A dramatic, intense, and entertaining mystery which is so vivid it feels as though you are watching the story play out rather than reading the words. DCI Jansen joins a house party for the luxury launch of a new tech company after one of the high profile guests receives threats. This is the third in the DCI Maarten Jansen series though only my first outing and I found that it reads wonderfully as a standalone. There is fascinating insight into the guests and it feels as though this is their story rather than Maarten’s. There are a fair few characters to get your head around, but each is distinctly different which helps. The country house chic, the wealthy guests, the backbiting and buzz all adds to the theatre of the piece. Rachael Blok allows information to ebb and flow, slowly filling in blanks, and all the while the interplay between the characters encourages suspicion and intrigue to grow. The ending enters with a roar, with events dramatically concluding. Into the Fire is as much about the setting and characters as it is the crime, which ensures a hugely captivating read.
Eleven guests. Three nights. One murderer...A haunting and atmospheric thriller from rising star of crime fiction Rachael Blok. In a crumbling old mansion in the English countryside, eleven people gather, each one famous in their field. They have been invited for a three-day house party, to celebrate the launch of a groundbreaking virtual reality game that promises to unite the worlds of technology, politics and the environment. DCI Marten Jansen has been summoned to join the house party. His instructions are to offer police protection in case of an outside attack. Instead, he finds simmering tensions, long-buried secrets – and a murderer in their midst... Rachael Blok’s novels blend elements of police procedural and psychological thriller, and she has won critical acclaim for her lyrical prose, ratcheting tensions and atmosphere of foreboding. Praise for Rachael Blok: “A blistering mystery.” ERIN KELLY “You will suspect everyone in this unbearably tense tale of betrayal and revenge.” A.S. HATCH. “Gripping and original.” CLARE EMPSON. “Assured and compelling ... The author is as deft about human relationships as she is about creating an increasingly foreboding atmosphere.” ELLY GRIFFITHS.
