Ragdoll (Detective William Fawkes #1) Review

**Thank you to Hachette Australia and Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. 3 stars!!! When I first checked out the synopsis for this book, I was completely reeled in, I have to admit. I am a huge fan of British crime and I was sincerely looking forward to reading a novel about a serial killer. I truly wanted to add this book to my list of favourites. But, unfortunately, the story didn't live up to my expectations and the reasons are as follows. To give a brief outline of the novel, the story is centered around a prolific serial killer that murders 6 victims and their dismembered parts are grotesquely stitched together to create a puppet masterpiece. Thus, earning them the nickname the "Ragdoll" killer. It is up to Detective Fawkes aka Wolf to figure about who is behind this gruesome act before more bodies keep piling up. Sounds interesting right? Unfortunately that's where it ends. I have to admit there are parts to this book that I did like. I loved the plot twists a lot. The pace of the novel is brisk and each twist/turn left me gaping. I wanted to figure out who did it and how they would be caught. I also didn't mind the characters too much as I felt we get a good glimpse of who they are at work and we also get a glimpse of their personal lives. This helped in building well rounded people and we understood how each one functioned or thought. The dialogue in the novel was not too intense either. We get snippets of humour, sarcasm and as well intense moments. I especially loved the police procedural aspects of the story and liked seeing the point of view from the media. However, there were also major flaws because of this. One was that the story was way too focused on the detective work and the whodunnit parts that a major angle was neglected. The POV of the killer. So what we get is how the killer is caught and how he kills the victims. But we do not get the inner workings of the Unsub's mind. I really think that this would have elevated the novel further. Second was that there were constant POV shifts within a chapter which gets rather distracting after a while. I think one or two in each section is fine but sometimes you got 4 character shifts and then as a reader, you are trying to piece together the story without fully appreciating the plot. Thirdly, I found the ending a bit too far fetched and rushed. The ending was extremely unsatisfying. The reveal of the killer left me with a bleh feeling which is the only way I can describe it. It was not thrilling or intense. While his motive behind it wasn't even realistic. I was really expecting more. But, I wasn't blown away. All in all, I would say the book is a promising start to the series. But, I guess I am not a huge fan of DS Will Fawkes. I'd recommend the book, if you wish to pass the time, but then again some of you might enjoy it, if you are looking for a straightforward mystery.

#mystery #Britishcrime #adult #DanielCole