#Review - The Killer Inside by Kerry Wilkinson #Mystery #Police Procedural @kerrywk @bookouture

Series: Jessica Daniel # 1
Format: Kindle, 261 pages
Release Date: September 9, 2016
Publisher: Bookouture
Source: NetGalley
Genre: Mystery, Police Procedural


You can lock the doors but the killer is already inside.

When the body of a woman is found in a locked house, Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel is called in to investigate a seemingly impossible murder.

Faced with little in the way of leads and a journalist who seems to know more than she does, Jessica is under intense pressure to solve the case fast.

When a second body is discovered bearing the same hallmarks of the first victim, the investigation suddenly escalates. Jessica is on the hunt for a serial killer who will strike again. Can she get to him before the body count rises? And is she prepared to put her own life in terrible danger to catch the murderer? 

The Killer Inside is the first installment in author Kerry Wilkinson's Jessica Daniel series. Manchester PD Detective Sergeant Jessica Daniel is a newly promoted Sergeant after her own partner was stabbed. Jessica's story starts with a bizarre mystery. A woman is found murdered in her own home. The locks are intact. The windows are all closed. All of the keys have been accounted for. There are no clues, no DNA, nothing to indicate why the woman was murdered. Then there is a second murder, and a third. 

The press, led by Garry Ashford, has named the person responsible the Houdini Killer. The upper echelon of the Manchester Police is getting itchy to solve the crimes quickly. Especially when another division, Serious Crime Division, is set to take over the very public, and very brutal case. Jessica must work harder than she ever imagined, and maybe get a bit of luck so that she can stop the serial killer from killing yet another innocent person. What links the victims? Why were these victims specifically targeted? 

This series first released in the UK in 2013, and is now (10) books in as of this review. Now, it is being released in the US for the first time thanks to Bookouture. Author Kerry Wilkinson is not a new to me author. In fact, I rather liked the authors Silver Blackthorn series which was steeped in Dystopian lore.  Jessica is an easy enough character to understand. She even has realistic issues that affect real people, and not just fictional ones. She has some minor issues, like drinking a bit too much, and she's rather blunt and forceful to the point of being overly angry. Not a bone of contention for me. I like characters who are written realistic, and not cherry picked to be beautiful, and smart, and can't think without numerous men propping her up and slapping her  back every time she does something remarkable. I also liked the fact that she makes mistakes. Mistakes that could put her life, and her roommates life in jeopardy. 

Thanks to Bookouture for approving my request. As they say, I received this book in lieu of an honest review, and do hope that I have kept any and all spoilers out of my review. 

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#Review - Renegade by Kerry Wilkinson #YA #Dystopian

Series: Silver Blackthorn # 2
Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: July 7, 2015
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover, 368 pages
Genre: YA, Dystopian

Silver Blackthorn is a fugitive from the law.
Silver Blackthorn has committed treason.
She is dangerous. Do NOT approach her.
A large reward is on offer. Report any sightings to your nearest Kingsman.
Long live the King.

Silver Blackthorn is on the run. She fled Windsor Castle with eleven other teenagers, taking with her something far more valuable than even she realises: knowledge.

With the entire country searching for the missing Offerings, Silver must keep them all from the vicious clutches of King Victor and the Minister Prime. Until now, no one has escaped the king and lived to tell the tale.

Or have they?

With expectations weighing heavily on the girl with the silver streak in her hair, will she ever find her way home?

Renegade is the second installment in the Silver Blackthorn series picking up right where Reckoning left off. Silver Blackthorn and her friends, Imrin, Jela, Hart, Faith, and Pietra are fugitives from the law after escaping Windsor Castle. At said castle, they were considered to be "Offerings" by the tyrannical King of England who used them for his folly and games. Silver, the apparent leader of the group, is wanted for treason after knocking out the king. She has been labeled as dangerous, and has a huge reward marked for her capture dead or alive.

Silver leads her group across England looking for a rebel group that is supposed to be working to take down the King and all his evil followers. But, don't expect this story to be all happiness and smiles. Lives are at stake. Loyalties will be tested, and people will die. It's just a matter of time before Silver must make some life or death choices. What you can expect is a rather emotion reunion with families, and the return of Opie Cotton as one of Silver's allies. Where does that leave her romance wit Imrin? No idea.

I almost always go into a sequel with pensive excitement and nervousness. More often than not, I've been let down by an author diving off the cliff, instead of staying on course. I look forward to seeing if a lead character grows with each book, and am usually disappointed when they lack any desire, or drive. Silver Blackthorn is a character who has grown up to be a leader of a group of friends, and companions who have faced so many difficult challenges. The challenges only get more difficult in Renegade when they are forced to escape the King's Tower, and return to Windsor Castle. I found myself emotionally invested in this story. I love Faith. She's become as strong, or stronger a character than Silver.

I love that Silver is a technology geek. It's definitely a slap to those misogynistic assholes who claim that women don't belong in this arena. How utterly wrong you are. I love that readers will get a chance to see a few characters reunite with their families. Some are emotional, others are devastating. I love that Silver's group of companions give her the responsibility of leading the group to the rebels, and trust her with their lives. I loved Silvers mom, and brother, and even Opie's brothers.

Obviously I don't need to say that there is a third book called Resurgence that I am definitely eager to read. I am eager to see how Wilkinson further challenges Silver to be the best she can be, while sticking a Katana blade in the eyes of all of her enemies. I look forward to the final showdown between Silver's group and the King and his Kingsmen may they rot in a fiery hell.

**I received this book for free from St. Martin's Griffin in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**

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