Publication Date: 25th January from Elliot and Thompson
Source: Review Copy
Britain’s elite security forces seem powerless when an audacious attempt is made to assassinate a former US president in London. This becomes the spark which ignites a chain reaction of explosive events that will see old political sympathies rekindled and personal loyalties betrayed.
Joe Dempsey, a deadly military intelligence officer who witnesses this botched assassination, soon realises that this is just one small part of a complex and dark conspiracy, and only he can stop it. The fallout draws both Dempsey and CNN reporter Sarah Truman into parallel investigations, each compelled to discover the sinister truth behind these violent events. All too quickly they are running out of time as the future of the British government is crumbling. Thrown into these events is Michael Devlin, a Belfast-born criminal barrister with a secret past.
It’s a life or death race against the clock. Dempsey, Devlin and Truman are forced to work in the shadows and call on forgotten loyalties before a lethal showdown presents a devastating finale.
Killer Intent is a proper thriller. By that I mean it’s actually thrilling, whilst showing a huge amount of depth in both plot and character. I’m a fan. It was GREAT.
So our political landscape is pretty FUBAR at the moment, we know this, but I’m kind of hoping that behind the scenes things are somewhat less House of Cards than is happening in this story – bullets are flying, people are dying, there’s a devilish plot going on somewhere and Joe Dempsey is determined to dig down to the very roots of it. Starting with a bang, almost literally, then taking the reader on an often breathtaking race to the finish, Killer Intent is not only considered but cleverly layered, unpredictable and best of all really great fun to read.
It is brilliantly written to have maximum effect and you’ll get hook line and sinkered into this twisty tale of mayhem, you’ll probably fall in love with at least 2 of the characters (if not more) and I’m really quite happy that this is going to be a series because as soon as I’d finished it I wanted more. Thought provoking as well as entertaining, Killer Intent for me was a huge reading hit – so much to appreciate, definitely worth giving a nod to Sarah Truman who was the kind of female protagonist we need more of, no hint from anywhere that she couldn’t and wouldn’t keep up with all our alpha males. Plus there is a strong emotional edge to all of the characters that makes you stick with them through it all.
Taking place over a very short period of time, building an interesting background to be explored presumably in later novels and with a taut, tense and exciting story unfolding, I’m more than happy to highly recommend Killer Intent to any thriller fan. And a few non thriller fans. Ok all of you too…
Incredibly immersive with bang on prose and an intriguingly complex web of deceit that doesn’t feel at all unlikely. Killer Intent in a nutshell.
My advice: Put it on your “must have” list for January.
Happy Reading!
