Dark Objects by Simon Toyne

 

From the blurb:  "A glamorous woman is murdered in her ultra-luxurious and highly secure London mansion, and her husband goes missing. But according to public records, neither of them exists. The only leads police have are several items arranged around the woman's body, including a set of keys and a book called How to Process a Murder by Laughton Rees, an academic and forensic expert who does not work live cases. But the presence of her book at the scene draws her into this high-profile investigation working alongside DCI Tannahill Khan. As the dark objects found beside the body lead them closer to the victim's identity, a dangerous threat to Laughton and her daughter emerges." 

My thoughts:  Tantalizing and compelling. This mystery is a nice blend of police procedural and psychological thriller. And I really like DCI Tannahill Khan and Dr. Laughton Rees; it was fun seeing how they met and connected. Rees is a nicely complicated character who is still dealing with the traumatic death of her mother when she was younger. She's very smart and has some interesting quirks and OCD tendencies centering around the number three. And the mystery itself has some nice twists. I hope Toyne writes many more books with her and Khan. This is the first book in the series; I previously read the second book, The Clearing, last month, which is an equally good read.

My rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Happy Reading!