Review: Loaded with suspense and wholly captivating...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 6, 2014
This review is from an ARC copy of Angie Martin’s ‘Conduit’.Some writers have the capacity to snare you from the word go and hold you in thrall throughout the entire duration of a book. Angie Martin is one of those writers.‘Conduit’ is an absorbing psychological thriller of a work which blends in more than a little splash of the paranormal as it gets underway with a suitably creepy and curious prologue setting the tone of the book and sinking claws of intrigue in from the word go.After this tense and dark intro, Martin then introduces us to the principal character of Emily Malone, who is a private investigator of Malone and Reid Investigators (the Reid section completed by business partner, Cassie Reid, another pivotal character). While these ladies have spent seven years together in business contending with the standard sort of cases one might expect from the private investigation game such as suspicious women certain their husbands are in the midst of illicit affairs and so forth, the psychic abilities of Emily are about to go into overdrive on a case that will endanger their lives and others involved with them.Running parallel to Emily’s psychic gifts pushing to the fore leading to her being haunted by voices and subject to apparent automatic writing, is the story of detective Lieutenant Lionel Edwards who is on the trail of a serial killer leaving a trail of dead bodies strewn across his jurisdiction, mutilated young women each left with a letter carved into their skin.Suffice to say, these problems plaguing Emily pull her into the murderous world of insidious murderer David Noakes, pitching her into an epic nightmare, considering she is his chief target, somebody he fully believes he has a connection with.‘Conduit’ is full of interesting, engaging characters, even the immensely flawed ones such as the sadistic fiend responsible for the abductions and murders, and great interactions between them. The subplot involving Emily’s burgeoning relationship with Jake Hanley, as well as her exchanges with former flame Nathan temper the grimness and building tension created by the cat and mouse game with the killer.Without wanting to add any spoilers here, you need to read this yourself to see just how this whole enthralling concoction pans out, I will just say that this is the type of crime thriller laced with supernatural facets that can seize you and shake you up, and make you only too aware that there are some truly reprehensible characters out there.Tightly written, loaded with suspense and wholly captivating, this is a cracking good read.