Source: Review copy
Publication: 23 January 2020 from Penguin Books
PP: 464
ISBN-13: 978-0241985113
A girl is taken from the streets of Oxford. But it’s unlike any abduction DI Fawley’s seen before . . .
Faith Appleford was attacked, a plastic bag tied over her head, taken to an isolated location . . . and then, by some miracle, she escaped.
What’s more, when DC Erica Somer interviews Faith, she quickly becomes convinced that Faith knows who her abductor is.
Yet Faith refuses to press charges.
Without more evidence, it’s looking like the police may have to drop the case.
But what happens if Faith’s attacker strikes again?
I’ve enjoyed all of Cara Hunters D.I. Adam Fawley books and this one was no exception. Easily read as a standalone, lovers of this series will be pleased to know that there is more of Fawley’s personal story in this police procedural, allowing the reader to understand more of his character as these details are revealed.
The basic story actually was quite complex and I really got stuck into it in depth.
The cases here feel very real; a potential miscarriage of justice from an old case that Fawley was involved in and an edgy, unsettling set of crimes that touch the dark heart of what the police have to deal with.
An attack on teenage Faith, then the disappearance of one of her classmates gives Fawley and his team a nightmare case that is full of horribly similar details to the old case whose antagonist is now coming up for parole and is preparing to is appeal his conviction.
Fawley has more than one reason to be disturbed by this turn of events, as if the disappearance of the girl is not disturbing enough. Hunter takes us into some dark places as she suggests hate crime, gross moral turpitude, and serious violence in this well-plotted book.
All the Rage is a contemporary novel which, as is usual in Hunter’s books, utilises interview transcripts, excerpts of court proceedings and social media feeds throughout the police investigation, lending an extra layer of authenticity. Told from multiple POV’S, the author manages to create an atmosphere of suspicion which casts doubt on the motives of everyone involved, keeping the reader involved and needing to know the outcome.
When it comes, it is devastating and truly shocking and I felt genuinely sad, knowing that such real life crimes do indeed take place.
Verdict: A little slow to start, Cara Hunter’s All the Rage is ultimately a strongly plotted, chilling police procedural that is a shocking and savage indictment on our society and which left my heart a little bit broken.
Cara Hunter is the author of the Sunday Times bestselling crime novels Close to Home, In the Dark and No Way Out, all featuring DI Adam Fawley and his Oxford-based police team. Close to Home was a Richard and Judy Book Club pick, was shortlisted for Crime Book of the Year in the British Book Awards 2019 and No Way Out was selected by the Sunday Times as one of the 100 best crime novels since 1945. Cara’s novels have sold more than three quarters of a million copies worldwide. Cara Hunter lives in Oxford, on a street not unlike those featured in her books.
Live and Deadly 