Life or Death (Detective Zac Boateng, #3)

by Chris Merritt

[zooloo1983]

Can I breathe now!? I mean wow, I feel like I am coiled up right after reading that! Now before I gush about this book, it is the 3rd in the series for Zac Boateng, it can be read as a stand-alone. It follows the events of book one which I have not read. Yet, apart from a couple of references, I didn’t feel like I needed to have read the first one. Saying I had brought the first book after finishing the second one!

So where do I start! The number of times I was led up the garden path was unreal! I mean I started to do a squeal and a happy dance because I was adamant I knew who the Kaiser was WRONG that will teach me. You are thrown off the scent and even though I had my suspicions well let me leave it there, all I can say is well played Mr Merritt well played.

So Zac is back, the family still has an Amelia shaped hole following book one, but this time it’s his son that is in danger! Not going to lie, I was woken up by my daughter at 5am and so I decided to read, my jaw dropped when I was reading this and it made me also give my daughter a huge squeeze.

I could relate to Zac’s behaviour and secrecy because he did not know who to trust, always one step behind, but why? He proved, like most parents would, that you would go to any lengths for your kin when there is the danger. Zac is flawed but he is passionate and he is loyal and he is a family man. All of this ooze out of him every step of the job. Whilst the majority of the book is Zac leading us, it was nice to garner it from other points of view.

We got insights from Kat Jones, a friend of Zac in a tight spot with her own dilemma of whether to help him or not. Connelly, on his team, always there for him trying to find Kofi, Zac’s boy. Kofi also gives us the sad, heartbreaking and harrowing experience of being taken, pretending to be a superhero to get through each minute. Darian Wallace the protagonist from book one, back with revenge on his mind. Susanna Pym, in a new role schmoozing the politicians, whilst leaning on an unknown person to keep tabs on the task force at hand, wanting to frame someone for the cock-ups. Then finally, an unknown voice, could this be Kaiser, watching everything and everyone and knowing things.

I sped through this book is a couple of sittings, I didn’t want to stop. The book is relentless and you find the answers are always just that bit out of your grasp, bit like dangling a carrot in a donkeys face!

I thoroughly enjoyed my second outing with Zac. I felt everything for him and Etta. I loved that this type of book could make you feel so many emotions you just don’t know whether you are coming or going and so many OMG moments too!!