I loved the RAGDOLL series, each book was contrasting in style and I really engaged with this variation and creativity. Daniel Coles books are always fun to read, despite taking you into dark places, minds and events. The thrillers are carefully plotted with both dramatic and creative deaths and crimes – so be warned, this isn’t for the faint of heart.

I listened to the audiobook which was skillfully narrated by Jude Owoso and despite a more leisurely pace to the opening, events and pace build steadily and suddenly you’re hooked in and turning the pages at a pace.

There’s a great and slightly unusual character driven team working on the central investigation: DS Ben Chambers, PC Adam Winters and the modern newbie DC Jordan Marshall. The crime investigation initially begins in 1989 shifting to the reopening in 2006 and I enjoyed the changes of both the investigation, the development and changes of the 1989 investigators.

A part of Cole’s books that add to their charm, even though it’s rather macabre at times, is the humour, which I’ve also really enjoyed in previous Cole books – so please expect a chuckle along the way, if dark humour works for you? I think it comes across really well in the audiobook, perhaps much better than the physical book – this is of course helped along by the skillful narration of Owoso.

I don’t usually listen to audiobooks first, I tend to save them for favourite reads, purely because of my attention span. However, I did get hooked into MIMIC. I wasn’t as involved as I was with the RAGDOLL reads but that’s my personal reader response, not a criticism. Cole writes great books.

With the theme of art, specifically Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ sculpture opening this crime mystery, Cole has created an intelligent cold case crime at the heart of this thriller. The reader follows the team as they hunt the perpetrator of the sick crimes that haunt them, to find closure on the case and to seek justice.

A gruesome crime thriller based on recreating famous works of art in the most macabre way. An intelligent, absorbing and addictive listen.

I have read and reviewed the Ragdoll trilogy and I absolutely loved it. When I was invited to review this audiobook I could not be more excited! And it is a gripping thriller indeed.

In my opinion, there are three protagonists in this book: DS Benjamin Chambers, DC Adam Winter, and Jordan Marshall. These three people are diverse, completely different, and they make a great team. DS Chambers is a leading detective on the cases, he shares the details of his relationship with his wife as well as his police work. DC Winter is a comedian in this novel, he is single, overweight, but the funniest of all the characters. Marshall is the most troubled one, she dresses like a goth, uses drugs, but at the same time she is smart and determined. I really liked how the author built a connection between the reader and the characters, by not only sharing the murders and the investigation but also sharing the details from their private lives, their fears and insecurities. Another thing that really helped me connect to the characters was multiple perspectives. I had the chance to get to know not only the “good guys”, but the villains as well. The murderer is extremely intriguing, and I enjoyed the way Daniel Cole unfolded his personality.

The narrative of this book is super fast-paced. The plot is always in action, filled with many twists, turns and unexpected discoveries. The narrative has similarities with another book I read, The Art Of Death by David Fennell, but they have a different approach to a similar concept. The topics discussed in this book were mythology, family relationships, drug abuse, loneliness, mental health issues, violence, murders etc.

The book is set in two different times, and I liked how they both were connected. The setting always changes depending on the character, but the transition in the audiobook was a little bit confusing. It does make sense on paper but in audiobook, it jumps from one perspective to another, and it left me confused at times. This book was narrated by Jude Owusu, and he has done an amazing job by bringing this book to life. The chapters do not seem long, and it is a book filled with suspense and is fast-paced. I really loved the ending of this book, it shows that this is not the end for this trio, and I can’t wait for more cases solved by them. 🙂

So, to conclude, this book is an absorbing, page-turning police procedural/thriller, filled with complex and likeable characters as well as the plot that is filled with surprises, personal moments and lots of info about famous sculptures. 🙂 Daniel Cole is great at creating gruesome murder scenes and layered characters, and I would strongly recommend not only this book but the Ragdoll trilogy as well. It looks like this book is the first one in the new series, and I can not wait for more!

Mimic is one of the dark ones. A serial killer story with an intense and relentless murderer who is replicating classic sculptures using the bodies of his victims. It was also a fab audiobook listen!

The story begins in 1989 as DS Chambers and a young Winters find a body mounted high on a statue in a London Park. The body had been left in plain sight for anyone to find but due to the off-path location and the inclement weather it actually takes some time for the body to be discovered. It’s a confusing and complicated crime scene which initially looks like an obscure suicide but Chambers has suspicions.

Almost immediately the pair are at a second crime scene in a house where a mother and her son are found posed in the style of a classic sculpture. Although both men are convinced both events are connected their boss is less confident and tells them to treat each death as an isolated incident. There is NO connection and Chambers and Winters are over-reaching to make something from random events.

