Isabelle Grey

This was a little disappointing for me. Grace's back story was interesting, but it was also depressing and referred to over and over again. At times it seemed as if nothing had ever gone right for Grace and nothing ever would.

The police procedural aspects also felt rather demoralizing: there was a lot of hopeless going round in circles, which may well be realistic, but made for dull reading. The chapters from Ivo's perspective were a little jarring, although they definitely read as a distinctly different narrative. Ivo himself was a difficult character to pin down; he wasn't very coherently drawn. The novel as a whole felt slow and overlong.

My final issues were with the character of Grace herself. I didn't really warm to her, which is perhaps beside the point, but again she didn't make complete sense to me. She was supposed to be a recently demoted DI, but read as a surprisingly immature character. I barely believed in her as a DS. Her decisions about contact with Roxanne were unwise and unlikely for a senior officer and I don't believe for one moment that her conduct warranted re-promotion.

On the positive side, the pool of suspects was tight and the plot made sense, but I don't think I'll continue with this series.… (plus d'informations)

Shot Through The Heart – A Gripping Thriller

Isabelle Grey’s experience of being a television screenwriter shines throughout Shot Through The Heart, as she knows how to set up a storyline and build tension to a crescendo at the end. Throughout the book we see the amount of in depth research that has gone in to this book, Shot Through The Heart is a screenplay for the mind.

Grace Fisher has not long moved in to her new house in Essex and was spending Christmas day with Lance her bagman and his partner Peter. When a call from Police HQ comes through to tell her there has been a mass shooting in a small town and she needs to get there and begin the search. By the time she arrives she knows that there are five dead, plus the gun man shoots himself in the Church grounds. To make matters worse one of those dead is a serving Police Officer, so she knows the pressure will be on.

This case brings her back in to contact with crime reporter Ivo Sweatman who had spoken up for her when she had her problems back in the Kent Constabulary. As the investigation deepens Lance’s partner is killed outside a gay bar which is subsequently removed from her due to the secret service Mi5 requesting things be transferred.

As evidence grows of police corruption, she is blocked at every turn, by her colleagues and she certainly does not want to upset the Police Federation. When a young witness goes missing, the parents turn to Grace to help them find their girl as the pressure builds on her.

As an ex-con is shot on his way to a hospital appointment the clues start to pile up especially when she gets a break in the case. Grace knows that she will still have to work hard to find the killer but also make sure she has the evidence to convict them.

Isabelle Grey deals with what could be a complex case of police corruption and murder with a light touch that does not drag you in to the minutia that would bore. We are given an opportunity to see Grace as a leader and the inner workings of a Major Investigations Team looking in to what is a complex serious incident, while fighting some who do not want her to find the truth.

Shot Through The Heart is an excellent thriller that sees Grace Fisher develop in her new Police role in Essex, and leave you wanting to see how her character will develop. Isabelle Grey knows how to capture the imagination of the reader and keep them interested until the end.… (plus d'informations)

I'm really not sure about my rating of this book. I think I am probably being heavily (too heavily?) influenced by the ending, which I found somewhat unsatisfying. For much of the story the characters seemed quite believable to me, although one or two tended towards caricatures. The essence of the story is one that is definitely worth telling. What is a good mother like? What indeed is a good person like? Do we carrying some/all/none of the blame for our children's mistakes? How do we act in our own interests as well as in the interests of others? How much should we trust people? Can we forgive ourselves of our own mistakes? In attempting to address these questions Isabelle Grey sometimes is inclined to provide answers that are a little bit too simple. In this regard, most of her characters here (with one or two notable exceptions) are presented as very much pure in heart - more so than people are in my experience (including myself).… (plus d'informations)