I first encountered the Cora Lael Crime Series on my favourite hour of the week; a Wednesday night at 8:00pm when a bunch of like-minded book peeps come together for a single hour to forget about the world for a bit. Started in lockdown by the ever-lovely Miranda Dickenson, and it’s carried on to this day. And one of the perks of that said hour is hearing stories that have been written but never published. So, when we all fell in love with the psychologist with a unique ability, Hera Books listened and Cora was finally born.
This is the fourth book in the series, and Cora now works with the police as an equal rather than being scrutinised for her ability to hear emotional fingerprints left on discarded objects. Alongside the brooding and rather yummy DS Rob Minshall, Cora dives into the bloodiest case yet. Four dead bodies, surrounded by objects, and a man covered in blood seemingly screaming that it is all his fault.
What I love about this book and indeed this series is the realness of the characters. Aside from the main plot, all of the South Suffolk CID Team, have real-life problems that have to be put to one side to deal with the heinous crimes that befall their small town. The kindly Dave Wheeler, gruff but would probably die for his team DI Joel Anderson, the strong Kate Bennett and the baby Drew Ellis, all have a part to play in this story. There is no one main protagonist in the team and they all compliment Cora and Rob wonderfully with sometimes clashing ways of working i.e. old school versus new school.
This book in the series is the first to deal with multiple and gruesome murders and does not shy away from the details. The plot twists and turns with atmospheric scenes that will keep you on your toes until the breathtaking last few chapters – seriously I forgot to breathe and turned blue at one point. There are suspects galore and to be honest none of them are particularly likeable which makes it all the more fun guessing who it actually was, and no I did not see it coming!
The writing is fast-paced with a good balance of police procedural and real life. The scenes connect to each other effortlessly despite being from different perspectives of each of the team. You never feel lost, even if you put the book down in the middle of a chapter, you know exactly who is speaking, so distinctive are the voices in the story.
In conclusion, I adore Cora and her adventures with the CID Team, even if I still want to bash her and Rob’s heads together! This is also a TV Series in the making if you ask me, so if any of the big networks happen to stumble alongside my little corner of the internet, do me a favour and option these books – PLEASE!
Rating
5 stars
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