Never Look Back
"This debut novel by Donoghue starts off at a cracking pace."
Synopsis:
Three women have been found brutally murdered in south London, the victims were only feet away from help during each sadistic attack. And the killer is getting braver.
Sarah Grainger is rapidly becoming too afraid to leave her house. Once an outgoing photographer, she knows that someone is watching her. A cryptic note brings everything into terrifying focus, but it’s the chilling phone calls that take the case to another level.
DI Mike Lockyer heads up the regional murder squad. With three bodies on his watch, and a killer growing in confidence, he frantically tries to find the link between these seemingly isolated incidents. What he discovers will not only test him professionally but will throw his personal life into turmoil, too.
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Review:
This debut novel by Donoghue starts off at a cracking pace. Young women are being sadistically raped and murdered by a serial killer. Another young woman is being terrorised by an unknown stalker and DI Mike Lockyer is struggling with the separation from his wife five years ago. Lockyer is a great character and inspector, but is also a person who elicits little sympathy or empathy. Self-absorbed and knowing his faults, Lockyer does little to correct to these less than admirable aspects of his character. His right hand man (or woman), Jane who works as his Detective Sergeant, has depth yet somehow remains mysterious. Hopefully in future novels she, as with other characters, will continue to grow. In ‘Never Look Back’ the author has thrown into the mix plenty of suspects so once the killer is finally revealed, it feels fitting and you can see that the clues were there for the reader to pick up along the way. What made this book stand out from the crowd was the way Donoghue really manages to capture the feelings of the young woman who is being stalked. She describes in chilling detail how disruptive and terrifying this can be, but also flips the coin and shows the converse and ironic viewpoint of the stalker. This book is a great mix of fantastic characters with a suspenseful plot which I could not fault. Clare Donoghue has joined my list of ‘must read’ authors and I shall be eagerly awaiting her next book. Book Break