Sunday 22 January 2017

Book Review - Perfect Remains by Helen Fields - Fab Firsts - #AroundTheUKIn144Books #CityOfEdinburgh



Fab Firsts is my new regular Sunday feature, that is going to be highlighting books that are firsts. When interviewing authors, it will be about their first book, as well as other firsts in their lives. When reviewing books for this feature, there will be a mix of debuts, first books in a series, the first time I read an author, and possibly other firsts depending on what I can think of!

If you are an author wanting to take part in Fab Firsts then please do email on gilbster at gmail dot com and I'll whizz the questions over to you.

I hope you enjoy this look at a variety of hopefully fabulous firsts, while making some sort of dent in my review and paperback TBRs which are my current main focus!

This is Helen Fields debut novel as far as I'm aware, and is the first in the new DI Callanach series. 

Amazon UK
Title:  Perfect Remains
Author: Helen Fields
Format reviewed: Paperback 
Source: Publisher supplied review copy
Publisher: Avon
Publication Date: 26th January 2017 
Rating: 4.5 Stars

On a remote Highland mountain, the body of Elaine Buxton is burning. All that will be left to identify the respected lawyer are her teeth and a fragment of clothing.

In the concealed back room of a house in Edinburgh, the real Elaine Buxton screams into the darkness.

Detective Inspector Luc Callanach has barely set foot in his new office when Elaine’s missing persons case is escalated to a murder investigation. Having left behind a promising career at Interpol, he’s eager to prove himself to his new team. But Edinburgh, he discovers, is a long way from Lyon, and Elaine’s killer has covered his tracks with meticulous care.

It’s not long before another successful woman is abducted from her doorstep, and Callanach finds himself in a race against the clock. Or so he believes … The real fate of the women will prove more twisted than he could have ever imagined.

For a large part of Perfect Remains I found myself grimacing each time we had a chapter from the murder's point of view. The writing for what he has been up to was a bit too graphic for my liking and he is an immensely cruel man. However he is also very calculating and has been planning a lot of what he's been up to for a long time, and thus is very careful to cover his tracks. 

It was this calculating nature, which had me intrigued as to just how DI Luc Callanach would solve this case, as there was so little evidence. DI Callanach has only been working in his new job in Edinburgh for a couple of days when this news of Elaine Buxton's murder is discovered. 

However for a lot of the book it wasn't this case that had me continuing to read, although it was the main focus of the book, and I was thoroughly hooked on it by the conclusion. What I was most interested in was Luc's new friendship with the other DI in his department, Ava Turner. 

Luc and Ava provide each other with a great support to each other's cases and its from that, that I was hooked on discovering just what was occurring in Ava's current investigation. This was the secondary storyline, but possibly because it wasn't as graphic, I could cope with it better, although the subject matter is still tough and not exactly palatable. 

The writing is clear, concise and descriptive, and I really felt as though I was alongside Luc in this investigation. At the point that Luc reveals just why he has moved to Scotland from Lyon, I really felt sorry for him.  He is the the sort of detective that I will be happy to see in future books, as well as seeing just how the rest of his team get on. I didn't get a feel particularly for the others in the team, apart from Lively, who seems to have a problem with DI Callanch. 

A great start to a brand new series, and its one I will be keeping my eager eye on. 

Thanks to Avon for this copy of the book which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily. 

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