💭Excellent Addition to the series!

DCS Kat Frank and Artificially Intelligent Detecting Entity (AIDE) Lock are back with new killers to catch but this time they won't be solving cold cases but a frontline murder that rapidly becomes a national news story. The case they are assigned to is an unusual one. A man is found naked, his ears having been removed, and crucified. Clearly, this is a murder that someone wanted to discover. But will their combined skills be a help or hindrance in trying to solve the case? Unfortunately, when a second crucified corpse is discovered - this time with his eyes removed - the press starts to circle and there is increasing pressure to get results.
Callaghan never gives too much away, which allows plenty of time for us armchair sleuths to work out the motive for the crimes and the who. I do enjoy a crime thriller more when I feel part of the investigation.

The strength of this book is Lock. He’s so literal and fumbles along learning how to interact with his human co-workers. For a hologram he’s got a wicked sense of humour 😂 I really enjoy the futuristic element to these books. So clever. He’s such a fascinating character, but he isn’t without flaws. He isn’t able to read body language and doesn’t pick up on sarcasm or other human traits that take us human years to learn. Which often leaves his partner in crime, Kat having to explain the nuances of human behaviour. It’s these moments that add a dose of light humour to this dark tale. He (his preferred pronouns are he/him - to align with his holographic representation) is so wonderful that I couldn’t help but like him enormously. He becomes more and more human-like as he learns during the course of the investigation.
I found Kat, Lock’s ‘boss’, very engaging. She has a fine sense of humour, and is grounded and personable, despite grieving the recent loss of her husband. Her team are very loyal, even skipping the Christmas party to ensure they solve the murders before another team can take over the investigation. I also really enjoyed the quirky, flamboyant Judith, the pathologist.

There is much to love about this story. The characters are well-written. The plot is intriguing. The pace is just right. The relationship between Kat and Lock is fascinating and growing with each book. Great writing which keeps the reader engaged and wanting more!

Overall, there’s a dollop of ancient history, an examination of loss and grief, lots of red herrings as well as toxic masculinity and misogyny, all sewn up into a clever, hugely engaging and futuristic, yet grounded, crime thriller. 
Another brilliant read in this series. Jo Callaghan is quickly becoming one of my MUST-READ authors!

𝐏.𝐒 I can’t be the only one thinking that the closing pages offered us an insight into what might be part of the focus for book three (which I’m assuming is in the pipeline) but I’m intrigued to see how Callaghan develops our central cast and their relationships.

🔸𝑴𝒚 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
🔸𝑮𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝑹𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈: 4.39 (586)
🔸𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒓𝒆: Crime Fiction, Thriller, Science Fiction, Police Procedural and Mystery
🔸𝑺𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔: Kat and Lock (Book 2)
🔸𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏: Yes!!
It’s worth reading the books. There are so many layers to this book, with a fascinating character that adds a whole extra dimension to the typical police procedural novel. It’s highly original, flawlessly paced, and extremely entertaining. It's a book any crime lover will relish.

🔸 𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑸𝒖𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒔:

"A widowed friend of mine said the worst thing about losing her husband was that you have everyone to do something with, but no one to do nothing with.’