The good news for readers (listeners) is that Chambers is adamant he is correct and continues to follow his instincts and look for connections between the two deaths. Winters and Chambers identify two potential suspects but lacking official authority they find their investigations cannot proceed unless they are prepared to act beyond their authority.

The pair decide they owe it to the victims to take on both their suspects and try to find the evidence they need to bring a murderer to justice. It doesn’t go well and both men face life changing consequences.

The aftermath of their actions is picked up seven years later. There have been mo more murders but Jordan Marshall has been looking into the cold case which Chambers and Winters had initially worked. The sculpture murderer was never caught and Marshall believes she can help move things forward. She seeks out Chambers and Winters and the three begin to dig deeper. It alerts their target who resumes his murderous mission.

Mimic is a brilliantly plotted and pacy thriller. If serial killer stories are your thing then you absolutely need to read this. The killer feels they have a purpose and a goal they need to fulfill and the police are chasing but cannot get the breaks they need to stop the carnage. It’s the kind of book I love to read and I couldn’t get enough of this one.

As advertised above, this was an audiobook listen for me. Narration duties for this audiobook sit with Jude Owusu and he was a new voice to add to my audio experiences. The most important factor is can the narrator hold my attention – yes, absolutely. Does he give characters distinctive voice? And then some! Listeners get to excperience a terrific range of voices and accents for what was quite a large cast. It gave the extra depth I hope for when I listen to a book and, crucially, Owusu is very listenable.

Mimic is a tension packed listen packed with twists, shocks and red herrings which kept me guessing right to the end of the story. Daniel Cole knows how to spin a captivating tale, this was a highly enjoyable treat.

This is a new to me author and when I heard of the tour I knew I wanted to be on it because of hearing so much about the Fawkes and Baxter trilogy.

I listened to the audiobook and I have to say this but I will listen to any book that Jude Owusu narrates! I loved his voice and I loved how he brought the characters to life. One of my favourite scenes is where Winter is pretending he can lipread, I was cracking up with his interpretation of it all. Winter’s to me was my favourite character, throughout it all, he was purest in my eyes. Yes, they all had baggage and were affected by this case in one or another but there was something about Winters that just drew me to him. I just cared about him from the opening scene with the ice sculptor to the closing and the heartbreaking scene at the end.

The way the murderer carries out how the killings were ingenious and makes me slightly terrified of Cole. The sculptures and the way the bodies were placed were cold. All spelt a different meaning for the killer and the intended victim.

It might have been me, but I think I would have been best reading this story because I must admit I did get a bit lost at times. I would be listening and then the narrative would change. I know in a book it would have a page break and I think in the audiobook it lost in translation a little bit. However, once I picked it back up again, I was hooked on the story. However, I would never want to be at a table with Chamber’s mum and wife!! Showdown at dawn!

This is my first book by Cole and I will be back for more. I was intrigued by the murders, Chambers, Winters and Marshall, they are a trio who I definitely would love to see more of. The dynamic between them was a pleasure to listen to. Hopefully, there will be another book because if a dark crime book can make me laugh and pull at the heartstrings, I am there!

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this story, it drew me in quite quickly, the writing flowed easily and I really enjoyed the humour of the story with the very serious undertone!

I’ve never read a book with a story line quite like this, murders are being committed and the bodies are being left looking like famous sculptures, so death has become art, it gave me the creeps and fascinated me at the same time.

It seems like DS Chambers and DC Winters just keep hitting brick walls when it comes to trying to solve the case, they’re both getting frustrated and give it one last ditch attempt which ends up with dire consequences for one of them?

The case is ‘forgotten’ for 7 years before being picked up by new blood Jordan who manages to convince both Chambers and Winters to help her solve the case despite them both having new jobs! – they’re reluctant at first out soon the pull of the new evidence and the possibility of finally getting to the bottom of it proves too much!

Unfortunately in reopening the case they seem to have reawakened the murderer, can they get to the bottom of who started this awful new collection of art before it’s too late?

I thoroughly enjoyed the story and felt the audiobook added a whole new level too it making it feel more real, or had me laughing in places, whilst cringing and on the edge of my seat in others, this is my first dive into Daniels work and it’s left me eager to discover his previous books!

The experience of listening to this on audio was brilliant, it’s fast becoming my favourite way to consume thrillers, the narrator did a fantastic job at keeping me engaged and creating a great atmosphere. It was interesting to see the author write a standalone as I really enjoy his series, the first book of which is Ragdoll which I believe is being adapted for TV.

