The Art of Death by David Fennel

Synopsis
Death is an art, and he is the master . . .

Three glass cabinets appear in London’s Trafalgar Square containing a gruesome art installation: the floating corpses of three homeless men. Shock turns to horror when it becomes clear that the bodies are real.

The cabinets are traced to @nonymous – an underground artist shrouded in mystery who makes a chilling promise: MORE WILL FOLLOW.

Eighteen years ago, Detective Inspector Grace Archer escaped a notorious serial killer. Now, she and her caustic DS, Harry Quinn, must hunt down another.

As more bodies appear at London landmarks and murders are livestreamed on social media, their search for @nonymous becomes a desperate race against time. But what Archer doesn’t know is that the killer is watching their every move – and he has his sights firmly set on her . . .

Review
The Art of Death is the debut crime novel from David Fennel, and the first in a new series to feature DI Grace Archer. It’s the day of the Lord Mayor’s show when three art instillations are delivered to Trafalgar Square, the first in a series to be displayed around London. However, this is not your usual art exhibit, the glass cabinets reveal the body of three homeless men, and there are more to be revealed. It is DI Grace Archer’s first day on the job, and she is on a race against time to stop the killer, but little does she know that she is the be center stage in his exhibition. Fast paced with an intriguing new detective, this promises to an exciting new crime series.

WHat makes the perfect crime novel for me is a lead detective with a troubled past, an innovative and twisted killer and a plot that has me totally gripped, and The Art of Death had all this and more. The book is mainly told from the perspective of DI Grace Archer, although there are some chapters from the point of view of the victims and from the killer; interestingly it is only the killer who is written as the first person narrative. Archer is a fabilous new character and one I’m looking forward to learning more about. She is newly promoted to the rank of DI, after a case where she was investigating corruption in the Police, and her promotion comes after the arrest in that case of DI Rees, whose job she now has. Not only is she thrown in at the deep end with three dead bodies, but she also has to deal with a hostile work environment where her new colleagues are frosty to say the least. She succeeds in this environment as she is confident in her abilities as a DI and dogged in her pursuit of the killer. Her one allie is DS Harry Quinn, a straight talking Irish man, also with his own troubles. As characters they worked well together, sharing similar traits and goals, and I make a brilliant crime figthting duo. As the book progresses we see both grow in their roles, as their trust of each other grows and they understand more about each other.

I felt this was an impressive debut novel from David Fennell, with well rounded and thought out characters, plenty of tension and shock factor and of course a brilliantly dark and deviant serial killer. @nonymous, an instillation artist, who posts videos of his murders then displays the bodies in public, under collection names like the ‘Forsaken’ all in the name of art. Frighteningly he targets his victims via social media, Facebook, Tinder, Grindr etc. Like an evil Banksy, no one knows who he is, his face covered, he suspends his victims in formaldehyde preserving them forever, for all to see. Did I work out who the killer was? yes I did but it didn’t stop my enjoyment of the book or my pulse racing as Archer and Quinn closed in. There are plenty of twists and turns, and I really was totaly gripped by the plot and its grisly conclusion, which is testament to David Fennell’s brilliant writing.

In conclusion, it is fair to say I thought The Art of Death a delicioulsy dark and gripping read. David Fennell has creatrd a fantastic new partnership in Archer and Quinn, two characters that I became invested in; not only chasing a depraved serial killer but also having to work in a hostile environment. With an intelligent killer, gruesome murders and a riveting plot line, I highly recommend you give this book a chance, you won’t regret it.

I would like to thank Zaffre Books and Tracy Fenton for my invite to be part of htis blog tour in return for my honest review.