‘The Killing Choice’ by Will Shindler | @WillShindler @HodderBooks @JennyPlatt90 | #blogtour

Thrilled to join the blog tour for The Killing Choice by Will Shindler today! Huge thanks to Jenny at Hodder for the invitation to join and the fabulous review copy!

Author : Will Shindler
Title : The Burning Men
Series : DI Alex Finn #2
Pages : 328
Publisher : Hodder & Stoughton
Publication date : February 11, 2020

| ABOUT THE BOOK |

‘Leave your daughter with me, or I will kill you both.’ 

It felt like any other evening before Karl and his daughter were ambushed by a figure in a blank mask. A knife is put to her throat, and Karl is forced to make an impossible decision. Stay and die, or walk away and take this thug’s word that they will both live.

Should he trust a villain and leave his daughter with a knife at her throat? Could he ever live with himself if he did?

It’s not long before more seemingly unconnected and innocent people across London are offered a deal in exchange for their life. More blood is spilled, more families shattered, and more people are left to suffer with the consequences of their decisions. 

| MY THOUGHTS |

The DI Alex Finn series was brought to my attention at a time when I had decided I really and truly did not need a new series in my life. But I made an exception for The Burning Men because I had a good feeling about it. I still really don’t need another crime series in my life but I’m so glad I made room for this one because that good feeling I had about Will Shindler’s debut has only been consolidated by this second book.

I’m beginning to think Will Shindler is an author who seems to delight in coming up with the most cruel and unusual punishments for his characters. Last time there was a lot of fire. This time, it’s all about making a choice. An absolutely impossible choice. And one with devastating consequences.

The Killing Choice begins with Karl and Leah Suleman walking in Crystal Palace Park. What starts out as a normal evening of catching up quickly turns into a nightmare when father and daughter find themselves “face to face” with a figure in a mask. With a knife to his throat, Karl is forced to make an impossible decision. Stay and die, or walk away and believe the figure when they say this is the only way both Karl and Leah will live to see another day.

Karl may be the first person to be confronted with this masked figure, but he won’t be the last. But why was he ambushed like this? Is it a case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time or are people being targeted especially? DI Alex Finn thinks the “why” will lead him to the “who” but when it looks as if there are no connecting threads at all, where do you even begin to investigate?

This is a case that very much centres around grief. If you’ve read the previous book, then you know DI Alex Finn is grieving a massive loss himself. Not very well either, I might add. Being knee-deep in an investigation as harrowing and devastating as this one isn’t helping. Will he finally ask for help? Then there’s Karl, who has to live with the decision he made. Who is scrutinised and hounded by everyone from the media to his own wife. As a reader, I found myself transported right to that very moment where Karl makes his choice and the soul searching began. Because what would I do? What would you do when you get a split second, a mere snap of the fingers, to make a decision that could potentially change the rest of your life? And not in a good way. When all is said and done, would you still be able to live with yourself?

As you can see, there is so much more going on than just solving a brutal crime and this story about grief, loss and revenge had me glued to the pages. With a few red herrings dotted around, I couldn’t at all figure out what was going on. Even that reveal was somewhat heartbreaking. Don’t you just hate it when you almost feel sympathy for a perpetrator?

The Killing Choice is an immensely gripping, thought-provoking and compelling second instalment in the DI Alex Finn series and I can’t wait for book three! Clear a space on your shelves for this one!

The Killing Choice is available to buy!

Amazon UK | Bookshop UK | Goldsboro UK | Hive UK | Kobo | Waterstones

| ABOUT THE AUTHOR |

Will Shindler has been a broadcast journalist for the BBC for over twenty-five years, spending a decade working in television drama as a scriptwriter on Born and Bred, The Bill and Doctors. His time on these leading prime time dramas has given him a rich grounding in authentic police procedure, powerful character development and gripping narratives.

He currently combines reading the news on BBC Radio London with writing crime novels and has previously worked as a television presenter for HTV, a sports reporter for BBC Radio Five Live, and one of the stadium presenters at the London Olympics.

He is the writer of The Burning Men and The Killing Choice.