Tuesday, September 21, 2021

The Killing Kind - Jane Casey

Jane Casey is a Sunday Times bestselling author. Her latest book is a standalone titled The Killing Kind.

Ingrid works as a barrister. She defended John Webster on stalking charges and won. But, he then turned his attentions to Ingrid and her life.

Novels with stalkers in the mix are quite frightening. I think that's because it's quite real, especially with social media playing such a large part in so many lives.  For a novelist, it gives a plot many directions to take.

Casey did a great job creating a wonderfully creepy antagonist in John Webster. His dialogue and actions let the reader experience his sociopathic tendencies. I'm torn on Ingrid. She started off as a likable character, but then seemed to become a different person. In the end, I didn't like her at all. There are unknown characters that also play a part in this plot. We only know there's something afoot from their email exchanges.

Casey flips the timeline from past to present as we learn that what has transpired is affecting what's happening now. The connection is fairly obvious, but Casey puts a nice twist into the mix in the final chapters. (Saw that one coming too)

The Killing Kind was a bit of a chunkster coming in at 480 pages. I do think it could have been pared down a bit. The first bit had me totally engrossed, but the hold the book had on me lessened as it progressed. Ingrid got repetitive, essentially doing the same thing again and again. Cat and mouse games are fun, but only for so many times.  I will be the first to say that I'm quite pragmatic. I did find some of Ingrid's actions to also be more than a little far fetched for a number of reasons including - is she not in fear for her life? 

The Killing Kind is entertaining, but not as believable has I would hoped. That being said, I can see this one as a movie.

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