The Girl Who Broke The Rules – Marnie Riches

The pulse-pounding new thriller from Marnie Riches. For anyone who loves Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson, this book is for you!

When the mutilated bodies of two sex-workers are found in Amsterdam, Chief Inspector van den Bergen must find a brutal murderer before the red-light-district erupts into panic. Georgina McKenzie is conducting research into pornography among the UK’s most violent sex-offenders but once van den Bergen calls on her criminology expertise, she is only too happy to come running. The rising death toll forces George and van den Bergen to navigate the labyrinthine worlds of Soho strip-club sleaze and trans-national human trafficking. And with the case growing ever more complicated, George must walk the halls of Broadmoor psychiatric hospital, seeking advice from the brilliant serial murderer, Dr. Silas Holm…

From the winner of the 2015 DEAD GOOD READER AWARD FOR MOST EXOTIC LOCATION

 

My thanks to the team at Avon Books for a review copy which I received through Netgalley.

 

George McKenzie is back. Four years have passed since the events of The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die and we find George back in England where she is studying for her PhD. These studies bring her into contact with some of the UK’s worst sex offenders and, in particular into direct contact with serial killer Silas Holm.

Holm is a manipulative subject and throughout The Girl Who Broke The Rules he manages to extend his influence far beyond the walls of his secure prison. He is a powerful character and I liked how his presence seemed to be kept in the background, he is not overused within the telling of the story but when he does feature the intensity of the scene is cranked up.

In Amsterdam two horribly mutilated bodies have been found. Chief Inspector Paul van den Bergen is struggling to make any significant headway in the investigation and reaches out to George to return to Amsterdam to work with his team. Yet there are more than professional reasons behind his request, van den Bergen is infatuated with George and is desperate for her to return to Amsterdam.

George does not appear to have made any effort to let van den Bergen slip out of her life despite her ongoing relationship with her seemingly hapless boyfriend, Ad.  You cannot help but feel that headstrong, independent George is playing with fire as she tries to keep her continued friendship with van den Bergen a secret from Ad.

I need to back track to the ‘horribly mutilated bodies’ at this stage…The Girl Who Broke The Rules can sometimes score quite highly on the ‘very graphic’ scale. I am absolutely fine with this! However, I cannot tell you why you may find some scenes make you squirm because SPOILERS.) Suffice to say that this is not a schlock/slasher story, Marnie Riches has delivered another clever and classy murder story.

The Girl Who series is becoming essential reading – high quality thrillers with a feisty heroine who is far from perfect and certainly not bulletproof. Another 5 star outing for Georgina McKenzie – do not miss out on these books.

 

The Girl Who Broke The Rules is published by Maze (Avon Books) and is available here:  http://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Who-Broke-Rules-ebook/dp/B00U5NU62E/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8