Member Reviews
'The Taken' is a re-working of the Greek story of Medea, wife of Jason (and the Golden fleece fame) in the context of a police procedural.
In a dingy B and B, in the middle of nowhere, a preacher from the church of Deucalian is found dead., the back of his skull caved in and a dead pigeon under his bed.
The list of suspects is long and plentiful-from his scornful daughter, his scheming manager and his oddly quiet wife.
The preacher, Tristan Snow, was about to embark on his biggest ''Miracles' tour of the UK and was a well loved celebrity, so why does wife , Sera, not seem overwrought about his death? Is cool and calm daughter Violet a candidate for murder?
How about sister in law, Antonia, who seems a little too close to Tristan for comfort?
And there, lurking in the background is the faded B and B manager Eileen , who makes the worst tea EVER.
In the midst of this comes detective Martin, a soon to be divorced woman who is dating her boss, Sam, on the QT and is thrown on at the deep end whilst looking into this genuinely creepy set up where Tristan is faith healing, creating miracles and exorcising demons.
But maybe, just maybe, he had a few demons of his own...
As revelations and further attacks come thick and fast, Martin, and team need to be one step ahead of a ruthless killer who will attack again, and again.
The way that we place people in the public eye on pedestals and allow them access to our innermost thoughts is scrutinised as this investigation takes hairpin bends around our love for fame, and the way blind eyes are turned in the hope for the miraculous to occur.
I loved how thrilling this story was, and how using Erica Martin's surname as a symbol of what we expect from a detective , reinforcing the masculine and burying the feminine in order to survive is so often used to advance , professionally speaking.
This novel goes to some very dark places and I enjoyed travelling there in the excellent company of Erica, and her team. The banter between them came across so naturally, and the northern backdrop of Durham really set the scene perfectly as a literal, and metaphorical 'end of the line'.
Highly recommended.
This is book 2 of a series. I actually wasn’t aware of this and hasn’t read book 1. However this didn’t take away from this book and in my opinion can be read as a standalone. I really enjoyed this detective thriller and couldn’t figure out who the suspect was until very near the end.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.
After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.
I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.
Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.
The Taken by Alice Clark-Platts is the second in the DI Erica Martin series. This book can be read as a standalone and is a great gripping thriller.
Sorry, could not finish this book! Thank you for approving me, but I felt that this book wasn't my cup of tea!
This is the second book in the DI Erica Martin series, but I don't think I've lost too much references to the first book, so it worked nicely as a standalone read. The book starts with a bang - a preacher is found dead, and the book doesn't leave you alone until the end, I just had to see who was the bad guy!!
Great read!!!
Wow what a great thriller, totally gripping and a good page turner.
Highly recommend
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in return for an honest review