Twist Of Fate by John Carson

Twist Of Fate by John Carson
Publisher: Vellum
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

Not everybody deserves a second chance.

After a young man’s body is discovered by a newlywed couple inside an abandoned caravan, the police initially speculate whether his death was accidental. However, the investigation takes a dramatic turn when they uncover the victim’s true identity.

The deceased has a deadly past, and barely paid the price for the heinous crime he committed.

DCI Harry McNeil is assigned the task of identifying the victim’s killer, but the case soon becomes shrouded in secrecy. The man’s past is far more complex than anyone had anticipated.

Despite the obstacles, the search for the victim’s original accomplice begins, but the individual seems to have vanished without a trace. However, the investigation takes a gruesome turn when the police in Glasgow discover a shocking crime scene.

It appears that the killer is seeking revenge for the victim’s past actions, which had provoked public outrage years earlier. With the public no longer on their side, Harry and his team must navigate bureaucratic obstacles and catch a ruthless killer who believes he is unstoppable – and is willing to demonstrate it.

DCI Harry McNeil and his team are assigned to find the killer of a young man found murdered inside a caravan. While initially they think it was an accident, soon they are piecing together a complicated puzzle around the young man’s past and they are quickly uncovering more questions and puzzles than finding solutions. Can Harry and his team catch the ruthless killer before more blood is shed?

I have been enjoying the Harry McNeil series for a number of years now and found this to be quite a good addition to the series. While any longer-running series has its ups and downs, I was really pleased to find myself greatly enjoying this book. Readers who are new to this series – or find themselves curious about this book having no prior experience with the author should still find this an enjoyable read. I must admit there is quite a large cast in this series with a lot of cross over from other books. While I do feel a reader can easily pick up on the histories and relationships (both personal and professional) with this book by itself, I must stress there is quite a large cast to keep straight in your head while reading.

That said, I have found that I personally greatly enjoy there are plenty of characters all interacting and floating around with these books. I do feel the author should be commended because with such a wide cast I have not yet ever felt any of the characters are shapeless or “yet another detective” – Carson does an impressive job keeping the characters identifiable and memorable which I feel he should be commended for.

Aside from the characters the other reason I enjoyed this book was because I found the plot well written and complicated enough it really captured my attention. Sometimes with such a large cast the antics and personal lives can completely over-shadow any investigative/procedural side to the plot and in this book, I was glad the plot definitely took front stage here and the various personal aspects were more of a back seat this time around. While balance is a great thing, I found myself really interested and enjoying the murder and the plot surrounding this and for a change I was less interested in what was happening personally for the characters. While with any of Carson’s books a small suspension of disbelief is needed, with an intriguing plot, a bunch of rambunctious characters and a really good line I’m more than happy to fall into the story and ignore any small niggles.

While this book doesn’t end on a cliff hanger there was a particular twist/development right at the end – related to one of the strong secondary characters and their personal life – which I desperately hope will be front and center for the next book. Readers who like every thread tied up properly might not be satisfied with this ending – but since many of Carson’s books end on far greater “cliff hanger” end points I’ve learned from previous experience to keep one or two books behind for exactly this reason.

A book with tons of lively and unique characters and a well woven plot this is a very good story and a series I am continuing to enjoy almost twenty books in.