Ragdoll by Daniel Cole

First Sentence:  Samantha Boyd ducked under the wobbly police barrier and glanced up at the statue of Lady Justice perched atop London’s infamous Old Baily courtrooms.

      

In the apartment directly across from Det. “Wolf” Fawkes is found a hanged body made up from the body parts of six victims.  Wolf’s journalist ex-wife receives a list of names and the dates on which future victims will die.  The last name on the list is Wolf’s.  How many will die before the police can find and stop the killer?

      

Some of the most suspenseful scenes aren’t always in the dark of the night, but in a courtroom.  The opening of “Ragdoll” demonstrates this. Then we get to the crime, and things become very suspenseful, indeed.

      

Cole can write dialogue, sometimes tinged with a bit of dark humor—“Apparently he’s threatening to jump out of the window.”  “Constable Castagna or Ford?” “Ford.” “To escape or kill himself/” “Fourth Floor, so fifty-fifty.”  Some of his imagery is also well done…”After twenty solid minutes and alarms had ceased abruptly but survived as the ghosts of echoes reverberating endlessly around the Great Hall’s domed ceiling.”

      

There are some very good, interesting characters, particularly Edmunds.  Sadly, none are as developed as one might like, and one does get a rather tired of cops with “issues” such as drugs, drink, excessive violence, etc.

      

Although the timeline, according to the headings, indicates that the story is linear, there are flashes back to Wolf’s history which can make things very confusing.  Had one not known from the start that this is the first of a trilogy, and even if one does, the ending seems a bit of a cheat. 

     

“Ragdoll” is a page turner.  There are numerous weaknesses, but it’s still a decent distraction read or airplane book.

RAGDOLL (Pol Proc-“Wolf” Fawkes/Baxter-London-Contemp) – Okay

      Cole, Daniel – 1^st of trilogy

      Ecco – May 2017