False Witness
Detective Cooper Devereaux Book 3
aka Andrew Child
This is the tenth volume I have read by Andrew Grant, actually it is the eighth by just him, I have read the two he wrote with his brother Lee Child, published under the name Andrew Child. I believe Grant has 9 books published under the name Andrew Grant, and two contributions to anthologies. He has also contributed to one anthology as Andrew Child. I picked a few of his books after reading Even. I have enjoyed both his offerings in the Reacher series, and also now enjoyed the books I have read in his own series. This is the second last of his books not written with his brother.
I believe Grant has three series and a standalone novel. I decided to read the series in parallel, I have been reading a book in each series and circling back. This is they first trilogy I have finished, and I finished the two Paul McGrath. In my opinion all of his books are worth the read. And the three series could all be expanded. Andrews books are great crime thrillers. I hope he continues these series as well as taking up the penmanship of the Reacher novels.
I stated in a previous review that I had not known that Andrew Grant was Andrew Child and had read this story; I would have stated that it reminded me a lot of the Reacher novels, except that David Trevellyan if still active duty for the Royal Navy and home office. But his style, panache, and focus are similar to Reacher’s. The same could be said for Detective Cooper Devereaux. And other that he is still actively a police officer even greater similarities.
Part of the description of this book states:
“A woman disappears on her twenty-first birthday. The following day her body is found, wrapped neatly like a gift in a crumbling, sun-speckled graveyard. What does Detective Devereaux have to go on? Very little. No motive, no suspects. Then another victim is discovered in a crematorium parking lot. Again, she was killed on her twenty-first birthday. Again, her body was wrapped like a gift. By the third murder the tabloids have dubbed the homicidal monster the Birthday Killer—and Devereaux is under the gun.
While Devereaux’s own violent and mysterious past nips at his heels, and his fragile home life threatens to unravel, he can’t afford to be anything but totally obsessed with the frantic search through the many layers of this city, from its wealthy enclaves to its dark criminal underbelly. The only certainty is that Devereaux is hunting a killer determined to fulfill a deranged agenda in which women’s lives are extinguished like candles on a cake.”
Cooper does not always follow the rules, but he always seems to get the job done. He always seeks to get the bad guys and protect the innocent. He has a storied past, and in this story that past catches up to him and there are secret, Someone is blackmailing him for some evidence that his father was actually innocent, and his mentor and guide was actually a very very very bad man. But things are not always what they seem. And Cooper is willing to be patient and get to the bottom of this story. While separated from his long estranged girlfriend and daughter he has a rough case. Someone is killing young women on their 21st birthdays. The case has some very misleading information, and Cooper must walk a fine line. But the birthday killer must be stopped and Cooper must follow his gut even if it is contrary to the evidence.
A lot of readers of this book would make comparisons to Reacher, especially if they are aware of the author’s legal name. But Cooper is a different character and the story told in a different manner. I greatly appreciated seeing into Devereaux’s mind, process and thought patterns. While we are left watching him put the pieces together. With the first two we were given some hints where the story was going next, some loose ends that needed tying up. But less so this time, really just 1 question.
I am uncertain if this is planned as just a trilogy. But I can hope there will be further books in the future. It is a great series. This book was hard to put down I consumed it over 2 days in a few different sittings. It is an excellent read. If you enjoy a good crime, suspense, thriller with great action this is a book for you. I am still certain fans of Reacher, Bourne, Jack Ryan would all appreciate Cooper and how he gets the job done. It was another great read from Grant’s pen! The only sad news is I just have one more of his to go.
Books by Andrew Grant:
…
David Trevellyan Series:
…
Detective Cooper Devereaux Series:
…
Paul McGrath Series:
…
As Andrew Child with Lee Child:
Jack Reacher Series:
Books Andrew Grant Contributed To:
In the Company of Sherlock Holmes
Murder and Mayhem in Muskego
No comments:
Post a Comment