Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month, one of The Times Best Crime Novels of 2021, The Sunday Times Crime Club Book of the Week, one of The Times best books to read this summer and one of the Observers thrillers of the month.’Riveting . . . Shindler’s second novel displays an acute understanding of family dynamics, easily fulfilling the promise of his debut, The Burning Men’ SUNDAY TIMES, CRIME … BOOK OF THE MONTHTHE SECOND NOVEL FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE BURNING MEN, FEATURING DI ALEX FINN AND DCI MATTIE PAULSENA FRIDAY NIGHTKarl and his daughter Leah are on their weekly evening stroll through Crystal Palace Park.A HOODED FIGUREFrom out of the shadows, a figure wearing a blank mask ambushes them, armed with a large knife.A CHOICE TO MAKEKarl is forced to make an impossible decision: stay and die, or walk away from Leah with a knife at her throat and the promise that they will both survive. Could Karl ever live with himself if he left his daughter? Does he really have a choice?Soon, more seemingly unconnected and innocent people across London are offered a deal in exchange for their lives. DI Alex Finn and DC Mattie Paulsen must hunt for a killer that appears to have no face, no motive and no conscience before more victims’ blood is spilled.Praise for THE KILLING CHOICE’The explosive opening hooked me straight in . . . With a cast of credible characters, a twisting plotline and some ingenious twists, the book develops at a cracking pace’ Lesley Sanderson, author of The Orchid Girls’An outstanding page-turner’ Robin Morgan-Bentley, author of The Wreckage’DI Alex Finn and DCI Mattie Paulsen are back, this time chasing someone who forces their victims to make an impossible life-and-death decision. This is sitting up and begging to be developed for television’ Sunday Times, Pick of the Week’Riveting . . . Shindler’s second novel displays an acute understanding of family dynamics, easily fulfilling the promise of his debut, The Burning Men’ Sunday Times, Book of the month’An excellent second outing for the cop pair following their introduction in The Burning Men – and as fine a police procedural as you’d want for a cold winter’s night’ Weekend Sport’The Killing Choice is the second in a series that opened with The Burning Men, and is another adept police procedural, building the sense of dread to breaking point as Finn and Paulsen rush to uncover any links between the victims. This is an immersive read that leaves the reader wondering how they would react if faced with such an unimaginable choice’ ObserverOrder the third novel in the Finn and Paulsen series, THE HUNTING GROUND, now!
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I liked this a lot. Again, characters relatable. Even the villian you can FEEL THE PAIN for them. The plot kept you going trying to figure out WHO was doing it and why – and you never get it until the end. I usually figure out the who in the who dunit, but love it when I don’t and this time, did not until the very end then it hit me with a DUHHHHH….but even then it was a shock.
Good character development. Finn is coming along nicely and you still get why things are hard for him and I love that Karin was still in this book in his head/heart anyway.
I like how he handles himself and his workers.
Still having some issues with his partner….but hopefully that too will evolve better. It is hard to like a bristly character that gives so little to like about.
This was a definitely hard to put down read. I had to figure it out and get through it….
Will follow this character in the 3rd installment…
Great story, an unpredictable page turner that keeps you guessing. First novel I have read by this author I look forward to reading more.
One evening, in a park near Chrystal Palace in London, Karl Suleman and his daughter Leah are on their way for an Indian when they’re stopped by a masked figure. He gives them the choice: they die both or he rapes the daughter. Lea begs her dad to run but things go awry and Leah is killed. The press jumps onto this story and Karl is not only eaten by guilt and haunted by the press, but he receives taunting and threatening messages from the killer as well. On the surface, this looks like a random killing, but DI Alex Finn feels that something doesn’t quite fit. Was it the father who was targeted, or was it his daughter? Then, a second killing where the victim has to choose between her mother and her partner happens. At first sight, there’s no connection between the people involved. Parallel with those cases runs a third story about a reluctant drug-dealer who has a broken relationship with his dad.
Although this book is part of a series it works well as a standalone. It did pique my interest to read more though. It’s a police procedural of high quality but counts as a psychological thriller as well. I requested it because so many of my GR friends were really positive about it and I’m very glad that I did. So, thank you all.
There’s one main theme in this book and that’s grief and bereavement. How it affects people and how everybody mourns their own way. The amount of love you have for a person cannot be measured by the length or the intensity of your mourning, regardless of what some people think. Alex still grieves for his wife, the two victims/survivors are riddled by guilt from their choice as well as survivors guilt and in the end, even the killer’s motive lies in that corner. Finn has a hard time since his wife died nearly a year ago and spends more time in his office than is physically advisable and hardly any sleeping in his bed. He has good people around him that try to pull him back into the real world, but that’s not always appreciated by him.
The Alzheimer of DC Mattie Paulsen’s father also features prominently. I don’t know if this is a trend but over the last year, I’ve come repeatedly across this difficult issue.
The premise of a killer giving his victims a choice is very original and interesting. Nobody can say what they would do in such a situation until it presents itself. Everybody can be a bigmouth and claim such and such but truth is that you can’t know what you’ll do. Flight or fight? And what if that fight turns out to lead to an even worse fate?
As happens in reality, the police investigation leads in several directions that later turn out to be false and they make costly mistakes in the assessment of situations. They’re not portrayed as flawless superheroes but as human beings with their strong and weak points alike.
There was a whole fishmarket of red herrings but I figured out the end game not long before the cops and was really taken by the twist. What a little b*** the killer turned out to be.
I thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the free ARC they provided and this is my honest, unbiased review of it.