The Practice of Punishment

The North Sea raging and the threat of a bomb on board ship demand attention for this, Starling's second thriller. A riveting opening is followed by a week of emotional upheaval for DCI Kate Beauchamp, a passenger on the busy RORO ferry. Kate is returning from a weekend in Norway with her amateur dramatic group but the cabins reserved for them are not available. This inconvience becomes a factor in their survival when the trauma of disaster at sea occurs. In the aftermath of this horrifying event a marine accident inquiry follows and the man in charge is Kate's estranged father, Frank. Kate returns to work the next day still chilled by her ordeal, but denying the signs of PTSD. Grampian police have a sadistic killer to catch and Kate is determined to prove herself in control at the grotesque crime scene, where a snake attached to the body adds another phobia which she must suppress. A new complication is Frank's re-entry into her life when he has to interview her about her experiences during the sinking of the ferry. Kate and Frank pursue separate lines of inquiry but soon their lives are at risk in this week of many deaths. Clues about the murderer emerge but Kate in her distress misreads the signs. Evil is evident in varying degrees among the characters interviewed in each of the investigations and communication between father and daughter becomes vital. Suspense and plot twists abound and propel one to the end of this dark thriller which contains some excellent but gory descriptions. (Kirkus UK)