Locked In – Kerry Wilkinson
Review by Claire Sharples, Manchester
Locked In is set in 21st Century Manchester. Jessica, although in her late twenties, has a non existing social life, repels modern technology and has to hunt down a killer without any leads. A journalist is sniffing around for a story, and if that isn’t enough, Jessica’s senior partner, Harry has gone AWOL in the final days running up to his court appearance. The first chapter moves quickly, characters are introduced without the tedious details and the narration gives us facts that create the perfect setting for a realistic, yet intense plot.
So how can a Detective with no leads catch a cold blooded murderer? One could assume they’re about to embark on an epic read but I can assure you the opposite. The narration moves the story along quickly and cunningly uses a cliff hanger at the end of every chapter, keeping the readers enticed, and hungry for more. Our new author avoids the trap of letting the sub-stories detach themselves from the main plot and keeps his readers interested.
What I love about this story is that every little detail has been carefully thought out and thoroughly researched. Not once did I utter ‘as if’ as I absorbed word after word. In chapter three we are introduced to the Scene of Crime team, although I’m sure we’re all familiar with their role in the police force – Wilkinson doesn’t miss a single detail as Jessica helps them uncover evidence. I have to confess, sometimes I felt like I was reading about a real life investigation but this just made me read faster and sometimes I stayed up way too late in the eagerness to find out what happened next.
With crosses to bear, bosses to impress and blind dates to avoid, Jessica Daniels has to do the impossible and find her killer before he finds his next victim. Possible suspects are brought in and the writer cleverly deceives us into guessing who the killer is. The plot twists and turns and no one can prepare for what happens next.
Kerry Wilkinson’s first novel will not disappoint as it contains characters and scenes we can all relate to and it paves the way for the next upcoming novel in the Jessica Daniel Detective series. I wish our new local author all the best, I am certain book two will keep us hooked.
Claire Sharples.
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You can read Kerry Wilkinson’s exclusive article for the Lancashire Writing Hub on being “the hottest new author in Britain” here, and find out more about this exciting new writer and his other books here.
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Claire Sharples works full time as an Admin Assistant for a GP Practice but in her spare time she’s working on a novel and proof-reads for friends. She blogs at http://clsharples.blogspot.com Tweets at www.twitter.com/csharples and can be found on Facebook here http://facebook.com/clsharples
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