Thrilled to join the blog blitz for Faceless by Rob Ashman today! My thanks to Sarah Hardy for the invitation and Bloodhound Books for the review copy, which I received via Netgalley!
Author : Rob Ashman
Title : Faceless
Pages : 296
Publisher : Bloodhound Books
Publication date : May 31, 2018
After surviving a vicious knife attack, which left her husband dead, DI Rosalind Kray returns to work and is handed a serial killer investigation.
This killer is different, he doesn’t just want to take the lives of his victims, he wants to obliterate their very existence. The murders appear random but the killer selects his quarry with meticulous care.
While fighting her superiors Kray must conquer her own demons, which are tearing her apart.
Kray has the ability to think like a killer and her skills lead to a series of horrifying revelations that turn the case on its head. She believes she is getting close, then her world comes crashing down with devastating consequences.
Will Kray find the murderer and escape with her own life in tact?
The truth is closer than she could have ever imagined.
Despite seeing Rob Ashman’s name floating around various blogs and hearing quite a lot of buzz about his Mechanic Trilogy (and actually owning those), this is my first introduction to his work and what an introduction it was! Bloody hell!
I started reading Faceless minutes after finishing dinner and pretty much regretted that instantly as the description of the murder scene burnt itself onto my eyelids and shot right up my nose. I may have uttered the word “eeww” and pulled faces. A lot. And I loved it because that’s just the type of grossness I like in my crime thrillers. No, it doesn’t say weirdo across my forehead, thank you.
DI Rosalind Kray returns to work after surviving an attack, which left her husband dead. This background story is revealed along the way and already kept me intrigued without even digging into the murder investigation. Unsurprisingly, Roz has quite a few demons to deal with but I took to her pretty quickly and I especially enjoyed her “inner voice” when dealing with the stupidity of those around her.
As for the killer, well, they are quite unlike any other killer I’ve had the “pleasure” of meeting. A meticulous planner with a master plan to rid the world of evil, they are somehow able to remain under the radar, invisible and unnoticeable. While the victims seem to be chosen at random, this serial killer knows perfectly well who is next and why. It took me a while to figure out who was responsible. Actually, it took me until Rob Ashman gave the game away. Up until that point, I was pointing my finger at pretty much everyone.
It’s quite obvious that Rob Ashman knows perfectly well how to spin a story and keep the reader gripped throughout. There was always a sense of time running out and even though I felt one instance was a tad on the predictable side, that didn’t matter to me as I was desperate to see how things would be wrapped up. And boy, what a zinger to end with! Faceless is a gritty, compelling and thrilling serial killer thriller that kept me utterly engrossed and I look forward to seeing what Rob Ashman comes up with next!
Faceless is available to buy!
Amazon US | Amazon UK | Goodreads
Rob is married to Karen with two grown up daughters. He is originally from South Wales and after moving around with work settled in North Lincolnshire where he’s spent the last twenty-two years.
Like all good welsh valley boys Rob worked for the National Coal Board after leaving school at sixteen and went to University at the tender age of twenty-three when the pit closures began to bite. Since then he’s worked in a variety of manufacturing and consulting roles both in the UK and abroad.
It took Rob twenty-four years to write his first book. He only became serious about writing it when his dad got cancer. It was an aggressive illness and Rob gave up work for three months to look after him and his mum. Writing Those That Remain became his coping mechanism. After he wrote the book his family encouraged him to continue, so not being one for half measures, Rob got himself made redundant, went self-employed so he could devote more time to writing and four years later the Mechanic Trilogy is the result.
When he is not writing, Rob is a frustrated chef with a liking for beer and prosecco, and is known for occasional outbreaks of dancing.
Rob published the Mechanic Trilogy with Bloodhound Books in 2017 and will be releasing three new books during 2018. These are titled: Faceless, This Little Piggy and Suspended Retribution.
Author links : Facebook | Twitter | Website
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