The Hope That Kills (Di Fenchurch)

by Ed James

The body of a young woman is found on the streets of East London, in the shadow of the City’s gleaming towers. No ID on her, just hard-earned cash. But there is no doubting the ferocity of the attack.

DI Simon Fenchurch takes charge but, as his team tries to identify her and piece together her murder, they’re faced with cruel indifference at every turn—nobody cares about yet another dead prostitute. To Fenchurch, however, she could just as easily be Chloe, his daughter still missing after ten years, whose memory still haunts his days and nights, his burning obsession having killed his marriage.

When a second body is discovered, Fenchurch must peel back the grimy layers shrouding the London sex trade, confronting his own traumatic past while racing to undo a scheme larger, more complex and more evil than anything he could possibly have imagined.

• ISBN10: 1503936554
• ISBN13: 9781503936553
• Publish Date: 1 September 2016
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 23 June 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Thomas & Mercer
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 364
• Language: English

Reviews

[Mystereity Reviews]

See my full review at Mystereity Reviews

Fast-paced and heart-stopping, The Hope That Kills is a chilling look into the dark side of human trafficking and a thriving sex trade industry.

When two young prostitutes are found dead, with no ID and seemingly no official identities, DI Simon Fenchurch, driven by the disappearance of his daughter 8 years ago, relentlessly pursues every lead through London's seedy underground sex trade, looking not only for a killer but also clues to his daughter's whereabouts. What Fenchurch uncovers is a horrifying morass of corruption, crime and exploitation.

I've been a long time fan of Ed James's books and I've been looking forward to reading this one. So, when I started this book, I expected an exciting and compelling story, and I wasn't disappointed. The thrilling plot draws you in quickly, and the non-stop action keeps the pace moving swiftly right up to the exciting conclusion.

Simon makes a great main character, dedicated and intuitive. While the use of a flawed hero as a main character may not be a new idea, Simon's pain is very real and humanizes him; who can't relate to a grieving father, living with the pain of losing his only child? The use of drums was, I thought, a metaphor for the rhythm of life, but were Simon's drums the unconscious recognition of his daughter's heartbeat, or just the remembrance of each moment without his daughter? Either that or he has dangerously high blood pressure. You decide.

Overall, an exceptional start to a new series from an already great author, and recommended fans of Brit crime or gritty police procedurals.

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer and Netgalley for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review