Book Review: Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

My Rating:

4.5⭐️

Kate Miller is found brutally stabbed to death (presumably with a zombie knife) in her glass-walled mansion overlooking Highgate cemetery and her husband Mike is nowhere to be found. Her body is posed with four strategically placed objects surrounding her. A copy of "How to Process a Murder", a book written by criminologist Laughton Rees, is also found near the body. DCI Tannahill Khan of the NoLMS (North London Murder Squad) is leading the investigation and the search for the missing husband who is the prime suspect. However, in the course of their investigation into the Millers’ lives the police are unable to find out much about them. It's almost as if they didn’t exist! DCI Khan reaches out to Laughton, a reputed forensics expert, who breaks her own rule to not get involved in active cases and agrees to assist. Laughton is the estranged daughter of the Police Commissioner, with whom she has not spoken in almost twenty years, ever since her mother was brutally murdered. Her mother’s murderer was a pedophile and serial killer who had been arrested but acquitted because the police botched up the investigation, for which Laughton has never forgiven her father. She is now a single mother raising her teenage daughter who is being bullied in school. Though she has a lot on her plate, Laughton agrees to help the police given the presence of her book at the crime scene and the symbolism in the objects discovered with the dead body, the significance of which does not escape her. Unbeknownst to the police or Laughton, someone is watching their every move, presumably the killer, and is almost always one step ahead.

As the case garners media attention, an ambitious tabloid journalist, Brian Slade, hoping to get ahead of the competition and gain recognition for his efforts is busy conducting his own investigation based on not only tips from his sources within the police department but also the anonymous emails he is receiving with shockingly revealing details about the murder and much more.

The larger part of the narrative is shared from the perspectives of DCI Khan, Laughton Rees and Brian Slade, with snippets from messages exchanged within the Highgate Ladies’ Book Club WhatsApp group and excerpts from Laughton’s book. Short chapters, crisp writing and a fast-paced narrative make it easy to keep track of the multiple threads and the large cast of characters in the story.

Well-written, with an intriguing murder mystery at its core, lots of twists and turns and an ending that I did not see coming (after another reveal that I could partially predict), Dark Objects by Simon Toyne is an impressive procedural thriller. I would definitely be interested in picking up future books featuring DCI Khan and Laughton Rees.