The Killer – Susan Wilkins

She was a woman, so they thought she’d be easy to kill . . .

Kaz Phelps is on the run – from the past, from the legacy of her criminal family, from the haunting memories of her murdered lover. The police want her back in jail and her enemies want her dead. While standing by the grave of her gangster brother, Kaz realizes she only has one option. To fight back.

Nicci Armstrong was one of the Met’s best detectives until personal tragedy forced her to quit. Now she’s responsible for the security of the super-rich who use her city as a playground. She is one of the few people Kaz might trust. But Nicci’s biggest mistake yet is falling in love with a man she knows is only using her.

Meanwhile, as envious rivals back home plot against him, a Russian billionaire searches for a special gift to keep the Kremlin onside, a disgraced politician dreams of revenge and a Turkish drug baron plots to purge his dishonour with blood.

 

My thanks to Bethan at EDPR for my review copy

This is the latest review written by my super guest reviewer Lou.  I cannot describe just how animated she became while trying to describe how much she loved this book – we had to give her extra space to gesticulate 🙂

Over to Lou….

This is great. Reminiscent of Martina Cole at her best (but without Cole’s occasionally awkward phoneticisms) this is an excellent romp through the high lives and lowlifes of contemporary London. With two, strong female protagonists – and an extensive cast of fully-formed supporting characters – it starts with a funeral and inexorably racks up the bodies as it steamrollers to its conclusion.

The last book in a trilogy that started with The Informant and continued with The Mourner, The Killer offers a satisfying finale to Kaz Phelps’ struggle to escape her criminal past, and Nicci Armstrong’s efforts to move past her own tragedy and build a future outside of the Metropolitan Police.

Building momentum with police procedures and private investigations, touching on political machinations and organised criminality, Wilkins knowledgeably shows the reader a world of extremes. Wealth, fear, power, avarice – all have a devastating impact on the lives of Phelps and Armstrong and play a pivotal part in the ultimate denouement.

Well-written and skilfully paced, you don’t need to read the first two to enjoy the last, but I shall certainly be hunting them down so that I can indulge my new-found addiction until Wilkins writes me another one…

The Killer is released in paperback on 29th June and is available now in digital format.

You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Killer-Kaz-Phelps-Book-ebook/dp/B01ITD668Y/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8