Review: The Jackdaw by Luke Delaney

Title: The Jackdaw (Sean Corrigan, #4)
Author: Luke Delaney
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 12th March 2015
Pages: 432
ISBN: 9780007585687
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4.5/5
Purchase: Amazon

Guilty or not guilty?: A lone vigilante is abducting wealthy Londoners and putting their fate in the hands of the public. Within hours of disappearing, the victims appear on the internet, bound to a chair in a white room.

Revenge or mercy?: Their crimes of greed and incompetence are broadcast to the watching thousands who make up the jury. Once the verdict is cast, the man who calls himself ‘The Jackdaw’ will be judge and executioner.

Live or die?: DI Sean Corrigan and his Special Investigations Unit are under pressure to solve this case fast. But as The Jackdaw’s popularity grows, Corrigan realizes he’s hunting a dangerously clever and elusive adversary – one who won’t stop until his mission is complete.

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I think DI Sean Corrigan has taken over Tom Thorne as my favourite British detective. (I've said it! Can't take it back...) Really though, the first three books in terms of building his character were great, but The Jackdaw was just brilliant and he is a character we still don't know everything about and I just can't wait to read about him again. I do have the new Tom Thorne ready to read, but the British crime fiction series I find myself most excited for is this one. It seems like Luke Delaney just came from nowhere, and we are now on book four!

I found the premise for this book as exciting as it was frightening because something like this could easily happen in real life, and it's almost a guarantee that it would attract a large online audience. Wealthy bankers are abducted before being screened on the Internet, a masked man asking members of the public to vote on their innocence. Guilty equals death, not guilty doesn't equal death but it doesn't equal a clean escape either... Much like I was compelled to read on, people at home and around the world would be compelled to log on to 'Your View' as well and vote in their droves. I like how Delaney manages to mix things up and keep the series fresh. What I particularly enjoyed is how Delaney allowed the reader to see the reaction from various members of the public which included fellow bankers, journalists, a creepy teenager and various people who feel they have been done over by banks in the past and even the reaction from the police themselves. In the beginning especially Corrigan doesn't have that instant instinct to hunt the killer down which was interesting.

Regular readers of the series will recognise the return of Anna who in the past has gotten very close to Corrigan. There's a couple of things I want to say here but have to be careful for fear of spoilers, I'll just say that her reasons for joining the case might not be entirely honourable, in the beginning at least! Once again also series favourites are back including Sally and Donnelly. This time around I have to say that Donnelly was one of my favourite characters throughout the book. There's also a greater level of corruption here in the way certain high up members of the force act which added an interesting dynamic to the book. Given Delaney's experience I feel his books carry a more authentic feeling than others in the genre and that always makes a book so much more enjoyable to me, from the way the case is run, the way Sean's bosses want results yesterday, just everything about the book feels realistic especially with nods to recent high-profile events, through the eyes of a pretty seedy journalist.

As much as I could talk about this book all day, I have gone on in the past about how brilliant this series is so all I can really say is buy this book! Crime fans yet to discover Luke Delaney are in for a treat, those who have read the previous books will almost certainly enjoy this book. The only thing I would say is that I was a tiny bit disappointed with the overall reveal of The Jackdaw, but the writing was so strong and the culmination of events was brilliant to read but it'd be interesting to find out how others feel about the end! Hard to say any more than that! This is not a series to miss for crime fans and I am gutted at the thought of the torturous wait for the next one.

4.5/5