Leave No Trace – Jo Callaghan

Published By: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 400
Released On: 28/03/2024

One detective driven by instinct, the other by logic.
It will take both to find a killer who knows the true meaning of fear . . .
 
When the body of a man is found crucified at the top of Mount Judd, AIDE Lock – the world’s first AI Detective – and DCS Kat Frank are thrust into the spotlight as they are given their first live case.
 
But with the discovery of another man’s body – also crucified – it appears that their killer is only just getting started. With the police warning local men to be vigilant, the Future Policing Unit is thrust into a hostile media frenzy as they desperately search for connections between the victims. But time is running out for them to join the dots and prevent another death.
 
For if Kat and Lock know anything, it’s that killers rarely stop – until they are made to.

*****

Thanks to Jo for gifting me the proof of her upcoming title.

I think the whole street heard me squeal when this dropped through my letterbox three months before publication!

In the Blink of an Eye was such an amazing read and I have recommended it to anyone who would listen – and some that wouldn’t. It has all the elements of a classic crime, police drama, whodunnit, but with this added edge that only Jo Callaghan has been able to do so far.

It was refreshing – and I mean this in the nicest way – to see men play the victim. I don’t think I’ve ever read a crime mystery thriller where only men are attacked. It was such an exciting premise straight away. It is usually women who are told to keep themselves safe, rather than telling the attackers to stop attacking. And so before I’d even started reading it, I was interested in this reverse story of men being told to keep themselves safe, and how they reacted to that.

It may not be the happiest element, but what I love from this one and the first one, is that the two protagonists complement each other. Kat is a woman and therefore inferior but she is white and so superior; whereas Lock is a man and therefore in charge, but black which is subordinate. It’s something that shouldn’t even be a thing, but unfortunately it is, both in fiction and real life. But I think Jo has captured that brilliantly once again and really gives food for thought about our possible unconscious bias.

It is fast paced but not rushed. It gives you time to refamiliarise yourself with the known characters and get to know the new, without being too slow or drawn out’ the pace is pitched perfectly and before you know it you’ll be half way through!

I’ve read a lot of crime thrillers, murder mysteries, whodunnits and whatnot, and for me, Jo’s rise above the rest. I don’t know how she does it, especially as this is only her second book. I understand that this finished copy wouldn’t have been her first draft, and there would have been rough bits and mistakes and edits and rewrites along the way, but it is just written so brilliantly that I just can’t imagine her ever writing a dud word.

It isn’t a jolly festive book by any stretch of the imagination, and whilst I think it is perfect to read at any time of the year, this kind of book, in my opinion, was made for the dark evenings of autumn and winter, and the early days of spring when the sun still hasn’t come out fully. It’s for the evenings where you can curl up in the warm, safe and cosy, knowing you’re protected.

Again, I’ve read a lot in this genre and the deaths are all fairly consistent: gunshots, stabbings, hangings, suffocations, assaults etc. I have never read one that depicts a crucifixion before, and whilst absolutely horrible to read, it really gives the story an added edge because it’s so unique and so traumatic that it really sucks you on, and allows for that sense of morbid curiosity.

Once again, I had absolutely no idea that the conclusion was going to be at any point in the book, even as far as the reveal I was in the dark which is the sign of a good thriller.

As horrid as it is, Jo has made it feel so real. I thought the same thing with the first book actually. It feels like this is actually happening and you’re itching to Google it or talk to your friends about it, as if it was a crime on the news. It is so encompassing that you struggle to separate it into fiction. And I think that’s a very difficult thing to get right, which she has done with great aplomb.

By no means was the first book slow, but because we already know the characters and the AI angle and the history, it means we can get straight in and it doesn’t let up at all.

I thought it impossible for her to better book number one, but she’s definitely managed to with this sequel.