Title: Scared to Death (Detective Kay Hunter book 1)
Author: Rachel Amphlett
Genre: Crime, Thriller
Format: E-book
Date of Publication: December 3rd 2016
Publisher: Saxon Publishing
Goodreads | Amazon | Juggernaut | Directly from Author
A serial killer murdering for kicks. A detective seeking revenge.
When the body of a snatched schoolgirl is found in an abandoned biosciences building, the case is first treated as a kidnapping gone wrong.
But Detective Kay Hunter isn’t convinced, especially when a man is found dead with the ransom money still in his possession.
When a second schoolgirl is taken, Kay’s worst fears are realised.
With her career in jeopardy and desperate to conceal a disturbing secret, Kay’s hunt for the killer becomes a race against time before he claims another life.
For the killer, the game has only just begun…
This book starts off right in the middle of an action – a couple fanatically looking for the daughter. They reach the location where their daughter is held captive but they are late, too late. Enter our protagonist, Detective Kay Hunter, trying to solve a kidnapping gone wrong. Or that is what they thought. From the word go, the plot pulled me in, making me follow Kay as her shadow. It has been a long time since I have read a simple yet intriguing police procedural. The plot is fast paced with ample breaks at the right places to take a breather. The writing is crisp with a good number of red herrings and foreshadows which kept me on the edge of the seat. With every twist, the knot became tighter and tighter and made me wonder how on earth is Kay going to solve this. But she solved it indeed and it was fun to read how she and her team did it. The major plus point of this book are the characters. All the characters, be it the protagonist, the supporting cast or the antagonist, each one of them felt real and authentic. Also, the readers know who the killer is from the beginning. I have read such a novel after a long time and it was interesting to look at things from the antagonist’s POV. I loved how the protagonist, though with flaws and struggles, still lives a normal life, unlike the many recent novels which present protagonists as difficult and scarred. I loved how the supporting characters actually support the protagonist instead of just being there. I loved how there are some characters whose sole purpose was to irritate the protagonist and be a hindrance on her path. My favourite character of all – Sid the snake. He just had a cameo role but he made such an amazing impact, making the book a fun read. You have to read the book to understand why I say this. All in all, Scared to Death is a must read for every crime fiction lover.
Final Verdict –
Scared to Death by Rachel Amphlett gets 5 out of 5 stars from me.
If you want to read my reviews to the other books in this series you can click the following: Book 2 | Book 3 | Book 4