasn't a character I would be eager to sit down with at a bar and share drinks. This installment, though, won me over; so Jessica, if you ever cross the Pond and land in northeastern Ohio, I'm buying.

How that mental switcheroo came about is a sort of yin-yang thing, actually. There are so many different "plots" going on in this one that it's almost hard to keep the players straight (and the bits with the rock star who thinks a ghost is out to get him and bridezilla-to-be whose fiance has gone missing are, quite honestly, borderline silly). On the other side of the equation, all those story lines provide greater insights into Jessica's background and personality, thus allowing me to get to know, and like, her better - so all's well that ends well. And speaking of endings, as is the author's norm in this series, there's a cliffhanger - but it's not nearly as in-your-face as in previous books.

Jessica is still struggling with the loss of Adam, the love of her life and the victim of a car bombing meant for Jessica. He's been in a hospital in a coma from which he's not expected to recover for quite some time, pitting her hope against reality. She's also desperate to find her teenage friend Bex, a runaway who's been living with Jessica but suddenly went missing. The primary story, though, is the release from mental hospital custody of Damian Walker, who abducted and gruesomely murdered several women 17 years earlier. Deemed "safe" for society, he's been stashed in a sort of witness protection program under a new name. Not long afterward, another woman is murdered in a similar fashion, raising suspicions that Walker is neither safe nor sane. Problem is, he wears a leg monitor 24/7 and clearly never left his house. Among those most upset is Anne, one of Walker's years-ago targets who managed to survive with serious physical and mental injuries.

After yet another woman turns up dead, Jessica and her team are charged with finding out whether Walker is somehow escaping or someone else is trying to frame him. In between, she has to deal with that very annoying bride-to-be - who's managed to make a media spectacle of herself and the cops who aren't helping her - and that rock star who seems to have taken a shine to Jessica. Oh yes, and worry that Bex flew the coop because of something Jessica said or did.

All in all, another satisfying series entry. I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review it.

The latest installment of the Jessica Daniel's series was worth waiting for. We get some resolution to plots that have been ongoing. There are some twisty mysteries that are solved in some unexpected ways. The characters are great and I enjoyed the updates on many of their lives. I'm anxious to see where things go from here.

Imagine you have to protect a killer, since he now has rights, even though he killed without remorse. Suddenly there is more murders, which lets you doubt whether he really killed the women to start with. Highly recommended, entertaining from beginning to end, even though I ended up not sleeping until I finished it......

Oh, Kerry Wilkinson, how cruel you are to end your books with a cliffhanger and then force us to wait endlessly (it seems) for the next in the excellent Jessica Daniel series!

DI Jessica Daniel is as busy as ever! Based at the Longsight Police Station in the Manchester area, she has a caseload that keeps her working day and night. In this outing, Jessica teams up with DCI Lewis Topper as they monitor and work a bit behind the scenes while the rest of the team gets the groundwork on.

After the serial killer known as "Jaws" is released from a secure hospital after 17 years and is relocated in protective custody, the former Damian Walker who attacked 5 young women (only 4 died), is meant to be known as Eric Seasmith. Fitted with an ankle bracelet and monitored by 2 witness protection officers, Millie Evans and Clayton Gordon, Eric is set up in a house for his own safety as the public outcry escalates when it becomes known that he's been released. Supposedly well away and in the company of the two WPOs, the city goes nuts when 2 women are found killed in the same way as done by "Jaws". NO SPOILERS.

The second case Jessica becomes involved with has to do with a visiting rocker, Blaine Banner, who claims he is receiving death threats. In addition, a young woman named Ellie Scanlon, is picketing the station and clamoring for the police to find her missing fiancé. Whew! Jessica has a lot on her plate and it's just as well because she has to face some serious decisions in her personal life especially since she's back to living alone since Bex has gone.

As always, the author juggles all of the parallel plots and keeps the action moving forward. The great interplay between the team members, the snarky dialogue, and the personality of the characters is always entertaining. Jessica has calmed down with age and maturity no longer such a liability with her reactions and impulses. I love seeing how the team is changing and evolving. The police/crime elements are there as well, and I'll continue to eager await the next installment in this gripping series.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the e-book ARC to read and review. Hey, when can I expect to see #13??????

5 stars

The police and his last victim – who miraculously survived an attack seventeen years earlier – learn that Damian Walker has been released from custody. He had murdered four women and was attempting to murder the fifth when she escaped and Walker was caught.

DI Jessica Daniel and her boss DCI Lewis Topper respond to the call of an eighteen-year old girl named Casey Graves who was murdered in an historic hall in a park. It is down pouring rain. The murder is remarkably similar to the ones that Damian Walker committed.

Topper and Jessica make a visit to Walker, who is in witness protection with a new name that he does not like and is uncooperative but his minders say that he did not leave the house, and he has an ankle monitor that backs this up. They next visit the hospital where Walker was incarcerated. The doctor assures them that Walker is cured and is no longer a danger to society. Only a very few know Walker’s new identity and where he now lives.

The police and the media are in a dither. Speculation is already rife in the media and the police have to begin an investigation of the young woman from scratch. The lead on the Graves case is given to another team led by Superintendent Deacon, but Topper and Jessica decide to run a little investigation of their own with very few trusted officers beneath them – DS’s Izzy and Archie, DC’s Dave Rowlands and Ruth Evensham.

Jess is also looking into the disappearance of Liam McGregor. His fiancé Ellie Scanlon has been all over the radio and television claiming that the police are doing nothing. She is picketing the police station on a daily basis. Jess also has had to deal with her feelings about her own fiancé Mark being in hospital in a coma. And let’s don’t forget her having to be at a rock star’s beck and call, the paranoid and junkie Blaine Banner. He sees ghosts and claim that someone is trying to kill him, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence – he either eats it or forgets it.

Another woman is murdered and this puts Deacon’s team in deeper and they have nothing. They have been told to stay away from Walker, that he was not involved. But was he? Did he manage to get out of the ankle monitor?

In a thoroughly surprising move, we learn the name of the murderer and the conspiracy surrounding the murders.

This is a very well written and plotted novel. I really like Jess and Topper, and the way they get along and also with their team. They are of a like mind and they get the job done. This novel has a painstaking police investigation with some action as well. I like police procedurals, especially the ones in which the investigating team get along well. The book is well thought-out and follows a linear path. That is to say one event logically follows another. Ms. Wilkinson has written a very good book and I await her next one. I have truly enjoyed all of the DI Jessica Daniel books, but this one surely tops them all!

I want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture for forwarding to me a copy of this absolutely great book for me to read, enjoy and review.

Excellent continuation of this series. I don't know how Jessica copes! I don't know how the Author keeps writing such fabulous books. I want the next book NOW please! Sad but predictable event with Adam. Where is Bex? Thanks to NetGalley, Bookoutre and the Author for allowing me to read and review this book.