I have not previously read books by Graham Masterton but as he writes my preferred genre I decided to give him a go.
What I really enjoyed about this book is the character development of the antagonists. I found it difficult at first to get a handle on these specific characters as there is a cultural divide of understanding between myself and the deep Irish roots of the antagonists. I definitely could have used a glossary, lol!
The storyline surrounding the bad guys was brutal and even terrifying. Their nonchalant attitude towards their
victims really puffed up all retribution tendencies I have. These characters were well written and the slow burn approach worked wonderfully. I was dazed and stunned by the gripping antagonist storyline.
As for our protagonist DCI Katie Maguire I wanted very much to like her. I did not dislike her but I did not feel drawn to her. She seemed to be quite disconnected from the actual plot. Her character seemed to me to be always skirting on the periphery of the story yet not integral. She has side hustle storylines going on but nothing to me that was substantial.
I may be a bit harsh as I realise that this book is the ninth in the Katie Maguire series so far, and perhaps reading the previous books would have set me in good stead for this particular book.
Katie just seemed to be sitting in a recliner and let all the other character developments work for her and she lolled along until the very end and suddenly she's in the maelstrom of activity that doesn't quite seem to fit the energy of her character up until that point. It seemed like the hurried endings of Game of Thrones seasons 7-8.
If I could rate it on antagonist alone it would be a definite 3 and half stars. But with the weakness of the main character I can only give 2 and half stars. ( )