3.5 Stars

An impressive debut for this Australian author. I thought the case was incredibly intriguing and Detective Emelia Hart was a great narrator. I can't say too much but I wish Nina had gone in a different direction with how the case broke. It felt a bit sad and anticlimactic given the shocking nature of the revelation. A good novel that highlighted the devastating issue of domestic violence and sexual abuse of girls and women.

CW: rape, sexual abuse, violence against women, sexual violence, revenge killing ( )

Wow. There is a lot of Australian crime on the shelves at the moment and trying to find one that is original is hard work. Thankfully, @betterreadingau sent me an ARC of this book and I am profoundly grateful.
I'm not usually a fan of first-person voices in novels, but in Daughters of Eve it works. The pacing is fantastic, I actually put time aside to read it instead of waiting for bedtime because I wanted to keep reading. The police procedural aspect of the novel is well written as well as being scathingly honest, and the mystery stays a mystery until the author's reveal.
The characters are not necessarily likable, but they are very relatable and manage to grow and develop over the course of the novel. The side romance wasn't necessary, but it was enjoyable because Nina Campbell has given us a heroine that we are rooting for. Detective Emilia Hart is the sort of smart, brave and vulnerable MC that I want to read about.
The book raises the issues of sexism and misogyny in the workplace (and elsewhere) and deals with them intelligently instead of trying to force a point of view across. The leap into the anti-#metoo demonstrations was not a huge one given what we have seen in the world recently and again, it was dealt with intelligently.
I do hope to see Detective Emilia Hart again, and am looking forward to Nina D. Campbell’s next book already.
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Detective Emilia Hart is leaving court after a stressful day when the barrister crossing the road alongside her drops dead, shot by a sniper. As the bodies pile up in the next few days, Hart discovers common threads, bringing to a male dominated police investigation a female intuition that makes connections that the men just don't see.

The case begins in Sydney but similar cases begin to turn up, first in Melbourne, then in other capital cities, and even in regional ones. As the body count mounts, a national task force is created, men take to the streets, and the government puts soldiers on the streets.

At first I enjoyed this novel, but then new layers were added to the plot, and there were just too many eggs in the basket, too many balls in the air, and there was only one way this tale could end, and even that had a twist in the tail.

Underneath the crime fiction, this story has a socio-political agenda. It points out to the reader the level of domestic violence in our communities, and the need for the sort of government action that would happen if it was actually the case of a single serial killer in action.

I'm sure this will be a popular novel, certainly a memorable one, raising issues that are already recognised by quite a number of community programmes, but ones that do not appear to be having as much effect as they should at the local, largely hidden, level, despite the lip service and financial backing that they seem to get. ( )

I found this quite harsh. Emilia, the heroine, was one of those female lead characters whose personality consists of being rude and hostile to every one because this makes her 'strong'. To be fair, her boss had possibly the worst leadership skills of any fictional character I have encountered. There was very little collegiality in the homicide department - it's a wonder they ever solve any crimes. Then there was the 'romance' subplot, which consisted of Emilia rudely rejecting Matt and him kissing her anyway repeated over and over.

I found this quite preachy at times, and while I am of course against men who abuse women, I don't think vigilante justice is ever acceptable. I disliked Emilia, found Matt creepy, and the plot preposterous. ( )

Daughters of Eve is a spectacularly provocative thriller from debut author Nina D. Campbell.

When a high profile defence barrister is shot dead by a sniper on the courthouse steps in front of her, Detective Sergeant Emilia Hart is eager to take the lead on the investigation, but instead finds herself sidelined, and assigned a ‘floater’ discovered in the Sydney Harbour. It surprises everyone when an autopsy reveals the man in the water was shot by the same weapon that killed the barrister. There doesn’t seem to be any obvious connection between the two, but as a third, and then a fourth man are killed, each from a sniper shot with the same grouping, Emilia sees a pattern her colleagues prefer to ignore, until the Daughters of Eve, and their manifesto, makes it impossible.

A thrilling tale of revenge, I raced through Daughters of Eve. The mystery is intriguing as Emilia tries to piece together the motive and the identity of the vigilante sniper, chasing leads that seem to go nowhere. It’s Emilia who identifies the link between the victims, all too familiar with the violence men wreak on women and children, like that she, the two girls she claims as daughters, and the names listed on her refrigerator, have endured. Emilia is painfully aware as to how rarely these men are held accountable for their behaviour, but as a police officer she can’t condone vigilantism and commits herself to solving the case, no matter where it leads.

I can’t deny that it was somewhat satisfying to imagine the tables turned, for abusive men to be afraid as the Daughters of Eve reveal themselves, launching an app that invites women to name their unpunished tormentors, sparking a wave of copycat murders across the nation. Campbell imagines a response that seems infuriatingly plausible-of a government mobilising every resource available to put an end to the killings, despite its failures to provide even the bare minimum to ensure the protection women and children victimised by domestic abusers and rapists. Exploring themes such as justice vs vengeance, prevention vs protection, the plot is as thought-provoking as it is sensational.

I thought the author deftly balanced the professional and personal aspects of Emilia’s life, ensuring a well rounded character who engenders both affection and respect. As rabidly anti-male as the story may seem to be, Campbell acknowledges good men too. Emilia’s investigative partner, Robbo, is, by and large, a decent guy. So too is Melbourne detective Matt Hayes with whom Emilia becomes involved despite her wariness.

Gripping, bold and sharp, I’ve rarely been so impressed by a debut novel, and recommend Daughters of Eve without hesitation. ( )