I picked this up because I found the combination of people in the first book different from the usual couples in such police procedural/thriller types.
We have a definitely odd couple who met and have been going steady since the first instalment. Of the two, the male is softer and more regimented as well as environmentally conscious in his actions. There are two parallel cases that do not necessarily get the same amount of focus. On the one hand, we have the actual crime occurring and then the subsequent repercussions on all parties involved. There is not as much of a ‘mystery’ here, more of the police catching on to an ongoing crime. The second is a cold case (of a sort) and connections to Romeo. We see more than the participants in the book, and the foundation has been laid for the next unravelling in the personal saga.
Marie has her own dilemmas, and she plays a large role in the first of the stories that I mentioned. Her issues are not limited to her personal relationships but also extends to her professional life and the kind of drive that she brings to it.
Overall, it was slower than I hoped but still a solid addition to the series and kept the narrative’s dark overtones. The climate always feels oppressive and interfering, which suits the tone of the book as a whole. I would not recommend picking this up without having read the first.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.
Superfluous Reading 