Book review : A Killer Came Knocking - S. B. Caves

From the title to the picture on the front cover, A Killer Came Knocking looks like it is going to be a classic work of crime fiction. It turns out that the end came as a surprise though, but I'm not telling you about that - you'll have to find out for yourselves if you read it !

The book starts in a supermarket. Jack, minding his own business, picking up some shopping, has the shock of his life when he sees a man with striking green eyes walk in front of him. Jack is is mesmerised and follows the man to find out where he lives. Those eyes are unmistakable - he has to find out more.

It turns out that Jack's pregnant wife was murdered at her door step several years ago. When she opened the door, someone slashed her throat and, as he ran away, Jack saw him, locking eyes with the killer. Those eyes will never leave him ... and he has just seen them again in the supermarket. Jack's mission sounds simple - he needs to kidnap the man and find out why he killed his wife. 

He calls on an accomplice - his dead wife's twin sister, Emily. She is still suffering, missing her sister and subject to haunting nightmares, so she agrees to help him out. But how far will he go? As things start to veer off plan, she finds herself getting dragged deeper and deeper into the kidnapping plot. She is starting to have doubts - is this the right thing to do? Are they even totally sure that this is the right person? - but Jack is in charge and leaves her no choice.

I actually felt very sorry for Emily. After enduring the pain of losing her twin, she is dragged into things that she doesn't really feel comfortable with and the end of the novel suggests that she will end up paying the price, despite being a largely unwilling participant. Jack is a trickier character to relate to. While he is clearly still suffering from the anguish of his wife's death, his anger and manipulative character make it harder to feel sorry for him. His girlfriend, May, seems completely crazy, switching from sickly sweet lovey-dovey behaviour to screaming, raging tantrums when things don't go her way. Thinking about it, none of the characters in the book really seem worthy of much compassion !

It's an interesting read, with a twist at the end that came as a surprise. The narrative is left open-ended, giving the reader the job of working out what will happen to the various characters. I found this unsatisfying, as I doubt there will be a sequel. 

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £8.99

• Paperback : 352 pages
• ISBN-13 : 978-1788637657
• Product dimensions : 12.9 x 2.1 x 19.8 cm
• Publisher : Canelo (23 Jan. 2020)
• Language: : English