HIDDEN

TITLE: HIDDEN

AUTHOR: CASEY HILL

Pages: 424

Date: 28/07/2013

Grade: 4+

Details: No. 3 Reilly Steel

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The Blurb:

A Fallen Angel. A Devil on the Loose.

When a young girl is discovered dead on an isolated Irish country road, it seems at first glance to be a simple hit and run. Then the cops see the tattoo on her back - a pair of beautifully wrought angel wings that lend the victim a sense of ethereal innocence. Forensic investigator Reilly Steel is soon on the scene and her highly tuned sixth sense tells her there is more to this case than a straightforward murder.

But with almost zero evidence and no way to trace the girl's origin, Reilly and the police are at a loss. Then the angel tattoo is traced to other children - both dead and alive - who are similarly marked, and Reilly starts to suspect they have all been abducted by the same person. But why? And will Reilly get to the bottom of the mystery and uncover what links these children together before tragedy strikes again?

This is the third book featuring Reilly Steel, our Quantico-trained forensic investigator working in Dublin, and, just like its two prequels, it provides us with a fascinating and bone-chilling mystery, a realistic and fascinating investigation and convincing conclusion. But, while the mystery and the work involved in solving form the main story line, there is more to these books. We get exactly enough story about the characters, their personal lives and the interactions between them to get a real feel for them without it ever taking away from the page-turning force of the story. And it is not just through what we are told about them that we get to know the main characters in these books better; Casey Hill shows us what our characters are really like through scenes that are at times wonderful and inspired. Chris’s time with the young, silent boy, for example, gave the reader a better idea of who he actually is and Reilly Steel the opportunity to see him through different eyes.

As far as the mystery in this book is concerned all I can say is that it was fascinating. I don’t want to give anything away but I do want to mention that the revelations at the end of the book took me completely by surprise. I do love it when an author brings me a credible conclusion I didn’t see coming at all. And boy did I get one (or should I say two) of those in this book.

What I really liked in this book is that the story is more layered than you often see in mysteries and thrillers. During my very first class when I started studying law the professor told us that anybody who was under the delusion that law and justice where synonyms was in for a nasty surprise. To see that sentiment echoed in this book made the story that much more realistic for me. Sometimes doing the right thing leads to outcomes that are far from ideal; that doesn’t mean you stop doing the right thing, as this story shows in an inspired and very thrilling way.

While this book, or the mystery it contains, can easily be read and enjoyed in and of itself, I would encourage anybody to read the first two Reilly Steel titles first. The mystery in this book may be a new one, the development of the characters is a story that continues through the subsequent books. Do yourself a favour and read “Taboo” and “Torn” first (and in that order) before picking up “Hidden”. Trust me; you will thank me for it.

As with the two previous titles, the writing team that is Casey Hill (Melissa Hill and her husband Kevin) has given us a thrilling, well-plotted, fast-paced and intriguing mystery in a well written story peopled by fascinating characters. I can only hope that Reilly Steel and her colleagues will continue their investigations for a long time to come.

BONES ARE FOREVER

TITLE: BONES ARE FOREVER

AUTHOR: KATHY REICHS

Pages: 288

Date: 25/09/2012

Grade: 4.5

Details: no. 15 Temperance Brennan

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It all starts when the body of a new born baby is found, wrapped in a blanket and wedged in a vanity cabinet. A further search of the apartment uncovers the remains of two more babies. Of the mother there is no sign and details about the young woman are hard to uncover.

When autopsies on the babies reveal that all three of them died of unnatural causes the hunt for their mother – a young woman with a dubious past and at least three aliases – is on. The search takes Tempe Brennan and Detective Andrew Ryan from Quebec to Edmonton, where the remains of a fourth baby are found and then even further north to Yellowknife. There the convoluted, aboriginal, family of the young woman seems very reluctant to help them find her. Instead of answers all Brennan and Ryan find are more questions, more secrets and more dead bodies. And by the time Tempe has figured out exactly what is going on she is up to her neck in danger and all alone.

As I’ve come to expect from Kathy Reichs' books, this is a solid and fascinating mystery. What appears to be an investigation into one thing turns into something else completely as things progress. As always there is the tension between Brennan and Ryan. In this book it is Andrew’s distant and cold behaviour towards his former lover which leaves her wondering what, if anything, she has done wrong. And, to spice things up a bit more, there is an uncomfortable triangle when the duo from Quebec is joined by a Mounty from Edmonton, a man Tempe had a week long fling with many years ago. As in most books, our forensic anthropologist manages to separate herself from the other investigators at the pivotal point in the story, leaving her in an impossible situation and danger of being killed. You’d think that after 14 adventures she would have learned to be more careful.

I really love this series, the characters in it and the way Mrs. Reichs writes. However, I do feel that at times the author gets too bogged down in technical detail. While I do want to know how things work, or what the background of a certain place or fact is, I don’t need to know all the specific details. Often those details go right over my head anyway because I don’t have the basic knowledge necessary to put them into context. And because I don’t understand what I’m reading I tend to skim over those sections of the story. With a bit less detail or with the explanations put in less scientific language I would probably read every word and end up with a better understanding of what is happening.

Having said that, the overall writing in these books is smooth and flowing while the cliff-hangers at the end of most chapters keep me turning the pages, eager to find out what exactly was discovered, or what is about to happen. Overall I would call this another solid instalment in a fascinating series of mysteries.

TORN

TITLE: TORN

AUTHOR: CASEY HILL

Pages: 390

Date: 06/04/2012

Grade: 5

Details: no. 2 Reilly Steel

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Reilly Steel, Quantico-trained forensic investigator working for the Garda Forensic Unit in Dublin, is very experienced at what she does and thinks she’s seen it all. But even she raises a few eye-brows when she finds herself face to face with the remains of a journalist, found in his own sceptic tank where he has apparently been left to drown “in his own shit”.

The crime-scene offers little or no clues for the investigation and a look at the journalist’s personal and professional life by Detectives Chris Delaney and Pete Kennedy doesn’t lead to a solid motive or suspect either.

When Reilly and the two investigators are called to another obscure and horrible crime-scene it is impossible not to link this second murder to the first one. Except that the first one wasn’t really first at all. It turns out that an earlier, equally strange, murder of a retired Garda is also part of the mystery.

But with no obvious links between the three victims and no forensic clues to speak of, the investigation isn’t going anywhere fast.

The murderer obviously has an agenda and seems to be working his way towards a spectacular finale, but unless Reilly, the investigators and the irritating profiler who has been called in, can come up with a link between the victims and a motive for their murders they don’t have a chance of identifying the perpetrator, never mind stopping him.

Casey Hill, a partnership between Melissa Hill and her husband Kevin, has done it again. The first Reilly Steel thriller “Taboo” was a great read and this book more than lives up to the expectations set by its predecessor.

Filled with gruesome and disturbing murders, fascinating forensic detail as well as interesting main characters, this book is a real page-turner. I like the way we get to know each of the characters a little bit better in each book and how their personal lives tie in with the rest of the story. I also appreciate that the authors have created real characters with flaws as well as good sides. Characters that come to life for the reader to such an extend that you could imagine meeting them on the streets of Dublin.

I could go on and on, but not without spoiling the book for those who haven’t read it, so I won’t. I will say though that I hope the two Hills will keep their writing partnership going for a very long time.