The killings all seem to be replicating famous sculptures, I enjoyed learning about the art, piecing together the relevance of the sculptures with each killing was where it really became fascinating. This book is not for the faint of hearts due to some pretty graphic descriptions.

Here we are introduced to a new group of characters Marshall, Chambers and Winters. You wouldn’t normally put them together, however I believe their quirks are the reason they work so well. I really warmed to the trio and would love another novel with them getting together to solve a new case.

As with all thrillers I can’t go into too much detail, just know that Mimic is gritty and gruesome with a sprinkling of dark humour mixed in, I’m excited to see what the author delivers next.

With thanks to the publisher for the audiobook received. Listening to audiobooks is a relatively new thing for me so I jumped at the opportunity to listen to the new novel by this author. His Ragdoll series was one that I enjoyed a lot.

A dual time framed novel, the first part concerns a series of deaths. Chambers and Winters are convinced that they are linked but with lack of help from their superior officer, a somewhat unconvincing confession and finally a tragic accident the investigation is dropped.

Jump forward seven years and a young female officer, Marshall, who had known one of the victims, wants Chambers to look at the case again and find the killer. Despite misgivings and breaking a promise to his wonderful wife Eve he agrees.

Life hasn’t been kind to any of them. All three have suffered during the seven years and I really hope that there are no members of our police who are like this trio. Not because I didn’t like them but because they have all been damaged by what happened. To the extent that I worried for their safety and sanity. Marshall was very much an open book, you knew immediately how she coped and some of the trauma she experienced. Winters was more reticent, in some ways I felt he suffered more than Chambers.

But despite their issues they had a friendship that went beyond the job. Chambers was very much the father figure and managed to help both of them. In particular Marshall who he quite easily could have had removed from the investigation. Instead he showed encouragement and a belief in her abilities.

Whilst the case was an interesting one, that sent me to the internet a few times to learn more it was the relationship dynamic they grabbed me. This felt like an honest example of a team. Working on their strengths and supporting their weaknesses. And there was also some dark humour, mainly caused by frustration.

This novel is described as a standalone but I feel that there could definitely be a follow up. There is certainly potential.

After his enthralling Ragdoll series, I was intrigued to see what Daniel Cole would come up with next. Mimic has the same dark tone and I still absolutely love Daniel Cole’s sardonic black humour which shines through in Mimic.

Beautifully read by Jude Owusu, this audio book was a delight to listen to. Owusu catches the irony in Cole’s writing splendidly and makes the most of the novel’s humour, contained in the interchange between characters, without ever overdoing it. His rich tonality adds warmth to a story that is sometimes very chilling indeed.

Mimic is told in two timelines, the initial murders in 1989 and the revival of the cold case in 2006.

In 1989, Detective Benjamin Chambers attends the scene of a murder in Hyde Park. In unusual circumstances he meets Winters, a rookie cop. The murder is a strange one. The body has been staged in the pose of a Rodin’s famous sculpture ‘The Thinker’. It turns out this is not the last of such murders and again Winters and Chambers team up to track down this deadly art lover. Together they go on a hunt to catch their killer but their theories are scoffed at by Chamber’s boss who prefers a convenient confession and Chambers is suspended from duty, much to the chagrin of his partner, Eve. Still, he can’t resist pursuing his ideas about who is responsible, despite receiving a warning from the killer. But his adversary is ready for him and Chambers almost dies trying to catch the killer.

Seven years later. Detective Constable Jordan Marshall is a trainee and a rising star in the Met but in her spare time investigates cold murder cases as a result of something that has haunted her since she was a teenager. Full of piercings and well inked, she is brilliant and has a razor sharp mind. Reviewing the statues cases, she realises that Chambers and Winters were onto something with their theories about the killer and contacts Winters.

Winters no longer works for the police; he’s now a security guard at Sainsbury’s. He’s not the man he used to be and Chambers is also a shadow of his former self. But Marshall is determined and pulls the pair into her investigation only for them to find that the killings start up again.

Chambers, Winters and Marshall make for an interesting trio. Marshall is focussed and driven; a repressed anger making her unrelenting in her quest to find a killer. Both Chambers and Winters are more cautious, understanding just how deadly this killer is. They made an unlikely couple, yet something in these opposites attracting just works and adding Marshall into the mix makes them a formidable, if odd, team. As Marshall’s investigation gains momentum and becomes official, so they realise that this killer has more work to do and they are in a race against time to catch their perpetrator.

