I review, on this site and across social media, every book that I read. Normally I only write a blog about books as part of blog tours. Every now and again though, I find a book that’s so good in its own right, that I feel compelled to do it justice in a blog. This book ticks that box.
If you want to read my other book reviews, click here.
Today, I am so thrilled to take my turn on the book tour of Fairest Creatures, hosted by Love Books Tours. Thank you for my spot on the tour, and for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.
Synopsis
Looks to die for.
A serial killer’s dark obsession with the preservation of beauty sees him return to stalk the streets of Penzance in the summer of 2019. It’s 23 years since his first victims went missing, setting DI Brandon Hammett on the hunt for the Sleeping Beauty Killer.
A beautiful woman is being held captive in an unknown location. Although not physically injured, she is manacled to a chair in a darkened, sinister dining room. Her captor is polite but menacing. Her female companions, silent spectators.
When a glass box is found in Prussia Cove, containing a conch and the ear of a missing beauty, a murder investigation is launched. Is the Sleeping Beauty Killer back? Or is this a copycat killing?
What’s clear is an evasive, clever killer is at large, presenting DI Brandon Hammett with a deadly race against time.
My Review
Not all crime thrillers can hold your attention from first page to last, but this is one of them. I hadn’t read the author’s previous books, but I will be rectifying that. This well thought out and executed story follows the investigation by Detective Inspector Brandon Hammet into a missing person, which escalates quickly as ‘tokens’ of body parts begin to arrive.
I must admit I liked Brandon Hammet. His professional, driven, compassionate, approach to police work made him the perfect man to lead the investigation. The other characters were well rounded and credible. Then there is the scenery. Cornwall is such a beautiful area, and Penzance is pictured perfect. The author’s skill at describing the environment made it easy to visualise each scene as if a fly on the wall. All this carried the story forwards at a superb pace.
Overall, I’m so glad I was introduced to this book via Love Books Tours, and look forward to reading more from third author. Would I recommend it? In a heartbeat! For anytime who wants a great read, not just crime thriller readers. I gave Fairest Creatures, by Karen Taylor, five stars, as if there was any doubt…
Meet The Author, Karen Taylor 
Karen is a University of East Anglia alumni crime writer whose latest novel Fairest Creatures was longlisted for the 2020 Crime Writers’ Association Debut Dagger.
The book features DI Brandon Hammett, a Texan detective with Cornish roots. Based in Penzance, Fairest Creatures covers the reappearance after 23 years of the Sleeping Beauty Serial killer, a murderer who macabrely ‘immortalises’ his beautiful victims.
Before turning to crime, Karen wrote a series of children’s books and short stories. Her middle-grade Sci-Fi novel Turbulence was shortlisted at the Winchester Writers Festival, alongside a novella and a short story. Her YA thriller Off The Rails won her a place in the Dragon’s Den at the London Book Fair in 2016.
Born and based in London, Karen is also a journalist and editor with wide ranging experience, covering anything from business to lifestyle. She’s worked on trade, corporate and association publications, run international news teams, and contributed to newspapers and magazines including The Financial Times, The London Evening Standard, The London Magazine, The Independent, and The Far Eastern Economic Review. Her first thriller The Trade, published by Endeavour Press, was inspired by her globe-trotting years as a commodity markets reporter.
An avid reader and film goer, Karen is loving the chance to create stories in the dramatic cinematic setting of Cornwall. She spends her time between London and Penzance.
Where To Buy
These Amazon links are a convenient way to buy the book online. For print copies, please consider supporting your local bookshop.
As an Amazon Affiliate I receive a small percentage from qualifying sales.
John's Bookshelf 