This one is certainly not for the fainthearted.
I absolutely loved this!! Fields goes into so much detail with every murder, every scene, ever character, making it such an enjoyable read as I really got myself thrown into it. There was enough suspense to keep me reading, and just the right number of surprising twists to keep me on edge.
Really really enjoyed this one.

I loved the second in this series even more than the first. Totally hooked! The characters are well developed and while there was one storyline I wasn’t so keen on in this one, overall I was a big fan of this book and can’t wait to read the next in the series! Really recommend for fans of thriller/police procedural books!

Brilliant second book in the series, was totally hooked and couldn’t put it down - I stayed up all night reading. I love the balance between reading about the personal lives of the detectives, as well as solving the crimes. It was interesting reading about the dark web, although rather horrifying the thoughts of what might go on but the reality that this is the case jus made the book even more real. Would definitely recommend

Perfect Prey (D.I. Callanach, Book 2)
by Helen Fields
★★★★☆
465 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV with some brief omnipresent slips
Themes: murder, crime, investigation, mental health, violence/torture
Genre: Crime, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
Triggers: * see end notes

~

Perfect Prey is the second book in the D.I. Callanach series, which takes us deep into the atrocities of the Darknet, and the depraved minds who hide there. We jump straight into the action, with a complicated case of a man being stabbed in the middle of a Fringe music festival. Yet, no one saw anything, and the only sound of the murder was an evil, maniacal laugh.

It's been eight months since Callanach joined the team, and I loved seeing hints of how his relationship with his team, as well as Ava, has progressed in that time. There are small, but really nice, snippets of the lives of the minor players, like CS Salter, Tripp and Lively, who are all back from Book 1. I really loved seeing more about them, as well as a small part for Natasha.
As well as old characters, there are some new ones. Bunny, who is the exuberant and preppy new neighbour to Callanach, and Joe Edgar, a Cyber Crimes cop from London, who is a close friend of Ava's. Lance and Ben are also new, potentially recurring, characters. Both are involved in the current case, and help Callanach with his investigation.

In terms of the original cast, Ava and Callanach are definitely still front-and-centre. The book is split into two parts – the first is entirely told in Callanach's POV, with the second half split between Ava, Lance, Ben, Salter, Overbeck, a character called the Moderator, and two murderer's POV's. I found the second half to more frequently slip into omnipresence, while Callanach's half of the book felt much more focused on him, with barely a few slips of POV. Omni isn't my favourite, because it tries to tell you too much at once, and it can sometimes be jarring, knocking you out of the story to make you doubt yourself and which POV you're supposed to be reading. This happened later in the book, when a scene began with Callanach's POV, switched to Ben's for about 2 pages, then switched back again to Callanach's with some omni running throughout. It could be disorientating and not always necessary, I found.

There was some good LGBT rep, and lots of diversity within the cast, again, which was great.

The plot itself was, again, clever and really well executed. As someone familiar with Edinburgh, it was really great to be able to see locations and how they were used, to know the layout. Most crime books I read are American, so it was really nice to see some hometown Scottishness being explored on page.

I won't say much about the criminal aspect of the plot, because it was FULL of twists and turns all over the place. Some things I had anticipated, but others took me completely by surprise. The crimes were...extreme, but also within the scope of the Darknet. They had seriously psychopathic elements, and the killer's POV's were scarily accurate, delving into the depraved minds of people with no empathy, and in some cases, no humanity.
The way they were investigated was smart, but also realistic. The way that the police had little evidence, no real leads, and had to work hard just to find a scrap of information. The way relatives and the media crucified them for not having the case solved instantly. Even the techniques they used were realistic, in that they were limited on personnel and resources, finances, and overtime payments. It was all cleverly done, and really well plotted to reveal just a little at a time.