Mimic is full of tension and Daniel Cole really does make the most of his delightful penchant for creating the most macabre murders. It’s that curious but eminently workable mix of serial killer, horror and humour that is the essence of much of Cole’s writing.

Where Cole excels is in the creativity of his murders and the excellent characters he brings to the table. Mimic has tension and is a real thriller, even if we know fairly early on who the perpetrator is. That’s not an issue though, as the tension comes in the dangerous thrill of the chase and the creativity of the killer.

Verdict: Creative, dark, gritty and humorous, Mimic is a great listen. It didn’t grow on me quite as much as Cole’s previous trilogy, but these detectives work really well together and I can see that they might well have a future.

MIMIC is a London-set novel about the pursuit of a ‘theme’ serial killer. The discovery of a naked bodybuilder on a plinth in Hyde Park, his body arranged in a recreation of Rodin’s Thinker, sets DS Benjamin Chambers on a mission to track down the killer, once he has convinced his boss that the victim didn’t climb up on to the plinth, naked, on a cold winter’s night, and commit suicide… Along the way Chambers picks up a couple of ‘sidekicks’ in DC Winters and DS Marshall. All three are well-drawn characters with talents and flaws, who complement, and hinder, each other in the progress of the investigation.

Starting in 1989, there are a couple of time jumps, the first of which felt, to me, slightly awkward, Daniel Cole having introduced his characters, only to have to reintroduce them and update the reader on where they have been. It’s a minor point though, and Cole quickly recovers, with Winters in particular injecting some humour to balance the startling nature of the crimes. The key to the book, as with the more successful narratives of this genre (think of, say, the movie ‘Se7en’) is a convincing villain and an absorbing ‘theme’ to the murders. In this case the killer arranges his victims in the manner of great sculptures, taunting the investigators as he does so.

Half the fun - and it shouldn’t really be fun, should it? - in stories of this type is in the gruesome manner by which the killer sets about creating his ‘scenes’ or, in this case, ‘art.’ The tableaux that the killer creates, replicating great artworks, are horrific, and visceral, and thrilling. Of course, such intricately designed murders require quite a suspension of disbelief from the reader. It is to Cole’s credit that, while reading, you don’t stop and wonder just how the killer could have done what he does without being discovered; where did he get the time? But it is the discovery of the artist’s ‘muse’ which kicks the plot into top gear and, from there, Cole barely gives the reader time to breathe.

The story is well-constructed and, in the audio version, brought to life by the narration by Jude Owusu, who performs the dialogue especially well. He makes the interactions between the three main characters exceptionally convincing. A really entertaining listen.

I remember reading Daniel Cole's first book Ragdoll a few years ago now, it wasn't my normal read at all - in fact it was the first crime book I actually read. I was on holiday and they had a little bookswap bookshelf where I spotted it and thought I'd give something different a try. It was honestly such a good decision and that book stayed with me since.

I did find the first few chapters a bit slow going to begin with and I would say that it really started picking up for me when we were introduced to DS Marshall. I think she really shook the case and the book up and I'd find myself enthralled in the story. Once we really got into the crux of the story it was face paced and you never knew quite what was going to happen.

A bit differently to most crime books, the killer is actually revealed quite early on in the book - it's definitely not the last thing to uncover but to me this just gave the book an extra element of chase. Because you know who the killer is you're more determined to catch him and for Marshall, Chambers and Winters to find that crucial piece of evidence that will officially put him down.

Eloise was a tough character for me, mostly because I changed my mind about her so many times during the book, even now after reading it all I don't quite know how I feel about her. I got the feeling that there was more to her than we get to know and that she's really not all that we can see.

I did really like the dynamics between Chambers, Winters and Marshall because it felt so honest and realistic, they didn't always see eye to eye and they would tell each other how they felt, but with this it was so clear that they all had each others back and that they were a team that would get the job done.

