A psychological thriller with an Interesting mix of crime, thriller and encompasses the mental and emotional processes of the human mind. This will blow your mind on so many levels.
Wow what a psychological thriller this is. Interesting mix of crime, thriller and encompasses the mental and emotional processes of the human mind. I was riveted from the beginning as there was so many layers to this and the writer explores morality and really gets under the readers skin is how I can describe it.
The story is of Jaydon a detective whose life is turned upside down when his daughter is kidnapped and is entangled in a web of differing crimes, but as time goes on the macabre details emerge - a pharmaceutical scientist who commits terrible acts of violence but with no history of this or why they are doing this. Then with Dan Brown and Professor Langdon - mathematical equations at the crime scene. Who is doing this, as this is an intelligent murderer and is there links to his kidnapped daughter.
This really plays with the readers mind, complex, sinister and really clever at the same time. A really recommended read.
When three strangers act completely out of character and commit murder, Detective Jaydon Lynch is brought on board to find answers.
Three incidents, three suspects acting completely out of character, all connected by a fragment of a mathematical equation at each scene. Like a lot of police procedurals, our lead character Detective Jaydon Lynch has a dark and troubled backstory. Having lost his daughter, kidnapped by The Doll Face Killer, the culprit is as yet uncaught and his daughter's body has not been recovered. Now, while at the darkest point of his life, Jaydon is called in to help investigate these three strange and sinister incidents. But is there a connection and what drove these people to do the unthinkable?
This is a twisting mystery with decent pacing and lots of different clues to pick up on along the way. I liked the structure and the way we’re given information via flashback as opposed to being told, I feel this helped to drive the story forward. Crime fiction fans will enjoy going over this story with a fine toothed comb in the search for clues as they try to figure out this mystery’s solution. However, I didn’t always enjoy the writing style; after a sparing and concise descriptor, the narrative aside of “that’s a gun to the uninitiated” near the beginning felt a bit patronising to me and if the word count was going to be used to tell us it’s a gun anyway, it seemed unnecessary. Later on, “treads reassuringly to Gustavo and slowly lowers to reassure” is another moment that the phrasing could be finessed to avoid duplication. There is also an interesting ethical discussion interwoven through the narrative, the increased access to firearms by police and the ethics of fatal force and its consequences simmers in the background. Alongside this is the potential for a discussion about culpability when compelled to commit a crime. Equation offers lots of themes to unpack as this twisting case unfolds.
An unusual, slow-paced crime novel with a cryptic plot and philosophical depth. Intriguing start, but complex backstories and a lack of resolution made it a challenging read for me.
This is not a whodunnit or a typical crime thriller. Rather, it’s a novel with a cryptic, strange storyline—a slow-paced read with no neatly wrapped-up endings. At times, especially towards the end, I found it difficult to follow.
I enjoyed the start of the book, which depicts the very normal suburban family life of Caitlyn, just before she receives a phone call that triggers her to commit a puzzling, out-of-character crime—after which she has no recollection of what happened. It was an unusual plot, and I wanted to find out more; it captivated me, and I perhaps wished the rest of the novel followed suit.
Mathematical equations are left at each of the crime scenes, with the perpetrator acting entirely out of character and without explanation. The story then becomes more complex, following Jaydon Lynch, a police investigator with his own demons, and his colleague Gavin. These detailed personal backstories seem to interfere with the central plot and may have been unnecessary within the psychological motivations of the crimes committed.
The author’s interest in philosophical scriptures is evident, which helps explain the novel’s structure and the type of reader it might appeal to.
It’s an unusual read—and if you enjoy atmospheric, richly detailed language, characters bruised by life, and a story that makes you think beyond the typical crime novel, then this could be a good recommendation. However, it wasn’t for me.