Mortuary technician Cassie Raven believes the last thoughts of the dead linger like static in the air…
Cassie has always had a strange affinity with death, ever since her parents were killed in a car crash when she was four. At least that’s what she grew up believing…
But that was a lie. Cassie’s father is alive. He was convicted of murdering her mother and spent years behind bars. Now he’s out – and he’s looking for her.
He swears he didn’t do it. And Cassie wants to believe him.
To find the truth, she must turn detective. As she seeks answers, help is to be found in inexplicable places – for the dead are ready to talk.
Following her first outing in Body Language (published 2019), Camden mortuary technician Cassie Raven returns to solve another ingenious forensic mystery.
My Review
This is the second Cassie Raven book, having loved the first (read my review here) I was excited to get my hands on this one. As always there will be no spoilers, however, I will be referring to events that happened in book 1. I strongly suggest you read these books in order to get the full enjoyment from this one.
Cassie has an affinity with the dead, she feels like she can hear their final thoughts, is it real or projection? She isn’t sure but it makes her great at her job as a mortuary technician. I really enjoyed her character in the first book and it just continues to develop. She’s flawed and pushes the line, but is strong, capable and wants the best outcome for everyone around her.
Having found out that her dad killed her mum at the end of the first book, she is shocked to find him out and waiting for her one night after work. He swears he didn’t kill her mum and Cassie has a desperate need to find out the truth. Turning to the one person she knows will help her but who is also her opposite in every way – Phyllida Flyte. There is some simmering tension between them and I’m looking forward to how this plays out.
Flyte is a very by the book, no rule bending police officer, dealing with her own grief and a need to find answers. This is a sub plot running through the book and I thought it was incredibly well handled. These two characters shouldn’t get along but it works so well and I love their dynamic.
The main plot focuses on Cassie’s investigation into her mum’s murder. I thought I had this worked out so many times only to be thrown another piece of the puzzle and having to rethink everything. I love it when a book does that. So many possible suspects and snippets of information, you are gathering them along side Cassie.
I lost a couple of evenings to this book, unable to put it aside. It’s so well paced and every chapter seems to give you another clue. I had no idea what was coming until the very end.
Another excellent Cassie Raven book and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next one.
My thanks to Tracy for an invite on the tour and to Zaffre for a copy of the book. These are my honest thoughts and opinions.
Author Profile
A.K. Turner’s first foray into crime fiction was a detective thriller trilogy, written under the pen name Anya Lipska, following the adventures of Janusz Kiszka, a fixer to London’s Polish community. All three books won critical acclaim and were twice optioned as a possible TV series. In her other life as a TV producer and writer, A.K. makes documentaries and drama-docs on subjects as diverse as the Mutiny on the Bounty, the sex lives of Neanderthals, and Monty Don’s Italian Gardens.
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