Source: Review copy
Publication: 19 April 2018 from Wildfire
On the streets of London, a vicious killer is using social media to turn murder into entertainment . .
I, Killer has posted two photos of his first victim online – Before Death and After Death. They’ve gone viral before DCI Fenton’s team even discovers the body.
Soon, another victim’s photo is similarly posted . . . and so begins the killer’s following.
DCI Fenton is determined to discover the identity of I, Killer before another innocent life is claimed. Then the case takes a dark turn, and Fenton’s search becomes a matter of life or death for him and his young daughter.
But as I, Killer’s body-count rises, his number of online followers is growing – and he loves to give his fans what they want . . .
I confess. I do like a visceral, gut ripping, bloody crime story. And Max Manning’s Now You See is all of that and more. Heart pounding, visceral and very easy to read due to its fast pace, this is a one sitting book.
Manning has taken the public’s insatiable curiosity and somewhat horrible fascination with all things gruesome on the internet and has created a fiendish murderer who is determined to show off his skills to an ever growing band of social media followers. Trading as I, Killer, on social media this murderer knows he is cleverer than the pack of policemen trying to track him down.
Our murderer, who we hear from throughout the book, has posted Before Death and After Death photographs of his first victim, Lauren Bishop online. DCI Dan Fenton is aware of the crime even before the body has been found.
This is a killer who revels in notoriety and the public seem happy to give what is required in the way of follows and online chatter.
Adam Blake was Lauren’s boyfriend, but she’d left him six weeks before, unable to cope with his moods. Adam’s backstory is a traumatic one. He used to be a journalist but something awful happened to him whilst abroad and he may never fully recover from the trauma or be able to form a whole relationship again.
He’s an obvious suspect for the police, but after he has been cleared, the victim’s sister approached him to help find Lauren’s killer.
As our murderer identifies more victims whose deaths he showcases on the net, Blake and DCI Fenton will find themselves working together, outside normal police protocols, to track down a vicious killer who will stop at nothing to ensure he gets what he wants.
Tightly plotted and neatly fitted in to short and meaty chapters, this is a well-constructed crime novel. I did, work out who the perpetrator was before the end, but that just made it all the more entertaining for me, waiting to see if I was right.
I wish there had been a more meaty role for Lauren’s sister; she did seem to be there as a focus for both our protagonists to yearn after rather than having a more positive role to play.
Cunning, twisted, and full of neat and chilling plot moves, I can see this book being a big success and I would certainly read more from Max Manning.
About Max Manning
Max Manning is a former national newspaper journalist. He started his career as a news reporter on regional newspapers before moving on to Fleet Street. There he worked for several titles, including Today and the Daily Express. He later joined the staff of the Daily Telegraph where he worked for sixteen years as a news sub-editor. Now You See is his debut crime novel.
You can follow Max Manning on Twitter @maxmanningcrime
This review is part of a blogtour to celebrate publication of Now You See. Find out what others think here:
Live and Deadly 