The progression of Callanach's personality, and his work life, was great. How he was increasingly irritated, stooping to buying viagra, because he thought his impotency was ruining everything. Only to realise it didn't solve anything. Seeing him develop new friendships and relationships, and how his relationship with Ava has progressed.
I'll admit, I really didn't understand most of Ava's decisions throughout the book, but Callanach acted (mostly!) appropriately, and how I would expect him to react, under the circumstances. Ava tended to react to even the most innocuous questions, because she didn't tell Callanach what was going on in her life, yet she judged Callanach for not telling her things that were happening to him. Yet, in a way, when it was all resolved, I understood both of them. Ava was having a hard time, Callanach was having a hard time, and their easy communication from the previous book had seriously broken down. They both made efforts to meet halfway, and I appreciated how realistic that was. How a simple misunderstanding and carelessly spoken words could lead to a falling out between friends.

~

There are A LOT of triggers in this book, and I've never seen warnings for any of them where I've been looking, so I want to run through them here:
* the killer's POV, including when torturing and kidnapping victims; mentions of parental abuse of children, and abandonment, skinning/flaying,
* methods of torture include: death by crushing, stabbing, vat of acid, dismemberment while alive.
* historic false rape allegation, resulting in PTSD and impotence after the event
* mentions of cancer and chemotherapy, death of a family member, assisted suicide, grief, disfigurement and disability caused by torture, incontinence, viagra, heart attack, kidnapping; deals with the loss of a baby/pregnancy
* use of homophobic and racist language
* deals with police officers breaking the law, police brutality, police sleeping with suspects to gain information/access

There was also a brief mention of the Brady and Hindley murders, but it was so minor and without detail that I didn't feel any kind of triggering potential with it, but that's all in the eye of the reader, so be warned that it exists.

~

Overall, I really liked the realistic, human approach to the storyline. The clever crimes, the way they were investigated, and how they naturally left no room for Callanach and Ava to iron out their differences until the right moment. Nothing felt forced, or convenient for the plot points. Everything – from the crime, to the relationships, to the friendships – felt natural and well explored, with the cases taking prominence.

~

Favourite Quote

“Callanach watched the footage one more time, then looked back at Salter. ‘Remind me again why you missed the last round of sergeant exams, DC Salter,’ he said.
‘I was on honeymoon, sir,’ Salter said.
‘Make sure you’re available to take them next time. That’s an order,’ Callanach said.
‘I might be too busy in six months’ time,’ Salter said. ‘I could get talent-spotted by a Hollywood agency or appear on Masterchef and end up opening my own restaurant.’
‘I doubt that,’ Callanach said. ‘I’ve tasted your toasted sandwiches.’”

Perfect Prey (D.I. Callanach, Book 2)
by Helen Fields
★★★★☆
465 Pages
3rd person, multi-character POV with some brief omnipresent slips
Themes: murder, crime, investigation, mental health, violence/torture
Genre: Crime, Murder Mystery, Thriller, Contemporary
Triggers: * see end notes

~

Perfect Prey is the second book in the D.I. Callanach series, which takes us deep into the atrocities of the Darknet, and the depraved minds who hide there. We jump straight into the action, with a complicated case of a man being stabbed in the middle of a Fringe music festival. Yet, no one saw anything, and the only sound of the murder was an evil, maniacal laugh.

It's been eight months since Callanach joined the team, and I loved seeing hints of how his relationship with his team, as well as Ava, has progressed in that time. There are small, but really nice, snippets of the lives of the minor players, like CS Salter, Tripp and Lively, who are all back from Book 1. I really loved seeing more about them, as well as a small part for Natasha.
As well as old characters, there are some new ones. Bunny, who is the exuberant and preppy new neighbour to Callanach, and Joe Edgar, a Cyber Crimes cop from London, who is a close friend of Ava's. Lance and Ben are also new, potentially recurring, characters. Both are involved in the current case, and help Callanach with his investigation.

