It’s release day for Jack Warr number 5 and I was lucky enough to get an advance copy as part of the blog tour.

Crucified by Lynda La Plante takes up where Pure Evil left off. Jack put away a sadistic serial killer and should be enjoying some time off with his family however the past is starting to catch up with him and he is suffering from violent nightmares that are terrifying for his wife. Instead of taking a break he soon finds himself caught up in another case when a man is found horrifically murdered in an art framers shop. When he spots his old nemesis art forger Adam Border nearby Jack’s desire to crack this case soon leads him into shocking world of corruption within the art world.

This was another brilliant read from Lynda La Plante that I found really intriguing.

I have to confess that in this story some of the actions of Jack and Maggie really annoyed me. Jack seemed to act out of character, ignoring his family and just going off on his own (more than normal!) The constant takeaways at 10pm and drinking then jumping in the car did grate a little at the start. However as odd as it sounds this fitted with the storyline and the mental anguish that Jack was trying to get over. As the story progresses he seems to find his flow again.

I really enjoyed the focus of this crime and the insight into the world of art dealing and forgery was fascinating. The second storyline was also interesting with the return of his friend Josh from America. This felt a much slower detailed narrative than the last story which seemed to fit with the theme and without giving too much away sets up a change of pace for Jack as a whole. 

I definitely think this is a novel that benefits from reading the previous stories as there is lots of references to the past that will make more sense with that understanding. Although the main storyline will still stand alone.

Saying that I have thoroughly enjoyed reading this series of novels from the beginning and would highly recommend the Jack Warr stories as I would all of Lynda La Plante’s books so definitely start from the beginning if you can.

A terrific author!

Find out what others thought on the blog tour.