Second in the DS Stella Mooney mystery series set in modern-day London.
My Take
Detective Sergeant Stella Mooney has her work cut out for her with what turns into a serial murder case. The circumstances are bizarre and cause Stella to bring Dr Anne Beaumont onto the case to create a profile. Poor Anne. Stella is, as usual, obsessed with the case and doesn’t consider night from day and badgers Dr Beaumont at all hours. Nor does Anne know when Stella will be discussing her own personal issues or the case’s.
Things are also heating up between Stella and Delaney while George gets a nasty revelation leading to a trip around Cape Horn.
Additional subplots include background on how a serial murderer is created (a positive reason for instituting a program requiring that parents be licensed to have children!); Dogboy with his pack; Delaney’s investigation into a previous suspect’s beating at the hands of the police; and, Stella’s evolving dreams.
It’s easy to be pulled into Stella’s life, both at the station and at home, as Lawrence writes with a passion that clearly creates the surroundings in which she operates. You can feel her terror when she is betrayed in the bull-ring at Harefield. The stench and heaviness of the cigarette smoke at the station mixed in with the Kit-Kats and crisps which both calms and fuels her fellow coppers. Her confusion as to what is happening in her personal life.
It’s all too exciting, and I can’t wait to see what happens next in Cold Kill.