The second of a pair of books (the first one is Rattle) about a deranged serial killer who calls himself The Collector, this one picks up apparently right after the first leaves off. First thing I have to say is that I haven’t read Rattle, but I do think you can get away with reading this one as a standalone as everything is well covered without infodumping and Fiona Cummins does a fantastic job of deep-diving into character psyches.
The Collector is obsessed with the physical deformations which can arise in the human skeleton, to the point where he needs to add them to his ‘collection’... after killing them. A little girl with cleft hands is next on his list, and a young boy with Stone Man Syndrome, who is definitely the bravest person in this story. Little Jakey faces his fate, sooner or later, with a strength most of us could only dream of.
All the characters in the story are superbly written, from the tragic young woman with facial deformities who becomes just another of The Collector’s victims to the parents of the children, dealing with trauma and shock in addition to being the parent of a child with a disability.
Fiona Cummins has not only written a darkly terrifying villain, but also masterfully woven together a whole group of different stories from vastly different characters to build up to a stunning climax. Seriously, this is worthy of one of the greats of the genre like Thomas Harris; and not only has Cummins done this, but she has written disabled protagonists with realism and sympathy, portraying not only their struggles but also their courage and them as people, as well as the emotions of their families.
This is such a good read. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this author comes up with next, because she really writes a ripper of a crime thriller! Five stars.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book for review through NetGalley.