In terms of the original cast, Ava and Callanach are definitely still front-and-centre. The book is split into two parts – the first is entirely told in Callanach's POV, with the second half split between Ava, Lance, Ben, Salter, Overbeck, a character called the Moderator, and two murderer's POV's. I found the second half to more frequently slip into omnipresence, while Callanach's half of the book felt much more focused on him, with barely a few slips of POV. Omni isn't my favourite, because it tries to tell you too much at once, and it can sometimes be jarring, knocking you out of the story to make you doubt yourself and which POV you're supposed to be reading. This happened later in the book, when a scene began with Callanach's POV, switched to Ben's for about 2 pages, then switched back again to Callanach's with some omni running throughout. It could be disorientating and not always necessary, I found.

There was some good LGBT rep, and lots of diversity within the cast, again, which was great.

The plot itself was, again, clever and really well executed. As someone familiar with Edinburgh, it was really great to be able to see locations and how they were used, to know the layout. Most crime books I read are American, so it was really nice to see some hometown Scottishness being explored on page.

I won't say much about the criminal aspect of the plot, because it was FULL of twists and turns all over the place. Some things I had anticipated, but others took me completely by surprise. The crimes were...extreme, but also within the scope of the Darknet. They had seriously psychopathic elements, and the killer's POV's were scarily accurate, delving into the depraved minds of people with no empathy, and in some cases, no humanity.
The way they were investigated was smart, but also realistic. The way that the police had little evidence, no real leads, and had to work hard just to find a scrap of information. The way relatives and the media crucified them for not having the case solved instantly. Even the techniques they used were realistic, in that they were limited on personnel and resources, finances, and overtime payments. It was all cleverly done, and really well plotted to reveal just a little at a time.

The progression of Callanach's personality, and his work life, was great. How he was increasingly irritated, stooping to buying viagra, because he thought his impotency was ruining everything. Only to realise it didn't solve anything. Seeing him develop new friendships and relationships, and how his relationship with Ava has progressed.
I'll admit, I really didn't understand most of Ava's decisions throughout the book, but Callanach acted (mostly!) appropriately, and how I would expect him to react, under the circumstances. Ava tended to react to even the most innocuous questions, because she didn't tell Callanach what was going on in her life, yet she judged Callanach for not telling her things that were happening to him. Yet, in a way, when it was all resolved, I understood both of them. Ava was having a hard time, Callanach was having a hard time, and their easy communication from the previous book had seriously broken down. They both made efforts to meet halfway, and I appreciated how realistic that was. How a simple misunderstanding and carelessly spoken words could lead to a falling out between friends.

~

There are A LOT of triggers in this book, and I've never seen warnings for any of them where I've been looking, so I want to run through them here:
* the killer's POV, including when torturing and kidnapping victims; mentions of parental abuse of children, and abandonment, skinning/flaying,
* methods of torture include: death by crushing, stabbing, vat of acid, dismemberment while alive.
* historic false rape allegation, resulting in PTSD and impotence after the event
* mentions of cancer and chemotherapy, death of a family member, assisted suicide, grief, disfigurement and disability caused by torture, incontinence, viagra, heart attack, kidnapping; deals with the loss of a baby/pregnancy
* use of homophobic and racist language
* deals with police officers breaking the law, police brutality, police sleeping with suspects to gain information/access

There was also a brief mention of the Brady and Hindley murders, but it was so minor and without detail that I didn't feel any kind of triggering potential with it, but that's all in the eye of the reader, so be warned that it exists.

~

Overall, I really liked the realistic, human approach to the storyline. The clever crimes, the way they were investigated, and how they naturally left no room for Callanach and Ava to iron out their differences until the right moment. Nothing felt forced, or convenient for the plot points. Everything – from the crime, to the relationships, to the friendships – felt natural and well explored, with the cases taking prominence.

~

Favourite Quote

“Callanach watched the footage one more time, then looked back at Salter. ‘Remind me again why you missed the last round of sergeant exams, DC Salter,’ he said.
‘I was on honeymoon, sir,’ Salter said.
‘Make sure you’re available to take them next time. That’s an order,’ Callanach said.
‘I might be too busy in six months’ time,’ Salter said. ‘I could get talent-spotted by a Hollywood agency or appear on Masterchef and end up opening my own restaurant.’
‘I doubt that,’ Callanach said. ‘I’ve tasted your toasted sandwiches.’”