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lindca's review
4.0
Sharp has a knack for writing good dark suspense with complex, kick-ass female protagonists. I'm a fan of her Charlie Fox series and liked Kelly Jacks as well. I hope she, too, will merit her own series.
Kelly Jacks was a crime scene specialist in London whose uncanny ability to suss out evidence earned her the nickname The Blood Whisperer. When her keen eye picked up some inconvenient information, she was set up to take the fall for a murder (drugged, so even she was unsure what happened) and ended up in prison for five years. Hardened by her experiences, her career ruined, she ends up working for a friend at a specialized clean-up company. When her experienced eye picks up an incongruity at a supposed suicide clean-up, she finds herself framed for yet another murder.
Kelly no longer trusts the system to work, so she evades capture and uses her skills at parkour and fighting to find out who framed her and why. She encounters a number of twists, turns, and some betrayals to discover what happened both several years before and more recently, finding some allies along the way. An appealing mix of tough and vulnerable, both physically and emotionally, Kelly is a likeable protagonist.
It's been a while since Sharp has come out with a new Charlie Fox story. I hope that if we can't get another from that series soon, she at least will follow up with another Kelly Jacks book. I'll keep my eyes open for either.
Kelly Jacks was a crime scene specialist in London whose uncanny ability to suss out evidence earned her the nickname The Blood Whisperer. When her keen eye picked up some inconvenient information, she was set up to take the fall for a murder (drugged, so even she was unsure what happened) and ended up in prison for five years. Hardened by her experiences, her career ruined, she ends up working for a friend at a specialized clean-up company. When her experienced eye picks up an incongruity at a supposed suicide clean-up, she finds herself framed for yet another murder.
Kelly no longer trusts the system to work, so she evades capture and uses her skills at parkour and fighting to find out who framed her and why. She encounters a number of twists, turns, and some betrayals to discover what happened both several years before and more recently, finding some allies along the way. An appealing mix of tough and vulnerable, both physically and emotionally, Kelly is a likeable protagonist.
It's been a while since Sharp has come out with a new Charlie Fox story. I hope that if we can't get another from that series soon, she at least will follow up with another Kelly Jacks book. I'll keep my eyes open for either.
slc333's review
4.0
3.5 stars. Entertaining thriller with a very tough, strong heroine. I found the multitude of POV's detracted from the story as we basically get POV's from almost every character we meet. By chapter 8 we had already had 5 chapters from different POV's. Basically we would get the chapter from one POV and in that chapter we would be introduced to a new character who would then provide the POV for the following chapter. Overall we had chapters from Tyrone, Kelly, Matthew, Steve, Det O'neill, Myshkana, Dimitri & Ray. Possibly there were some from Harry a well. Fortunately we do get a reasonable number from Kelly's POV - I just would have preferred more from her and more from Matt and less from the others.
Kelly herself is an very interesting heroine. I liked how her experiences had given her a backbone of stell, strength (both physical and mental), determination and a raft of interesting and useful skills.They have also left suspicious and untrusting for very good reason. I wasn't happy that
Kelly herself is an very interesting heroine. I liked how her experiences had given her a backbone of stell, strength (both physical and mental), determination and a raft of interesting and useful skills.They have also left suspicious and untrusting for very good reason. I wasn't happy that
Spoiler
poor Tyrone died. But I understand why the author did it. It was necessary to give Kelly the required motivation and belief in her own innocenceSpoiler
.
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