Note: This review is based on an uncorrected advanced proof of The Art of Death by David Fennell.
Released on 4th February 2021.
When it comes to books about serial killers, there's always a theme connecting the murders. More often than not, it's something to do with the type of person the killer targets. This time the running theme isn't the type of victim as much as it is displaying them publicly in death at often crowded London landmarks. David Fennell brings us a killer who is so obsessed with artistic displays that he'll go to any length to achieve his creative vision - he'd kill for it. But we get to know him through the eyes of the one hunting him down - the recently promoted DI Grace Archer with a history of her own she'd rather forget. And I'd say she's a detective any reader can get behind.
Grace Archer is a well-developed and thought out character as the star of a crime thriller - we get to know her mainly as a professional with enough glimpses into her personal life to know what kind of person she is without it encroaching on the focus of the book. As readers, we can tell she is good at what she does and is, for the most part, a stable person who works well with the resources available to her. Having a high profile case on her plate within minutes of starting her new job, she dives right in with no hesitation or doubt in her mind about finding out who it is. And from her perspective, there are a few times where there are subtle hints in her mind and narrative where we second guess those around her. What I really liked about this was that those small details that make you think any of the people closest to her could be the killer are so subtle that it plants the seed of doubt in your mind but doesn't put your entire focus on it. A good thriller makes you think everyone is guilty and still thinking of how it could have been someone else when the truth is revealed and David Fennell achieves that effect. I find myself still thinking of how any of the innocent characters could have been the killer the whole time as well as who it turned out to be.
Most of the time when it comes to crime thrillers, many characters become very blurred, so similar I can barely tell them apart and have to flick through earlier pages to remind myself of who the person on the current page is. Fortunately, I did not have that problem here, the characters are all so different from one another that feels natural and authentic to true life. Their personalities stood out and there was such a vivid image in my mind of each of them, and not just because of a few select physical descriptions which Fennell doesn't provide a lot of but because of the way their role develops throughout the book. Rodney Hicks resented Archer and the means by which she found herself in her current position, Pierce is a cold and calculated boss who wants the job done, and Klara isn't an awkward tech nerd analyst. They each have their own story that makes them who they are on the page and in your head.
The killer - known as @nnonymous - and the killings were, of course, the number one reason the pages kept turning in front of me and there was almost no way I could stop. Throughout the book, there are chapters that move away from Archer's perspective to the perspective of the killer and his victims - the way the book starts. It's interesting to see how he chooses his victims, meticulously researching them and finding out how best to entice them out of their bubble of safety and into his trap. The 21st century has given so many of us an online presence that may tell a stranger more about us in the 10 minutes they search through our social media than 10 minutes we might spend speaking to them. If anything, this book is one of those that makes you think again about how open you are to sharing details of your life and recording every movement on social media. It makes you think again about that person in the corner of the cafe you're sitting in that looked your way just a little bit too long for comfort. It's what made @nnonymous terrifying - that he could have been anyone you passed by and didn't take a second look at. He could be the person that walked the same path as you for about 5 minutes as you after you got off the bus or the person you've recently come to rely on or the person sitting in a corner of a cafe observing everyone in their sight, especially those they've been researching. When you think about it all like this, the name makes more sense as the pages go on.
I do enjoy it in crime thrillers when you get a few pages from the perspective of the victim and the decisions that lead to their demise, the emotions they feel. They're the only person who gives you the best clues as to who the killer is as well as not giving anything conclusive at all. These are people who just want to get on with their lives, find their next bit of happiness in whatever shape or form that comes in. You feel from them how senseless and cruel these killings are. They are humanised enough so that they are not just another dead body. This is what sets the first three victims and the ones that follow apart from each other. The first three were dead from the beginning and were just dead bodies that needed investigating - three homeless men who we didn't get to know at all. You begin to care about the rest because you get a glimpse of their lives and they are not as faceless and lifeless as those at the beginning.
The narration, for the most part, moves along quite well. Each development in the plot and each chapter seamlessly leads into the next that the whole book moves at a steady rhythm that slows down when it should and speeds up at exactly the right time. My only criticism here is that there is the occasional paragraph of text where I found the narration to be a little bit stiff. It's always quite isolated and I feel like either the wording could have been adjusted or in some cases, the section just wasn't necessary.
Reasons to Recommend:
- A thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end
- The diverse and interesting cast of characters
- A killer whose "masterpieces" make your skin crawl
- The chilling finale that will make you want more of DI Grace Archer and her team
I would rate the book a 9.5/10 if only because of the narration I found to be stunted at times. Otherwise, this is an absolutely fantastic debut I found myself 100% absorbed in, the flow of the story is so superb that there's no way of figuring out which chapter to put the book down at just to feed yourself or get to bed. I read it in two sittings and definitely would have preferred to do it in one.
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