THE NIGHT WATCHER by Caroline Mitchell

4* Another good tale with Detective Elea Baker, that can be read as a standalone.

It was about 2 chapters into the tale that I realised the female detective sounded familiar and went googling. I got clued in quite quickly and had no issues jumping into this storyline, although it's very different to book 1 and did require a bit of suspension of disbelief.

I don't quite get the guest policing in the UK that allegedly happens so easily and smoothly in this book, but it was a decent read with a detective with good instincts, kickarse autonomy, confidence in her skills and abilities, and who's not afraid to take risks, break rules and make decisions that logical bureaucracy would have meant the opposite of. The killer is behind bars, isn't he? But, there's so much that's happening now that happened before he was captured, that they're not sure if he's got a copycat fan, an acolyte or if he's orchestrating things. Elea uses her wiles and her takes-no-prisoners, rules-don't-apply-to-me stubbornness and dives in. She protects one of her own - a former fling who seems to be struggling with issues - despite appearances. She lies by omission, and also not. Her ex-husband's new relationship sounds a bit more iffy than in book 1. Her relationship with the daughter she found, saved and killed for in book 1, is fractured. Maybe a form of Stockholm Syndrome is at play, but the daughter's an ungrateful cow. Her ex-MIL is a lifesaver and just a delightful person. The storyline is unexpected but decent. The tale ends satisfyingly. 

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Random House UK Cornerstone, for my reading pleasure.

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