3.5* rounded up.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley. Here Clare's team is part of an attempt to catch a serial killer who has travelled up from the north of England called 'The Choker'. I found this rather slow to get going, and the narrative also suffered a bit from the focus regularly switching between the Choker and other cases which cropped up. The idea that a serial killer would ask for tips on gay hookup places on the dark web seemed a bit unlikely - surely you can just find that information on the regular internet easily.

This is a strong series, but I'm not sure this is one of my favourites.

Will DI Clare Mackay end up with blood on her hands? A young man is found dead near a nightclub. He has marks on his neck, the signature of the Choker, a killer who has been targeting gay men across the country. Now, it seems he's in DI Clare Mackay’s territory! Great read! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book! It had great suspense, intriguing, action, murder, mystery, serial killers, a fantastic who done it and some crazy twists and turns! The story was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this book with me!

Great to be back with Clare , Chris, the DCI (or Al) and Jim. Good old Jim.
Clare is really quite busy in this one, it feels like a lot going on, whilst she's not only dealing with several crimes, but home life too.
Having listened to a few of these on audio, I heard the whole going being narrated in my head, and it was very enjoyable, brings the characters to life.
Great pacing, interesting crime, and nice to catch up with life having moved on a bit for all our characters.
Looking forward to the next installment as always.