The story opens in 1989 when DS Benjamin Chambers is called to a dead body that appears to have been frozen to look like a statue. Along with DC Adam Winters he finds himself on the trail of a serial killer that nearly costs Chambers his life. When the case goes cold it is seven years before Chambers is once again dragged into trying to solve the case when a DS Marshall starts digging as she has a personal interest in finding the killer. The only problem is her interest has woken the killer and the chase starts all over again. They all have ghosts to put to rest over this case and one way or another they will see it through to its conclusion.
Although there are quite a few murders in this book we only get to hear about their staging in relation to the work of art they depict. The reader is spared the grisly details of how they died. For some this may seem a little disappointing, but I felt that the not knowing was in keeping with the story being told when you eventually discover the motive behind the act.
You can feel the frustration of Chambers and Winter as they continually battle against senior officers to take their theories seriously as at times it seemed to be more a case of keeping them in line rather than truly solving the case. I did love the banter between Chambers and Winter. At first, they almost seemed to rub each other up the wrong way but as they got into a pattern of working together, the humour they sometimes shared showed why they were such a good team. I think the grief he got at home stuck between his wife and his mother goes a long way to explaining Chamber’s personality at work, but it was often those interactions that had me smiling the most.
The addition of Marshall in the second half of the story changed the dynamic again as she was certainly not you average copper and with her own personal agenda on this case, she really needed to keep Chambers and Winters on side and force them to face the mistakes made previously.
I really enjoyed listening to this audio book as the narrator seemed to pace the story just right, building the tension when it was needed and it certainly had me cramming every bit of listening time in that I could (I may have sneaked my headphones in to work so that I could continue listening when the boss was not about) as I wanted to know just how the story was going to end.

This is the second book that I have read by Daniel Cole or should I say listened to. It is 9 hours and 20 mins long. And narrated by Jude Owusu. I have to say that I loved the narrator. He totally brings this story to life when we follow a case that starts in 1989 when the hunt is on for a serial killer who poses his victims body like an art has an art sculpture The story moves to 2006 when the case is reopened when new evidence comes to light.

Sounds good doesn't it? Well it certainly is! I absolutely enjoyed this standalone.There is plenty of police procedure and It is full of new characters that are likeable and a little bit different in their own way. Not forgetting the plot. I found myself listening to this in no time at all. It really didn't feel like a 9 hour audio.

One of the things I loved was the dark humour that's added into the mix. There are some uncomfortable gruesome scenes adding horror to the story.The darker the better is what I always say.

Over all this is a highly entertaining ,additive gripping plot. Which fans old and new will enjoy.

Thank you to Tracy Fenton for the blog tour invite and to Trazepe for a copy of the audio.

Oh I do love a good dark and twisted thriller, and when it comes to the macabre and the bizarre, Daniel Cole never disappoints. This is perhaps not quite as grizzly as some of the scenes in his Ragdoll series, but it certainly has echoes of that very twisted nature and the serial killer is far from a stab and run kind of personality. Their kills are far more ostentatious. More ... staged. They are certainly making a statement. But what it lacked in bloodbathery, it made up for in style, wit and brilliant characters.

Narrated brilliantly by Jude Owusu I was drawn very quickly into this tale of a very dangerous art lover, the story opening in quite dramatic style with the discovery of a living statue. Or a not living one ... Or, well, the jury was definitely out. What wasn't up for debate was the fact that this was going to be a story that captured my imagination and that I was faced with characters, Chambers and Winters, who made me smile, even in the very dark circumstances of their meeting. From the beginning there was something about this pairing that just worked, and although seemingly chalk and cheese, they were on the same kind of wavelength, albeit that Winters added far more of the comedic value to the story. They way in which the narrator skilfully portrayed the two characters, giving them such distinct voices and capturing their personalities, just made the who story come alive.

This is a dark tale - an art aficionado who takes their appreciation of the classics to the next level and then some - but well handled and not gratuitously graphic. It's not the first time that this has come up as a theme in literature, and the tableau style staging of the bodies did put me in mind of certain episodes of Dexter and another book I've read this year. But it's fair to say that whilst the murderer is making a statement, it takes the urging of new Detective, Jordan Marshall, to get anyone in the upper echelons of the Police to listen to what they had to say. In spite of readers playing voyeur at one stage, the idea that the Met may be faced with. a serial killer is well and truly pushed aside in favour of a far too convenient confession.

I liked the pacing on this one, which although slow to start with, picks up with some real edge of the seat and tense moments of action. But it is not all fast paced and it is often the subtle, understated moments of menace and threat that really make the skin prickle as much as those moments where the characters lives are in real jeopardy. We are spared most of the graphic detail of the murders, seeing only the aftermath which is both tragically macabre and highly creative. The reveal when it comes is not as dramatic as you might expect, but it doesn't really matter, as the who, whilst important, is not really the whole point of this story. We know pretty early on just who they are chasing, it's the thrill of that chase, the danger that they are in, that makes this story a winner.

This is billed as a standalone thriller but I really do think this trio of Detectives could have legs (no pun intended) and I'd love to see them back in some form in the future. Recommended for fans of the darkly humorous thriller.