Girl 4
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4.0 • 20 Ratings
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- £3.99
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- £3.99
Publisher Description
Detective Inspector January David has always put his professional before his private life, but the two worlds are about to clash horrifically as he visits his latest crime scene. He is confronted by a lifeless figure suspended ten feet above a theatre stage, blood pouring from her face into a coffin below. This gruesome execution is the work of an elusive serial killer.
Three women from three different London suburbs, each murdered with elaborate and chilling precision. And as January stares at the most beautiful corpse he's ever seen, he detects the killer's hallmark.
But Girl 4 is different: she is alive - barely. And January recognises her...
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This arresting thriller debut pits Det. Insp. January David against a sadistic serial killer, Eames, who methodically seduces and butchers three women in increasingly showy displays of gore and perversion. Carver builds suspense by switching point of view among Eames, David, David's professionally successful yet personally unfulfilled wife, and the first three victims, each of whom comes from a different London suburb. As the death toll rises, David runs into one dead end after another, with Eames seemingly always two steps ahead. In a chilling scene, David gets a personal shock when he comes across the mangled, bleeding body of the fourth victim, who's hanging above a theater stage with her blood dripping into a coffin below. Fortunately, she's still alive. Fans of British crime fiction will enjoy the many cultural references and clever witticisms sprinkled throughout the twisty plot.
Customer Reviews
Surely a must read from this new voice in the thriller genre...
I thoroughly enjoyed this book from start to finish, as a matter of fact it took me 4.5 hours to read in two sittings... that's rare.
Each chapter is written in the first person of the individual characters, the victims, the killer, the detective. This approach creates a multifaceted character-based storyline which is exceptional, you are truly invested in the outcome of these character's stories and like any good thriller you will be pleased, annoyed, disgusted, elated, and excited throughout.
The Author uses jumps in time to paint his story, and he uses this tool well! This approach also gives you an great insight into the character's decisions, beliefs and morals. I feel this writing style not only keeps you on your toes, but really helps the reader to feel connected to the characters. It also helps you understand the subtleties of the main character's narration, although their names are listed at the top of each chapter, you can start reading, and you already know which of them is narrating. It's also, perhaps, a nod to the great detectives and how they can `get into' the killer's and victim's heads and thoughts to solve a case.
For a debut novel, the research that went into this book is top notch, every scene is believable and palatable, with one scene describing most of Ikea's current and back catalogue down to the product names! Not that I'd know of course... nothing in my house is from Ikea... Honest. The cityscape of London is painted well, with notable points being the difference in the clean, sterile Canary Wharf to the more grimy, dirty places in London that we all know and love.
The other thing that I noticed in this book was the poetic nature of some of the writing, well, as much as my Grade C English Lit. GCSE would allow me to pick up on. Some of the lines are delivered quite beautifully, enhancing the sensory experience of this book beyond a lot of other books, again connecting you to the characters and the storyline, and acting as a catalyst to the escapism that any good book presents.
Truly brilliant, and bearing in mind this is a debut novel... what will the next bring? I, for one, cannot wait!